Bill Text: TX SB173 | 2023-2024 | 88th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating to the permitting of medical waste facilities by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2023-02-15 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB173 Detail]

Download: Texas-2023-SB173-Introduced.html

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88R2074 MP-D
By: Blanco S.B. No. 173

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the permitting of medical waste facilities by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 361.0905, Health and Safety Code, is
amended by amending Subsection (e) and adding Subsections (e-1) and
(e-2) to read as follows:
(e) Except as provided by Subsection (e-1), rules [Rules]
adopted to regulate the operation of municipal solid waste storage
and processing units apply in the same manner to medical waste only
to the extent that the rules address:
(1) permit and registration requirements that can be
made applicable to a facility that handles medical waste, including
requirements related to:
(A) applications;
(B) site development;
(C) notice; and
(D) permit or registration duration and limits;
(2) minor modifications to permits and registrations,
including changes in operating hours and buffer zones;
(3) the reconciliation of conflicting site operation
plan provisions for a site that conducts activities that require a
separate permit or authorization;
(4) waste acceptance and analysis;
(5) facility-generated waste, including wastewater
and sludge;
(6) contaminated water management;
(7) on-site storage areas for source-separated or
recyclable materials;
(8) the storage of waste:
(A) to prevent the waste from becoming a hazard,
including a fire hazard, to human health or safety;
(B) to ensure the use of sufficient containers
between collections; and
(C) to prevent the waste from becoming litter;
(9) closure requirements for storage and processing
units;
(10) recordkeeping and reporting requirements, except
for rules regarding the recordkeeping provisions required to
justify the levels of recovered recycled products;
(11) fire protection;
(12) access control;
(13) unloading waste;
(14) spill prevention and control;
(15) operating hours;
(16) facility signage;
(17) control of litter, including windblown material;
(18) noise pollution and visual screening;
(19) capacity overloading and mechanical breakdown;
(20) sanitation, including employee sanitation
facilities;
(21) ventilation and air pollution control, except as
those rules apply to:
(A) process areas where putrescible waste is
processed;
(B) the minimal air exposure for liquid waste;
and
(C) the cleaning and maintenance of mobile waste
processing unit equipment; and
(22) facility health and safety plans, including
employee training in health and safety.
(e-1) Not later than the 30th day after the date of filing an
application for, or notice of intent to file an application for, a
permit to construct, operate, or maintain a facility to store,
process, or dispose of medical waste, the applicant shall provide
notice of the application or notice of intent by hand delivery,
facsimile, or United States Postal Service mail to:
(1) the state senator and representative who represent
the area in which the facility is or is to be located;
(2) the commissioners court of the county in which the
facility is or is to be located;
(3) the governing body of the municipality in which
the facility is or is to be located, if applicable;
(4) the governing body of a school district in which
the facility is or is to be located, if applicable; and
(5) the tribal council of an Indian tribe on whose
tribal lands the facility is or is to be located, if applicable.
(e-2) The applicant shall submit to the commission proof
that notice has been provided in accordance with Subsection (e-1).
SECTION 2. Sections 361.0905(e-1) and (e-2), Health and
Safety Code, as added by this Act, apply only to an application
related to a permit for a medical waste facility that is submitted
to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality on or after the
effective date of this Act. An application related to a permit for
a medical waste facility that was submitted to the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality before the effective date of this Act is
governed by the law in effect at the time the application was filed,
and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.