Enrolled Bill Summary

            Senate Bill 1876 adds a new subchapter to the Water Code regarding emergency and temporary orders issued by the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission and adds a new chapter to the code regarding the commission's enforcement provisions and activities.

            The act consolidates into the new subchapter existing provisions of the Health and Safety Code and the Water Code regarding emergency and temporary orders and permits issued by the commission under the Texas Clean Air Act, the Solid Waste Disposal Act, the Texas Radiation Control Act, and sections of the Water Code regulating water and wastewater facilities, discharge of wastes and pollutants, discharge into bays and estuaries, injection wells, and storage tank facilities. Senate Bill 1876 also establishes uniform provisions and guidelines regarding applications for emergency or temporary orders, hearings, and the terms of such orders and permits.

            In addition, the act adds a new chapter to the Water Code that consolidates existing provisions of the Water Code and Health and Safety Code regarding the enforcement authority of the commission. The new chapter outlines administrative violations and penalties, civil violations and penalties, and defenses for certain violations, clarifies how enforcement actions by the commission interact with civil and criminal procedures, and sets out procedures for license and permit suspension and revocation. The act also enhances and increases certain penalties and creates new penalties in certain areas.