bill widening notice on concrete batch plant permits

The text as introduced · 961 words

89R12623 KRM-F

By: Reynolds
H.B. No. 3298

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to air quality permits for certain concrete batch plants.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 382.0516(b), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(b) In addition to the notice required by Subsection (a),

for an application that relates to an existing or proposed concrete

batch plant, on receiving an application for a construction permit,

an amendment to a construction permit, an operating permit, or an

authorization to use a standard permit, the commission shall send

notice of the application and, as applicable, any public comment

period, public meeting, public hearing, or contested case hearing

held and decision of the executive director or commission issued

regarding the application to :

(1) [ to ] the county judge of the county in which the

facility is or will be located; and

(2) if the facility is or will be located in a

municipality or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a

municipality, [ to ] the presiding officer of the municipality's

governing body.

SECTION 2. Section 382.05198(a), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(a) The commission shall issue a standard permit for a

permanent concrete plant that performs wet batching, dry batching,

or central mixing and that meets the following requirements:

(1) production records must be maintained on site

while the plant is in operation until the second anniversary of the

end of the period to which they relate;

(2) each cement or fly ash storage silo and weigh

hopper must be equipped with a fabric or cartridge filter or vented

to a fabric or cartridge filter system;

(3) each fabric or cartridge filter, fabric or

cartridge filter system, and suction shroud must be maintained and

operated properly with no tears or leaks;

(4) excluding the suction shroud filter system, each

filter system must be designed to meet a standard of at least 0.01

outlet grain loading as measured in grains per dry standard cubic

foot;

(5) each filter system and each mixer loading and

batch truck loading emissions control device must meet a

performance standard of no visible emissions exceeding 30 seconds

in a five-minute period as determined using United States

Environmental Protection Agency Test Method 22 as that method

existed on September 1, 2003;

(6) if a cement or fly ash silo is filled during

nondaylight hours, the silo filter system exhaust must be

sufficiently illuminated to enable a determination of compliance

with the performance standard described by Subdivision (5);

(7) the conveying system for the transfer of cement or

fly ash to and from each storage silo must be totally enclosed,

operate properly, and be maintained without any tears or leaks;

(8) except during cement or fly ash tanker connection

or disconnection, each conveying system for the transfer of cement

or fly ash must meet the performance standard described by

Subdivision (5);

(9) a warning device must be installed on each bulk

storage silo to alert the operator in sufficient time for the

operator to stop loading operations before the silo is filled to a

level that may adversely affect the pollution abatement equipment;

(10) if filling a silo results in failure of the

pollution abatement system or failure to meet the performance

standard described by Subdivision (5), the failure must be

documented and reported to the commission;

(11) each road, parking lot, or other area at the plant

site that is used by vehicles must be paved with a cohesive hard

surface that is properly maintained, cleaned, and watered so as to

minimize dust emissions;

(12) each stockpile must be sprinkled with water or

dust-suppressant chemicals or covered so as to minimize dust

emissions;

(13) material used in the batch that is spilled must be

immediately cleaned up and contained or dampened so as to minimize

dust emissions;

(14) production of concrete at the plant must not

exceed 300 cubic yards per hour;

(15) a suction shroud or other pickup device must be

installed at the batch drop point or, in the case of a central mix

plant, at the drum feed and vented to a fabric or cartridge filter

system with a minimum capacity of 5,000 cubic feet per minute of

air;

(16) the bag filter and capture system must be

properly designed to accommodate the increased flow from the

suction shroud and achieve a control efficiency of at least 99.5

percent;

(17) the suction shroud baghouse exhaust must be

located more than 100 feet from any property line;

(18) stationary equipment, stockpiles, and vehicles

used at the plant, except for incidental traffic and vehicles as

they enter and exit the site, must be located or operated more than

100 feet from any property line; and

(19) the central baghouse must be located at least 880

[ 440 ] yards from any building used as a single or multifamily

residence, school, or place of worship at the time the application

to use the permit is filed with the commission [ if the plant is

located in an area that is not subject to municipal zoning

regulation ].

SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to

a permit, a permit amendment, or an authorization to use a permit

the application for which is filed with the Texas Commission on

Environmental Quality on or after the effective date of this Act. A

permit, a permit amendment, or an authorization to use a permit the

application for which is filed before the effective date of this Act

is governed by the law in effect on the date of filing, and that law

is continued in effect for that purpose.

SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.