By: Duncan S.B. No. 585
(In the Senate - Filed February 19, 2003; February 24, 2003,
read first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
March 13, 2003, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 10,
Nays 0; March 13, 2003, sent to printer.)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to providing money to pay for the remediation, cleanup,
and closure of unpermitted solid waste facilities.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 361.014, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
(a) Revenue received by the commission under Section
361.013 shall be deposited in the state treasury to the credit of
the commission. Half of the revenue is dedicated to the
commission's municipal solid waste permitting and enforcement
programs and related support activities and to pay for activities
that will enhance the state's solid waste management program,
including:
(1) provision of funds for the municipal solid waste
management planning fund and the municipal solid waste resource
recovery applied research and technical assistance fund
established by the Comprehensive Municipal Solid Waste Management,
Resource Recovery, and Conservation Act (Chapter 363);
(2) conduct of demonstration projects and studies to
help local governments of various populations and the private
sector to convert to accounting systems and set rates that reflect
the full costs of providing waste management services and are
proportionate to the amount of waste generated;
(3) provision of technical assistance to local
governments concerning solid waste management;
(4) establishment of a solid waste resource center in
the commission and an office of waste minimization and recycling;
(5) provision of supplemental funding to local
governments for the enforcement of this chapter, the Texas Litter
Abatement Act (Chapter 365), and Chapters 391 and 683,
Transportation Code;
(6) conduct of a statewide public awareness program
concerning solid waste management;
(7) provision of supplemental funds for other state
agencies with responsibilities concerning solid waste management,
recycling, and other initiatives with the purpose of diverting
recyclable waste from landfills;
(8) conduct of research to promote the development and
stimulation of markets for recycled waste products;
(9) creation of a state municipal solid waste
superfund for:
(A) the cleanup of unauthorized tire dumps and
solid waste dumps for which a responsible party cannot be located or
is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup; [and]
(B) the cleanup or proper closure of abandoned or
contaminated municipal solid waste sites for which a responsible
party is not immediately financially able to provide the cleanup;
and
(C) remediation, cleanup, and proper closure of
unauthorized recycling sites for which a responsible party is not
immediately financially able to perform the remediation, cleanup,
and closure;
(10) provision of funds to mitigate the economic and
environmental impacts of lead-acid battery recycling activities on
local governments; and
(11) provision of funds for the conduct of research by
a public or private entity to assist the state in developing new
technologies and methods to reduce the amount of municipal waste
disposed of in landfills.
SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003.
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