HBA-DMD H.B. 480 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 480
By: Seaman
Energy Resources
3/19/1999
Introduced



BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

Under current law, a person seeking a permit for a commercial surface
disposal facility must only notify adjacent landowners of the permit
application. This may not provide county officials and affected citizens
adequate notice of the person's application, even when that facility could
threaten drinking water supplies or the local environment.  

H.B. 480 requires a person who files an application for a permit for a
treatment and disposal facility to publish notice of the application in a
newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the proposed
treatment would occur. This bill also requires the staff of the Railroad
Commission of Texas (commission) to conduct a public comment hearing, upon
receiving a request for such, before the commission makes a determination
on an application for a permit. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Subchapter D, Chapter 91, Natural Resources Code, by
adding Sections 91.116 and 91.117, as follows: 

Sec. 91.116.  NOTICE OF LAND TREATMENT PERMIT APPLICATION.  Requires a
person who files an application for a permit for a treatment and disposal
facility for land treatment or for land spreading of oil and gas waste or
waste related to a geothermal resource to publish notice of the application
in accordance with this section.  Provides that the notice must include the
date the application was filed, a description of the site and the name of
the owner, the name of the applicant, the type of waste to be treated or
spread, and the treatment method proposed.  Provides that the notice must
be published at least once a week during a consecutive four-week period,
with the first publication occurring no later than seven days after the
application is filed, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
in which the proposed treatment would occur. 

Sec. 91.117.  PUBLIC INFORMATION HEARING ON LAND TREATMENT PERMIT
APPLICATION.  Requires the staff of the Railroad Commission of Texas
(commission) to conduct a public comment hearing upon receiving a request
for a public comment hearing before the commission makes a determination on
an application for a permit.  Provides that the hearing must be held in the
county in which the treatment would occur and specifies that comments
received at the hearing be part of the record of the contested case hearing
on the application. 

SECTION 2.Effective date: September 1, 1999.
         Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 3.  Emergency clause.