78R5659 JTS-F
By: Fraser S.B. No. 913
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to air quality permitting of rock crushers.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 382.003(6), Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(6) "Facility" means a discrete or identifiable
structure, device, item, equipment, or enclosure that constitutes
or contains a stationary source, including appurtenances other than
emission control equipment. Except as provided by Section
382.0531, a [A] mine, quarry, well test, or road is not considered
to be a facility.
SECTION 2. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Section 382.0531 to read as follows:
Sec. 382.0531. PERMITS FOR ROCK CRUSHERS. (a) The
commission may not issue a permit under Section 382.0518 to
construct a new rock crusher if:
(1) the rock crusher or the property boundary of the
quarry where the rock crusher is to be located is within one-half
mile of:
(A) an established:
(i) residence;
(ii) place of worship;
(iii) school;
(iv) hospital;
(v) day care center; or
(vi) dedicated public park; or
(B) a surface water body used as a public
drinking water supply; or
(2) the commissioners court of the county in which the
rock crusher is to be located notifies the commission that the
commissioners court has determined that:
(A) the proposed rock crusher or its associated
quarry will be in such proximity to another rock crusher or quarry
that the health, safety, and welfare of the county residents will be
impaired if the rock crusher begins operation; or
(B) operating the rock crusher at the proposed
site would be an inappropriate land use considering surrounding
land uses.
(b) Before the commission may issue a permit to construct a
new rock crusher, the applicant must:
(1) submit an environmental impact analysis to the
United States Fish and Wildlife Service, the Parks and Wildlife
Department, and the commissioners court of the county in which the
rock crusher will be located for review by each of those entities;
and
(2) submit with the application the results of a study
to determine the effect of the rock crusher and its associated
activities on:
(A) groundwater and surface water in the area of
the rock crusher; and
(B) roads in the area of the rock crusher,
considering any increase in vehicle traffic due to the operation of
the rock crusher.
(c) In addition to complying with the notice requirements
under Section 382.056, an applicant for a permit to construct a new
rock crusher shall mail notice to each residential or business
address located within one mile of the property boundary of the
property on which the rock crusher is to be located and to each
owner of real property located within one mile of the boundary of
the property on which the rock crusher is to be located that is
listed in the real property appraisal records of the appraisal
district in which the rock crusher is to be located as of the date
the applicant submits the application to the commission. If the
property owner is not an individual, the notice may be mailed to an
officer, agent, or legal representative of the owner. The notice
must be deposited with the United States Postal Service not later
than the 30th day after the date the applicant submits the
application to the commission.
(d) A permit to construct a new rock crusher shall:
(1) include any conditions determined by the
commission to be necessary to ensure that emissions from the rock
crusher and its associated quarry, stockpiles, roads, and screens
and other equipment used to produce crushed stone do not
substantially degrade:
(A) the quality of the air within a five-mile
radius of the rock crusher; or
(B) the quality of the water in the area,
considering current uses of and demand for water and likely future
uses of and demand for water due to population growth;
(2) require the owner or operator of the rock crusher
to install, operate, and maintain air quality monitors in the area
affected by the rock crusher for the duration of the permit;
(3) require the regulation, monitoring, and recording
of rock crushing and quarrying activities, including:
(A) blasting;
(B) operating heavy equipment;
(C) stockpiling, loading, unloading, crushing,
and screening material; and
(D) storing, transferring, and distributing
crushed stone;
(4) require the replacement of vegetation at the
associated quarry so that no more than 50 acres of active mining
area may be exposed at any time;
(5) require that sufficient topsoil and vegetative
cover be maintained to minimize emissions from the quarry
associated with the rock crusher;
(6) require the reclamation of the quarry associated
with the rock crusher in stages of a maximum of twenty acres as the
mining process progresses and the completion of reclamation of the
quarry not later than the first anniversary of the date the quarry
is closed; and
(7) require the owner or operator of the rock crusher
to comply with any recommendations made by the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, the Parks and Wildlife Department, or the
commissioners court as a result of the review of the environmental
impact analysis under Subsection (b)(1).
(e) A permit to construct a new rock crusher shall limit:
(1) the number of acres of land comprising the quarry
and the depth of the quarry;
(2) blasting operations associated with the rock
crusher or its associated quarry by:
(A) limiting the size of the charge used so that
physical motion, dust, or noise does not damage other property in
the area; and
(B) requiring that the blasting area be covered
to contain dust that may result from the blast;
(3) impervious cover at a quarry associated with the
rock crusher;
(4) the size, weight, and number of vehicles using
roads associated with the rock crusher; and
(5) the amount of material that may be stockpiled for
crushing and the period for which the material may be stockpiled or
require the use of enclosed storage to minimize dust.
(f) For the purposes of Subsection (d)(1), the baseline
against which air quality degradation is measured must be
determined by making a direct and specific measurement of the air
quality in the five-mile radius of the rock crusher before the rock
crusher begins operation. If a rock crusher is to be located within
five miles of two existing rock crushers the commission shall
monitor the air quality in the five-mile radius of the proposed rock
crusher for at least one year to establish a baseline against which
air quality degradation is measured.
(g) The requirements of this section other than the
requirements of Subsection (a) also apply to a permit under Section
382.0518 to modify an existing rock crusher. Modification of an
existing rock crusher includes an expansion of the associated
quarry.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2003, and
applies only to a permit to construct or modify a rock crusher that
is issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or
after that date. A permit issued by the commission before the
effective date of this Act is covered by the law in effect on the
date the permit is issued, and the former law is continued in effect
for that purpose.