Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1913 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R6720 SLB-D
2	2	By: Blanco S.B. No. 1913
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the permitting of medical waste facilities by the Texas
8	8	Commission on Environmental Quality.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 361.0905, Health and Safety Code, is
11	11	amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (e-1),
12	12	(e-2), and (e-3) to read as follows:
13	13	(e) Except as provided by Subsections (e-1) and (e-3), rules
14	14	[Rules] adopted to regulate the operation of municipal solid waste
15	15	storage and processing units apply in the same manner to medical
16	16	waste only to the extent that the rules address:
17	17	(1) permit and registration requirements that can be
18	18	made applicable to a facility that handles medical waste, including
19	19	requirements related to:
20	20	(A) applications;
21	21	(B) site development;
22	22	(C) notice; and
23	23	(D) permit or registration duration and limits;
24	24	(2) minor modifications to permits and registrations,
25	25	including changes in operating hours and buffer zones;
26	26	(3) the reconciliation of conflicting site operation
27	27	plan provisions for a site that conducts activities that require a
28	28	separate permit or authorization;
29	29	(4) waste acceptance and analysis;
30	30	(5) facility-generated waste, including wastewater
31	31	and sludge;
32	32	(6) contaminated water management;
33	33	(7) on-site storage areas for source-separated or
34	34	recyclable materials;
35	35	(8) the storage of waste:
36	36	(A) to prevent the waste from becoming a hazard,
37	37	including a fire hazard, to human health or safety;
38	38	(B) to ensure the use of sufficient containers
39	39	between collections; and
40	40	(C) to prevent the waste from becoming litter;
41	41	(9) closure requirements for storage and processing
42	42	units;
43	43	(10) recordkeeping and reporting requirements, except
44	44	for rules regarding the recordkeeping provisions required to
45	45	justify the levels of recovered recycled products;
46	46	(11) fire protection;
47	47	(12) access control;
48	48	(13) unloading waste;
49	49	(14) spill prevention and control;
50	50	(15) operating hours;
51	51	(16) facility signage;
52	52	(17) control of litter, including windblown material;
53	53	(18) noise pollution and visual screening;
54	54	(19) capacity overloading and mechanical breakdown;
55	55	(20) sanitation, including employee sanitation
56	56	facilities;
57	57	(21) ventilation and air pollution control, except as
58	58	those rules apply to:
59	59	(A) process areas where putrescible waste is
60	60	processed;
61	61	(B) the minimal air exposure for liquid waste;
62	62	and
63	63	(C) the cleaning and maintenance of mobile waste
64	64	processing unit equipment; and
65	65	(22) facility health and safety plans, including
66	66	employee training in health and safety.
67	67	(e-1) Not later than the 30th day after the date of filing an
68	68	application for, or notice of intent to file an application for, a
69	69	permit to construct, operate, or maintain a facility to store,
70	70	process, or dispose of medical waste, the applicant shall send
71	71	notice of the application or notice of intent to:
72	72	(1) the state senator and representative who represent
73	73	the area in which the facility is or is to be located;
74	74	(2) the commissioners court of the county in which the
75	75	facility is or is to be located; and
76	76	(3) the governing bodies of the municipality and
77	77	school district in which the facility is or is to be located, as
78	78	applicable.
79	79	(e-2) The commission shall reject an application submitted
80	80	by a person who has not complied with Subsection (e-1). An
81	81	application rejected under this subsection must be submitted again
82	82	to the commission with the appropriate fee in order to be
83	83	considered. The fee submitted with the original rejected
84	84	application is forfeited to the commission.
85	85	(e-3) The commission may not issue a permit for a new
86	86	medical waste facility or the subsequent areal expansion of a
87	87	medical waste facility or unit of that facility if the boundary of
88	88	the facility or unit is to be located within 500 feet of an
89	89	established residence, farm, ranch, church, school, university,
90	90	community college, day-care center, surface water body used for a
91	91	public drinking water supply, or dedicated public park.
92	92	SECTION 2. Sections 361.0905(e-1), (e-2), and (e-3), Health
93	93	and Safety Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an application
94	94	related to a permit for a medical waste facility that is submitted
95	95	to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
96	96	effective date of this Act. An application related to a permit for
97	97	a medical waste facility that was submitted to the Texas Commission
98	98	on Environmental Quality before the effective date of this Act is
99	99	governed by the law in effect at the time the application was filed,
100	100	and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
101	101	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.