By: Bonnen H.B. No. 1900
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the assessment and regulation of emissions events.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 382.0215, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), and (f) and adding
Subsections (a-1) and (h) to read as follows:
(a) In this section:
(1) "Emissions [, "emissions] event" means an upset
event, or unscheduled maintenance, startup, or shutdown activity,
from a common cause that results in the unauthorized emissions of
air contaminants from one or more [an] emissions points at a
regulated entity [point].
(2) "Regulated entity" means all regulated units,
facilities, equipment, structures, or sources at one street address
or location that are owned or operated by the same person. The term
includes any property under common ownership or control identified
in a permit or used in conjunction with the regulated activity at
the same street address or location.
(a-1) Maintenance, startup, and shutdown activities shall
not be considered unscheduled only if the activity will not and does
not result in the emission of at least a reportable quantity of
unauthorized emissions of air contaminants and the activity is
recorded as may be required by commission rule, or if the activity
will result in the emission of at least a reportable quantity of
unauthorized emissions and:
(1) the owner or operator of the regulated entity
[facility] provides any prior notice or final report that the
commission, by rule, may establish;
(2) the notice or final report includes the
information required in Subsection (b)(3); and
(3) the actual emissions do not exceed the estimates
submitted in the notice by more than a reportable quantity.
(b) The commission shall require the owner or operator of a
regulated entity [facility] that experiences emissions events:
(1) to maintain a record of all emissions events at the
regulated entity [facility] in the manner and for the periods
prescribed by commission rule;
(2) to notify the commission in a single report for
each emissions event, 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 in a single report for
each emissions event, 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 regulated entity [facility];
(B) the location of the reporting regulated
entity [facility];
(C) the date and time the emissions began;
(D) the duration of the emissions;
(E) the nature and measured or estimated 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.
(f) An owner or operator of a regulated entity [facility]
required by Section 382.014 to submit an annual emissions inventory
report and which has experienced no emissions events during the
relevant year must include as part of the inventory a statement that
the regulated entity [facility] experienced no emissions events
during the prior year. An owner or operator of a regulated entity
[facility] required by Section 382.014 to submit an annual
emissions inventory report must include the total annual emissions
from all emissions events in categories as established by
commission rule.
(h) The commission may allow operators of pipelines,
gathering lines, and flowlines to treat all such facilities under
common ownership or control in a particular county as a single
regulated entity for the purpose of assessment and regulation of
emissions events.
SECTION 2. Section 382.0216, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a), (b), (c), (f), and (i) and
adding Subsection (b-1) to read as follows:
(a) In this section, "emissions event" and "regulated
entity" have [has] the meanings [meaning] assigned by Section
382.0215.
(b) The commission shall establish criteria for determining
when an emissions event or a series of emissions events are
excessive. The criteria must include consideration of:
(1) [the frequency of the facility's emissions events;
[(2) the cause of the emissions event;
[(3)] the quantity and impact on human health or the
environment of the emissions event; and
(2) [(4)] the duration of the emissions event[;
[(5) the percentage of a facility's total annual
operating hours during which emissions events occur; and
[(6) the need for startup, shutdown, and maintenance
activities].
(b-1) The commission may determine that an emissions event
or a series of emissions events are not excessive based on a failure
to meet criteria established by the commission under Subsection
(b). If the commission does not determine that an emissions event
or a series of emissions events are not excessive on that basis, the
commission shall evaluate the emissions event or series of
emissions events based on consideration of the following factors:
(1) the frequency of the regulated entity's emissions
events, taking into consideration the regulated entity's size and
complexity;
(2) the cause of the emissions event;
(3) the quantity and the impact on human health or the
environment of the emissions event;
(4) the duration of the emissions event;
(5) the percentage of a facility's total annual
operating hours during which the emissions events occur;
(6) the need for startup, shutdown, and maintenance
activities; and
(7) the impact of the emissions event on the state's
compliance with the state implementation plan.
(c) The commission shall require the owner or operator of a
regulated entity [a facility] to take action to reduce emissions
from excessive emissions events. Consistent with commission rules,
the owner or operator of a regulated entity [a facility] required to
take action under this subsection must either file a corrective
action plan or file a letter of intent to obtain authorization for
emissions from the excessive emissions events, provided that the
emissions are sufficiently frequent, quantifiable, and
predictable. If the intended authorization is a permit, a permit
application shall be filed within 120 days of the filing of the
letter of intent. If the intended authorization is a permit by rule
or standard exemption, the authorization must be obtained within
120 days of the filing of the letter of intent. If the commission
denies the requested authorization, within 45 days of receiving
notice of the commission's denial, the owner or operator of a
regulated entity [facility] shall file a corrective action plan to
reduce emissions from the excessive emissions events.
(f) Consistent with the federal Clean Air Act, the
commission by rule may establish an affirmative defense to a
commission enforcement action if the emissions event is determined
not to be excessive under this section. The commission may not
authorize the use of the affirmative defense if the unauthorized
emissions:
(1) caused or contributed to:
(A) an exceedance of the national ambient air
quality standards;
(B) prevention of significant deterioration
increments; or
(C) a condition of air pollution; or
(2) were a part of a frequent or recurring pattern
indicative of inadequate design, operation, or maintenance [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 factors listed in Subsections (b)(1)-(6)].
(i) In the event the owner or operator of a regulated entity
[facility] fails to report an emissions event as required by
Section 382.0215(b), the commission shall initiate enforcement for
such failure to report and for the underlying emissions event
itself. This subsection does not apply where an owner or operator
reports an emissions event and the report was incomplete,
inaccurate, or untimely unless the owner or operator knowingly or
intentionally falsified the information in the report.
SECTION 3. Sections 382.0215 and 382.0216, Health and
Safety Code, as amended by this Act, apply only to an emissions
event that occurs on or after the effective date of this Act. An
emissions event that occurs before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect when the emissions event occurred, and
that law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.