1-1     By:  Krusee (Senate Sponsor - Wentworth)              H.B. No. 1074
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House April 19, 1999;
 1-3     April 20, 1999, read first time and referred to Committee on
 1-4     Natural Resources; May 3, 1999, reported favorably by the following
 1-5     vote:  Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 3, 1999, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to public notification of certain accidental discharges or
 1-9     spills into water.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1.   Section 26.039, Water Code, is amended by
1-12     amending Subsection (b) and adding Subsections (e) and (f) to read
1-13     as follows:
1-14           (b)  Whenever an accidental discharge or spill occurs at or
1-15     from any activity or facility which causes or may cause pollution,
1-16     the individual operating, in charge of, or responsible for the
1-17     activity or facility shall notify the commission as soon as
1-18     possible and not later than 24 hours after the occurrence.  The
1-19     individual's notice to the commission must include the location,
1-20     volume, and content of the discharge or spill.
1-21           (e)  If an accidental discharge or spill described by
1-22     Subsection (b)  from a wastewater treatment or collection facility
1-23     owned or operated by a local government may adversely affect a
1-24     public or private source of drinking water, the individual shall
1-25     also notify appropriate local government officials and local media.
1-26           (f)  The commission by rule shall specify the conditions
1-27     under which an individual must comply with Subsection (e) and
1-28     prescribe procedures for  giving the required notice.  The rules
1-29     must also state the content of the notice and the manner of giving
1-30     notice.  In formulating the rules, the commission shall consider:
1-31                 (1)  the nature and extent of the discharge or spill;
1-32                 (2)  the potential effect of the discharge or spill;
1-33     and
1-34                 (3)  regional information about the susceptibility of a
1-35     particular drinking water source to a specific type of pollution.
1-36           SECTION 2.  (a) This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
1-37           (b)  Not later than December 1, 1999, the Texas Natural
1-38     Resource Conservation Commission shall adopt the rules required by
1-39     Section 26.039(f), Water Code, as added by this Act.
1-40           (c)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
1-41     accidental discharge or spill that occurs on or after January 1,
1-42     2000. An accidental discharge or spill that occurs before January
1-43     1, 2000, is covered by the law in effect when the discharge or
1-44     spill occurs, and the former law is continued in effect for that
1-45     purpose.
1-46           SECTION 3.  The importance of this legislation and the
1-47     crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
1-48     emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
1-49     constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
1-50     days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.
1-51                                  * * * * *