75R13119 JJT-F
By Hawley, Seaman H.B. No. 2665
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2665:
By Corte C.S.H.B. No. 2665
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to permitting certain commercial mariculture facilities in
1-3 coastal counties.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 26, Water Code, is amended
1-6 by adding Sections 26.0286 and 26.0287 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 26.0286. DISCHARGE PERMITS FOR CERTAIN MARICULTURE
1-8 FACILITIES. (a) The commission by rule shall require a
1-9 mariculture facility designed for commercial production of shrimp
1-10 to obtain a site-specific discharge permit if the facility:
1-11 (1) is located in a county bordering the Gulf of
1-12 Mexico or the tidewater limits of the gulf;
1-13 (2) is designed for commercial production of shrimp;
1-14 and
1-15 (3) will discharge wastewater or other substances.
1-16 (b) A mariculture facility described by Subsection (a) must
1-17 obtain a permit in accordance with this section and Section 26.0287
1-18 before the facility is constructed or, for a facility constructed
1-19 before the effective date of this section, before the facility is
1-20 expanded.
1-21 (c) A mariculture facility described by Subsection (a) that
1-22 does not discharge wastewater or other substances must obtain a
1-23 permit before the facility is converted to a facility that
1-24 discharges wastewater or other substances.
2-1 (d) An application for a permit for a facility required to
2-2 obtain a permit under this section must include:
2-3 (1) certification that, before or at the same time the
2-4 application is filed with the commission, a copy of the application
2-5 has been filed with:
2-6 (A) the Parks and Wildlife Department; and
2-7 (B) the commissioners court of each county in
2-8 which the facility is located or is proposed to be located;
2-9 (2) a copy of a resolution from each of the following
2-10 governmental bodies indicating the position the governmental body
2-11 takes on whether the facility should be permitted:
2-12 (A) the commissioners court of each county in
2-13 which the facility is located or is proposed to be located; and
2-14 (B) the governing body of each municipality
2-15 within the boundaries or extraterritorial jurisdiction of which the
2-16 facility is located or is proposed to be located;
2-17 (3) a copy of any permit required by Section 404,
2-18 Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1344);
2-19 (4) an environmental report that describes in detail:
2-20 (A) the design and operating plans for the
2-21 facility, including the facility's plans for:
2-22 (i) wastewater management;
2-23 (ii) prevention of conditions that may
2-24 present a nuisance; and
2-25 (iii) removal of settled solids to the
2-26 degree necessary to protect water quality, to prevent producing
2-27 adverse responses in aquatic organisms, to prevent changes in flow
3-1 patterns of receiving waters, and to prevent untimely filling of
3-2 bays;
3-3 (B) the environmental conditions of the site at
3-4 the time the application is filed, including:
3-5 (i) aquatic habitats; and
3-6 (ii) conditions in state water from which
3-7 a diversion of water for use in the facility is proposed to be made
3-8 or into which a discharge of wastewater or other substances is
3-9 proposed to be made; and
3-10 (C) any potential adverse effects on sensitive
3-11 aquatic habitats caused by:
3-12 (i) discharges of wastewater or other
3-13 substances from the facility;
3-14 (ii) any significant activity related to
3-15 the construction and operation of the facility; or
3-16 (iii) attenuation of light due to
3-17 suspended solids in discharges; and
3-18 (5) a description of the best management practices
3-19 that the applicant proposes to apply in minimizing potential
3-20 adverse effects to the environment that could result from facility
3-21 practices, including:
3-22 (A) water intake or entrainment;
3-23 (B) pond management at the facility for water
3-24 and bottom sediments;
3-25 (C) routine water exchange;
3-26 (D) management of water during harvest;
3-27 (E) feeding regimes designed to minimize waste;
4-1 and
4-2 (F) density of stock.
4-3 (e) If an applicant is not able to obtain a resolution from
4-4 the governing body of a county or municipality for inclusion in the
4-5 application, the applicant may substitute a sworn statement that
4-6 the applicant has made reasonable attempts to obtain the
4-7 resolution. The statement must describe the attempts made.
4-8 (f) For an application filed after January 1, 2002, the
4-9 commission may waive an element of the report required by
4-10 Subsection (d)(4) if the commission makes a finding, based on a
4-11 factual record and on the experience of the commission in
4-12 evaluating mariculture facility sites, that without the element
4-13 proposed to be waived the commission can evaluate adequately a site
4-14 proposed for a facility to be permitted under this section.
4-15 (g) In this section, "mariculture" has the meaning assigned
4-16 by Section 11.1421.
4-17 Sec. 26.0287. ISSUANCE AND CONDITIONS OF MARICULTURE
4-18 DISCHARGE PERMIT. (a) The commission may issue a site-specific
4-19 discharge permit under Section 26.0286 only if the commission finds
4-20 that:
4-21 (1) the facility's discharge will not violate a water
4-22 quality standard or other requirement of this chapter; and
4-23 (2) the facility's operator will:
4-24 (A) apply appropriate best management practices;
4-25 and
4-26 (B) make reasonable efforts to minimize the
4-27 adverse effects to the environment and sensitive aquatic habitats
5-1 that may be caused by the facility or the facility's discharges.
5-2 (b) A permit issued under this section must prohibit the
5-3 facility from discharging wastewater or other substances at any
5-4 time if:
5-5 (1) a disease caused by an infectious exotic pathogen
5-6 is suspected by the operator or confirmed to be present in shrimp
5-7 raised in the facility; or
5-8 (2) the executive director or the executive director
5-9 of the Parks and Wildlife Department notifies the operator in
5-10 writing that the official has good cause to suspect the presence of
5-11 an infectious exotic pathogen at the facility.
5-12 (c) As provided by applicable rules of a state agency with
5-13 jurisdiction over disease in a mariculture facility, a facility
5-14 that is prohibited from discharging for a reason provided by
5-15 Subsection (b) may not discharge wastewater or other substances
5-16 until the executive director of that agency:
5-17 (1) issues a written order permitting discharges; or
5-18 (2) identifies the cause of any disease discovered at
5-19 the facility to be other than an infectious exotic pathogen.
5-20 (d) A permit issued under this section must:
5-21 (1) require the facility's operator, notwithstanding
5-22 Section 481.143, Government Code, to comply with the best
5-23 management practices identified by commission rule as applicable to
5-24 facilities permitted under this section regardless of the date the
5-25 permit is applied for or issued; and
5-26 (2) require the facility to implement a disease
5-27 monitoring and response plan that complies with rules adopted by
6-1 the agency with jurisdiction over disease in mariculture facilities
6-2 regarding:
6-3 (A) a periodic disease monitoring program;
6-4 (B) a procedure for immediate reporting, to the
6-5 executive director and the agency with jurisdiction over disease in
6-6 mariculture facilities, of any indication or detection of an
6-7 infectious exotic pathogen in the facility;
6-8 (C) appropriate measures to minimize the
6-9 opportunity for a bird or other animal to remove a diseased
6-10 organism from a pond in which an infectious exotic pathogen is
6-11 suspected or confirmed; and
6-12 (D) a procedure for placing in immediate
6-13 quarantine any area of the facility in which disease caused by an
6-14 infectious exotic pathogen is suspected or confirmed to ensure that
6-15 a release of water or animals in a discharge does not occur until
6-16 the executive director of the agency with jurisdiction over disease
6-17 in mariculture facilities authorizes the release.
6-18 (e) In this section, "mariculture" has the meaning assigned
6-19 by Section 11.1421.
6-20 SECTION 2. Subchapter A, Chapter 66, Parks and Wildlife
6-21 Code, is amended by adding Section 66.0071 to read as follows:
6-22 Sec. 66.0071. LIMITATION ON ISSUANCE OF LICENSE FOR CERTAIN
6-23 EXOTIC SPECIES. The department may not issue or renew a license or
6-24 other authorization for a person to possess or place into water of
6-25 this state an exotic species of shrimp for commercial production in
6-26 a county that borders the Gulf of Mexico or the tidewater limits of
6-27 the gulf unless the applicant provides the department a letter from
7-1 the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission that states the
7-2 facility to be used for the commercial production:
7-3 (1) has all required discharge permits or other
7-4 authorization required by that agency for the discharge of
7-5 wastewater or other substances from the facility;
7-6 (2) is not required to obtain a discharge permit
7-7 because the facility is adequately designed to operate without
7-8 discharging wastewater or other substances; or
7-9 (3) was in operation on or before January 1, 1997, and
7-10 the operator of the facility has diligently pursued an application
7-11 for an appropriate permit or other authorization filed with the
7-12 Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission before September 1,
7-13 1997.
7-14 SECTION 3. The Texas Natural Resource Conservation
7-15 Commission on or before December 31, 1998, shall make a written
7-16 report to the speaker of the house of representatives, the
7-17 lieutenant governor, and the chairmen of the house and senate
7-18 committees that have jurisdiction over the quality of state water
7-19 and maricultural activities. The report must indicate whether the
7-20 commission recommends that the requirement for site-specific
7-21 discharge permits for mariculture facilities imposed by Section
7-22 26.0286, Water Code, as added by this Act, should remain in effect.
7-23 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
7-24 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
7-25 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
7-26 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
7-27 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended,
8-1 and that this Act take effect and be in force from and after its
8-2 passage, and it is so enacted.