BILL ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4087

By: Kuempel

Environmental Regulation

Committee Report (Substituted)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Pump and haul operations increase the potential for spillage of untreated wastewater due to the increased number of times that wastewater is handled, including the potential for spillage due to equipment malfunction. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality issues permits for haulers but provides no regulations on the routes the vehicles must use while transporting untreated wastewater. The lack of a time limit on pump and haul operations creates the opportunity for their use as a temporary solution to become a permanent solution, which increases the potential for safety hazards for neighborhoods and environmentally sensitive areas. C.S.H.B. 4087 seeks to help address this issue by authorizing a local government entity that is an authorized agent to issue a permit authorizing the use of a temporary on-site sewage disposal system for a limited period.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

C.S.H.B. 4087 amends the Health and Safety Code to authorize a local government entity that is an authorized agent to issue a permit authorizing the use of a temporary on-site sewage disposal system that does the following:

·         operates in conjunction with the pumping and hauling of wastewater produced by the system; and

·         serves a property that has been subdivided for residential use and is of insufficient size to accommodate on-site disposal of all wastewater in compliance with statutory provisions relating to on-site sewage disposal systems.

The bill restricts the period for which the permit may authorize the use of a system and the associated pumping and hauling activities to not more than six months from the date of issuance and prohibits the permit from being renewed.

C.S.H.B. 4087 applies only to an application for the issuance of a permit for an on-site sewage facility submitted on or after the bill's effective date.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2023.

COMPARISON OF INTRODUCED AND SUBSTITUTE

While C.S.H.B. 4087 may differ from the introduced in minor or nonsubstantive ways, the following summarizes the substantial differences between the introduced and committee substitute versions of the bill.

The substitute shortens from one year, as in the introduced, to six months the maximum period during which a permit may authorize the use of a temporary on-site sewage disposal system and the associated pumping and hauling activities starting from the date of the permit's issuance.