Wilson Concrete Plant Bill Lets Existing Plants Wait Until 2027

The text as introduced · 1,211 words

By: Wilson
H.B. No. 873

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, 2027.

SECTION 3. This Act takes effect January 1, 2026.