1-1 By: Counts (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth) H.B. No. 1542
1-2 (In the Senate - Received from the House May 6, 1997;
1-3 May 7, 1997, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
1-4 Resources; May 15, 1997, reported favorably, as amended, by the
1-5 following vote: Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 15, 1997, sent to printer.)
1-6 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 1 By: Wentworth
1-7 Amend C.S.H.B. 1542, Section (j) as follows:
1-8 (j) The issuance, amendment, renewal, suspension, revocation, or
1-9 cancellation of a general permit or of authority to discharge under
1-10 a general permit is not subject to Subchapter C - F, Chapter 2001,
1-11 Government Code.
1-12 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT NO. 2 By: Wentworth
1-13 Amend H.B. 1542 in SECTION 1 of the bill, on page 1, lines 47 and
1-14 48, in Section 26.040(a)(5)(B), by adding after "which" and before
1-15 "will", the following:
1-16 "exceeds 500,000 gallons in any twenty-four hour period or
1-17 which"
1-18 A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-19 AN ACT
1-20 relating to the authorization of the Texas Natural Resource
1-21 Conservation Commission to issue general permits by rule for the
1-22 discharge of waste into or adjacent to water in the state.
1-23 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-24 SECTION 1. Section 26.040, Water Code, is amended to read as
1-25 follows:
1-26 Sec. 26.040. GENERAL PERMITS [CONTROL OF CERTAIN WASTE
1-27 DISCHARGES BY RULE]. (a) The commission may issue a general
1-28 permit to authorize the discharge of waste into or adjacent to
1-29 waters in the state by category of dischargers in a particular
1-30 geographical area of the state or in the entire state if the
1-31 dischargers in the category:
1-32 (1) engage in the same or substantially similar types
1-33 of operations;
1-34 (2) discharge the same types of waste;
1-35 (3) are subject to the same requirements regarding
1-36 effluent limitations or operating conditions;
1-37 (4) are subject to the same or similar monitoring
1-38 requirements; and
1-39 (5) are, in the commission's opinion, more
1-40 appropriately regulated under a general permit than under
1-41 individual permits based on commission findings that:
1-42 (A) the general permit has been drafted to
1-43 assure that it can be readily enforced and that the commission can
1-44 adequately monitor compliance with the terms of the general permit;
1-45 and
1-46 (B) the category of discharges covered by the
1-47 general permit will not include a discharge of pollutants which
1-48 will cause significant adverse effects to water quality.
1-49 (b) The commission shall publish notice of a proposed
1-50 general permit in a daily or weekly newspaper of general
1-51 circulation in the area affected by the activity that is the
1-52 subject of the proposed general permit and in the Texas Register.
1-53 The notice must include an invitation for written comments by the
1-54 public to the commission regarding the proposed general permit and
1-55 shall be published not later than the 30th day before the
1-56 commission adopts the general permit. The commission by rule may
1-57 require additional notice to be given.
1-58 (c) The commission may hold a public meeting to provide an
1-59 additional opportunity for public comment. The commission shall
1-60 give notice of a public meeting under this subsection by
1-61 publication in the Texas Register not later than the 30th day
1-62 before the date of the meeting.
1-63 (d) If the commission receives public comment relating to
1-64 issuance of a general permit, the commission may issue the general
2-1 permit only after responding in writing to the comments. The
2-2 commission shall issue a written response to comments on the permit
2-3 at the same time the commission issues or denies the permit. The
2-4 response is available to the public and shall be mailed to each
2-5 person who made a comment.
2-6 (e) A discharger who is not covered by an individual permit
2-7 may obtain authorization to discharge waste under a general permit
2-8 by submitting to the commission written notice of intent to be
2-9 covered by the general permit. A general permit shall specify the
2-10 deadline for submitting and the information required to be included
2-11 in a notice of intent. A discharger may begin discharging under
2-12 the general permit on the 31st day after the commission receives
2-13 the discharger's notice of intent unless the executive director
2-14 before that time notifies the discharger that it is not eligible
2-15 for authorization under the general permit.
2-16 (f) Authorization to discharge under a general permit does
2-17 not confer a vested right. After written notice to the discharger,
2-18 the executive director may suspend a discharger's authority to
2-19 discharge under a general permit and may require a person
2-20 discharging under a general permit to obtain authorization to
2-21 discharge under an individual permit as required by Section 26.027
2-22 or other law.
2-23 (g) A general permit may be issued for a term not to exceed
2-24 five years. After notice and comment as provided by Subsections
2-25 (b)-(d), a general permit may be amended, revoked, or canceled by
2-26 the commission or renewed by the commission for an additional term
2-27 or terms not to exceed five years each. A general permit remains
2-28 in effect until amended, revoked, or canceled by the commission or,
2-29 unless renewed by the commission, until expired.
2-30 (h) The commission may through a renewal or amendment
2-31 process for a general permit add or delete requirements or
2-32 limitations to the permit. The commission shall provide a
2-33 reasonable time to allow a discharger covered by the general permit
2-34 to make the changes necessary to comply with the additional
2-35 requirements.
2-36 (i) The commission may impose a reasonable and necessary fee
2-37 under Section 26.0291 on a discharger covered by a general permit.
2-38 (j) The issuance, amendment, renewal, suspension,
2-39 revocation, or cancellation of a general permit or of authority to
2-40 discharge under a general permit is not subject to Chapter 2001,
2-41 Government Code.
2-42 (k) The commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement
2-43 and administer this section [Whenever the commission determines
2-44 that the quality of water in an area is adversely affected or
2-45 threatened by the combined effects of several relatively
2-46 small-quantity discharges of wastes being made for which it is not
2-47 practical to issue individual permits or that the general nature of
2-48 a particular type of activity which produces a waste discharge is
2-49 such that requiring individual permits is unnecessarily burdensome
2-50 both to the waste discharger and the commission, the commission may
2-51 by rule regulate and set the requirements and conditions for the
2-52 discharges of waste].
2-53 SECTION 2. (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1997.
2-54 (b) A rule adopted by the Texas Natural Resource
2-55 Conservation Commission under Section 26.040, Water Code, as
2-56 authorized by that section before the effective date of this Act,
2-57 is not affected by the change in law made by Section 26.040, Water
2-58 Code, as amended by this Act, and remains in effect and may be
2-59 amended or modified by the commission until repealed by the
2-60 commission. The amendment, modification, or repeal of a rule
2-61 described by this subsection is subject to Chapter 2001, Government
2-62 Code.
2-63 SECTION 3. The importance of this legislation and the
2-64 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
2-65 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
2-66 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
2-67 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
2-68 * * * * *