By Brown                                        S.B. No. 1224

      75R3438 MI-F                           

                                A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

 1-1                                   AN ACT

 1-2     relating to consolidated permit processing by the Texas Natural

 1-3     Resource Conservation Commission.

 1-4           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

 1-5           SECTION 1.  Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended by adding

 1-6     Subchapter I to read as follows:

 1-7                SUBCHAPTER I.  CONSOLIDATED PERMIT PROCESSING

 1-8           Sec. 5.351.  CONSOLIDATED PERMIT PROCESSING.  (a)  If a

 1-9     plant, facility, or site is required to have more than one permit

1-10     issued by the commission and the applications for all permits

1-11     required by the commission are filed within a 30-day period, the

1-12     commission, on request of the applicant, shall conduct coordinated

1-13     application reviews and one consolidated permit hearing on all

1-14     permits requested to be consolidated by the applicant and may issue

1-15     one consolidated permit.

1-16           (b)  The executive director shall designate one permit

1-17     program as the lead program for coordination, and that program is

1-18     the point of contact regarding the consolidated permit.

1-19           (c)  The executive director may require separate processing

1-20     of consolidated applications or may return to the applicant parts

1-21     of an application if the executive director determines that the

1-22     applicant has submitted an incomplete application or if the

1-23     applicant does not respond as requested to notices of deficiency.

1-24           (d)  A federal operating permit governed by the requirements

 2-1     of Sections 382.054-382.0543, Health and Safety Code, may not be

 2-2     consolidated with other permits under this subchapter.

 2-3           Sec. 5.352.  REQUEST FOR SEPARATE PROCESSING.  (a)  At any

 2-4     time before the public notice of the opportunity to request a

 2-5     hearing on a permit application, the applicant may request that

 2-6     consolidated applications be processed separately.  The executive

 2-7     director shall process the applications separately if the applicant

 2-8     submits a timely request under this subsection.

 2-9           (b)  At any time after the notice of opportunity to request a

2-10     hearing but before referral of the matter to the State Office of

2-11     Administrative Hearings, the executive director may separate the

2-12     applications for processing on a showing of good cause by the

2-13     applicant that the applications should be processed separately.

2-14     For purposes of this subsection, "good cause" includes a change in

2-15     the statutory or regulatory requirements governing a permit or a

2-16     substantial change in the factual circumstances surrounding the

2-17     applications for permits.

2-18           (c)  After an application has been referred to the State

2-19     Office of Administrative Hearings, the applicant may have the

2-20     applications processed separately only on a showing of compliance

2-21     with commission procedural rules regarding the withdrawal of

2-22     applications.

2-23           Sec. 5.353.  RENEWAL PERIOD FOR CONSOLIDATED PERMIT.  The

2-24     renewal period for a consolidated permit issued under this

2-25     subchapter is the shortest term set by any state or federal statute

2-26     or rule governing one or more of the authorizations sought in the

2-27     consolidated permit.

 3-1           Sec. 5.354.  RENEWAL OF EXISTING PERMITS.  A permit issued

 3-2     before and effective on September 1, 1997, that authorizes more

 3-3     than one permit program may be renewed, amended, or modified as a

 3-4     consolidated permit or may be separated by program and the permits

 3-5     may be processed separately and subject to the renewal, amendment,

 3-6     or modification requirements of applicable law governing operations

 3-7     at the facility, plant, or site.

 3-8           Sec. 5.355.  FEES.  (a)  Except as provided by Subsection

 3-9     (b), the fee for a consolidated permit shall be computed as if the

3-10     permits consolidated had been processed separately.

3-11           (b)  The commission by rule may reduce the fee for a

3-12     consolidated permit below the total amount that the applicant would

3-13     have paid for processing the applications separately if the

3-14     commission finds that consolidated processing results in savings to

3-15     the agency.

3-16           Sec. 5.356.  RULES.  The commission may adopt rules to

3-17     effectuate the purposes of this subchapter, including rules

3-18     providing for:

3-19                 (1)  combined public notices of permits issued under

3-20     the authority of this section; or

3-21                 (2)  procedures for the processing and issuing of

3-22     consolidated permits.

3-23           SECTION 2.  This Act takes effect September 1, 1997, and

3-24     applies only to a permit application that is filed with the Texas

3-25     Natural Resource Conservation Commission on or after that date.

3-26           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the

3-27     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an

 4-1     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the

 4-2     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several

 4-3     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.