Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB3060 Compare Versions

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1	1	H.B. No. 3060
2	2
3	3
4	4	AN ACT
5	5	relating to the regulation of recycling and recycled products.
6	6	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
7	7	SECTION 1. Section 361.003, Health and Safety Code, is
8	8	amended by amending Subdivisions (1), (10-a), (24-a), (25), (25-a),
9	9	(26-a), (27), (34), (35), and (36) and adding Subdivisions (1-a),
10	10	(6-a), and (37-a) to read as follows:
11	11	(1) "Advanced recycling facility" means a
12	12	manufacturing facility that receives, stores, and converts
13	13	post-use polymers and recoverable feedstocks using advanced
14	14	recycling technologies and processes including pyrolysis,
15	15	gasification, solvolysis, and depolymerization. For purposes of
16	16	this chapter and rules adopted by the commission under this
17	17	chapter, an advanced recycling facility is not a solid waste
18	18	facility, final disposal facility, waste-to-energy facility, or
19	19	incinerator.
20	20	(1-a) "Apparent recharge zone" means that recharge
21	21	zone designated on maps prepared or compiled by, and located in the
22	22	offices of, the commission.
23	23	(6-a) "Depolymerization" means a manufacturing
24	24	process through which post-use polymers are broken down into:
25	25	(A) smaller molecules, including monomers and
26	26	oligomers; or
27	27	(B) raw materials or intermediate or final
28	28	products, including plastics and chemical feedstocks, basic and
29	29	unfinished chemicals, waxes, lubricants, or coatings.
30	30	(10-a) "Gasification" means a process through which
31	31	recoverable feedstocks are heated and converted into a fuel-gas
32	32	mixture in an oxygen-deficient atmosphere and the mixture is
33	33	converted into [a] valuable raw materials or valuable[,]
34	34	intermediate[,] or final products [product], including plastic
35	35	monomers, chemicals, waxes, lubricants, or chemical feedstocks [a
36	36	plastic, monomer, chemical, wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock
37	37	or crude oil, diesel, gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock,
38	38	home heating oil, ethanol, or another fuel]. The term does not
39	39	include incineration.
40	40	(24-a) "Post-use polymers" means plastics that:
41	41	(A) are derived from any industrial, commercial,
42	42	agricultural, or domestic activity, including preconsumer
43	43	recovered materials and postconsumer materials;
44	44	(B) are sorted from solid waste and other
45	45	regulated waste and may contain residual amounts of organic
46	46	material and incidental contaminants or impurities such as paper
47	47	labels or metal rings;
48	48	(C) are not mixed with solid waste or hazardous
49	49	waste onsite or during processing at an advanced recycling
50	50	facility;
51	51	(D) are used or intended for use as a feedstock or
52	52	for the production of feedstocks, raw materials, or other
53	53	intermediate or final products using advanced recycling; and
54	54	(E) are processed or held prior to processing at
55	55	an advanced recycling facility [plastic polymers that derive from
56	56	any household, industrial, community, commercial, or other sources
57	57	of operations or activities that might otherwise become waste if
58	58	not converted into a valuable raw, intermediate, or final product.
59	59	Post-use polymers include used polymers that contain incidental
60	60	contaminants or impurities such as paper labels or metal rings but
61	61	do not include used polymers mixed with solid waste, medical waste,
62	62	hazardous waste, electronic waste, tires, or construction or
63	63	demolition debris].
64	64	(25) "Processing" means the extraction of materials
65	65	from or the transfer, volume reduction, conversion to energy, or
66	66	other separation and preparation of solid waste for reuse or
67	67	disposal. The term includes the treatment or neutralization of
68	68	hazardous waste designed to change the physical, chemical, or
69	69	biological character or composition of a hazardous waste so as to
70	70	neutralize the waste, recover energy or material from the waste,
71	71	render the waste nonhazardous or less hazardous, make it safer to
72	72	transport, store, or dispose of, or render it amenable for recovery
73	73	or storage, or reduce its volume. The term does not include:
74	74	(A) pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or
75	75	depolymerization; or
76	76	(B) activities concerning those materials
77	77	exempted by the administrator of the United States Environmental
78	78	Protection Agency under the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as
79	79	amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976, as
80	80	amended (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.), unless the commission
81	81	determines that regulation of the activity under this chapter is
82	82	necessary to protect human health or the environment.
83	83	(25-a) "Pyrolysis" means a manufacturing process
84	84	through which post-use polymers are heated in an oxygen-deficient
85	85	atmosphere [until melted and thermally decomposed and then cooled,
86	86	condensed,] and the pyrolysis product is converted into [a]
87	87	valuable raw materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] or final
88	88	products [product], including plastic monomers, chemicals,
89	89	naphtha, waxes, polymers, or plastic and chemical feedstocks [a
90	90	plastic, monomer, chemical, wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock
91	91	or crude oil, diesel, gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock,
92	92	home heating oil, ethanol, or another fuel]. The term does not
93	93	include incineration.
94	94	(26-a) "Recoverable feedstock" means one or more of
95	95	the following materials, derived from recoverable waste other than
96	96	coal refuse, that has been processed so that it may be used as
97	97	feedstock in an advanced recycling facility or through [a]
98	98	gasification [facility]:
99	99	(A) post-use polymers; and
100	100	(B) material, including municipal solid waste
101	101	[containing post-use polymers] and other post-industrial waste:
102	102	(i) [containing post-use polymers, that has
103	103	been processed into a fuel or feedstock] for which the commission or
104	104	the United States Environmental Protection Agency has made a
105	105	non-waste determination under 40 C.F.R. Section 241.3(c); or
106	106	(ii) that the commission or the United
107	107	States Environmental Protection Agency has otherwise determined
108	108	are feedstocks and not solid waste.
109	109	(27) "Recycling" has the meaning assigned by Section
110	110	361.421 [means the legitimate use, reuse, or reclamation of solid
111	111	waste].
112	112	(34) This subdivision expires on delegation of the
113	113	Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 authority to the
114	114	Railroad Commission of Texas. Subject to the limitations of 42
115	115	U.S.C. Section 6903(27) and 40 C.F.R. Section 261.4(a), "solid
116	116	waste" means garbage, rubbish, refuse, sludge from a waste
117	117	treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution
118	118	control facility, and other discarded material, including solid,
119	119	liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from
120	120	industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural
121	121	operations and from community and institutional activities. The
122	122	term:
123	123	(A) does not include:
124	124	(i) solid or dissolved material in domestic
125	125	sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows,
126	126	or industrial discharges subject to regulation by permit issued
127	127	under Chapter 26, Water Code;
128	128	(ii) soil, dirt, rock, sand, and other
129	129	natural or man-made inert solid materials used to fill land if the
130	130	object of the fill is to make the land suitable for the construction
131	131	of surface improvements;
132	132	(iii) waste materials that result from
133	133	activities associated with the exploration, development, or
134	134	production of oil or gas or geothermal resources and other
135	135	substance or material regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas
136	136	under Section 91.101, Natural Resources Code, unless the waste,
137	137	substance, or material results from activities associated with
138	138	gasoline plants, natural gas or natural gas liquids processing
139	139	plants, pressure maintenance plants, or repressurizing plants and
140	140	is hazardous waste as defined by the administrator of the United
141	141	States Environmental Protection Agency under the federal Solid
142	142	Waste Disposal Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and
143	143	Recovery Act of 1976, as amended (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.);
144	144	or
145	145	(iv) post-use polymers or recoverable
146	146	feedstocks processed through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
147	147	solvolysis, or depolymerization that do not qualify as hazardous
148	148	waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42
149	149	U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.); and
150	150	(B) does include hazardous substances, for the
151	151	purposes of Sections 361.271 through 361.277 and 361.343 through
152	152	361.345.
153	153	(35) This subdivision is effective on delegation of
154	154	the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 authority to the
155	155	Railroad Commission of Texas. Subject to the limitations of 42
156	156	U.S.C. Section 6903(27) and 40 C.F.R. Section 261.4(a), "solid
157	157	waste" means garbage, rubbish, refuse, sludge from a waste
158	158	treatment plant, water supply treatment plant, or air pollution
159	159	control facility, and other discarded material, including solid,
160	160	liquid, semisolid, or contained gaseous material resulting from
161	161	industrial, municipal, commercial, mining, and agricultural
162	162	operations and from community and institutional activities. The
163	163	term:
164	164	(A) does not include:
165	165	(i) solid or dissolved material in domestic
166	166	sewage, or solid or dissolved material in irrigation return flows,
167	167	or industrial discharges subject to regulation by permit issued
168	168	under Chapter 26, Water Code;
169	169	(ii) soil, dirt, rock, sand, and other
170	170	natural or man-made inert solid materials used to fill land if the
171	171	object of the fill is to make the land suitable for the construction
172	172	of surface improvements;
173	173	(iii) waste materials that result from
174	174	activities associated with the exploration, development, or
175	175	production of oil or gas or geothermal resources and other
176	176	substance or material regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas
177	177	under Section 91.101, Natural Resources Code; or
178	178	(iv) post-use polymers or recoverable
179	179	feedstocks processed through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
180	180	solvolysis, or depolymerization that do not qualify as hazardous
181	181	waste under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (42
182	182	U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.); and
183	183	(B) does include hazardous substances, for the
184	184	purposes of Sections 361.271 through 361.277 and 361.343 through
185	185	361.345.
186	186	(36) "Solid waste facility" means all contiguous land,
187	187	including structures, appurtenances, and other improvements on the
188	188	land, used for processing, storing, or disposing of solid
189	189	waste. The term includes a publicly or privately owned solid waste
190	190	facility consisting of several processing, storage, or disposal
191	191	operational units such as one or more landfills, surface
192	192	impoundments, or a combination of units. The term does not include
193	193	an advanced recycling [a pyrolysis or gasification] facility.
194	194	(37-a) "Solvolysis" means a manufacturing process
195	195	through which post-use polymers are purified with the aid of
196	196	solvents while heated at low temperatures, pressurized, or both
197	197	heated at low temperatures and pressurized, to remove additives and
198	198	contaminants and make useful products, including monomers,
199	199	intermediates, valuable chemicals, plastic and chemical
200	200	feedstocks, and raw materials. The process includes hydrolysis,
201	201	aminolysis, ammonolysis, methanolysis, and glycolysis.
202	202	SECTION 2. Section 361.0151, Health and Safety Code, is
203	203	amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
204	204	(c) Notwithstanding any other law, the commission or a
205	205	political subdivision of this state that establishes goals or
206	206	requirements for recycling or the use of recycled material must
207	207	base those goals or requirements on the definitions and principles
208	208	established by Subchapter N. This subsection does not apply to a
209	209	program described by Subchapter Y or Z.
210	210	SECTION 3. Section 361.041(a), Health and Safety Code, is
211	211	amended to read as follows:
212	212	(a) The commission may not consider post-use polymers or
213	213	recoverable feedstock to be solid waste if they are converted using
214	214	pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or depolymerization into
215	215	[a] valuable raw materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] or final
216	216	products [product], including plastic monomers, chemicals, waxes,
217	217	lubricants, or chemical feedstocks [a plastic, monomer, chemical,
218	218	wax, lubricant, or chemical feedstock or crude oil, diesel,
219	219	gasoline, diesel and gasoline blendstock, home heating oil,
220	220	ethanol, or another fuel].
221	221	SECTION 4. Section 361.119(c-1), Health and Safety Code, is
222	222	amended to read as follows:
223	223	(c-1) A facility that reuses or converts recyclable
224	224	materials through pyrolysis, [or] gasification, solvolysis, or
225	225	depolymerization, and the operations conducted and materials
226	226	handled at the facility, are not subject to regulation under rules
227	227	adopted under this section if the owner or operator of the facility
228	228	demonstrates that:
229	229	(1) the primary function of the facility is to convert
230	230	materials into products [that have a resale value greater than the
231	231	cost of converting the materials] for subsequent beneficial use;
232	232	and
233	233	(2) all the solid waste generated from converting the
234	234	materials is disposed of in a hazardous solid waste management
235	235	facility or a solid waste facility authorized under this chapter,
236	236	as appropriate, with the exception of small amounts of solid waste
237	237	that may be inadvertently and unintentionally disposed of in
238	238	another manner.
239	239	SECTION 5. Section 361.421, Health and Safety Code, is
240	240	amended by amending Subdivisions (5), (6), (7), and (8) and adding
241	241	Subdivision (6-a) to read as follows:
242	242	(5) "Recyclable material" means material that can be
243	243	or has been recovered or diverted from the [solid] waste stream for
244	244	purposes of reuse, recycling, or reclamation, a substantial portion
245	245	of which is consistently used in the manufacture of products which
246	246	may otherwise be produced using raw or virgin materials. The term
247	247	includes any waste stream, including post-use polymers and
248	248	recoverable feedstocks that are converted through pyrolysis, [or]
249	249	gasification, solvolysis, or depolymerization into valuable raw
250	250	materials or valuable[,] intermediate[,] and final products.
251	251	Recyclable material is not solid waste unless the material is
252	252	deemed to be hazardous solid waste by the Administrator of the
253	253	United States Environmental Protection Agency, whereupon it shall
254	254	be regulated accordingly unless it is otherwise exempted in whole
255	255	or in part from regulation under the federal Solid Waste Disposal
256	256	Act, as amended by the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of
257	257	1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.), by Environmental Protection
258	258	Agency regulation. However, recyclable material may become solid
259	259	waste at such time, if any, as it is abandoned or disposed of rather
260	260	than recycled, whereupon it will be solid waste with respect only to
261	261	the party actually abandoning or disposing of the material.
262	262	(6) "Recycled material" means materials, goods, or
263	263	products that consist of recovered recyclable material or materials
264	264	derived from recoverable feedstocks, post-use polymers,
265	265	postconsumer waste, industrial waste, or hazardous waste which may
266	266	be used in place of a raw or virgin material in manufacturing a new
267	267	product or that are certified under a third-party certification
268	268	system for mass balance attribution identified by the commission
269	269	under Section 361.4215. The term includes recycled plastics
270	270	[post-use polymers and recoverable feedstocks used in pyrolysis or
271	271	gasification].
272	272	(6-a) "Recycled plastics" means products that are
273	273	produced from:
274	274	(A) mechanical recycling of post-use polymers;
275	275	or
276	276	(B) nonmechanical recycling of recoverable
277	277	feedstocks or post-use polymers that are certified under a
278	278	third-party certification system for mass balance attribution
279	279	identified by the commission under Section 361.4215.
280	280	(7) "Recycled product" means a product that is
281	281	eligible to be considered a recycled product under [which meets the
282	282	requirements for recycled material content as prescribed by] the
283	283	rules established by the commission under [described in] Section
284	284	361.427. The term does not include a product sold as fuel.
285	285	(8) "Recycling" means a process by which materials
286	286	that have served their intended use or are scrapped, discarded,
287	287	used, surplus, or obsolete are collected, separated, or processed
288	288	and returned to use in the form of raw materials or feedstocks used
289	289	in the manufacture [production] of new products. The term does not
290	290	include incineration of plastics or waste-to-energy processes.
291	291	Recycling includes:
292	292	(A) the composting process if the compost
293	293	material is put to beneficial reuse as defined by the commission;
294	294	(B) the application to land, as organic
295	295	fertilizer, of processed sludge or biosolids from municipal
296	296	wastewater treatment plants and other organic matter resulting from
297	297	poultry, dairy, livestock, or other agricultural operations; and
298	298	(C) the conversion of post-use polymers and
299	299	recoverable feedstocks through pyrolysis, [or] gasification,
300	300	solvolysis, or depolymerization.
301	301	SECTION 6. Subchapter N, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
302	302	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.4215 to read as follows:
303	303	Sec. 361.4215. MASS BALANCE ATTRIBUTION. The commission by
304	304	rule shall identify third-party certification systems for mass
305	305	balance attribution that may be used for the purposes of Sections
306	306	361.421(6) and (6-a).
307	307	SECTION 7. Sections 361.427(a) and (b), Health and Safety
308	308	Code, are amended to read as follows:
309	309	(a) The commission, in consultation with the comptroller,
310	310	shall promulgate rules to establish guidelines by which a product
311	311	is eligible to be considered a recycled product based on:
312	312	(1) the percent of the total content of a product that
313	313	consists of recycled material; or
314	314	(2) the portion of the total content of a product that
315	315	is determined to consist of recycled material according to a
316	316	third-party certification system for mass balance attribution
317	317	identified by the commission under Section 361.4215. [which specify
318	318	the percent of the total content of a product which must consist of
319	319	recycled material for the product to be a "recycled product."]
320	320	(b) The guidelines established under this section shall
321	321	specify a minimum percent of the recycled material in a product
322	322	which must be postconsumer waste or post-use polymers.
323	323	SECTION 8. Sections 361.003(10-b) and (25-b), Health and
324	324	Safety Code, are repealed.
325	325	SECTION 9. As soon as practicable after the effective date
326	326	of this Act, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality shall
327	327	adopt rules necessary to implement the changes in law made by this
328	328	Act.
329	329	SECTION 10. This Act takes effect immediately if it
330	330	receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
331	331	house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
332	332	If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
333	333	effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2023.
334	334	______________________________ ______________________________
335	335	President of the Senate Speaker of the House
336	336	I certify that H.B. No. 3060 was passed by the House on April
337	337	26, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 146, Nays 0, 1 present, not
338	338	voting.
339	339	______________________________
340	340	Chief Clerk of the House
341	341	I certify that H.B. No. 3060 was passed by the Senate on May
342	342	12, 2023, by the following vote: Yeas 30, Nays 0.
343	343	______________________________
344	344	Secretary of the Senate
345	345	APPROVED: _____________________
346	346	Date
347	347	_____________________
348	348	Governor