80R6339 MSE-D

By: McReynolds H.B. No. 1719

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to requiring landowners to report the burial of certain animal carcasses.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Sections 201.026(b), (c), (h), (i), and (j), Agriculture Code, are amended to read as follows:

(b) As the lead agency, the state board shall:

(1) plan, implement, and manage programs and practices for abating agricultural and silvicultural nonpoint source pollution;

(2) have as a goal:

(A) setting priorities among voluntary efforts to reduce nonpoint source pollution and promoting those efforts in a manner consistent with the priorities; and

(B) assisting landowners to prevent regulatory enforcement actions related to nonpoint source pollution; and

(3) provide to the agricultural community information regarding the jurisdictions of the state board and the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality related to nonpoint source pollution.

(c) Except as required by Subchapter L, Chapter 26, Water Code, a permit or other authorization is not required under that chapter as a prerequisite for the land application of animal waste for beneficial use at agronomic rates to property that is not owned or controlled by the owner or operator of a facility that Chapter 26, Water Code, requires to hold a permit or other authorization. This section does not affect the authority of the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality to investigate or take enforcement action against a point source discharge under Section 26.121, Water Code.

(h) The state board shall notify the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality not later than the 10th business day after the date the state board decertifies a water quality management plan for an animal feeding operation.

(i) The state board shall update the state board's identification of priority areas for the control of nonpoint source pollution at least every four years. The state board, in considering changes to the identified priority areas, shall consider:

(1) bodies of water the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality has identified as impaired through the state water quality assessment process;

(2) threatened areas in which action is necessary to prevent nonpoint source pollution; and

(3) other areas of concern, including groundwater concerns.

(j) Complaints concerning a violation of a water quality management plan or a violation of a law or rule relating to agricultural or silvicultural nonpoint source pollution under the jurisdiction of the state board shall be referred to the state board. The state board, in cooperation with the local soil and water conservation district, shall investigate the complaint. On completion of the investigation, the state board, in consultation with the soil and water conservation district, either shall determine that further action is not warranted or shall develop and implement a corrective action plan to address the complaint. If the person about whom the complaint has been made fails or refuses to take corrective action, the state board shall refer the complaint to the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality.

SECTION 2. Sections 201.026(f) and (g), Agriculture Code, as added by Chapter 1095, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, are amended to read as follows:

(f) The state board shall represent the state before the federal Environmental Protection Agency or other federal agencies on a matter relating to agricultural or silvicultural nonpoint source pollution. Nothing herein shall impair the ability of:

(1) the General Land Office to represent the state before any federal agency in matters relating to the state's participation in the federal coastal zone management program;

(2) the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality to represent the state before any federal agency in matters relating to the state's overall participation in the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1251 et seq.); or

(3) the Texas Department of Agriculture to represent the state before any federal agency in matters relating to the state's overall participation in the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (7 U.S.C. Section 136 et seq.).

(g) In an area that the state board identifies as having or having the potential to develop agricultural or silvicultural nonpoint source water quality problems or an area within the "coastal zone" designated by the Coastal Coordination Council, the state board shall establish a water quality management plan certification program that provides, through local soil and water conservation districts, for the development, supervision, and monitoring of individual water quality management plans for agricultural and silvicultural lands. Each plan must be developed, maintained, and implemented under rules and criteria adopted by the state board and comply with state water quality standards established by the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality. The state board shall certify a plan that satisfies the state board's rules and criteria and complies with state water quality standards established by the Texas [Natural Resource Conservation] Commission on Environmental Quality under the commission's exclusive authority to set water quality standards for all water in the state.

SECTION 3. Section 201.026(g), Agriculture Code, as added by Chapter 1189, Acts of the 77th Legislature, Regular Session, 2001, is amended to read as follows:

(g) The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality [commission] may not require a landowner who requests and complies with a water quality management plan under Subsection (f) to record the burial of animal carcasses in the county deed records or report the burial to the commission.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.