Johnson Rock Crushing Bill Adds A Committee With No Built-In Expiration

The text as introduced · 1,783 words

89R2217 JDK-F

By: Johnson
S.B. No. 729

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of rock crushing facilities.

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

SECTION 1. Section 382.05101, Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

Sec. 382.05101. DE MINIMIS AIR CONTAMINANTS. The

commission may develop by rule the criteria to establish a de

minimis level of air contaminants for facilities or groups of

facilities below which the following types of permits are not

required:

(1) a permit under Section 382.0518 or 382.0519;

(2) a standard permit under Section 382.05195,

382.05198, [ or ] 382.051985 , or 382.0651 ; or

(3) a permit by rule under Section 382.05196.

SECTION 2. Section 382.0511(c), Health and Safety Code, is

amended to read as follows:

(c) The commission may authorize changes in a federal source

to proceed before the owner or operator obtains a federal operating

permit or revisions to a federal operating permit if:

(1) the changes are de minimis under Section

382.05101; or

(2) the owner or operator:

(A) has obtained a preconstruction permit or

permit amendment required by Section 382.0518; or

(B) is operating under:

(i) a standard permit under Section

382.05195, 382.05198, [ or ] 382.051985 , or 382.0651 ;

(ii) a permit by rule under Section

382.05196; or

(iii) an exemption allowed under Section

382.057.

SECTION 3. Subchapter C, Chapter 382, Health and Safety

Code, is amended by adding Sections 382.0651, 382.0652, and

382.0653 to read as follows:

Sec. 382.0651. STANDARD PERMIT FOR CERTAIN ROCK CRUSHING

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

rock crushing facility that:

(1) is located at an aggregate production operation

required to be registered under Section 28A.051, Water Code;

(2) processes not more than 1,500 tons of rock per

hour; and

(3) meets the requirements of this section.

(b) The standard permit issued under this section must

require that an owner or operator of a facility authorized to use

the permit, in addition to any other applicable requirements of

this chapter:

(1) install and operate for the first 12 consecutive

months of operation under the standard permit equipment to monitor:

(A) water quality in mining pits and

sedimentation ponds at the aggregate production operation for the

presence of contaminants related to aggregate extraction;

(B) the seismicity of extraction activities,

including blasting along active extraction areas; and

(C) emissions of air contaminants, if the

facility is located within 440 yards of two or more other aggregate

production operations;

(2) maintain records of monitoring data from the

monitoring equipment required by Subdivision (1) until the second

anniversary of the date on which the data was collected;

(3) establish a plan for providing notice of

emergencies to:

(A) owners and tenants of adjacent real property

and the property owners' association of each adjacent residential

subdivision, as applicable; and

(B) each member of the board of trustees of a

school district that serves the geographic area in which the

facility is located;

(4) implement best management practices for:

(A) conserving water;

(B) minimizing visible dust from active

extraction areas at the aggregate production operation, including

those areas not immediately revegetated;

(C) removing noncommercial material and old and

unused extraction equipment from the facility site; and

(D) cleaning and mowing of on-site equipment

yards; and

(5) submit to the commission a post-extraction land

use plan that includes:

(A) provisions for permanent removal of

extraction equipment;

(B) provisions for revegetation, including the

use of appropriate local vegetation types that are adequate for

post-extraction uses of land, as determined by the owner or

operator;

(C) slope and grading standards to allow for

traversing of livestock; and

(D) proposed land reuse options, such as

agricultural, natural, open space, or redevelopment uses or the

creation of a pond or lake.

(c) The commission by rule shall adopt best management

practices for the purposes of Subsection (b)(4). Before the

commission proposes a rule under this subsection, the commission

must use negotiated rulemaking procedures under Chapter 2008,

Government Code.

(d) The commission shall make each post-extraction land use

plan submitted under Subsection (b)(5) available on the

commission's Internet website.

(e) If the land on which the facility to be permitted is

located is owned by a person other than the owner or operator of the

facility, the owner or operator of the facility may submit to the

commission an agreement made between the landowner and the facility

owner or operator for post-extraction land uses instead of the

post-extraction land use plan required under Subsection (b)(5).

(f) The commission shall inspect a facility for compliance

with this section during regular inspections under this chapter and

Chapter 28A, Water Code.

Sec. 382.0652. STANDARD PERMIT FOR CERTAIN ROCK CRUSHING

FACILITIES: NOTICE AND HEARING. (a) A person may not begin

construction of a new or modification of an existing rock crushing

facility under a standard permit issued under Section 382.0651

unless the commission authorizes the person to use the permit as

provided by this section. The notice and hearing requirements of

this section apply only to an application for authorization to use a

standard permit issued under Section 382.0651. An applicant for a

permit for a rock crushing facility that does not meet the

requirements of a standard permit issued under Section 382.0651

must comply with:

(1) Section 382.058 to obtain authorization to use a

standard permit issued under Section 382.05195 or a permit by rule

adopted under Section 382.05196; or

(2) Section 382.056 to obtain a permit issued under

Section 382.0518.

(b) An applicant for an authorization to use a standard

permit issued under Section 382.0651 must publish notice under this

section not later than the earlier of:

(1) the 30th day after the date the applicant receives

written notice from the executive director that the application is

technically complete; or

(2) the 75th day after the date the executive director

receives the application.

(c) The applicant must publish notice at least once in a

newspaper of general circulation in the municipality in which the

facility is located or proposed to be located or in the municipality

nearest to the location or proposed location of the facility. If

the elementary or middle school nearest to the location or proposed

location of the facility provides a bilingual education program as

required by Subchapter B, Chapter 29, Education Code, the applicant

must also publish the notice at least once in an additional

publication of general circulation in each municipality or county

in which the facility is located or proposed to be located that is

published in the language taught in the bilingual education

program. This requirement is waived if such a publication does not

exist or if the publisher refuses to publish the notice.

(d) The notice must include:

(1) a brief description of the location or proposed

location and nature of the facility;

(2) a description, including a telephone number, of

the manner in which the executive director may be contacted for

further information;

(3) a description, including a telephone number, of

the manner in which the applicant may be contacted for further

information;

(4) the location and hours of operation of the

commission's regional office at which a copy of the application is

available for review and copying; and

(5) a brief description of the public comment process,

including the time and location of the public hearing, and the

mailing address and deadline for filing written comments.

(e) The public comment period begins on the first date

notice is published under Subsection (b) and extends to the close of

the public hearing.

(f) Not later than the 30th day before the date of the public

hearing, the commission shall notify the following entities of the

date, time, and place of the hearing:

(1) each municipality and county in which the facility

is located or proposed to be located;

(2) the Texas Department of Transportation;

(3) each groundwater conservation district with

jurisdiction over the area in which the facility is located or

proposed to be located; and

(4) each state representative and state senator

representing the area in which the facility is located or proposed

to be located.

(g) Section 382.056 of this code and Chapter 2001,

Government Code, do not apply to a public hearing held under this

section. A public hearing held under this section is not an

evidentiary proceeding. Any person may submit an oral or written

statement concerning the application at the public hearing. The

applicant may set reasonable limits on the time allowed for oral

statements at the public hearing.

(h) The applicant, in cooperation with the executive

director, must hold the public hearing not less than 30 days and not

more than 45 days after the first date notice is published under

Subsection (b). The public hearing must be held in the county in

which the facility is located or proposed to be located.

(i) Not later than the 35th day after the date the public

hearing is held, the executive director shall approve or deny the

application for authorization to use the standard permit. The

executive director shall base the decision on whether the

application meets the requirements of Section 382.0651. The

executive director shall consider all comments received during the

public comment period and at the public hearing in determining

whether to approve the application. If the executive director

denies the application, the executive director shall state the

reasons for the denial and any modifications to the application

that are necessary for the facility to qualify for the

authorization.

(j) The executive director shall issue a written response to

any relevant and material public comments received related to the

issuance of an authorization to use the standard permit at the same

time as or as soon as practicable after the executive director

grants or denies the application. Issuance of the response after

the granting or denial of the application does not affect the

validity of the executive director's decision to grant or deny the

application. The executive director shall:

(1) mail the response to each person who filed a

comment; and

(2) make the response available to the public.

Sec. 382.0653. CITIZEN ADVISORY COMMITTEE FOR ROCK CRUSHING

FACILITIES. (a) This section applies only to a permit issued under

this chapter, or an authorization to use a permit issued under this

chapter, to operate a rock crushing facility.

(b) The commission shall establish a citizen advisory

committee to act as a liaison between the commission, an applicant

for a permit or an authorization to use a permit, and neighboring

communities during the application process to identify community

concerns. Section 2110.008, Government Code, does not apply to the

citizen advisory committee.

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