By West S.B. No. 259
76R3097 SMH-F
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to the siting of solid waste facilities, the Texas Natural
1-3 Resource Conservation Commission's consideration of cumulative
1-4 risks in certain administrative proceedings, and notice of an
1-5 application for a municipal solid waste facility.
1-6 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-7 SECTION 1. Section 361.002, Health and Safety Code, is
1-8 amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
1-9 (c) It is the state's policy to ensure that new solid waste
1-10 facilities are not located disproportionately in preexisting
1-11 low-income, minority, or other communities and that the adverse
1-12 effects of solid waste facilities on the communities in which they
1-13 are located are minimized, while ensuring that the state has
1-14 adequate solid waste management capacity.
1-15 SECTION 2. Section 361.020(a), Health and Safety Code, is
1-16 amended to read as follows:
1-17 (a) The commission shall develop a strategic state solid
1-18 waste plan for all solid waste under its jurisdiction. The
1-19 commission shall develop a strategic plan for the reduction of
1-20 solid waste. The strategic plan shall include provisions to:
1-21 (1) ensure that new solid waste facilities are not
1-22 located disproportionately in low-income, minority, or other
1-23 communities to minimize the adverse effects of solid waste
1-24 facilities on those communities; and
2-1 (2) require the consideration of the effect the
2-2 presence of multiple sources of pollution and other nuisances may
2-3 have on the community surrounding a solid waste facility.
2-4 SECTION 3. Section 361.0201(b), Health and Safety Code, is
2-5 amended to read as follows:
2-6 (b) The plan shall:
2-7 (1) describe the capacity in the state to manage
2-8 municipal waste through existing treatment or disposal facilities
2-9 and identify all existing municipal solid waste management
2-10 facilities in the state, their capacity, and their projected
2-11 remaining useful life; [and]
2-12 (2) analyze the state's capacity requirements over the
2-13 planning periods specified in Section 361.020(c); and
2-14 (3) assess historical trends regarding the siting of
2-15 solid waste facilities in low-income, minority, and other
2-16 communities.
2-17 SECTION 4. Section 361.0216, Health and Safety Code, is
2-18 amended to read as follows:
2-19 Sec. 361.0216. OFFICE OF POLLUTION PREVENTION. The office
2-20 of pollution prevention is created in the executive office of the
2-21 commission to direct and coordinate all source reduction, [and]
2-22 waste minimization, and environmental justice activities of the
2-23 commission.
2-24 SECTION 5. Subchapter B, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
2-25 Code, is amended by adding Section 361.034 to read as follows:
2-26 Sec. 361.034. REPORT. The commission shall submit a report
2-27 not later than December 1 of each even-numbered year as required by
3-1 Section 5.178(b), Water Code, that includes an evaluation of the
3-2 implementation of the state's policy of ensuring that:
3-3 (1) new solid waste facilities are not located
3-4 disproportionately in low-income, minority, or other communities;
3-5 and
3-6 (2) the adverse effects of solid waste facilities on
3-7 the communities in which they are located are minimized.
3-8 SECTION 6. Section 361.069, Health and Safety Code, is
3-9 amended to read as follows:
3-10 Sec. 361.069. DETERMINATION OF LAND USE COMPATIBILITY. (a)
3-11 The commission [in its discretion may], in processing a permit
3-12 application, shall determine whether the facility is compatible
3-13 with local land uses. In making the determination, the commission
3-14 shall consider:
3-15 (1) the character of the land uses within one mile of
3-16 the facility;
3-17 (2) the proximity of the facility to sensitive land
3-18 uses, residences, schools, churches, cemeteries, historic
3-19 structures and sites, and surface water and groundwater sources;
3-20 (3) growth trends in the area of the facility,
3-21 including the direction of major development;
3-22 (4) the adequacy of roads in the area of the facility;
3-23 (5) the volume of existing and expected vehicular
3-24 traffic on roads in the area of the facility; and
3-25 (6) the extent to which the facility will disrupt
3-26 normal traffic patterns on roads in the area of the facility [make
3-27 a separate determination on the question of land use compatibility,
4-1 and, if the site location is acceptable, may at another time
4-2 consider other technical matters concerning the application. A
4-3 public hearing may be held for each determination in accordance
4-4 with Section 361.088].
4-5 (b) In making a determination on the question of land use
4-6 compatibility, the commission may [shall] not consider the position
4-7 of a state or federal agency unless the position is fully supported
4-8 by credible evidence from that agency during the public hearing.
4-9 (c) The commission shall adopt rules to implement this
4-10 section.
4-11 SECTION 7. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
4-12 Code, is amended by adding Section 361.070 to read as follows:
4-13 Sec. 361.070. PUBLIC MEETING AND NOTICE FOR SOLID WASTE
4-14 FACILITIES. (a) An applicant for a new facility that accepts
4-15 municipal solid wastes shall hold a public meeting in the county in
4-16 which the proposed facility is to be located. The meeting must be
4-17 held before the 45th day after the date the application is filed.
4-18 (b) The applicant shall publish notice of the public meeting
4-19 at least once each week during the three weeks preceding the
4-20 meeting. The notice must be published in the newspaper of the
4-21 largest general circulation that is published in the county in
4-22 which the proposed facility is to be located. If a newspaper is
4-23 not published in the county, the notice must be published in a
4-24 newspaper of general circulation in the county. The applicant
4-25 shall also publish notice at least once in a publication that is
4-26 circulated in the area in which the facility is located or is
4-27 proposed to be located and that is published in the primary
5-1 language of any population group that:
5-2 (1) speaks primarily a language other than English;
5-3 and
5-4 (2) constitutes five percent or more of the population
5-5 that resides one mile or less from the facility or proposed
5-6 facility.
5-7 (c) The applicant shall present to the commission an
5-8 affidavit certifying that the notice was published as required by
5-9 Subsection (b). The commission's acceptance of the affidavit
5-10 raises a presumption that the applicant has complied with
5-11 Subsection (b).
5-12 (d) The published notice may not be smaller than 96.8 square
5-13 centimeters or 15 square inches with the shortest dimension not
5-14 less than 7.5 centimeters or 3 inches. The notice must contain at
5-15 least the following information:
5-16 (1) the permit application number;
5-17 (2) the applicant's name;
5-18 (3) the proposed location of the facility; and
5-19 (4) the location and availability of copies of the
5-20 application.
5-21 (e) The applicant shall pay the cost of the notice required
5-22 under this section. The commission by rule may establish a
5-23 procedure for payment of those costs.
5-24 (f) The meeting shall include a discussion of:
5-25 (1) the compatibility of the proposed facility with
5-26 relevant state or regional solid waste management plans;
5-27 (2) other sites considered for the proposed facility
6-1 and the process for selecting the site identified in the
6-2 application;
6-3 (3) potential benefits to the local community of
6-4 constructing the proposed facility, including:
6-5 (A) employment opportunities and related job
6-6 training to ensure that residents of the host community can compete
6-7 for skilled and semiskilled employment at the facility;
6-8 (B) contributions by the facility to the
6-9 community infrastructure, including road maintenance, park
6-10 development, and litter control; and
6-11 (C) fair and reasonable compensation to owners
6-12 of real property less than 2,640 feet from the facility for any
6-13 decrease in the assessed value of the property attributable to the
6-14 siting of the facility; and
6-15 (4) effects the facility may have on local residents,
6-16 places of worship, schools, day-care centers, or surface water
6-17 bodies used to supply public drinking water.
6-18 (g) The applicant shall mail to the commission a report of
6-19 the proceedings of the meeting, including summaries of the
6-20 information discussed and input received at the meeting. The
6-21 report must be postmarked not later than the 30th day after the
6-22 date the meeting concludes.
6-23 SECTION 8. Subchapter D, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended
6-24 by adding Section 5.125 to read as follows:
6-25 Sec. 5.125. CONSIDERATION OF CUMULATIVE RISKS. (a) In an
6-26 administrative proceeding involving the siting, expansion, or
6-27 operation of a facility in the local area in which other facilities
7-1 are located, an affected party may offer, and the commission shall
7-2 consider, evidence relating to cumulative risks, including:
7-3 (1) the effect of releases, emissions, or discharges
7-4 from the facility and from other facilities in the area;
7-5 (2) the potential for exposure to a particular
7-6 substance by means of multiple pathways; and
7-7 (3) the combined level of noise, odor, and other
7-8 impacts from the facility and other facilities in the area.
7-9 (b) The commission shall:
7-10 (1) develop and implement policies to protect the
7-11 public from cumulative risks, particularly in:
7-12 (A) low-income or minority communities; and
7-13 (B) communities in which permitted facilities
7-14 are concentrated; and
7-15 (2) give priority to monitoring and enforcement in
7-16 areas in which permitted facilities are concentrated.
7-17 (c) The commission shall adopt rules as necessary to
7-18 accomplish the purposes of this section.
7-19 SECTION 9. Section 5.178(b), Water Code, is amended to read
7-20 as follows:
7-21 (b) The report due by December 1 of an even-numbered year
7-22 shall include, in addition:
7-23 (1) the commission's recommendations for necessary and
7-24 desirable legislation; and
7-25 (2) the following reports:
7-26 (A) the assessments and reports required by
7-27 Sections 361.0219(c), 361.0232, 361.034, 361.485, 361.510, 371.063,
8-1 and 382.141, Health and Safety Code; and
8-2 (B) the reports required by Section 26.0135(d)
8-3 of this code and Section 5.02, Chapter 133, Acts of the 69th
8-4 Legislature, Regular Session, 1985.
8-5 SECTION 10. This Act takes effect September 1, 1999.
8-6 SECTION 11. The importance of this legislation and the
8-7 crowded condition of the calendars in both houses create an
8-8 emergency and an imperative public necessity that the
8-9 constitutional rule requiring bills to be read on three several
8-10 days in each house be suspended, and this rule is hereby suspended.