By Lewis of Orange H.B. No. 2273
76R4283 MXM-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the certification of certain activities relating to
1-3 discharges into water.
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 Section 26.050 to read as follows:
1-7 Sec. 26.050. FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT:
1-8 CERTIFICATION. (a) Subject to Section 26.051, the commission may
1-9 exercise the powers reserved to the state under the Federal Water
1-10 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1341), as amended.
1-11 (b) The commission may certify that a discharge complies
1-12 with applicable law under Section 401 of the Federal Water
1-13 Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1341(a)), as amended.
1-14 SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 26, Water Code, is amended
1-15 by adding Section 26.051 to read as follows:
1-16 Sec. 26.051. FEDERAL WATER POLLUTION CONTROL ACT: WAIVER OF
1-17 CERTIFICATION. (a) This section applies only to an applicant for
1-18 state certification under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act
1-19 (33 U.S.C. Section 1341(a)), as amended, who:
1-20 (1) is the United States Army Corps of Engineers; and
1-21 (2) has specified each disposal site under Section 404
1-22 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
1-23 1344), as amended.
1-24 (b) The commission shall waive certification under Section
2-1 401 of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section
2-2 1341(a)), as amended, unless:
2-3 (1) an environmental impact statement is required
2-4 under the federal National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42
2-5 U.S.C. Section 4321 et seq.), as amended; or
2-6 (2) waiver of certification would not allow the
2-7 commissioner to obtain or maintain federal authorization to
2-8 administer a federally delegated or approved program.
2-9 (c) If certification is not waived under Subsection (b), the
2-10 commission shall review whether certification may be granted under
2-11 33 U.S.C. Section 1341(a), as amended. The commission shall:
2-12 (1) complete review not later than the 60th day after
2-13 the date on which it receives the request for certification from
2-14 the applicant;
2-15 (2) limit review to whether the activity for which the
2-16 applicant has requested a license or permit involves a likely
2-17 violation of numerical criteria of the state's surface water
2-18 quality standards adopted by commission rule; and
2-19 (3) expedite review if the activity is for wetlands
2-20 with a total area of less than five acres.
2-21 (d) In conducting a review under Subsection (c), the
2-22 commission shall consider the following factors regarding the
2-23 activity for which the applicant seeks a license or permit:
2-24 (1) whether the activity will adversely affect this
2-25 state's coastal zone;
2-26 (2) any procedures established by the United States
2-27 Army Corps of Engineers relating to mitigation ratios or project
3-1 sequencing guidelines; and
3-2 (3) any decisions made by the United States Corps of
3-3 Engineers regarding the appropriate scope and extent of mitigation
3-4 for damage to habitat and aquatic life uses.
3-5 (e) The commission shall complete an expedited review under
3-6 Subsection (c)(3) not later than the 30th day after the date on
3-7 which it receives the request for certification from the applicant.
3-8 The commission by rule may provide guidelines for conducting an
3-9 expedited review.
3-10 SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
3-11 SECTION 4. The importance of this legislation and the
3-12 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
3-13 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
3-14 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
3-15 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.