without changes
and will not be republished.
BACKGROUND AND SUMMARY OF THE FACTUAL BASIS FOR THE RULES
In January 1996, the commission adopted amendments to Chapter 330, Subchapter
O, to incorporate requirements mandated by House Bill (HB) 2537, 73rd Legislature,
1993, that all regional and local solid waste management plans include an
inventory of existing and closed landfill units. In accordance with HB 2537,
the inventory required that the location of the landfill units be provided.
In 1999, the 76th Legislature enacted Senate Bill (SB) 1447 which required
that the exact boundaries of each former landfill unit or, if the exact boundaries
are not known, the best approximation of each unit's boundaries, and a map
showing the approximate boundaries of the former landfill unit, if the exact
boundaries are not known, be provided. SB 1447 also established requirements
for notification of the contents of the inventory to the commission, local
governments, and the public. These amendments implement the requirements of
SB 1447.
SECTION BY SECTION DISCUSSION
Section 330.562 is amended to include a more detailed definition of "closed
municipal solid waste landfill unit," in order to specify the types of solid
waste disposal sites to be included in the inventories.
Section 330.563 is amended to distinguish between the regional and local
solid waste management plan inventory requirements for landfill units for
which exact boundaries are known and for landfill units for which exact boundaries
are not known. The amendments provide that local plans may substitute the
inventory information contained in the regional plan. The amendments also
provide that the requirement to include the inventory information in the local
plan will not apply until that information has been incorporated into the
applicable regional plan and approved by the commissioners. The one change
made to the proposed text was to change "extent of the boundaries" to "exact
boundaries" in one location in subsection (a)(3)(O) to be consistent with
other locations and to reflect statutory terminology.
Section 330.566 is amended to more appropriately name the section and to
add procedures for making the closed landfill inventory available for public
inspection.
REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The commission has reviewed the rulemaking in light of the regulatory analysis
requirements of Texas Government Code, §2001.0225, and has determined
that the rulemaking is not subject to §2001.0225 because it does not
meet the definition of a "major environmental rule" as defined in that statute.
"Major environmental rule" means a rule the specific intent of which is to
protect the environment or reduce risks to human health from environmental
exposure and that may adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector
of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, or the public
health and safety of the state or a sector of the state. The amended rules
are not anticipated to adversely affect in a material way the economy, a sector
of the economy, productivity, competition, jobs, the environment, or the public
health and safety of the state or a sector of the state. The amendments do
not add any additional regulatory requirements not already required by state
or federal law. In addition, the amendments are not a "major environmental
rule" because they do not meet the applicability requirements of a "major
environmental rule." The amendments do not exceed a standard set by federal
law, exceed an express requirement of state law, nor exceed a requirement
of a delegation agreement. This rulemaking implements provisions of SB 1447.
TAKINGS IMPACT ASSESSMENT
The commission has prepared a takings impact assessment for these rule
amendments pursuant to Texas Government Code, §2007.043. The following
is a summary of that assessment. The specific purpose of the rule amendments
is to make commission rules conform with the provisions in SB 1447 which clarify
the responsibilities of councils of governments and local governments with
respect to documenting and reporting the location of closed municipal solid
waste landfill units. Previous legislation and implementing rules required
the reporting of only the location of a closed landfill to the landowner and
the county clerk, but the amendments require that the exact boundaries, or
approximate boundaries with a supporting map, of the former landfill unit
be reported and recorded in the closed landfill inventory as required by SB
1447.
The rule amendments will substantially advance the specific purpose by
incorporating the new requirements specified by SB 1447. Promulgation and
enforcement of these amendments will not burden private real property which
is the subject of the amendments because the actions that are required by
the amendments are directed at regional and local planning agencies and not
toward private real property owners. Therefore, the amendments will not constitute
a takings under the Texas Government Code, Chapter 2007.
CONSISTENCY WITH THE COASTAL MANAGEMENT PROGRAM
The commission has reviewed the rulemaking and found that the rules are
neither identified in Coastal Coordination Act Implementation Rules, 31 TAC §505.11,
relating to Actions and Rules Subject to the Texas Coastal Management Program
(CMP), nor will the rule amendments affect any action/authorization identified
in Coastal Coordination Act Implementation Rules, 31 TAC 505.11.Therefore,
the rule amendments are not subject to the CMP.
HEARING AND COMMENTERS
A public hearing was not held for this rulemaking. The comment period closed
April 24, 2000. The only commenter on the proposal, the Texas Workforce Commission,
commented that based on the information provided, it had no basis to expect
any significant impact on the overall employment conditions in the State as
a result of the proposed rule changes. However, one error was detected in
the proposal during staff review of the published proposal, and the error
has been corrected in the adoption of the rules.
STATUTORY AUTHORITY
The amendments are adopted under the Solid Waste Disposal Act, Texas Health
and Safety Code (THSC), §361.011 and §361.24, which authorize the
commission to regulate nonhazardous municipal solid waste and to adopt rules
consistent with the general intent and purposes of the Act; and the Comprehensive
Municipal Solid Waste Management, Resource Recovery and Conservation Act,
THSC, §363.061 and §363.064, which require the commission to adopt
rules relating to regional and local solid waste management plans and specify
the content of the plans.
The amendments implement THSC, Chapters 361 and 363.
§330.563.Regional and Local Plan Requirements
(a)
Regional plans. A regional plan identifies the problems,
goals, objectives, and recommended actions for solid waste management over
a long-range period for the entire planning region.
(1)
Geographic scope. The geographic scope of the regional
planning process shall be the entire planning region designated by the governor.
The regional plan shall use the four types of planning units listed in subparagraphs
(A) - (D) of this paragraph as appropriate for the information presented.
It is not anticipated that the regional plan will present site-specific information:
(A)
small geographic areas such as census tracts or city boundaries
for the most detailed data collection and manipulation;
(B)
planning areas to be used for the assessment of problems
and the evaluation of alternatives. These planning areas shall be aggregations
of small geographic areas;
(C)
county boundaries for the summarization and presentation
of key information;
(D)
the entire planning region.
(2)
Planning periods. The regional planning process shall address
solid waste management over a long-range period. Long range is considered
to be a period of at least 20 years. The maximum planning period addressed
by the plan shall be stated on the plan cover and title page and at other
appropriate locations within the body of the plan. The regional plan shall
use the four planning periods listed in subparagraphs (A) - (D) of this paragraph
as appropriate for the information presented:
(A)
current and historical information;
(B)
short-range planning period, one to five years, with specific
information presented by year;
(C)
intermediate planning period, six to 10 years, with information
in less detail; or
(D)
long-range planning period, 11 to 20 years or longer, with
information in the least detail.
(3)
Plan content. A regional plan shall be the result of a
planning process related to the proper management of solid waste in the planning
region. The process shall include identification of problems and collection
and evaluation of the data necessary to provide a written public statement
of goals and objectives and actions recommended to accomplish those goals
and objectives. The regional plan shall include:
(A)
population patterns, commercial and industrial data, and
other demographic information necessary to estimate solid waste quantities
and characteristics;
(B)
estimates of current and future solid waste amounts by
type;
(C)
description of current and planned solid waste management
activities in the region;
(D)
description and assessment of the adequacy of existing
resource recovery, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal facilities
and practices, and programs for the collection and disposal of household hazardous
wastes;
(E)
assessment of current source reduction and waste minimization
efforts, including sludge, and efforts to reuse or recycle waste;
(F)
identification of additional opportunities for source reduction
and waste minimization, and reuse or recycling of waste;
(G)
recommendations for encouraging and achieving a greater
degree of source reduction and waste minimization, and reuse or recycling
of waste;
(H)
identification of public and private management agencies
and responsibilities;
(I)
identification of solid waste management problems and establishment
of priorities for addressing those problems;
(J)
planning areas and agencies with common solid waste management
problems which could be addressed through joint action;
(K)
identification of incentives and barriers for source reduction
and waste minimization, and resource recovery, including identification of
potential markets;
(L)
regional goals and objectives, including waste reduction
goals consistent with state goals;
(M)
advantages and disadvantages of alternative actions;
(N)
the recommended plan of action and associated timetable
for achieving regional goals and objectives, including: waste reduction; composting
programs for yard wastes and related organic wastes; household hazardous waste
collection and disposal programs; public education programs; and the need
for new or expanded facilities and practices; and
(O)
an inventory of closed municipal solid waste landfill units
located within the planning region. The inventories shall include the exact
boundaries of each former landfill unit or, if the exact boundaries are not
known, the best approximation of each unit's boundaries. For each landfill
unit for which the exact boundaries are not known, the inventories shall include
a map showing the approximate boundaries of the former landfill unit. To the
maximum extent practicable, such inventories shall list the current owners
of the land on which the former landfill units were located and the current
use of the land.
(4)
Special considerations or restrictions. The regional plan
shall not prohibit, in fact or by effect, importation or exportation of waste
from one political jurisdiction into another.
(b)
Local plans. A local plan addresses specific short and
long-range problems and actions related to solid waste management within the
jurisdiction of one or more local governments and may be developed regardless
of whether a regional plan has been developed which will affect the local
planning area.
(1)
Geographic scope. The geographic scope of the local planning
process shall be the jurisdiction of one or more local governments with common
problems or needs, but shall not include the entire planning region. The local
plan shall use the three types of planning units listed in subparagraphs (A)
- (C) in this paragraph as appropriate for the information presented. In certain
cases the local plan may present site-specific information:
(A)
small geographic areas such as census tracts or city boundaries
for the most detailed data collection and manipulation. These small areas
should be the same as those used in the regional plan;
(B)
planning areas to be used for the assessment of problems
and the evaluation of alternatives. These planning areas should be aggregations
of the small geographic areas;
(C)
the entire area encompassed by the local plan.
(2)
Planning periods. The local planning process shall address
specific short and long-range problems and actions in solid waste management.
The maximum planning period addressed by the plan shall be stated on the plan
cover and title page and at other appropriate locations within the body of
the plan. The local plan should use the planning periods listed in subparagraphs
(A) - (D) of this paragraph as appropriate for the information presented:
(A)
current and historical information;
(B)
short-range planning period, one to five years, with specific
information presented by year;
(C)
intermediate planning period, six to 10 years, with information
in less detail; or
(D)
long-range planning period, 11 to 20 years or longer.
(3)
Plan content. A local plan shall be the result of a planning
process that is related to the proper management of solid waste in the local
planning area. The process shall include identification of problems and collection
and evaluation of the data necessary to provide a written public statement
of goals and objectives and the actions recommended to accomplish those goals
and objectives. The local plan shall include:
(A)
population and commercial and industrial data from the
regional planning process, supplemented with other local demographic information
as necessary;
(B)
composition, characteristics, and amounts of waste, by
type, which affect the local planning area;
(C)
description of current and planned solid waste management
activities in the local planning area;
(D)
description and assessment of the adequacy of existing
resource recovery, storage, transportation, treatment, and disposal facilities
and practices, including programs for the collection and disposal of household
hazardous wastes;
(E)
identification of the short and long-range solid waste
management problems within the local planning area;
(F)
assessment of current source reduction and waste minimization
efforts for solid waste, including sludge, and efforts to reuse or recycle
waste;
(G)
identification of additional opportunities for source reduction
and waste minimization, and reuse or recycling of waste;
(H)
recommendations for encouraging and achieving a greater
degree of source reduction and waste minimization, and reuse or recycling
of waste;
(I)
local goals and objectives associated with management problems,
including waste reduction goals consistent with state and regional goals;
(J)
advantages and disadvantages of alternative actions;
(K)
the recommended plan of action and associated timetable
for accomplishing the goals and objectives, including: waste reduction; composting
programs for yard wastes and related organic wastes; household hazardous waste
collection programs; public education programs; and the need for new or expanded
facilities or practices; and
(L)
an inventory of closed municipal solid waste landfill units
located within the local planning area. The inventories shall include the
exact boundaries of each former landfill unit or, if the exact boundaries
are not known, the best approximation of each unit's boundaries. For each
landfill unit for which the exact boundaries are not known, the inventories
shall include a map showing the approximate boundaries of the former landfill
unit. To the maximum extent practicable, such inventories shall list the current
owners of the land on which the former landfill units were located and the
current use of the land. For this requirement, local plans may substitute
the applicable parts of the regional inventory required under subsection (a)(3)(O)
of this section. This requirement does not apply until a regional inventory
is incorporated into the applicable regional plan(s) and approved by the commissioners.
(4)
Special considerations or restrictions. The local plan
shall not prohibit, in fact or by effect, importation or exportation of waste
from one political jurisdiction to another.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been
reviewed by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's
legal authority.
Filed with the Office of
the Secretary of State on July 13, 2000.
TRD-200004873
Margaret Hoffman
Director, Environmental Law Division
Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
Effective date: August 2, 2000
Proposal publication date: March 24, 2000
For further information, please call: (512) 239-4712