88R12495 JXC-D
 
  By: Goodwin H.B. No. 2905
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to air quality permits issued by the Texas Commission on
  Environmental Quality.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 382.016, Health and Safety Code, is
  amended by adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
         (c)  A member, employee, or agent of the commission may use
  emissions data obtained under Subsection (b) for modeling local and
  regional cumulative emissions.
         SECTION 2.  Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.051991 and 382.051992 to
  read as follows:
         Sec. 382.051991.  USE OF STANDARD PERMIT FOR AGGREGATE
  PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS: PUBLIC HEARING OR
  MEETING. (a) This section applies only to a hearing or meeting
  regarding an authorization to use a standard permit under this
  chapter for:
               (1)  the production of aggregates, as defined by
  Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
               (2)  the operation of a concrete plant that performs
  wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
         (b)  The commission shall accept written questions about the
  facility from the public until the 15th day before the date of the
  hearing or meeting.
         (c)  Not later than the 14th day before the date of the
  hearing or meeting, the commission shall notify the following
  entities of the date, time, and place of the hearing or meeting:
               (1)  the Texas Department of Transportation;
               (2)  each groundwater conservation district with
  jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
  proposed to be located;
               (3)  if no groundwater conservation district has
  jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or
  proposed to be located, the Texas Water Development Board;
               (4)  any state agency with jurisdiction over a topic
  raised in a written question submitted to the commission under
  Subsection (b); and
               (5)  each municipality and county in which the facility
  is located or proposed to be located.
         (d)  Each entity that receives notice of a hearing or meeting
  under Subsection (c) shall send a representative of the entity to
  attend the hearing or meeting.  This subsection does not apply to a
  municipality or county.
         Sec. 382.051992.  ADDITIONAL STANDARD PERMIT REQUIREMENTS
  FOR AGGREGATE PRODUCTION OPERATIONS AND CONCRETE BATCH PLANTS. (a)
  This section applies only to the use of a standard permit under this
  chapter for:
               (1)  the production of aggregates, as defined by
  Section 28A.001, Water Code; or
               (2)  the operation of a concrete plant that performs
  wet batching, dry batching, or central mixing.
         (b)  The commission may not authorize the use of a standard
  permit for or renew a standard permit authorization for a facility
  unless the applicant indicates on the application that the
  applicant:
               (1)  has complied with the requirements of Subsection
  (c); and
               (2)  will comply with any Texas Department of
  Transportation requirements for the construction or alteration of
  driveways as provided by Subsection (j).
         (c)  In addition to requirements in any other applicable
  provision of this chapter, a person authorized to use a standard
  permit must:
               (1)  install equipment to monitor noise levels and
  emissions of air contaminants, including particulate matter with a
  diameter equal to or less than 2.5 microns and equal to or less than
  10 microns, from the facility at three points on the perimeter of
  the property on which the facility is located that are as
  equidistant as possible, provided that:
                     (A)  one point must be at the point on the
  perimeter that is closest to the nearest building in use as a
  single-family or multifamily residence, school, place of worship,
  licensed day-care facility, or commercial enterprise;
                     (B)  one point must be at a point on the perimeter
  of the property on which the facility is located that is upwind,
  based on the predominant wind direction, from the facility; and
                     (C)  the commission may authorize one monitoring
  location to be used to satisfy the requirements of Paragraphs (A)
  and (B);
               (2)  ensure that outdoor lighting installed at the
  facility complies with standards adopted by the Illuminating
  Engineering Society;
               (3)  obtain computer-controlled blasting technology to
  minimize the effect of seismic forces on adjacent property caused
  by blasting at the facility;
               (4)  either:
                     (A)  use water for the facility only from a
  metered source or under a permit from a groundwater conservation
  district; or
                     (B)  implement commission-approved methods of
  water recirculation to ensure efficient use of groundwater for the
  facility;
               (5)  provide to the commission a plan to ensure that the
  area on which the facility operates will be safe and useful after
  operations cease, including a description of how the person will:
                     (A)  decommission the facility and ensure that
  equipment is removed;
                     (B)  minimize fugitive dust from areas the person
  does not plan to revegetate; and
                     (C)  control erosion by revegetating barren
  areas; and
               (6)  provide to the commission a performance bond or
  other form of financial assurance to ensure payment of the costs of
  executing the plan required by Subdivision (5).
         (d)  The commission is not required to inspect a facility
  solely to verify compliance with Subsection (c). The commission
  shall inspect a facility for compliance with Subsection (c) during
  regular inspections under this chapter and Chapter 28A, Water Code,
  and inspections made to respond to complaints.
         (e)  The commission shall publish a list of monitoring
  equipment that a person may use to meet the requirements of
  Subsection (c)(1).
         (f)  The person shall maintain records of monitoring data
  from the equipment required by Subsection (c)(1) until the fifth
  anniversary of the date on which the data was collected.  The person
  may use physical instrument data storage and cloud-based storage.
         (g)  A person authorized to use a standard permit shall
  ensure that noise created by the permitted facility does not
  exceed:
               (1)  70 decibels at the points at which monitors are
  installed under Subsection (c); or
               (2)  65 decibels at the perimeter of a property that is:
                     (A)  a single-family or multifamily residence,
  school, place of worship, licensed day-care facility, or commercial
  enterprise; and
                     (B)  located within 880 yards of the permitted
  facility.
         (h)  If the commission receives a complaint about emissions
  or noise created by a permitted facility, the commission shall
  require the person authorized to use the permit to retain and make
  available to the commission on request all relevant available
  monitoring data from the monitoring equipment required by
  Subsection (c)(1) collected for a time period beginning 30 days
  before the date that is the subject of the complaint and ending 30
  days after that date.
         (i)  The commission is authorized to:
               (1)  receive funds as the beneficiary of a financial
  assurance mechanism required under Subsection (c); and
               (2)  expend funds from the financial assurance
  mechanism to ensure that the area on which the permitted facility
  operated is safe and useful.
         (j)  If the Texas Department of Transportation determines
  that activities at a facility necessitate the construction or
  alteration of driveway access to or from a state highway, including
  to meet any applicable requirements under Chapter 133, Natural
  Resources Code, the person authorized to use a standard permit for
  the facility shall enter into a donation agreement with the
  department for the donation of costs or property needed by the state
  to facilitate the construction or alteration.
         SECTION 3.  Section 382.058(c), Health and Safety Code, is
  amended to read as follows:
         (c)  For purposes of this section, only a representative of a
  place of worship, licensed day-care center, licensed nursing
  facility, licensed assisted living facility, licensed intermediate
  care facility, hospital, or medical facility or a person [those
  persons actually] residing [in a permanent residence] within 440
  yards of the proposed plant may request a hearing under Section
  382.056 as a person who may be affected.  The commission shall adopt
  rules establishing who qualifies as a representative of a place of
  worship, licensed day-care center, licensed nursing facility,
  licensed assisted living facility, licensed intermediate care
  facility, hospital, or medical facility under this section.
         SECTION 4.  Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety
  Code, is amended by adding Section 382.0581 to read as follows:
         Sec. 382.0581.  AIR DISPERSION MODELING FOR CERTAIN
  APPLICATIONS. (a)  This section applies only to an application for:
               (1)  a permit under Section 382.0518 for:
                     (A)  a concrete plant that performs wet batching,
  dry batching, or central mixing;
                     (B)  a rock crusher;
                     (C)  a hot mix asphalt plant; or
                     (D)  a bulk mineral handling facility;
               (2)  an authorization to use a standard permit under
  Section 382.05195 for:
                     (A)  a concrete plant that performs wet batching,
  dry batching, or central mixing;
                     (B)  a rock crusher; or
                     (C)  a hot mix asphalt plant; or
               (3)  an authorization to use a standard permit under
  Section 382.05198 for a concrete plant that performs wet batching,
  dry batching, or central mixing.
         (b)  The commission shall require the use of air dispersion
  modeling to determine the overall cumulative effect on air quality
  of a facility that is the subject of an application described by
  Subsection (a) in conjunction with other proposed or existing
  facilities that:
               (1)  are located less than five miles from the
  facility; and
               (2)  emit more than a de minimis level of air
  contaminants.
         SECTION 5.  (a) Except as provided by Subsection (b) of this
  section, the changes in law made by this Act apply only to a permit
  or an authorization to use a permit for which an application is
  submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or
  after the effective date of this Act. A permit or an authorization
  to use a permit for which an application was submitted to the Texas
  Commission on Environmental Quality before the effective date of
  this Act is governed by the law in effect immediately before the
  effective date of this Act, and the former law is continued in
  effect for that purpose.
         (b)  The changes in law made by this Act apply to a permit or
  an authorization to use a permit for which an application for
  renewal is submitted to the Texas Commission on Environmental
  Quality on or after January 1, 2025.
         SECTION 6.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.