The bill would amend the Water Code to establish the Bulk Storage Vessel (BSV) Performance Standards Program within the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), identifies the safety elements that TCEQ must include in these standards, and identifies the entities regulated under this new program.
The bill would require TCEQ to establish a BSV Safety Program to provide for the protection of groundwater and surface water resources in the event of an accident or natural disaster.
Under the bill's provisions, an owner or operator of a BSV must register with the commission, assess, and report to TCEQ on its compliance status with the BSV Performance Standards Program no later than September 1, 2027 with any BSVs constructed or brought into service after that date required to register and certify compliance no later than 30 days following start of their operations. The bill would require owners and operators of BSVs to comply with the standards program upon completion of the next regularly scheduled out-of-service maintenance that occurs after September 1, 2027 with all facilities required to certify compliance status no later than September 1, 2037.
The bill would require TCEQ to conduct on-site inspections of the registered and certified facilities at least once every five years to determine compliance. The bill permits TCEQ to approve exemptions from specific BSV regulations if the owner or operator of the BSV demonstrates that the vessel presents a sufficiently low risk of hazards such that it does not warrant regulation under the program. The bill authorizes TCEQ to conduct rulemaking to establish the effective date of standards used in implementing the program under conditions identified in the bill.
The bill would create the new General Revenue–Dedicated Aboveground Bulk Storage Vessel Performance Standards Program Account and would require TCEQ to establish certification fees in amounts sufficient to cover program costs for deposit to the account.
This bill would take effect September 1, 2021.