88R1459 CJD-D
By: Murr H.B. No. 1687
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of certain aggregate production
operations by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality;
authorizing an increase in the amount of a fee.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 28A, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subchapter D to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER D. RECLAMATION
Sec. 28A.151. APPLICABILITY. This subchapter applies only
to an aggregate production operation:
(1) that is first required to be registered on or after
January 1, 2016; and
(2) the site of which:
(A) occupies at least 10 acres; and
(B) is located inside the boundaries or
extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality.
Sec. 28A.152. REGISTRATION. (a) The initial application
filed by the responsible party for the registration of an aggregate
production operation, or the first renewal application filed after
September 1, 2023, in the case of an aggregate production operation
that was first required to be registered before that date, must:
(1) include a reclamation plan that complies with
Section 28A.154; and
(2) be accompanied by a performance bond that complies
with Section 28A.155.
(b) If the reclamation plan is amended, the first renewal
application for registration filed by the responsible party after
the date the plan is amended must include the amended plan.
(c) Notwithstanding Section 28A.051(b), the requirements of
this subchapter apply to an aggregate production operation until
the commission determines that the responsible party has
successfully complied with all reclamation requirements of this
subchapter and the reclamation plan.
Sec. 28A.153. REGISTRATION FEE. Notwithstanding Section
28A.101(b), the commission shall set the fee for an initial or
renewal application for the registration of an aggregate production
operation that is required to include a reclamation plan in an
amount not to exceed $1,900.
Sec. 28A.154. RECLAMATION REQUIREMENTS. (a) A reclamation
plan must:
(1) specify which parts of the aggregate production
operation will be reclaimed for forest, pasture, crop,
horticultural, homesite, recreational, industrial, or other uses,
including use by wildlife for food, shelter, or ground cover;
(2) require any ridge or peak of overburden created by
surface mining to be graded to a rolling topography traversable by
machines and equipment customarily used in connection with the use
to be made of the land after reclamation, except that:
(A) the slope of a ridge or peak of overburden is
not required to be reduced to a grade less than the original grade
of the area before mining; and
(B) the slope of the ridge of overburden
resulting from a box cut is not required to be reduced to less than
25 degrees from the horizontal;
(3) if the extraction activities have exposed the face
of a mineral seam in which significant concentrations of
acid-forming materials are present, require the operator to cover
the exposed face of the seam:
(A) to a depth of not less than three feet with
earth that will support plant life; or
(B) with a permanent water impoundment;
(4) require the operator to grade down the bank of any
pit or depression created by the removal of aggregates by surface
mining to a degree of slope determined in accordance with
commission rules, taking into consideration:
(A) the natural topography of the land affected
by the extraction activities and of the adjacent land;
(B) the composition of the bank; and
(C) the most beneficial use of the pit or
depression after reclamation;
(5) require that all land affected by the extraction
activities, except land that is to be covered with water or used for
homesite or industrial purposes, be revegetated by the planting of
seeds, trees, shrubs, or other plantings that are appropriate to
the use to be made of the land after reclamation as determined by
the operator; and
(6) require that all mining equipment, including
dredges, drag lines, crushers, screens, conveyors, on-site mining
vehicles, haul trucks, and loaders, be removed from the site.
(b) Subsection (a)(2) does not apply to a surface mining
operation conducted in an area that is in the floodplain of a river
or stream and is subject to periodic flooding.
(c) A reclamation plan may allow an operator to construct an
earthen dam for the purpose of forming a lake in a pit that results
from surface mining operations if the formation of the lake does
not:
(1) interfere with another mining operation; or
(2) damage the property of another person.
(d) Notwithstanding Subsection (a)(4), if the pit or
depression created by the removal of aggregates by surface mining
is deeper than 10 feet, the reclamation plan may allow the operator
to bench the highwall as long as the benches do not exceed 10 feet in
height.
(e) The commission by rule may prescribe the required
density of planting for purposes of Subsection (a)(5) and, if the
operator elects to reclaim in stages different parts of the
aggregate production operation as extraction activities on those
parts cease, may require replanting of those parts as necessary
before planting of the entire operation is completed.
(f) Notwithstanding Subsections (a)(5) and (e), planting is
not required on land affected by extraction activities at an
aggregate production operation if the chemical and physical
characteristics of the soil of the land are so toxic or deficient in
plant nutrients, or the soil of the land is composed of sand,
gravel, shale, or stone to such an extent, as to seriously inhibit
plant growth.
(g) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an
operator must complete all required grading not later than six
months after extraction activities at the aggregate production
operation cease. If the operator is unable to complete the required
grading by the deadline because of weather conditions, the
commission shall grant the operator an extension of time until
weather conditions permit completion of the required grading.
(h) Except as otherwise provided by this subsection, an
operator must begin planting seeds, trees, shrubs, or other
plantings on the land affected by extraction activities at the
aggregate production operation at the first appropriate time after
completion of the required grading. If the operator is unable to
acquire sufficient planting stock of appropriate species from local
nurseries or to acquire sufficient stock from other sources at
comparable prices, the commission shall grant the operator an
extension of time until sufficient stock at such prices is
available to plant the land in accordance with the reclamation
plan.
Sec. 28A.155. PERFORMANCE BOND. (a) A performance bond
must:
(1) be payable to this state and conditioned on the
faithful performance of the requirements of this subchapter and the
reclamation plan;
(2) cover the area to be affected by the extraction
activities at the aggregate production operation;
(3) be in an amount equal to $2,500 for each acre to be
affected by the extraction activities at the aggregate production
operation; and
(4) be executed by the responsible party and a
corporate surety licensed to do business in this state.
(b) Liability under a performance bond is for the duration
of the activities at the aggregate production operation, including
the activities necessary and incidental to the reclamation of the
land affected by the extraction activities at the operation.
(c) The commission may release all or part of a performance
bond if the commission is satisfied that the reclamation covered by
the bond or part of the reclamation, as applicable, has been
accomplished as required by this subchapter and the reclamation
plan.
(d) The commission shall declare a performance bond
forfeited if the operator fails to comply with the requirements of
this subchapter or the reclamation plan.
Sec. 28A.156. INSPECTION BY COMMISSION. The commission may
periodically inspect an aggregate production operation after
extraction activities at the operation have ceased to verify that
the operator is complying with the requirements of this subchapter
and the reclamation plan.
Sec. 28A.157. NOTICE OF COMPLETION OF RECLAMATION;
INSPECTION AND DETERMINATION BY COMMISSION. (a) After reclamation
activities at an aggregate production operation have been
accomplished as required by this subchapter and the reclamation
plan, the operator shall notify the commission in writing that the
activities have been completed.
(b) The commission shall inspect the aggregate production
operation to determine whether the operator has completed
reclamation of the operation as required by this subchapter and the
reclamation plan. If the commission determines that the
reclamation of the aggregate production operation has been
completed as required by this subchapter and the reclamation plan:
(1) the commission shall release any remaining part of
the performance bond; and
(2) the requirements of this subchapter are no longer
applicable to the operation.
Sec. 28A.158. WAIVER BY MUNICIPALITY OF RECLAMATION
REQUIREMENTS. (a) If the reclamation activities required by a
reclamation plan conflict with a potential reasonable future use of
the aggregate production operation on cessation of extraction
activities at the operation, the responsible party may submit a
proposal to the governing body of the municipality inside the
boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction of which the operation
is located to amend the plan.
(b) The governing body of the municipality shall approve the
proposed amendment to the reclamation plan if, after a public
meeting on the proposal, the governing body determines that the
proposed amendment appears to be in the best interest of the
municipality, the county in which the aggregate production
operation is located, and this state.
(c) If the governing body of the municipality approves the
proposed amendment to the reclamation plan, the governing body
shall notify the responsible party and the commission. The
commission shall give effect to the proposed amendment to the plan
and shall release all or part of the performance bond, as
applicable.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.