88R9928 JXC-D
 
  By: Wilson H.B. No. 4959
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to air quality permits for aggregate production operations
  and concrete batch plants.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  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 public 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 other than a municipality or county that
  receives notice of a hearing or meeting under Subsection (c) shall
  send a representative of the entity to attend the hearing or
  meeting.
         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 from the
  facility:
                     (A)  at the point on the perimeter of the property
  on which the facility is located that is closest to the nearest
  building in use as a single-family or multifamily residence,
  school, place of worship, or commercial enterprise; and
                     (B)  at two other points on the perimeter of the
  property on which the facility is located equidistant from the
  point described by Paragraph (A);
               (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)  resolve potential safety and environmental
  problems;
                     (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.
         (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.
         (g)  The 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)  used as a residence; and
                     (B)  located within 880 yards of the permitted
  facility.
         (h)  If the commission receives a complaint about noise
  created by a permitted facility, the commission shall require the
  person authorized to use the permit to submit to the commission 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. The commission shall analyze the
  data before determining whether the complaint is valid. 
         (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
  modification 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 2.  (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 3.  This Act takes effect January 1, 2024.