1-1     By:  Olivo (Senate Sponsor - Armbrister)              H.B. No. 3242
 1-2           (In the Senate - Received from the House May 11, 2001;
 1-3     May 11, 2001, read first time and referred to Committee on Natural
 1-4     Resources; May 11, 2001, reported favorably by the following vote:
 1-5     Yeas 6, Nays 0; May 11, 2001, sent to printer.)
 1-6                            A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 1-7                                   AN ACT
 1-8     relating to a permit to apply certain sludge on a land application
 1-9     unit.
1-10           BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-11           SECTION 1. Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code,
1-12     is amended by adding Section 361.119 to read as follows:
1-13           Sec. 361.119.  LAND APPLICATION OF CERTAIN SLUDGE; PERMIT
1-14     REQUIRED. (a)  In this section:
1-15                 (1)  "Class B sludge" is sewage sludge that meets one
1-16     of the pathogen reduction requirements of 30 T.A.C. 312.82(b).
1-17                 (2)  "Land application unit" means an area where wastes
1-18     are applied onto or incorporated into the soil surface for
1-19     agricultural purposes or for treatment and disposal.  The term does
1-20     not include manure spreading operations.
1-21                 (3)  "Responsible person" means the person with
1-22     ultimate responsibility for the treatment or disposal of the Class
1-23     B sludge at a land application unit.  The responsible person is:
1-24                       (A)  the owner of the land application unit if
1-25     the sludge being treated or disposed of was generated outside this
1-26     state; or
1-27                       (B)  the person who generated the sludge if the
1-28     sludge being treated or disposed of was generated in this state.
1-29           (b)  A person may not apply Class B sludge on a land
1-30     application unit unless the responsible person has obtained a
1-31     permit issued by the commission under this section:
1-32                 (1)  on or after September 1, 2001, if the land
1-33     application unit begins operation on or after that date; or
1-34                 (2)  on or after September 1, 2003, if the land
1-35     application unit begins operation before September 1, 2001.
1-36           (c)  The notice and hearing provisions of Subchapter M,
1-37     Chapter 5, Water Code, as added by Chapter 1350, Acts of the 76th
1-38     Legislature, Regular Session, 1999, apply to an application under
1-39     this section for a permit, a permit amendment, or a permit renewal.
1-40           (d)  In each permit, the commission shall prescribe the
1-41     conditions under which it is issued, including:
1-42                 (1)  the duration of the permit;
1-43                 (2)  the location of the land application unit;
1-44                 (3)  the maximum quantity of Class B sludge that may be
1-45     applied or disposed of under the permit;
1-46                 (4)  any monitoring and reporting requirements
1-47     prescribed by the commission for the permit holder; and
1-48                 (5)  a requirement that the permit holder must report
1-49     to the commission any noncompliance by the permit holder with the
1-50     permit conditions or applicable commission rules.
1-51           (e)  A permit does not become a vested right in the permit
1-52     holder.
1-53           (f)  A permit may be issued under this section for a term set
1-54     by the commission not to exceed six years from the date of
1-55     issuance.
1-56           (g)  The commission shall charge a fee for the issuance of a
1-57     permit under this section in an amount not less than $1,000 and not
1-58     more than $5,000. In determining the fee under this subsection, the
1-59     commission shall consider the amount of sludge to be applied under
1-60     the permit.
1-61           (h)  The commission by rule shall require an applicant for a
1-62     permit under this section to submit with the application, at a
1-63     minimum, information regarding:
1-64                 (1)  the applicant;
 2-1                 (2)  the source, quality, and quantity of sludge to be
 2-2     applied; and
 2-3                 (3)  the hydrologic characteristics of the surface
 2-4     water and groundwater at and within one-quarter of a mile of the
 2-5     land application unit.
 2-6           (i)  The commission may expand the definition of Class B
 2-7     sludge only by expanding the definition to include sludge that
 2-8     meets more stringent pathogen reduction requirements.
 2-9           SECTION 2.  For the purposes of administrative efficiency,
2-10     the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission by rule may
2-11     develop categories of persons required to obtain a permit under
2-12     Section 361.119(b)(2), Health and Safety Code, as added by this
2-13     Act, and may require certain categories of persons to obtain a
2-14     permit earlier than the date prescribed by that section.
2-15           SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2001.
2-16                                  * * * * *