| TO: | Honorable Kip Averitt, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB359 by Williams (Relating to the application of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality's water quality protection area pilot program to portions of the San Jacinto River.), As Introduced |
The bill would expand the application of the John Graves Scenic Riverway pilot program to quarry operations in portions of the East Fork and West Fork of the San Jacinto River. The bill would also expand the scope and applicability of reclamation for quarry operations in portions of the East Fork and West Fork of the San Jacinto River. The bill would take effect September 1, 2007.
Implementation of the bill wouldl require the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) to complete rulemaking to expand the existing rules for the John Graves Scenic Riverway pilot program to include the East Fork and West Fork of the San Jacinto River. The TCEQ anticipates having to issue additional individual wastewater discharge permits under the expanded pilot program and will also need to incorporate the East Fork and West Fork of the San Jacinto River into the general wastewater discharge permit for quarry discharges to the John Graves Scenic Riverway. The TCEQ will also need to increase monitoring, inspection, and (potentially) enforcement efforts for quarries located within the affected portions of the East Fork and West Fork of the San Jacinto River. The TCEQ will need to coordinate with the San Jacinto River Authority and the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to increase monitoring, inspection, and (potentially) enforcement efforts for quarries located within the affected San Jacinto River watersheds.
The TCEQ anticipates that approximately 13 facilities will be required to obtain coverage under a new general permit or individual permits. Compared with the total number of individual and general permits issued by the TCEQ, this number is not considered significant. It is expected that the impact of rulemaking efforts, general permit processing, inspections, and enforcement for the small number of facilities affected by this legislation is minor and could be absorbed within current agency resources.
| Source Agencies: | 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, TL
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