AUTHOR'S / SPONSOR'S STATEMENT OF INTENT

 

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) is responsible for enforcing a myriad of existing laws, rules, and regulations which apply to the removal of aggregate materials, such as rock, sand, gravel, and even dirt or soil, from a pit or from the ground.  TCEQ's regulatory authority includes: water quality requirements for discharges of storm water or other water used in the mining process, air quality requirements for emissions from rock crushers or other activities at a quarry site, and requirements for cleanup and reporting of spills of petroleum products or solid waste.

 

Despite TCEQ's efforts, an aggregate production operation can remove materials in remote locations without TCEQ's knowledge and without the proper authorizations designed to protect water and air quality.

 

H.B. 571 seeks to address this issue by providing TCEQ with the ability to regulate certain aggregate production operations through registration and inspection.

 

H.B. 571 amends current law relating to the regulation of certain aggregate production operations by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality and provides penalties.

 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

 

Rulemaking authority is expressly granted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in SECTION 1 (Section 28A.101, Water Code) of this bill.

 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

 

SECTION 1.  Amends Subtitle D, Title 2, Water Code, by adding Chapter 28A, as follows:

 

CHAPTER 28A.  REGISTRATION AND INSPECTION OF CERTAIN AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OPERATIONS

 

SUBCHAPTER A.  GENERAL PROVISIONS

 

Sec.  28A.001.  DEFINITIONS.  Defines "aggregate production operation," "aggregates," "commission," "operator," "owner," and "responsible party."

 

[Reserves Sections 28A.002-28A.050 for expansion.]

 

SUBCHAPTER B.  REGISTRATION AND INSPECTION

 

Sec.  28A.051.  REGISTRATION.  (a)  Requires the responsible party for an aggregate production operation to register the operation with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) not later than the 10th business day before the beginning date of extraction activities and to renew the registration annually as extraction activities continue.

 

(b)  Provides that the requirements of this chapter are not applicable to an aggregate production operation after extraction activities at the aggregate operation have ceased and the operator has notified TCEQ in writing that the operations have ceased.

 

Sec.  28.052.  SURVEY.  (a)  Requires TCEQ to conduct annually a physical survey of the state to identify all active aggregate production operations in this state and to ensure that each active aggregate production operation in this state is registered with TCEQ.

 

(b)  Authorizes TCEQ to contract with or seek assistance from a governmental entity or other person to conduct the annual survey required by Subsection (a) to identify active aggregate production operations that are not registered under this chapter.

 

Sec.  28A.053.  INSPECTION.  (a)  Requires TCEQ to inspect each active aggregate production operation in this state for compliance with applicable environmental laws and rules under the jurisdiction of TCEQ at least once every three years.

 

(b)  Authorizes TCEQ to conduct an inspection only after providing notice to the responsible party in accordance with TCEQ policy.

 

(c)  Requires that an inspection, except as provided by Subsection (d), be conducted by one or more inspectors trained in the regulatory requirements under the jurisdiction of TCEQ that are applicable to an active aggregate production operation.  Provides that if the inspection is conducted by more than one inspector, each inspector is not required to be trained in each of the applicable regulatory requirements, but the combined training of the inspectors must include each of the applicable regulatory requirements.  Sets forth the applicable regulatory requirements.

 

(d)  Provides that an investigation in response to a complaint satisfies the requirement of an inspection under this section if a potential noncompliance issue not related to the complaint is observed and is not within an area of expertise of the investigator but is referred by the investigator to TCEQ for further investigation or within an area of expertise of the inspector and is appropriately investigated and appropriately addressed in the investigation reports.

 

Sec.  28A.054.  REPORT.  Requires TCEQ to provide a specific section in the annual enforcement report under Section 5.126 (Report on Enforcement Actions) with certain information regarding the implementation of this chapter.

 

[Reserves Sections 28A.055-28A.100 for expansion.]

 

SUBCHAPTER C.  FEES AND ENFORCEMENT

 

Sec.  28A.101.  FEES.  (a) Requires a person who, under laws in TCEQ's jurisdiction and rules adopted under those laws, is authorized to operate an aggregate production operation to pay annually an aggregate production operation registration fee to TCEQ in an amount established by TCEQ rule.

 

(b) Requires TCEQ to set the annual registration fee in an amount, not to exceed $1000, that is sufficient to maintain a registry of active aggregate production operations in this state and to implement this chapter.

 

(c)  Requires that registration fees collected under this section be deposited in the water resource management account.  Authorizes registration fees to be used only to implement this chapter.

 

Sec.  28A.102.  PENALTY.  Authorizes TCEQ to assess a penalty of not less than $5,000 but not more than $10,000 for each year in which an aggregate production operation operates without being registered under this chapter.  Prohibits the total penalty under this section from exceeding $25,000 for an aggregate production operation that is operated in three or more years without being registered.

 

SECTION 2.  (a)  Provides that a responsible party operating an aggregate production operation, as those terms are defined by Section 28A.001, Water Code, as added by this Act, is first required to register with TCEQ under Section 28A.051, Water Code, as added by this Act, on September 1, 2012.

 

(b)  Provides that if, in conjunction with initially registering with TCEQ as required by Subsection (a) of this section, a responsible party operating an aggregate production operation also submits a notice of intent to conduct an audit for compliance with all applicable laws, rules, and regulations under the jurisdiction of TCEQ under the Texas Environmental, Health, and Safety Audit Privilege Act (Article 4447cc, V.T.C.S.), the three-year period to conduct an inspection of the operation under Section 28A.053, Water Code, as added by this Act, begins September 1, 2015.

 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 2011.