86R14130 JXC-D
 
  By: Guillen H.B. No. 2942
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to the adoption and enforcement of reclamation standards
  for certain sand mining operations; authorizing a fee.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Title 4, Natural Resources Code, is amended by
  adding Chapter 135 to read as follows:
  CHAPTER 135. RECLAMATION STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN SAND MINING
  OPERATIONS
         Sec. 135.0101.  DEFINITIONS. In this chapter:
               (1)  "Commission" means the Railroad Commission of
  Texas.
               (2)  "Marketable material" means sand mined at the
  regulated premises and processed for sale.
               (3)  "Unmarketable material" means material excavated
  or mined from the regulated premises other than marketable material
  and includes surface soil, unmarketable sand, and overburden and
  interburden encountered during mining and processing operations.
         Sec. 135.0102.  RECLAMATION STANDARDS AND PERMIT. (a) The
  commission by rule shall adopt standards governing reclamation for
  sand mining operations, regardless of whether the operations are
  required to be registered under Chapter 28A, Water Code, that
  overlie the Carrizo Aquifer and are located within:
               (1)  30 miles of the boundary of a municipality with a
  population of more than 500,000; or
               (2)  one mile of a building in use as a single-family or
  multifamily residence at the time the permit application is filed
  with the commission.
         (b)  The measurement of distance for purposes of Subsection
  (a) shall be taken from the point on the sand mining operation that
  is nearest to the municipal boundary or residence toward the point
  on the municipal boundary or residence that is nearest to the sand
  mining operation.
         (c)  A person may not begin or conduct extraction activities
  at a sand mining operation described by Subsection (a) unless the
  operator has obtained a reclamation permit from the commission
  under this chapter.
         (d)  The commission shall require an applicant for a
  reclamation permit to submit to the commission a site reclamation
  plan for the sand mining operation that demonstrates that the
  applicant has adequately planned to comply with the standards
  adopted under this chapter.
         (e)  The commission may charge fees for the issuance of
  permits under this chapter in an amount sufficient to recover the
  costs of administering this chapter.
         Sec. 135.0103.  CONTENTS OF STANDARDS. (a)  The standards
  adopted under Section 135.0102 must:
               (1)  provide for the protection of surface water,
  groundwater, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and wetlands;
               (2)  require reclamation to:
                     (A)  occur concurrently with sand mining
  operations by managing the movement of marketable and unmarketable
  material encountered during the operations; and
                     (B)  use best practices adopted by the Natural
  Resources Conservation Service of the United States Department of
  Agriculture;
               (3)  include post-mining reclamation grade standards;
               (4)  establish slope stabilization requirements,
  including by grading perpendicular to the gradient;
               (5)  require unmarketable material from the regulated
  premises to be stockpiled on the premises and used as backfill for
  site restoration;
               (6)  prohibit the inclusion of material not excavated
  from the regulated premises in the backfill used for site
  restoration;
               (7)  prohibit the stockpiling of unmarketable material
  at a horizontal to vertical slope greater than a 3 to 1 ratio;
               (8)  require surface soil removed during sand mining
  operations at the regulated premises to be used as the uppermost
  layer of the final reclamation grade;
               (9)  require a reclaimed area to be left for successive
  vegetation growth after final reclamation grade standards have been
  satisfied; and
               (10)  encourage the construction of ponds to catch
  runoff in locations that are outside critical runoff zones for
  rivers.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Subsection (a), the commission may
  adopt alternative standards for sand mining operations that began
  before September 1, 2019, and are unable to comply with the
  requirements of Subsection (a), provided that the alternative
  standards must:
               (1)  provide for the protection of surface water,
  groundwater, agricultural land, wildlife habitat, and wetlands;
  and
               (2)  include standards relating to grading and slopes
  of reclaimed areas, the composition of backfill used for site
  restoration, topsoil management, site stabilization, and
  revegetation.
         Sec. 135.0104.  LOCAL ENFORCEMENT OF PERMIT STANDARDS. (a)
  A county shall adopt a program for the enforcement of the standards
  adopted under this chapter for sand mining operations located in
  unincorporated areas of the county that are subject to this
  chapter.
         (b)  A municipality may adopt a program for the enforcement
  of the standards adopted under this chapter for sand mining
  operations located in the municipality that are subject to this
  chapter.
         (c)  A program adopted by a county or a municipality under
  this section must provide for the inspection of sand mining
  operations that are subject to this chapter to assure compliance
  with the standards adopted under this chapter.
         (d)  A county or a municipality that adopts a program under
  this section may:
               (1)  require a sand mining operation to submit for
  approval by the county or municipality, as appropriate, the site
  reclamation plan submitted to the commission with the permit
  application under Section 135.0102, before sand mining operations
  may take place at the premises that is the subject of the
  reclamation plan; and
               (2)  charge a fee for the review and approval of the
  plan.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, is amended by
  adding Section 23.526 to read as follows:
         Sec. 23.526.  TEMPORARY CESSATION OF AGRICULTURAL USE FOR
  SAND MINING OPERATION. (a)  The eligibility of land for appraisal
  under this subchapter does not end because the land ceases to be
  devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree of intensity
  generally accepted in the area if:
               (1)  the owner of the land intends that the use of the
  land in that manner and to that degree of intensity be resumed;
               (2)  the land is used for a sand mining operation for
  which a permit is issued under Chapter 135, Natural Resources Code;
  and
               (3)  the land is reclaimed in the manner required by
  Chapter 135, Natural Resources Code, not later than the first
  anniversary of the date sand mining operations began on the land.
         (b)  The owner of land to which this section applies must
  notify the appraisal office in writing not later than the 30th day
  after the date sand mining operations begin on the land that the
  owner intends to ensure that the requirements of Subsection (a) are
  met.
         SECTION 3.  (a)  This section applies only to land on which a
  sand mining operation began before the effective date of this Act.
         (b)  Notwithstanding Section 23.526(b), Tax Code, as added
  by this Act, the eligibility of the land for appraisal under
  Subchapter D, Chapter 23, Tax Code, does not end because the land
  ceases to be devoted principally to agricultural use to the degree
  of intensity generally accepted in the area if:
               (1)  the owner of the land provides the notice required
  by Section 23.526(b), Tax Code, as added by this Act, not later than
  the 90th day after the effective date of this Act; and
               (2)  the chief appraiser of the appraisal district in
  which the land is located has not, as of the effective date of this
  Act, made a determination under Section 23.55, Tax Code, that a
  change in use of the land has occurred.
         SECTION 4.  This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
  a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
  provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.  If this
  Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
  Act takes effect September 1, 2019.