By: Hinojosa	S.B. No. 1471
	(In the Senate - Filed March 10, 2011; March 22, 2011, read
	first time and referred to Committee on Natural Resources;
	April 27, 2011, reported favorably by the following vote:  Yeas 9,
	Nays 0; April 27, 2011, sent to printer.)

	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
	AN ACT
	relating to land reclamation projects using tires.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1.  Subchapter C, Chapter 361, Health and Safety
	Code, is amended by adding Section 361.1126 to read as follows:
	Sec. 361.1126.  LAND RECLAMATION PROJECTS USING TIRES.
	(a)  In this section:
	(1)  "Land reclamation" means the process of restoring
	an area of excavated, deteriorated, or disturbed land to its
	approximate natural grade and to prepare or reclaim the land for
	reuse.
	(2)  "Scrap tire" has the meaning assigned by Section
	361.112.
	(b)  A person may not begin a land reclamation project using
	scrap tires without a permit issued by the commission under this
	section.
	(c)  A person may not use scrap tires for a land reclamation
	project unless the tires are shredded, split, or quartered as
	provided by commission rule. The commission may grant an exception
	to this requirement if the commission finds that circumstances
	warrant the exception.
	(d)  The commission may not grant a permit for a land
	reclamation project using scrap tires before:
	(1)  the commission receives comments or suggestions
	from:
	(A)  the governing body of any municipality in the
	corporate limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction of which the
	proposed project is located;
	(B)  the commissioners court of each county in
	which the proposed project is located;
	(C)  each groundwater conservation district, if
	any, in which the proposed project is located; and
	(D)  each regional planning commission, council
	of governments, or similar regional planning agency created under
	Chapter 391, Local Government Code, if any, for the region in which
	the proposed project is located; or
	(2)  the earlier of:
	(A)  the 61st day after the date the application
	to request a permit for the project is submitted to the commission;
	or
	(B)  the day following the first date the
	commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
	located has conducted two regularly scheduled meetings following
	the date the application was submitted to the commission.
	(e)  The application to request a permit for a land
	reclamation project using scrap tires must include at a minimum:
	(1)  a legal description of the area to be reclaimed;
	(2)  a map clearly identifying the area to be reclaimed
	and the topography of the area;
	(3)  an affidavit from the property owner certifying
	that the reclamation project complies with this section and the
	rules adopted under this section;
	(4)  a demonstration of the seasonal high groundwater
	level in the area in which the proposed project is located; and
	(5)  an analysis and evaluation of the environmental
	impacts on the soil and groundwater in the area of the proposed
	project that compares the impact of using scrap tires for the
	proposed reclamation project to the impact of at least one
	reasonable alternative method of land reclamation for the proposed
	project.
	(f)  A person submitting an application to request a permit
	under this section must mail a copy of the application to the
	commissioners court of each county in which the proposed project is
	located and provide notice to the other entities listed in
	Subsection (d). Proof of notice must be provided in the form and
	manner described by commission rule.
	(g)  The executive director may request that a person
	submitting an application to request a permit under this section
	provide additional information if the executive director
	determines that the application does not address all applicable
	requirements of this section or commission rules adopted under this
	section or any potential risks to public health or the environment.
	(h)  The commission may not grant a permit under this section
	if the commission receives notice before issuing the permit that
	the proposed project violates a local regulation, ordinance, order,
	or other law in the area in which the proposed project is located.
	(i)  The commission by rule shall:
	(1)  prescribe minimum standards to protect the soil
	and water for a land reclamation project using scrap tires; and
	(2)  adopt application forms and procedures for the
	permitting process under this section, including the adoption of a
	procedure that allows the electronic submission of applications.
	(j)  The commission may amend, extend, transfer, or renew a
	permit issued under this section as provided by this chapter and
	commission rule.
	(k)  The notice and hearing procedures provided by this
	subchapter apply to a permit issued, amended, extended, or renewed
	under this section.
	(l)  The commission may, for good cause, deny, revoke,
	suspend, annul, or amend a permit under this section for reasons
	concerning public health and safety, air or water pollution, land
	use, or a violation of this section as provided by Section 361.089.
	SECTION 2.  (a)  Before September 1, 2012, the Texas
	Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt any rules required
	to implement Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act.
	(b)  On or after the effective date of this Act, any person
	responsible for an ongoing or pending land reclamation project
	using scrap tires that has not yet placed the tires below ground may
	not place the tires below ground until the person has obtained a
	permit under Section 361.1126, Health and Safety Code, as added by
	this Act.
	(c)  To the extent that a land reclamation project using
	scrap tires has placed tires below ground before the effective date
	of this Act, the project is subject to the law in effect on the date
	the tires were placed below ground, and that law is continued in
	effect for that purpose.
	SECTION 3.  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, 2011.
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