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Senate Bill 1604 |
Senate Author: Duncan |
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Effective: 6-15-07 |
House Sponsor: Bonnen |
Senate Bill 1604 amends the Health and Safety Code to transfer all rights, powers, duties, obligations, functions, and activities assigned by Chapter 401, Health and Safety Code, relating to the licensing and regulation of radioactive substances recovery, storage, processing, or disposal and long-term care of certain decommissioned disposal sites from the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ). The transfer includes all related equipment, information, documents, facilities, and other property of the Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) or DSHS and all appropriations to HHSC or DSHS for the 2008-2009 fiscal biennium pertaining to those regulatory functions. The bill requires TCEQ to regulate and license the recovery, processing, disposal, or storage of certain radioactive sources, waste, and by-product material.
The bill also requires a holder of a license to treat radioactive waste issued by TCEQ to remit each quarter an amount equal to 10 percent of the license holder's gross receipts received from disposal operations that occur after the effective date of the act, with the remittance allocated equally between the comptroller for deposit in the general fund and the host county. The bill allows TCEQ to audit a license holder's financial records and waste manifest information to ensure that the fees imposed are paid and to assess additional fees as necessary.
The bill directs TCEQ, HHSC, and the Railroad Commission of Texas to adopt memoranda of understanding defining their respective duties. The bill also amends the Water Code to authorize TCEQ to issue injection well permits for uranium mining that will have a 10‑year term if issued after September 1, 2007. The bill requires the holder of a permit issued before September 1, 2012, to submit a renewal application before September 1, 2012, or the permit expires.