79R8017 JTS-D
By: Barrientos S.B. No. 1676
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the denial of certain landfill permits by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.122, Health and Safety Code, is
amended to read as follows:
Sec. 361.122. DENIAL OF CERTAIN LANDFILL PERMITS. (a) The
commission may not issue a permit for a new Type I landfill or the
areal expansion of an existing Type I landfill if:
(1) the proposed landfill or expansion is located:
(A) above or in an area that contains municipal
solid waste but does not meet federal regulations applicable to new
landfills under 40 C.F.R. Parts 257 and 258, regardless of when the
waste was received; or
(B) adjacent to a landfill facility for which the
commission has received an application for a permit for the areal
expansion of the facility during the previous 36 months; or
(2) prior to final consideration of the application by
the commission, the commissioners of the county in which the
facility is located have adopted a resolution recommending denial
of the application.
(b) The commission may not issue a permit for a Type IV
landfill if:
(1) the proposed site is located within 100 feet of a
canal that is used as a public drinking water source or for
irrigation of crops used for human or animal consumption;
(2) the proposed site is located in a county with a
population of more than 225,000 that is located adjacent to the Gulf
of Mexico; and
(3) prior to final consideration of the application by
the commission, the commissioners of the county in which the
facility is located have adopted a resolution recommending denial
of the application.
SECTION 2. (a) The Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality shall adopt rules to implement Section 361.122(a), Health
and Safety Code, as added by this Act, as soon as practicable, but
not later than December 31, 2005.
(b) This Act applies only to an application for a permit for
a municipal solid waste landfill or for an areal expansion of such a
landfill that is received by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality on or after the date the rules adopted by the commission
under this Act take effect. An application received by the
commission before the date the rules adopted by the commission
under this Act take effect is covered by the law in effect on the
date the application is received, and the former law is continued in
effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.