S.B. No. 912
 
 
 
 
AN ACT
  relating to a volume-based exemption from reporting requirements
  for certain accidental discharges or spills from wastewater
  facilities.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 26.039, Water Code, is amended by
  amending Subsections (b) and (e) and adding Subsections (g), (h),
  (i), and (j) to read as follows:
         (b)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), whenever 
  [Whenever] an accidental discharge or spill occurs at or from any
  activity or facility which causes or may cause pollution, the
  individual operating, in charge of, or responsible for the activity
  or facility shall notify the commission as soon as possible and not
  later than 24 hours after the occurrence. The individual's notice
  to the commission must include the location, volume, and content of
  the discharge or spill.
         (e)  Except as provided by Subsection (g), if [If] an
  accidental discharge or spill described by Subsection (b) from a
  wastewater treatment or collection facility owned or operated by a
  local government may adversely affect a public or private source of
  drinking water, the individual shall also notify appropriate local
  government officials and local media.
         (g)  The individual is not required to notify the commission
  of an accidental discharge or spill of treated or untreated
  domestic wastewater under Subsection (b) or officials or media
  under Subsection (e) of a single accidental discharge or spill
  that:
               (1)  occurs at a wastewater treatment or collection
  facility owned or operated by a local government;
               (2)  has a volume of 1,000 gallons or less;
               (3)  is not associated with another simultaneous
  accidental discharge or spill;
               (4)  is controlled or removed before the accidental
  discharge or spill:
                     (A)  enters water in the state; or
                     (B)  adversely affects a public or private source
  of drinking water;
               (5)  will not endanger human health or safety or the
  environment; and
               (6)  is not otherwise subject to local regulatory
  control and reporting requirements.
         (h)  The commission by rule shall establish standard methods
  for calculating the volume of an accidental discharge or spill to be
  used for the purposes of this section.
         (i)  The individual shall calculate the volume of an
  accidental discharge or spill using an established standard method
  to determine whether the discharge or spill is exempted under
  Subsection (g) from the notification requirements of this section.
         (j)  The individual shall submit to the commission at least
  once each month a summary of accidental discharges and spills
  described by Subsection (g) that occurred during the preceding
  month. The commission by rule shall:
               (1)  consider the compliance history of the individual;
  and
               (2)  establish procedures for formatting and
  submitting a summary, including requirements that a summary include
  the location, volume, and content of each accidental discharge or
  spill.
         SECTION 2.  (a)  Not later than June 1, 2016, the Texas
  Commission on Environmental Quality shall adopt rules necessary to
  implement Section 26.039, Water Code, as amended by this Act.
         (b)  The change in law made by this Act applies only to an
  offense committed on or after the effective date of a rule adopted
  by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
  section. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed
  before the effective date of a rule adopted by the Texas Commission
  on Environmental Quality under this section if any element of the
  offense occurred before that date.
         (c)  An offense committed before the effective date of a rule
  adopted by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality under this
  section is governed by the law in effect on the date the offense was
  committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that
  purpose.
         SECTION 3.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.
 
 
 
 
 
  ______________________________ ______________________________
     President of the Senate Speaker of the House     
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 912 passed the Senate on
  April 14, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 28, Nays 3.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Secretary of the Senate    
 
         I hereby certify that S.B. No. 912 passed the House on
  May 19, 2015, by the following vote:  Yeas 143, Nays 3, one
  present not voting.
 
 
  ______________________________
  Chief Clerk of the House   
 
 
 
  Approved:
 
  ______________________________ 
              Date
 
 
  ______________________________ 
            Governor