TO: | Honorable Allan Ritter, Chair, House Committee on Natural Resources |
FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | SB1414 by Williams (Relating to the regulation of certain aggregate production operations by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality; providing penalties.), As Engrossed |
Fiscal Year | Probable Net Positive/(Negative) Impact to General Revenue Related Funds |
---|---|
2010 | $0 |
2011 | $0 |
2012 | $0 |
2013 | $0 |
2014 | $0 |
Fiscal Year | Probable Revenue Gain from Water Resource Management 153 |
Probable Savings/(Cost) from Water Resource Management 153 |
Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2009 |
---|---|---|---|
2010 | $308,147 | ($308,147) | 4.0 |
2011 | $245,147 | ($245,147) | 4.0 |
2012 | $245,147 | ($245,147) | 4.0 |
2013 | $245,147 | ($245,147) | 4.0 |
2014 | $245,147 | ($245,147) | 4.0 |
The bill would add new Chapter 135 to the Natural Resources Code, which would provide for the registration and inspection of certain aggregate production operations. The bill would require the responsible party for an aggregate production operation to register the operation with Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), and requires that this registration be renewed annually. The bill would require such operations to pay a fee set by the agency in an amount necessary to maintain a registry of these operations and to implement this chapter. The fee could not exceed $1,000. Active operations would have until September 1, 2010 for their initial registration.
The bill would require TCEQ to conduct a physical survey of the state to identify all active aggregate production operations in the state and to ensure that all of them are registered. The bill would require TCEQ to conduct compliance inspections at all active sites at least once every three years with one or more inspectors. The bill would require the TCEQ to submit a report relating to aggregate production operations in agency's the annual enforcement report submitted to the Legislature.
The bill would allow TCEQ to assess a penalty ranging from $5,000 to $10,000 on an aggregate production operation that operates in this state without proper registration. The bill would limit the total penalty to $25,000 for a facility operating without proper registration for three or more years. The bill would provide that when an operation submits a notice of intent to conduct an audit for compliance with all applicable rules with its initial registration, the TCEQ would not begin the three-year period for the agency to conduct an inspection of the operation until September 1, 2013.
Registration fees collected under this chapter would be deposited to the General Revenue-Dedicated Water Resource Management Account No. and would be used only to implement the new chapter.
This bill would take effect September 1, 2009.
Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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LBB Staff: | JOB, ZS, HC, SD, TL
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