Bill Text: TX SB1696 | 2019-2020 | 86th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to the regulation of aggregate production operations; requiring a permit; authorizing a fee.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2019-03-14 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB1696 Detail]
Download: Texas-2019-SB1696-Introduced.html
86R13993 SLB-D | ||
By: Campbell | S.B. No. 1696 |
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relating to the regulation of aggregate production operations; | ||
requiring a permit; authorizing a fee. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. The heading to Subchapter B, Chapter 28A, Water | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER B. PERMIT [ |
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SECTION 2. Subchapter B, Chapter 28A, Water Code, is | ||
amended by adding Sections 28A.0525, 28A.0526, and 28A.0527 to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 28A.0525. PERMIT REQUIRED. (a) A person may not begin | ||
or conduct extraction activities at an aggregate production | ||
operation unless the responsible party has obtained a standard | ||
permit for the aggregate production operation from the commission | ||
under this section. | ||
(b) The commission by rule shall: | ||
(1) adopt a standard permit for aggregate production | ||
operations; | ||
(2) prescribe an application for a standard permit | ||
under this section; and | ||
(3) provide for the issuance of a standard permit | ||
under this section. | ||
(c) A permit does not become a vested right in the permit | ||
holder. | ||
(d) A permit may be issued under this section for a term set | ||
by the board not to exceed six years from the date of issuance. | ||
(e) The commission may charge fees for the issuance of | ||
permits under this section in an amount sufficient to recover the | ||
costs of administering this chapter. | ||
Sec. 28A.0526. NOTICE AND HEARING. (a) Except as provided | ||
by Subsection (b), the notice and hearing provisions of Subchapter | ||
M, Chapter 5, Water Code, apply to an application under this section | ||
for a permit or a permit renewal. | ||
(b) A public hearing on an application for a permit or | ||
permit renewal issued under this section must be held in the | ||
municipality located closest to the proposed or existing aggregate | ||
production operation. | ||
Sec. 28A.0527. CERTAIN LOCATIONS RESTRICTED. (a) This | ||
section applies only to an aggregate production operation located: | ||
(1) in the Guadalupe River watershed according to the | ||
National Hydrography Dataset and the Watershed Boundary Dataset; | ||
and | ||
(2) west of the Canyon Lake Dam. | ||
(b) An aggregate production operation may not operate | ||
within 1500 feet of a navigable waterway. | ||
(c) An application for a permit to operate an aggregate | ||
production operation must include: | ||
(1) information satisfying criteria determined by the | ||
commission regarding: | ||
(A) slope gradients sufficient to minimize the | ||
potential for erosion and water quality degradation; | ||
(B) the potential for significant damage to | ||
important historical and cultural values or ecological systems; | ||
(C) the effect on: | ||
(i) natural resources, including aquifers | ||
and aquifer recharge zones; | ||
(ii) agricultural activity; and | ||
(iii) areas subject to frequent flooding or | ||
geological events; and | ||
(D) concerns relevant to the substantial | ||
endangerment of life or property; | ||
(2) a plan for the: | ||
(A) control of water drainage and accumulation | ||
that prevents erosion and damage to fish or wildlife habitat; and | ||
(B) reclamation and revegetation of the quarried | ||
land consistent with best management practices adopted by the | ||
commission; and | ||
(3) evidence of sufficient financial assurance to | ||
cover the remediation of potential negative effects on the | ||
Guadalupe River and surrounding areas, as determined by commission | ||
rule. | ||
SECTION 3. Section 28A.053(a), Water Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) The commission shall inspect each active permitted | ||
aggregate production operation in this state for compliance with | ||
applicable permit conditions and environmental laws and rules under | ||
the jurisdiction of the commission at least once every three years. | ||
SECTION 4. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 28A, Water | ||
Code, is amended to read as follows: | ||
SUBCHAPTER C. [ |
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SECTION 5. Section 28A.102, Water Code, is amended to read | ||
as follows: | ||
Sec. 28A.102. PENALTY. The commission may assess a penalty | ||
of not less than $5,000 and not more than $10,000 for each year in | ||
which an aggregate production operation operates without a permit | ||
issued [ |
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under this section may not exceed $25,000 for an aggregate | ||
production operation that is operated in three or more years | ||
without a permit [ |
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SECTION 6. The following provisions of the Water Code are | ||
repealed: | ||
(1) Section 28A.051; | ||
(2) Section 28A.052; | ||
(3) Section 28A.054; and | ||
(4) Section 28A.101. | ||
SECTION 7. (a) Not later than March 1, 2020, the Texas | ||
Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules to implement | ||
the changes in law made by this Act to Chapter 28A, Water Code. | ||
(b) Notwithstanding Section 28A.0525, Water Code, as added | ||
by this Act, a person beginning extraction activities at an | ||
aggregate production operation on or after the effective date of | ||
this Act is not required to hold a permit required by that section | ||
for the extraction activities until September 1, 2020. | ||
SECTION 8. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to | ||
an aggregate production operation at which extraction activities | ||
begin on or after the effective date of this Act. An aggregate | ||
production operation at which extraction activities began 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. | ||
SECTION 9. This Act takes effect September 1, 2019. |