I don't think the TCEQ gets enough credit for what ALL they have to do. Sure, they are, at times, a pain in the butt when dealing with VCP or APAR, but hey! that is their job. The TCEQ will get to continue onward for another 12 years, however, there was a $388 million dollar cut in the budget and full time employees were cut to 235. Several other actions were thrown into the pot as well:
Texas Emissions Reduction Plan (TERP for all of you consultants out there) was potentially reduced by 50 percent. So around about $114 million BUT it also established three new grant programs to facilitate natural gas vehicles and infrastructure and a new air monitoring program in the Dallas-Fort Worth and the Abilene regions.
Enforcement Policy - TCEQ is gonna have to adopt a general enforcement policy by rule.
Penalties, TCEQ is going to have to increase the max penalty from $10,000 to $25,000 for most of the agency's areas of jurisdiction and is going to have to include a deterrent to prevent economic benefit from noncompliance.
PSTs were appropriated $43.9 million (ever wonder why they didn't make it just a full $44 million? wouldn't that make for easier accounting?)
CONTESTED CASE HEARING - this is a biggie (though not many people have voiced any concerns publicly) "Other state agencies may NOT contest the issuance of a PERMIT or LICENSE by the commission, they they will continue to be allowed to provide comments." OK, so WE can issuance a permit or a license and no one else can contest it....what it they write a rule that says WE can issue a permit or a license but THEY don't have to acknowledge it? Just saying... But this works in favor of Texas...
Dam Regulations - (Damn those regulations...) - goal is to focus on the most hazardous dams in the state.
MACT Permits - review process for permit-amendment applications submitted by electric generating facilities to solely comply with FEDERAL CAA MACT requirements...includes time lines
Low-Level Radioactive Waste Disposal Compact Commission - sets annual limits on importation of waste from outside the compact states.
Drought, Water Rights and Water masters - requires water-right holders to provide monthly water-rights report upon request during drought or emergency water shortages (I'm sure they'll love that). ALLOWS TCEQ to temporarily SUSPEND a water right and adjust the diversion of water during droughts or emergency water shortages (Sure they love that as well)...
Groundwater-Protection Program - Transfers the authority for making groundwater-protection recommendations regarding oil and gas activities to the RRC.
Oil and Gas Permitting Requirements - PROHIBITS the TCEQ from promulgating new or amend existing authorizations for the oil and gas industry without performing a regulatory impact analysis, extensive monitoring, and correlated monitoring.
TV Recycling - creates a TV recycling program separate from and more extensive than the existing computer recycling program...
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