By: Callegari H.B. No. 824
 
 
 
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.