79S31187 SLO-D
By: Hernandez H.B. No. 170
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to controlling emissions of air contaminants under the
Texas Clean Air Act; providing a penalty.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.042 and 382.043 to read as
follows:
Sec. 382.042. EFFECTS SCREENING LEVELS. (a) The
commission by rule shall adopt effects screening levels for air
contaminants. Each effects screening level must:
(1) be set in a manner that takes into consideration
all acute and chronic health effects on a person due to exposure to
an air contaminant;
(2) be based in part on the health effects of:
(A) the one-hour, eight-hour, or 24-hour
exposure of a person to the air contaminant at the fence-line of an
emission source; and
(B) the lifetime exposure of a person to the air
contaminant at the fence-line of an emission source; and
(3) be set at a level that does not increase the risk
of cancer in a person exposed to the air contaminant by greater than
one chance in one million.
(b) Not later than January 1, 2007, the commission shall
assemble a panel of independent, nationally recognized experts in
the fields of toxicology and epidemiology to review the
commission's effects screening levels and to recommend standards to
the commission that comply with the requirements of Subsection (a).
The panel shall consider the effects screening levels, methods, and
programs of other states as part of the review. The panel must
provide opportunities for public comment in conducting the review.
The panel shall make recommendations to the commission regarding
the commission's effects screening levels, methods, and programs
not later than July 1, 2008. Not later than October 1, 2008, the
commission shall adopt effects screening levels as required under
Subsection (a) that take into consideration the panel's
recommendations. The owner or operator of an emission source must
comply with the effects screening levels set by the commission
under this section not later than January 1, 2010. This subsection
expires September 1, 2010.
Sec. 382.043. SANCTIONS; REPORT. (a) A person may not
cause, suffer, allow, or permit the emission of any air contaminant
or the performance of any activity that causes an effects screening
level set by the commission to be exceeded. The commission by rule
shall establish requirements for the assessment of a penalty or the
imposition of an injunction against a person who violates this
section.
(b) The commission shall annually publish a report that
lists each violation of this section. The report must include any
instance in which the commission suspected a violation but later
determined that the evidence was not sufficient or credible enough
to amount to a violation of this section.
SECTION 2. Section 382.085, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (c) and
(d) to read as follows:
(a) A [Except as authorized by a commission rule or order,
a] person may not cause, suffer, allow, or permit the emission of
any air contaminant or the performance of any activity that causes
or contributes to, or that will cause or contribute to, either in
isolation or in conjunction with air contaminants from other
sources, air pollution.
(c) For purposes of this section, a condition of air
pollution is considered to exist if credible evidence demonstrates
an unacceptable risk of health effects due to air pollution as
determined by:
(1) a measured level of an air contaminant in excess of
an effects screening level for the air contaminant for a relevant
period as provided by commission rule;
(2) a measured level of multiple air contaminants that
in conjunction with one another increase the risk of cancer in a
person exposed to the air contaminants by greater than one chance in
one million; or
(3) a measured level of multiple air contaminants that
are associated with the same chronic health condition and that in
conjunction with one another are likely to result in a greater risk
to an exposed person's health than would one of the contaminants in
isolation if measured at the relevant effects screening level for
the contaminant.
(d) If the commission brings an action for a violation of
this section, the burden is on the owner or operator of the facility
or source to demonstrate to the commission that the facility or
source:
(1) is in compliance with all technological
requirements applicable to the facility or source;
(2) is in compliance with all monitoring requirements
applicable to the facility or source; and
(3) is not aware of having caused or contributed to air
pollution in violation of this section.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than March 1, 2008, the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality shall publish an annual report
listing violations of effects screening levels as required by
Section 382.043, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act.
(b) Section 382.085, Health and Safety Code, as amended by
this Act, applies only to a violation of Section 382.085, Health and
Safety Code, that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act.
A violation of Section 382.085, Health and Safety Code, that occurs
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in
effect when the violation occurred, and the current law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
(c) Section 382.043, Health and Safety Code, as added by
this Act, applies to any violation of an effects screening level set
by the commission that occurs on or after the effective date of this
Act. A violation of an effects screening level that occurs before
the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect when
the violation occurs, and the current law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2006.