By: Fraser S.B. No. 785
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the regulation of quarries; providing penalties.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. The heading to Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and
Safety Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBTITLE C. AIR AND ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
SECTION 2. Subtitle C, Title 5, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by adding Chapter 390 to read as follows:
CHAPTER 390. QUARRY PERMIT
Sec. 390.001. DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
(1) "Aggregates" includes any commonly recognized
construction material originating from a quarry or pit by the
disturbance of the surface, including dirt, soil, rock asphalt,
clay, granite, gravel, gypsum, marble, sand, shale, stone, caliche,
limestone, dolomite, rock, riprap, or other nonmineral substance.
(2) "Air quality permit" means a permit or other
authorization to emit air contaminants under Chapter 382 and
includes an authorization under a permit by rule.
(3) "Commission" means the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality.
(4) "Operator" means any person proposing the creation
of a quarry or engaged in and responsible for the physical operation
and control of a quarry.
(5) "Pit" means a commercial open excavation not less
than five feet below the adjacent and natural ground level from
which aggregates have been or are being extracted.
(6) "Quarry" means the site where aggregates are being
or have been removed or extracted from the earth to form the pit,
including the entire excavation, stripped areas, and haulage ramps
and land adjacent to those areas on which the plant processing the
raw materials is located. The term does not include land owned or
leased by the operator that is not used in the production of
aggregates.
Sec. 390.002. APPLICABILITY. This chapter applies only to
a quarry that begins operation on or after September 1, 2005, and
does not apply to a quarry or pit in operation before that date.
Sec. 390.003. PERMITS REQUIRED. An operator may not create
or begin operating a quarry unless the operator has obtained:
(1) a quarry permit under this chapter from the
commission; and
(2) an air quality permit for any rock crusher to be
operated at the quarry.
Sec. 390.004. APPLICATION PROCEDURE. (a) An application
for a quarry permit must include:
(1) a site plan that contains:
(A) a site map detailing the proposed permit
area;
(B) the location and identity of all affected and
unaffected areas;
(C) a description of the location of the quarry,
including the distance and direction from the nearest:
(i) stream and groundwater source;
(ii) state and county road;
(iii) intersection;
(iv) dwelling;
(v) school;
(vi) place of worship; and
(vii) commercial or institutional building
that is neither owned nor leased by the operator;
(D) the ingress and egress routes for materials
to be transported on public roadways;
(E) a general description of the anticipated
stages in which the quarry will be mined;
(F) subject to Subsection (e), a report from an
independent hydrologist, professional geoscientist, or
professional engineer retained by the operator on the groundwater
or surface water in the quarried area, including any
recommendations by the hydrologist, geoscientist, or engineer to
prevent a detrimental effect on the groundwater and surface water;
and
(G) if a report is required under Paragraph (F),
a description of how the operator will address the recommendations
made in the hydrologist's report;
(2) if blasting will be conducted in the quarry, a
blasting plan that contains:
(A) a description of the blasting equipment and
procedures to be used at the site; and
(B) a description of the procedures and plans for
the recording and retention of blasting records for each blast that
is to be conducted at the site; and
(3) proof that the operator has registered for or
submitted an application for, as applicable, an air quality permit
for any rock crusher constructed or proposed to be constructed at
the quarry.
(b) A quarry permit application fee of $1,000 must accompany
the application.
(c) If the commission denies an application, not later than
the 60th day after the date the commission received the
application, the commission shall notify the applicant in writing
of the commission's decision, specifying any defects in the
application. An applicant denied a permit under this subsection
may submit a modified application.
(d) A proceeding to consider a quarry permit application or
to issue a quarry permit is not a contested case for purposes of
Chapter 2001, Government Code.
(e) An application for a permit under this section for a
quarry that does not have groundwater or surface water in the
quarried area is not required to include a report under Subsection
(a)(1)(F) or a description of how the operator will address
recommendations under Subsection (a)(1)(G).
Sec. 390.005. PERMIT EXPIRATION AFTER NONUSE. A permit
issued to create or begin operating a quarry expires on the fifth
anniversary of the date that the permit was issued if quarry
operations have not begun at the permit area before that date.
Sec. 390.006. PERMIT AMENDMENT. (a) A quarry operator
must obtain a permit amendment:
(1) before a quarry may be expanded to an adjacent
tract of land; or
(2) if emissions from a rock crusher associated with
the quarry increase beyond a de minimis level, as determined by the
commission.
(b) An applicant for a permit amendment must submit an
application that contains the information required by Section
390.004.
Sec. 390.007. NOTICE TO CERTAIN OFFICIALS. On receipt of an
application for a quarry permit, the commission shall send notice
of the application to:
(1) each state senator and state representative who
represents the area in which the quarry will be located; and
(2) the county judge and county commissioners of each
county in which the quarry will be located.
Sec. 390.008. TRAFFIC SAFETY. The operator of a quarry
shall adhere to all Texas Department of Transportation rules
relating to the safe movement of normal highway traffic, including
those rules governing the construction and maintenance of private,
public, and commercial access driveways.
Sec. 390.009. BLASTING RECORD. (a) If blasting is
conducted in a quarry, the operator of the quarry shall maintain a
blasting record that includes the following information:
(1) the exact location, time, and date of the
detonation;
(2) the weather conditions during the blast;
(3) the seismograph or vibration monitor reading,
including the exact location of the seismograph or vibration
monitor and its distance from the blast; and
(4) the name of the person taking the seismograph or
vibration monitor reading.
(b) The operator shall maintain the blasting records of a
detonation, including the seismograph or vibration monitor
readings, for not less than two years after the date of the
detonation.
(c) The operator shall maintain the blasting records at the
quarry site.
(d) The operator shall make the blasting records available
for inspection by the commission.
Sec. 390.010. CIVIL PENALTY; INJUNCTION. (a)
Notwithstanding Section 7.102, Water Code, an operator who violates
this chapter is liable to the state for a civil penalty in the
amount of $1,000 for each violation. Each day a violation continues
is a separate violation.
(b) At the request of the commission, the attorney general
shall bring suit for injunctive relief to restrain a continuing
violation of this chapter or to recover a civil penalty as provided
by Subsection (a) or for both injunctive relief and recovery of a
civil penalty.
SECTION 3. Section 725.003, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (d), an [An] offense
under this section is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of:
(1) not less than $25 or more than $200 for a first
conviction; and
(2) not less than $200 or more than $500 for a second
or subsequent conviction.
(d) An offense involving the violation of Section
725.021(e) is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of not less than
$25 or more than $500.
SECTION 4. Section 725.021, Transportation Code, is amended
by amending Subsection (c) and adding Subsection (e) to read as
follows:
(c) Except as provided by Subsection (e), the [The] load
shall be covered and the covering firmly secured at the front and
back, unless the load:
(1) is completely enclosed by the load-carrying
compartment; or
(2) does not blow or spill over the top of the
load-carrying compartment.
(e) If the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle
transporting aggregates from a quarry or pit, as those terms are
defined by Section 390.001, Health and Safety Code, the load shall
be covered and the covering firmly secured at the front and back or
shall be completely enclosed by the load-carrying compartment. For
purposes of this section, "commercial motor vehicle" means a motor
vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer used primarily in the business of
transporting property.
SECTION 5. Subsection (a), Section 5.013, Water Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) The commission has general jurisdiction over:
(1) water and water rights including the issuance of
water rights permits, water rights adjudication, cancellation of
water rights, and enforcement of water rights;
(2) continuing supervision over districts created
under Article III, Sections 52(b)(1) and (2), and Article XVI,
Section 59, of the Texas Constitution;
(3) the state's water quality program including
issuance of permits, enforcement of water quality rules, standards,
orders, and permits, and water quality planning;
(4) the determination of the feasibility of certain
federal projects;
(5) the adoption and enforcement of rules and
performance of other acts relating to the safe construction,
maintenance, and removal of dams;
(6) conduct of the state's hazardous spill prevention
and control program;
(7) the administration of the state's program relating
to inactive hazardous substance, pollutant, and contaminant
disposal facilities;
(8) the administration of a portion of the state's
injection well program;
(9) the administration of the state's programs
involving underground water and water wells and drilled and mined
shafts;
(10) the state's responsibilities relating to regional
waste disposal;
(11) the responsibilities assigned to the commission
by Chapters 361, 363, 382, 390, and 401, Health and Safety Code;
(12) the administration of the national flood
insurance program;
(13) administration of the state's water rate program
under Chapter 13 of this code; and
(14) any other areas assigned to the commission by
this code and other laws of this state.
SECTION 6. Subchapter L, Chapter 5, Water Code, is amended
by adding Section 5.517 to read as follows:
Sec. 5.517. EMERGENCY ORDER CONCERNING OPERATION OF QUARRY
WITHOUT PERMIT. (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b), the
commission shall issue an emergency order under this subchapter
suspending operations of a quarry or other facility that:
(1) produces aggregates, as that term is defined by
Section 390.001, Health and Safety Code;
(2) is required to obtain a permit under Chapter 26,
Water Code; and
(3) is operating without the necessary permit.
(b) The commission is not required to impose the penalty
under Subsection (a) if the operator submits to the commission
information demonstrating that the quarry operator relied in good
faith on the opinion of a professional engineer or licensed
attorney that a permit under Chapter 26, Water Code, was not
required at the facility.
SECTION 7. Section 7.052, Water Code, is amended by adding
Subsections (b-1) and (b-2) and amending Subsection (d) to read as
follows:
(b-1) Except as provided by Subsection (b-2), the amount of
the penalty for operating a quarry or other facility that produces
aggregates, as those terms are defined by Section 390.001, Health
and Safety Code, that is required to obtain a permit under Chapter
26, Water Code, and that is operating without the required permit is
$10,000. Each day that a continuing violation occurs is a separate
violation.
(b-2) The amount of the penalty under Subsection (b-1) is
not less than $1,000 or more than $10,000 if the operator submits to
the commission information demonstrating that the quarry operator
relied in good faith on the opinion of a professional engineer or
licensed attorney that a permit under Chapter 26, Water Code, was
not required at the facility.
(d) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (b) and
(b-1), each day that a continuing violation occurs may be
considered a separate violation. The commission may authorize an
installment payment schedule for an administrative penalty
assessed under this subchapter, except for an administrative
penalty assessed under Section 7.057 or assessed after a hearing
under Section 7.058.
SECTION 8. (a) The changes in law made by Sections 725.003
and 725.021, Transportation Code, as amended by this Act, apply
only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this
Act. For purposes of this section, an offense is committed before
the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense occurs
before that date.
(b) An offense committed before the effective date of this
Act is governed by the law in effect when the offense was committed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 9. The changes in law made by Section 5.517, Water
Code, as added by this Act, and Section 7.052, Water Code, as
amended by this Act, apply only to a violation that occurs on or
after the effective date of this Act. A violation that occurs
before that date is governed by the law in effect at the time the
violation occurred, and the former law is continued in effect for
that purpose.
SECTION 10. (a) The Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality shall be prepared to accept applications for permits under
Chapter 390, Health and Safety Code, as added by this Act, not later
than March 1, 2006.
(b) A person is not required to hold a permit to create or
operate a quarry under Chapter 390, Health and Safety Code, as added
by this Act, before June 1, 2006.
SECTION 11. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.