FISCAL NOTE, 85TH LEGISLATURE 1st CALLED SESSION - 2017
August 1, 2017
TO:
Honorable Joseph Pickett, Chair, House Committee on Environmental Regulation
FROM:
Ursula Parks, Director, Legislative Budget Board
IN RE:
HB304 by Morrison, Geanie W. (Relating to a prohibition of the land application of grease or grit trap waste.), As Introduced
No significant fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.
The bill would amend Health and Safety Code, Ch. 361 to amend the definition of "land application unit", to add definitions of "grease trap waste", "grit trap", and "grit trap waste", and to prohibit the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) from issuing a permit, registration, or other authorization for land applications of grit trap waste or grease trap waste, including land application of processed grit trap waste or grease trap waste and sewage sludge mixed with grit trap waste or grease trap waste. This prohibition would exclude a permit, registration or other authorization issued for the disposal of grease trap waste or grit trap waste at a municipal solid waste Type I landfill, municipal solid waste Type V facility, or compost facility permitted or registered, as applicable, by TCEQ. Any permit, registration or other authorization issued by TCEQ that would be in violation of the bill's provisions would expire on the effective date of the Act; any remainder of the authorization would remain in effect as long as it does not authorize land application of grease trap waste or grit trap waste. The bill would take effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, or on December 1, 2017.
TCEQ estimates that implementing the provisions of this bill can be accomplished using existing resources.
Local Government Impact
Because the TCEQ sludge program has historically not issued permits or other authorizations for the land application of grit and grease trap waste, TCEQ estimates that no fiscal implications are anticipated for local and other governmental agencies.