Texas 2025 - 89th Regular

Texas House Bill HB873 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Wilson H.B. No. 873
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6	6	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
7	7	AN ACT
8	8	relating to air quality permits for aggregate production operations
9	9	and concrete batch plants.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
12	12	Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.051991 and 382.051992 to
13	13	read as follows:
14	14	Sec. 382.051991. USE OF STANDARD PERMIT FOR AGGREGATE
15	15	PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS: PUBLIC HEARING OR
16	16	MEETING. (a) This section applies only to a public hearing or
17	17	meeting regarding an authorization to use a standard permit under
18	18	this chapter for:
19	19	(1) the production of aggregates, as defined by
20	20	Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
21	21	(2) the operation of a concrete plant that performs
22	22	wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
23	23	(b) The commission shall accept written questions about the
24	24	facility from the public until the 15th day before the date of the
25	25	hearing or meeting.
26	26	(c) Not later than the 14th day before the date of the
27	27	hearing or meeting, the commission shall notify the following
28	28	entities of the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting:
29	29	(1) the Texas Department of Transportation;
30	30	(2) each groundwater conservation district with
31	31	jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
32	32	proposed to be located;
33	33	(3) if no groundwater conservation district has
34	34	jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
35	35	proposed to be located, the Texas Water Development Board;
36	36	(4) any state agency with jurisdiction over a topic
37	37	raised in a written question submitted to the commission under
38	38	Subsection (b); and
39	39	(5) each municipality and county in which the facility
40	40	is located or proposed to be located.
41	41	(d) Each entity other than a municipality or county that
42	42	receives notice of a hearing or meeting under Subsection (c) shall
43	43	send a representative of the entity to attend the hearing or
44	44	meeting.
45	45	Sec. 382.051992. ADDITIONAL STANDARD PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
46	46	FOR AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS. (a)
47	47	This section applies only to the use of a standard permit under this
48	48	chapter for:
49	49	(1) the production of aggregates, as defined by
50	50	Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
51	51	(2) the operation of a concrete plant that performs
52	52	wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
53	53	(b) The commission may not authorize the use of a standard
54	54	permit for or renew a standard permit authorization for a facility
55	55	unless the applicant indicates on the application that the
56	56	applicant:
57	57	(1) has complied with the requirements of Subsection
58	58	(c); and
59	59	(2) will comply with any Texas Department of
60	60	Transportation requirements for the construction or alteration of
61	61	driveways as provided by Subsection (j).
62	62	(c) In addition to requirements in any other applicable
63	63	provision of this chapter, a person authorized to use a standard
64	64	permit must:
65	65	(1) install equipment to monitor noise levels from the
66	66	facility:
67	67	(A) at the point on the perimeter of the property
68	68	on which the facility is located that is closest to the nearest
69	69	building in use as a single-family or multifamily residence,
70	70	school, place of worship, or commercial enterprise; and
71	71	(B) at two other points on the perimeter of the
72	72	property on which the facility is located equidistant from the
73	73	point described by Paragraph (A);
74	74	(2) ensure that outdoor lighting installed at the
75	75	facility complies with standards adopted by the Illuminating
76	76	Engineering Society;
77	77	(3) obtain computer-controlled blasting technology to
78	78	minimize the effect of seismic forces on adjacent property caused
79	79	by blasting at the facility;
80	80	(4) either:
81	81	(A) use water for the facility only from a
82	82	metered source or under a permit from a groundwater conservation
83	83	district; or
84	84	(B) implement commission-approved methods of
85	85	water recirculation to ensure efficient use of groundwater for the
86	86	facility;
87	87	(5) provide to the commission a plan to ensure that the
88	88	area on which the facility operates will be safe and useful after
89	89	operations cease, including a description of how the person will:
90	90	(A) resolve potential safety and environmental
91	91	problems;
92	92	(B) minimize fugitive dust from areas the person
93	93	does not plan to revegetate; and
94	94	(C) control erosion by revegetating barren
95	95	areas; and
96	96	(6) provide to the commission a performance bond or
97	97	other form of financial assurance to ensure payment of the costs of
98	98	executing the plan required by Subdivision (5).
99	99	(d) The commission is not required to inspect a facility
100	100	solely to verify compliance with Subsection (c). The commission
101	101	shall inspect a facility for compliance with Subsection (c) during
102	102	regular inspections under this chapter and Chapter 28A, Water Code.
103	103	(e) The commission shall publish a list of monitoring
104	104	equipment that a person may use to meet the requirements of
105	105	Subsection (c)(1).
106	106	(f) The person shall maintain records of monitoring data
107	107	from the equipment required by Subsection (c)(1) until the fifth
108	108	anniversary of the date on which the data was collected.
109	109	(g) The person authorized to use a standard permit shall
110	110	ensure that noise created by the permitted facility does not
111	111	exceed:
112	112	(1) 70 decibels at the points at which monitors are
113	113	installed under Subsection (c); or
114	114	(2) 65 decibels at the perimeter of a property that is:
115	115	(A) used as a residence; and
116	116	(B) located within 880 yards of the permitted
117	117	facility.
118	118	(h) If the commission receives a complaint about noise
119	119	created by a permitted facility, the commission shall require the
120	120	person authorized to use the permit to submit to the commission all
121	121	relevant available monitoring data from the monitoring equipment
122	122	required by Subsection (c)(1) collected for a time period beginning
123	123	30 days before the date that is the subject of the complaint and
124	124	ending 30 days after that date. The commission shall analyze the
125	125	data before determining whether the complaint is valid.
126	126	(i) The commission is authorized to:
127	127	(1) receive funds as the beneficiary of a financial
128	128	assurance mechanism required under Subsection (c); and
129	129	(2) expend funds from the financial assurance
130	130	mechanism to ensure that the area on which the permitted facility
131	131	operated is safe and useful.
132	132	(j) If the Texas Department of Transportation determines
133	133	that activities at a facility necessitate the construction or
134	134	modification of driveway access to or from a state highway,
135	135	including to meet any applicable requirements under Chapter 133,
136	136	Natural Resources Code, the person authorized to use a standard
137	137	permit for the facility shall enter into a donation agreement with
138	138	the department for the donation of costs or property needed by the
139	139	state to facilitate the construction or alteration.
140	140	SECTION 2. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
141	141	section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to a permit
142	142	or an authorization to use a permit for which an application is
143	143	submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or
144	144	after the effective date of this Act. A permit or an authorization
145	145	to use a permit for which an application was submitted to the Texas
146	146	Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective date of
147	147	this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
148	148	effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
149	149	effect for that purpose.
150	150	(b) The changes in law made by this Act apply to a permit or
151	151	an authorization to use a permit for which an application for
152	152	renewal is submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental
153	153	Quality on or after January 1, 2027.
154	154	SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.