TO: | Honorable Troy Fraser, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources |
FROM: | John S O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
IN RE: | HB571 by Huberty (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 |
---|---|
2012 | $0 |
2013 | $0 |
2014 | $0 |
2015 | $0 |
2016 | $0 |
Fiscal Year | Probable Savings/(Cost) from Water Resource Management 153 |
Probable Revenue Gain/(Loss) from Water Resource Management 153 |
---|---|---|
2012 | ($368,349) | $330,000 |
2013 | ($291,049) | $330,000 |
2014 | ($291,049) | $330,000 |
2015 | ($291,049) | $330,000 |
2016 | ($291,049) | $330,000 |
Fiscal Year | Change in Number of State Employees from FY 2011 |
---|---|
2012 | 4.0 |
2013 | 4.0 |
2014 | 4.0 |
2015 | 4.0 |
2016 | 4.0 |
The bill would create a new registration and inspection program for active aggregate production operations and give the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) the responsibility to administer the program. The TCEQ would be required to survey the state on an annual basis for active aggregate production facilities, process registrations every year, and inspect aggregate production operations every three years. The agency would establish registration fees in an amount to maintain the registration and inspection program, not to exceed $1,000, and assess the prescribed penalties if aggregate operations fail to register. Registration fees would be deposited into the General Revenue-Dedicated Water Resource Management Account No. 153 to be used only to implement the registration and inspection program. Inspections would not start until September 1, 2015 if a facility submits a notice of intent to conduct a compliance audit when it registers with the agency. A facility would be required to register on September 1, 2012. The bill would also require the agency to provide information on the program in the annual enforcement report.
The bill would provide various exceptions to the definition of an aggregate production operation, including temporary sites for use in public works projects and sites used for the construction, modification, or expansion of a solid waste facility.
It is estimated that the TCEQ would need 4.0 additional FTEs (Environmental Investigators) to to conduct the investigations required by the legislation. This estimate assumes that there would be 600 active aggregate production operations statewide and that the agency would set the fee at a level sufficient to cover estimated expenses, or at about $550 per permit. This estimate assumes that the TCEQ would conduct investigations at 200 sites per year. There would also be costs to make changes to the agency's existing data systems for billing, fee collection, investigation, and enforcement activity. First year start-up costs are estimated at $77,301.
Source Agencies: | 304 Comptroller of Public Accounts, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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LBB Staff: | JOB, SZ, ZS, TL
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