| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to a volume-based exemption from reporting requirements |
|
|
for accidental discharges or spills from wastewater facilities. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 26.039, Water Code, is amended by |
|
|
amending Subsections (b), (e), and (f) and adding Subsection (b-1) |
|
|
to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsection (b-1), whenever |
|
|
[Whenever] an accidental discharge or spill occurs at or from any |
|
|
activity or facility which causes or may cause pollution, the |
|
|
individual operating, in charge of, or responsible for the activity |
|
|
or facility shall notify the commission as soon as possible and not |
|
|
later than 24 hours after the occurrence. The individual's notice |
|
|
to the commission must include the location, volume, and content of |
|
|
the discharge or spill. |
|
|
(b-1) The individual is not required to notify the |
|
|
commission under Subsection (b) if an accidental discharge or spill |
|
|
of 1,500 gallons or less from a wastewater treatment facility or |
|
|
works or collection facility does not reach waters of the state. |
|
|
(e) If an accidental discharge or spill described by |
|
|
Subsection (b) of more than 1,500 gallons from a wastewater |
|
|
treatment facility or works or collection facility owned or |
|
|
operated by a local government may adversely affect a public or |
|
|
private source of drinking water, the individual shall also notify |
|
|
appropriate local government officials and local media. |
|
|
(f) The commission by rule shall specify the conditions |
|
|
under which an individual must comply with Subsection (b), subject |
|
|
to Subsection (b-1), and with Subsection (e) and prescribe |
|
|
procedures for giving the required notice. The rules must also |
|
|
state the content of the notice and the manner of giving notice. In |
|
|
formulating the rules, the commission shall consider: |
|
|
(1) the nature and extent of the discharge or spill; |
|
|
(2) the potential effect of the discharge or spill; |
|
|
and |
|
|
(3) regional information about the susceptibility of a |
|
|
particular drinking water source to a specific type of pollution. |
|
|
SECTION 2. (a) Not later than December 1, 2013, the Texas |
|
|
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to |
|
|
implement Section 26.039, Water Code, as amended by this Act. |
|
|
(b) The change in law made by this Act applies only to an |
|
|
offense committed on or after the effective date of a rule adopted |
|
|
by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this |
|
|
section. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed |
|
|
before the effective date of a rule adopted by the Texas Commission |
|
|
on Environmental Quality under this section if any element of the |
|
|
offense occurred before that date. |
|
|
(c) An offense committed before the effective date of a rule |
|
|
adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this |
|
|
section is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was |
|
|
committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that |
|
|
purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2013. |