The commission must give notice on permit-related applications and usually hold a public hearing, but it may approve some renewals or amendments without a hearing if specified conditions are met.
Sec. 26.028. ACTION ON APPLICATION. (a) Notice of an application for a permit, permit amendment, or permit renewal shall be given to the persons who in the judgment of the commission may be affected by the application, except as provided by this section. (b) For any application involving an average daily discharge of five million gallons or more, the notice shall be given: (1) not later than 20 days before the date on which the commission acts on the application; and (2) to each county judge in the county or counties located within 100 statute miles of the point of discharge who have requested in writing that the commission give that notice and through which water, into or adjacent to which waste or pollutants are to be discharged under the permit, flows after the discharge. (c) Except as otherwise provided by this section, the commission, on the motion of a commissioner, or on the request of the executive director or any affected person, shall hold a public hearing on the application for a permit, permit amendment, or renewal of a permit. (d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the commission, at a regular meeting without the necessity of holding a public hearing, may approve an application to renew or amend a permit if: (1) the applicant is not applying to: (A) increase significantly the quantity of waste authorized to be discharged; or (B) change materially the pattern or place of discharge; (2) the activities to be authorized by the renewed or amended permit will maintain or improve the quality of waste authorized to be discharged; (3) for NPDES permits, notice and the opportunity to request a public meeting shall be given in compliance with NPDES program requirements, and the commission shall consider and respond to all timely received and significant public comment; and (4) the commission determines that an applicant's compliance history under the method for using compliance history developed by the commission under Section 5.754 raises no issues regarding the applicant's ability to comply with a material term of its permit. (e) In considering an applicant's compliance history under Subsection (d)(4), the commission shall consider as evidence of compliance information regarding the applicant's implementation of an environmental management system at the facility for which the permit, permit amendment, or permit renewal is sought. In this subsection, "environmental management system" has the meaning assigned by Section 5.127. (f) Notice of an application under Subsection (d) shall be mailed to the mayor and health authorities for the city or town, and the county judge and health authorities for the county in which the waste is or will be discharged, at least 10 days before the commission meeting, and they may present information to the commission on the application. (g) An application to renew a permit for a confined animal feeding operation which was issued between July 1, 1974, and December 31, 1977, may be set for consideration and may be acted on by the commission at a regular meeting without the necessity of holding a public hearing if the applicant does not seek to discharge into or adjacent to water in the state and does not seek to change materially the pattern or place of disposal. (h) For the purposes of Subsection (c), the commission may act on the application without holding a public hearing if all of the following conditions are met: (1) not less than 30 days before the date of action on the application by the commission, the applicant has published the commission's notice of the application at least once in a newspaper regularly published or circulated within each county where the proposed facility or discharge is located and in each county affected by the discharge; (2) not less than 30 days before the date of action on the application by the commission, the applicant has served or mailed the commission's notice of the application to persons who in the judgment of the commission may be affected, including the county judges as required by Subsection (b). As part of his application the applicant shall submit an affidavit which lists the names and addresses of the persons who may be affected by the application and includes the source of the list; (3) within 30 days after the date of the newspaper publication of the commission's notice, neither a commissioner, the executive director, nor an affected person who objects to the application has requested a public hearing. Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2207, ch. 870, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977; Acts 1979, 66th Leg., p. 1984, ch. 781, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 27, 1979; Acts 1981, 67th Leg., p. 3156, ch. 828, Sec. 6, eff. June 17, 1981; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 795, Sec. 5.012, eff. Sept. 1, 1985; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 795, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 965, Sec. 16.05, eff. Sept. 1, 2001; Acts 2001, 77th Leg., ch. 1161, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 2001. Amended by: Acts 2011, 82nd Leg., R.S., Ch. 1021 (H.B. 2694), Sec. 4.13, eff. September 1, 2011.