This website will be unavailable from Friday, April 26, 2024 at 6:00 p.m. through Monday, April 29, 2024 at 7:00 a.m. due to data center maintenance.
S.B. No. 1413
AN ACT
relating to county brownfield cleanup and economic redevelopment
programs.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. This Act does not place primary responsibility
on a county for brownfield remediation or redevelopment but allows
a county to leverage state or federal money that may be available
for that purpose.
SECTION 2. Chapter 361, Health and Safety Code, is amended
by adding Subchapter X to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER X. COUNTY PROGRAMS FOR CLEANUP AND ECONOMIC
REDEVELOPMENT OF BROWNFIELDS
Sec. 361.901. DEFINITIONS. In this subchapter:
(1) "Assessment" means an environmental assessment
described by Section 361.904.
(2) "Brownfield" means real property the expansion,
redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence
or potential presence of environmental contamination.
(3) "Brownfield program" means a county brownfield
cleanup and economic redevelopment program described by Section
361.902.
(4) "Eligible owner" means the owner of a brownfield
who demonstrates to the commissioners court of the county in which
the brownfield is located that the owner:
(A) became the owner after the contamination
occurred;
(B) did not contribute to the contamination as an
owner responsible for contamination or through association with
previous owners responsible for the contamination;
(C) exercises appropriate care at the brownfield
by taking reasonable steps to stop continuing releases, prevent any
threatened future releases, and prevent or limit human,
environmental, or natural resource exposure to any previously
released hazardous substance; and
(D) complies with local, state, and federal laws
with respect to land use and requests for information.
(5) "Eligible site" means a property or facility that
is owned by a county or, if not owned by a county, for which the
owner applies to a county for brownfield assistance or
certification and a county determines is a brownfield under the
county's brownfield program.
(6) "Licensed professional engineer" means a person
licensed by the Texas Board of Professional Engineers.
(7) "Remediation" means an action included within the
meanings of "remedial action" and "removal," as those terms are
defined by Section 361.003.
Sec. 361.902. COUNTY BROWNFIELD CLEANUP AND ECONOMIC
REDEVELOPMENT PROGRAM. (a) The commissioners court of a county
with a population of 250,000 or more may establish a program for the
cleanup and economic redevelopment of brownfields located in the
county, as authorized by Section 52-a, Article III, Texas
Constitution.
(b) A brownfield program must include:
(1) procedures to:
(A) identify eligible sites;
(B) conduct assessments;
(C) prioritize the remediation of eligible
sites, with consideration given to:
(i) the number of jobs related to the
remediation; and
(ii) the resulting economic and
environmental benefits to the county;
(D) conduct the remediation of an eligible site;
(E) conduct the inspection of a property or
facility after remediation; and
(F) guide eligible owners in applying for county
assistance under the program; and
(2) standards by which the county can determine:
(A) the eligibility of a person for a grant or
loan under the program;
(B) the eligibility of a person to enter into a
contract with the county to perform remediation or inspection; and
(C) the completeness of the remediation of a
property or facility.
(c) The county shall make available to the public and to the
commission a draft of the proposed program at least 60 days before a
public hearing to receive comments on the proposed program.
(d) The county shall review comments received and make
amendments to the draft as appropriate before adopting and
implementing the program.
(e) The county shall submit a copy of the final draft of a
program adopted under this section to the commission and shall make
the final draft available to the public.
(f) The county may amend a program adopted under this
section by applying the procedures described by Subsections (c),
(d), and (e) to the proposed amendment.
(g) The county may assign current or employ additional staff
to implement a program adopted under this section.
Sec. 361.903. BROWNFIELD CLEANUP AND ECONOMIC
REDEVELOPMENT FUND. (a) The commissioners court of a county may
establish a fund for a brownfield program and deposit to the credit
of the fund any money the commissioners court considers
appropriate, including revenue from property taxes, sales taxes,
fees, gifts or grants, principal and interest payments made to
repay loans from the fund, proceeds from the issuance of bonds, and
contributions of other resources.
(b) Money from a fund established under this section may be
used only to provide for economic growth and development of the
county by paying for all or part of:
(1) the cost of an assessment;
(2) the cost of remediating a brownfield;
(3) the cost of inspecting a property or facility
after remediation;
(4) a loan to an eligible owner or licensed
professional engineer to conduct assessment, eligible site
remediation, or inspection of a property or facility after
remediation; or
(5) administrative expenses associated with
implementing the brownfield program.
(c) For the purposes of the county's brownfield program, a
county may solicit and leverage money from other sources, including
federal money that may be available for brownfield assessment and
eligible site remediation.
(d) Before a county may issue bonds payable from ad valorem
taxes to provide money for a fund, the bond issuance must be
approved by a majority of the voters voting on the issue at an
election held for that purpose.
Sec. 361.904. ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT. An assessment
under this subchapter must include:
(1) a legal description of the property or facility;
(2) a description of the physical characteristics of
the property or facility;
(3) the operational history of the property or
facility to the extent that history is known by the owner;
(4) information of which the owner is aware concerning
the nature and extent of any relevant contamination or release at
the property or facility and immediately contiguous to the property
or facility, or wherever the contamination came to be located; and
(5) relevant information of which the owner is aware
concerning the potential for human exposure to contamination at the
property or facility.
Sec. 361.905. TAX ABATEMENT AGREEMENT INCENTIVES. Subject
to the requirements of Subchapter C, Chapter 312, Tax Code, a county
may designate an area of the county that contains a brownfield as a
reinvestment zone and enter into a tax abatement agreement based on
the remediation of the brownfield with the eligible owner of the
brownfield.
Sec. 361.906. CONTRACTS FOR SITE REMEDIATION OR INSPECTION.
(a) A county may contract with a licensed professional engineer or
contractor to:
(1) conduct remediation for an eligible site owned by
the county; or
(2) inspect a property or facility after remediation
to determine whether it meets county standards for completeness of
the remediation.
(b) To be eligible to enter into a contract with a county
under this section or to receive a loan under Section 361.907, a
licensed professional engineer or contractor at a minimum must
provide evidence to the county of previous success in conducting
remediation or inspection, as applicable, of at least one
brownfield or other property or facility contaminated by a
hazardous substance.
Sec. 361.907. GRANTS AND LOANS. To help finance an
assessment, eligible site remediation, or inspection, a county may
provide money as a grant or a loan from a county fund established
under Section 361.903 to:
(1) an eligible owner; or
(2) a licensed professional engineer or contractor who
meets the requirements of Section 361.906.
Sec. 361.908. LIAISON TO ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY.
A county that establishes a brownfield program may act as a liaison
between an eligible owner, licensed professional engineer, or
contractor and the Environmental Protection Agency to assist in
obtaining a federal grant for an assessment or eligible site
remediation under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (42 U.S.C. Section 9601 et seq.).
Sec. 361.909. LIAISON TO COMMISSION. A county that
establishes a brownfield program may act as a liaison between the
commission and an eligible owner, licensed professional engineer,
or contractor to assist in obtaining any available commission
assistance for an assessment, eligible site remediation, or
property or facility inspection after remediation.
Sec. 361.910. LIMITATIONS ON LIABILITY. (a) A person who
is an eligible owner, licensed contractor, or licensed professional
engineer engaged in an assessment, eligible site remediation, or
property or facility inspection after remediation under a program
adopted under this subchapter is not liable for damages or costs
resulting from a release or threatened release of a hazardous
substance that occurs during the assessment, remediation, or
inspection unless the person:
(1) qualified as an eligible owner, licensed
professional engineer, or contractor by fraud, misrepresentation,
or knowing failure to disclose material information; or
(2) negligently or knowingly contributed to or caused
the release or threatened release.
(b) The county shall inspect a property or facility after
remediation is completed to determine whether the remediation meets
county standards for completeness under the brownfield program. On
a finding that the remediation meets the standards, the county
shall issue a certificate signifying the satisfactory remediation
to the owner of the property or facility and shall file a copy of the
certificate in the county property records. The owner or a
subsequent owner of a remediated property or facility is not liable
for the costs of any additional assessment or remediation for
environmental contamination that occurred before the issuance of
the certificate.
(c) This subchapter does not limit or impair any immunity or
defense to liability or suit that may be available to a county under
any other provision of law.
Sec. 361.911. FAILURE TO PASS INSPECTION. The owner of a
property or facility who is denied a certificate under Section
361.910:
(1) is entitled to receive a detailed description of
actions needed for the property or facility to meet county
standards; and
(2) may apply for additional county assistance under
the county's brownfield program.
Sec. 361.912. COMMISSION ASSISTANCE. The commission may
provide:
(1) educational, advisory, and technical services
concerning assessment, remediation, and inspection of brownfields
to a county that establishes a brownfield program under this
subchapter; and
(2) assistance to a county in obtaining federal grants
for assessment and remediation of brownfields.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.
______________________________ ______________________________
President of the Senate Speaker of the House
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1413 passed the Senate on
April 21, 2005, by the following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0; and that
the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 28, 2005, by the
following vote: Yeas 31, Nays 0.
______________________________
Secretary of the Senate
I hereby certify that S.B. No. 1413 passed the House, with
amendment, on May 25, 2005, by a non-record vote.
______________________________
Chief Clerk of the House
Approved:
______________________________
Date
______________________________
Governor