Texas 2023 - 88th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4959 Compare Versions

Version 1 (Old)

Version 2 (New)

Old	New	Differences
1	1	88R9928 JXC-D
2	2	By: Wilson H.B. No. 4959
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to air quality permits for aggregate production operations
8	8	and concrete batch plants.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
11	11	Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.051991 and 382.051992 to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	Sec. 382.051991. USE OF STANDARD PERMIT FOR AGGREGATE
14	14	PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS: PUBLIC HEARING OR
15	15	MEETING. (a) This section applies only to a public hearing or
16	16	meeting regarding an authorization to use a standard permit under
17	17	this chapter for:
18	18	(1) the production of aggregates, as defined by
19	19	Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
20	20	(2) the operation of a concrete plant that performs
21	21	wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
22	22	(b) The commission shall accept written questions about the
23	23	facility from the public until the 15th day before the date of the
24	24	hearing or meeting.
25	25	(c) Not later than the 14th day before the date of the
26	26	hearing or meeting, the commission shall notify the following
27	27	entities of the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting:
28	28	(1) the Texas Department of Transportation;
29	29	(2) each groundwater conservation district with
30	30	jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
31	31	proposed to be located;
32	32	(3) if no groundwater conservation district has
33	33	jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
34	34	proposed to be located, the Texas Water Development Board;
35	35	(4) any state agency with jurisdiction over a topic
36	36	raised in a written question submitted to the commission under
37	37	Subsection (b); and
38	38	(5) each municipality and county in which the facility
39	39	is located or proposed to be located.
40	40	(d) Each entity other than a municipality or county that
41	41	receives notice of a hearing or meeting under Subsection (c) shall
42	42	send a representative of the entity to attend the hearing or
43	43	meeting.
44	44	Sec. 382.051992. ADDITIONAL STANDARD PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
45	45	FOR AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS. (a)
46	46	This section applies only to the use of a standard permit under this
47	47	chapter for:
48	48	(1) the production of aggregates, as defined by
49	49	Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
50	50	(2) the operation of a concrete plant that performs
51	51	wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
52	52	(b) The commission may not authorize the use of a standard
53	53	permit for or renew a standard permit authorization for a facility
54	54	unless the applicant indicates on the application that the
55	55	applicant:
56	56	(1) has complied with the requirements of Subsection
57	57	(c); and
58	58	(2) will comply with any Texas Department of
59	59	Transportation requirements for the construction or alteration of
60	60	driveways as provided by Subsection (j).
61	61	(c) In addition to requirements in any other applicable
62	62	provision of this chapter, a person authorized to use a standard
63	63	permit must:
64	64	(1) install equipment to monitor noise levels from the
65	65	facility:
66	66	(A) at the point on the perimeter of the property
67	67	on which the facility is located that is closest to the nearest
68	68	building in use as a single-family or multifamily residence,
69	69	school, place of worship, or commercial enterprise; and
70	70	(B) at two other points on the perimeter of the
71	71	property on which the facility is located equidistant from the
72	72	point described by Paragraph (A);
73	73	(2) ensure that outdoor lighting installed at the
74	74	facility complies with standards adopted by the Illuminating
75	75	Engineering Society;
76	76	(3) obtain computer-controlled blasting technology to
77	77	minimize the effect of seismic forces on adjacent property caused
78	78	by blasting at the facility;
79	79	(4) either:
80	80	(A) use water for the facility only from a
81	81	metered source or under a permit from a groundwater conservation
82	82	district; or
83	83	(B) implement commission-approved methods of
84	84	water recirculation to ensure efficient use of groundwater for the
85	85	facility;
86	86	(5) provide to the commission a plan to ensure that the
87	87	area on which the facility operates will be safe and useful after
88	88	operations cease, including a description of how the person will:
89	89	(A) resolve potential safety and environmental
90	90	problems;
91	91	(B) minimize fugitive dust from areas the person
92	92	does not plan to revegetate; and
93	93	(C) control erosion by revegetating barren
94	94	areas; and
95	95	(6) provide to the commission a performance bond or
96	96	other form of financial assurance to ensure payment of the costs of
97	97	executing the plan required by Subdivision (5).
98	98	(d) The commission is not required to inspect a facility
99	99	solely to verify compliance with Subsection (c). The commission
100	100	shall inspect a facility for compliance with Subsection (c) during
101	101	regular inspections under this chapter and Chapter 28A, Water Code.
102	102	(e) The commission shall publish a list of monitoring
103	103	equipment that a person may use to meet the requirements of
104	104	Subsection (c)(1).
105	105	(f) The person shall maintain records of monitoring data
106	106	from the equipment required by Subsection (c)(1) until the fifth
107	107	anniversary of the date on which the data was collected.
108	108	(g) The person authorized to use a standard permit shall
109	109	ensure that noise created by the permitted facility does not
110	110	exceed:
111	111	(1) 70 decibels at the points at which monitors are
112	112	installed under Subsection (c); or
113	113	(2) 65 decibels at the perimeter of a property that is:
114	114	(A) used as a residence; and
115	115	(B) located within 880 yards of the permitted
116	116	facility.
117	117	(h) If the commission receives a complaint about noise
118	118	created by a permitted facility, the commission shall require the
119	119	person authorized to use the permit to submit to the commission all
120	120	relevant available monitoring data from the monitoring equipment
121	121	required by Subsection (c)(1) collected for a time period beginning
122	122	30 days before the date that is the subject of the complaint and
123	123	ending 30 days after that date. The commission shall analyze the
124	124	data before determining whether the complaint is valid.
125	125	(i) The commission is authorized to:
126	126	(1) receive funds as the beneficiary of a financial
127	127	assurance mechanism required under Subsection (c); and
128	128	(2) expend funds from the financial assurance
129	129	mechanism to ensure that the area on which the permitted facility
130	130	operated is safe and useful.
131	131	(j) If the Texas Department of Transportation determines
132	132	that activities at a facility necessitate the construction or
133	133	modification of driveway access to or from a state highway,
134	134	including to meet any applicable requirements under Chapter 133,
135	135	Natural Resources Code, the person authorized to use a standard
136	136	permit for the facility shall enter into a donation agreement with
137	137	the department for the donation of costs or property needed by the
138	138	state to facilitate the construction or alteration.
139	139	SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
140	140	section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to a permit
141	141	or an authorization to use a permit for which an application is
142	142	submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or
143	143	after the effective date of this Act. A permit or an authorization
144	144	to use a permit for which an application was submitted to the Texas
145	145	Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective date of
146	146	this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
147	147	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
148	148	effect for that purpose.
149	149	(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply to a permit or
150	150	an authorization to use a permit for which an application for
151	151	renewal is submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental
152	152	Quality on or after January 1, 2025.
153	153	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.