87R3658 SLB-F
By: Morales Shaw H.B. No. 2370
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to procedures for certain permit applications submitted to
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 2003.047, Government Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (d-1) and amending Subsection (e-2) to read as
follows:
(d-1) An applicant whose application has been referred for a
contested case hearing to be held in accordance with this section
may not request changes to the application after the 31st day before
the date scheduled for the preliminary hearing on the application.
If an applicant chooses to not proceed with the preliminary hearing
on the application on or before the 31st day before the date
scheduled for the preliminary hearing, the applicant must withdraw
the application with or without prejudice in accordance with
commission rule. If an applicant who has withdrawn an application
without prejudice subsequently resubmits a revised application,
the applicant must comply with applicable notice and other
requirements in effect on the date the revised application is
submitted to the commission. This subsection does not apply to a
change made to an application for which:
(1) a preliminary hearing has been held and parties to
the hearing have been named;
(2) all parties to the hearing have agreed in writing
to the proposed changes; and
(3) the applicant has complied with applicable notice
requirements.
(e-2) For a matter referred under Section 5.556 or 5.557,
Water Code, the administrative law judge must complete the
proceeding and provide a proposal for decision to the commission
not later than the earlier of:
(1) the 270th [180th] day after the date of the
preliminary hearing; or
(2) the date specified by the commission.
SECTION 2. Section 382.058(c), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(c) For purposes of this section, only a representative of a
school, place of worship, licensed day-care center, hospital, or
medical facility or a person [those persons actually] residing [in
a permanent residence] within 440 yards of the proposed plant may
request a hearing under Section 382.056 as a person who may be
affected. The commission shall adopt rules establishing who
qualifies as a representative of a school, place of worship,
licensed day-care center, hospital, or medical facility under this
section.
SECTION 3. Section 5.115(a-1), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a-1) The commission shall adopt rules specifying factors
which must be considered in determining whether a person is an
affected person in any contested case arising under the air, waste,
or water programs within the commission's jurisdiction and whether
an affected association is entitled to standing in contested case
hearings. For a matter referred under Section 5.556, the
commission:
(1) may consider:
(A) [the merits of the underlying application,
including whether the application meets the requirements for permit
issuance;
[(B)] the likely impact of regulated activity on
the health, safety, and use of the property of the hearing
requestor;
(B) [(C)] the administrative record, including
the permit application and any supporting documentation;
(C) [(D)] the analysis and opinions of the
executive director; and
(D) [(E)] any other expert reports, affidavits,
opinions, or data submitted on or before any applicable deadline to
the commission by the executive director, the applicant, or a
hearing requestor; and
(2) may not find that:
(A) a group or association is an affected person
unless the group or association identifies, by name and physical
address in a timely request for a contested case hearing, a member
of the group or association who would be an affected person in the
person's own right; or
(B) a hearing requestor is an affected person
unless the hearing requestor timely submitted comments on the
permit application.
SECTION 4. Section 5.552, Water Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsection (b-1) to read as
follows:
(b) Not later than the 30th day after the date the executive
director determines the application to be administratively
complete:
(1) the applicant shall publish notice of intent to
obtain a permit at least once in the newspaper of largest
circulation in the county in which the facility to which the
application relates is located or proposed to be located or, if the
facility to which the application relates is located or proposed to
be located in a municipality, at least once in a newspaper of
general circulation in the municipality; [and]
(2) the chief clerk of the commission shall mail
notice of intent to obtain a permit to:
(A) the state senator and representative who
represent the general area in which the facility is located or
proposed to be located;
(B) the mayor and health authorities of the
municipality in which the facility is located or proposed to be
located;
(C) the county judge and health authorities of
the county in which the facility is located or proposed to be
located; and
(D) the river authority in which the facility is
located or proposed to be located if the application is under
Chapter 26, Water Code; and
(3) the commission shall post a copy of the
application on a publicly accessible Internet website.
(b-1) The commission shall post a copy of the application as
provided by Subsection (b)(3) on the same day that the chief clerk
of the commission mails the notice as provided by Subsection
(b)(2). The commission:
(1) shall:
(A) post any subsequent revision or supplement to
the application as the revision or supplement becomes available;
and
(B) maintain the posting until the commission
takes final action on the application; and
(2) may not penalize the applicant in the application
process if the commission fails to post or maintain the posting of
the application materials.
SECTION 5. The following provisions are repealed:
(1) Sections 2003.047(i-1), (i-2), and (i-3),
Government Code; and
(2) Section 382.0291(d), Health and Safety Code.
SECTION 6. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
an application submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality on or after the effective date of this Act. An application
submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at
the time the application was filed, and the former law is continued
in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 7. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.