Floor Packet Page No. 66
Amend CSHB 2912 beginning on page 63, line 7, and ending on page
66, line 3, by striking SECTION 4.06 and substituting the following
new SECTION 4.06:
SECTION 4.06. (a) Subchapter B, Chapter 382, Health and
Safety Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.0215 and 382.0216 to
read as follows:
Sec. 382.0215. ASSESSMENT OF EMISSIONS DUE TO EMISSIONS
EVENTS. (a) In this section, "emissions event" includes an upset,
maintenance, startup, or shutdown activity that results in the
unauthorized emissions of air contaminants.
(b) The commission shall require the owner or operator of a
facility that experiences emissions events:
(1) to maintain a record of all emissions events at
the facility in the manner and for the periods prescribed by
commission rule;
(2) to notify the commission, as soon as practicable
but not later than 24 hours after discovery of the emissions event,
of an emissions event resulting in the emission of a reportable
quantity of air contaminants as determined by commission rule; and
(3) to report to the commission, not later than two
weeks after the occurrence of an emissions event that results in
the emission of a reportable quantity of air contaminants as
determined by commission rule, all information necessary to
evaluate the emissions event, including:
(A) the name of the owner or operator of the
reporting facility:
(B) the location of the reporting facility;
(C) the date and time the emissions began;
(D) the duration of the emissions;
(E) the nature and quantity of air contaminants
emitted, including the method of calculation of, or other basis for
determining, the quantity of air contaminants emitted;
(F) the processes and equipment involved in the
emissions event;
(G) the cause of the emissions; and
(H) any additional information necessary to
evaluate the emissions event.
(c) The owner or operator of a facility required by Section
382.014 to submit an annual emissions inventory report must include
as part of the inventory:
(1) an itemized list of each emissions event at the
facility, including the quantity of air contaminants emitted; or
(2) if no emissions event occurred at the facility, a
statement to that effect.
(d) The commission shall centrally track emissions events
and collect information relating to:
(1) inspections or enforcement actions taken by the
commission in response to emission events; and
(2) the number of emissions events occurring in each
commission region and the quantity of emissions from each emissions
event.
(e) The commission shall develop the capacity for electronic
reporting and shall incorporate reportable emissions events into a
permanent centralized database for emissions events. The database
shall be accessible to the public.
(f) The commission annually shall assess the information
received under this section, including actions taken by the
commission in response to the report required by Section 5.123,
Water Code, as added by Chapters 304 and 1082, Acts of the 75th
Legislature, Regular Session, 1997.
Sec. 382.0216. REGULATION OF EMISSIONS EVENTS. (a) The
commission shall require the owner or operator of a facility to
take action to reduce emissions. The commission shall require an
owner or operator of a facility required to take action under this
subsection to file with the commission a corrective action plan to
reduce emissions from emissions events. If in a particular case a
corrective action plan is impracticable, the commission shall
require the owner or operator of the facility to apply for a permit
or permit modification.
(b) A corrective action plan filed under Subsection (a) must
identify the cause or causes of each emissions event, specify the
control devices or other measures that will prevent or minimize
similar emissions events in the future, and specify a time within
which implementation of the corrective action plan will be
completed. A corrective action plan must be approved by the
commission. An approved corrective action plan shall be made
available to the public. The commission shall establish reasonable
schedules for the implementation of corrective action plans and
procedures for revision of a corrective action plan if the
commission finds the plan, after implementation begins, to be
inadequate to meet the goal of preventing or minimizing emissions
and emissions events.
(c) The commission by rule may establish an affirmative
defense to a commission enforcement action if the emissions event
meets criteria defined by commission rule. In establishing rules
under this subsection, the commission at a minimum must require
consideration of the frequency and duration of the emissions event,
the cause of the emissions event, the quantity and toxicity of
the emissions resulting from the emissions event, and the impact of
the emissions event on the local area's air quality. The rules
must specifically provide that:
(1) an affirmative defense does not apply to emissions
that result from normal startup and shutdown, normal maintenance
procedures, the lack of preventive maintenance, or operator error;
and
(2) a person may not raise an affirmative defense for
an emissions event that is part of a recurring pattern indicative
of inadequate design, operation, or maintenance.
(d) The burden of proof in any claim of a defense to
commission enforcement action under this section is on the person
claiming the defense. This section does not limit the commission's
authority to take enforcement action or the authority or right of
any person to seek injunctive relief in relation to any emissions
event.
(e) A person may not claim a defense to a commission
enforcement action under Subsection (c) if the person failed to
take corrective action under a corrective action plan approved by
the commission within the time prescribed by the commission and an
emissions event recurs.
(b) The Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission shall
implement all technical and equipment changes necessary for
compliance with Sections 382.0215(d) and (e), Health and Safety
Code, as added by this Act, not later than January 1, 2003. After
implementation of the necessary technical and equipment changes,
the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission by rule shall
require electronic reporting of reportable emissions events to the
centralized database.