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.

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