Quarry and pit operators need a safety certificate for covered locations, and they may not open, locate, reopen, operate, or abandon certain unsafe pits without it.
Sec. 133.045. SAFETY CERTIFICATE REQUIRED. (a) A safety certificate is required for an active, inactive, or abandoned quarry or pit that is located in hazardous proximity to a public road or is in an unacceptable unsafe location, excluding an inactive or abandoned quarry or pit that receives a written waiver from the department. (b) From and after November 1, 1991, unless a person responsible for a quarry or pit has obtained from the department a certificate that a quarry or pit complies with this subchapter and rules or orders adopted under this subchapter, and subject to Subsection (c) of this section, the person responsible may not: (1) open a new pit in hazardous proximity to a public road; and (2) locate a pit in an area wherein it is in an unacceptable unsafe location; or (3) reopen, operate, or abandon a quarry or pit that is in hazardous proximity to a public road and in an unacceptable unsafe location; and (4) provided, however, that the person responsible must have received a notice from the department that the quarry or pit requires the operator to obtain a safety certificate, before that person is prohibited from operating or maintaining the quarry or pit without a safety certificate. (c) Any person responsible who, on November 1, 1991, is utilizing a portion of a site for quarrying operations, including the stockpiling, sale, or processing of aggregates or a combination thereof, or who has a current, valid, or outstanding agreement or legal right to develop, utilize, or quarry the property, shall be responsible for obtaining a safety certificate limited to that specific pit area he is using or excavating or intends to use or excavate. (d) A person responsible for a quarry or pit may operate the pit during a period that is described by Subsection (a) or (c) of Section 133.052 of this code. (e) In the event a quarry or pit previously not within the proscribed distance in the definition of "in hazardous proximity to a public road" and not initially within the purview of "unacceptable unsafe location" later becomes subject to regulation as the result of an expansion or relocation of an existing public road or construction of a new public road, the person or entity responsible for the expansion or relocation of the existing public road or construction of a new public road shall be liable to report the same to the department within 90 days of the date the expansion, relocation, or construction is finally accomplished. (f) The department shall provide such rules and regulations to require the person or entity responsible for the expansion or relocation to erect berms or barriers. (g) For the purposes of this subsection, the person or entity responsible for the erection of berms or barriers is that person or entity having the original and initial legal authority and responsibility for the initiation and contracting of the expansion or relocation. Added by Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 668, Sec. 1, eff. Aug. 26, 1991. Amended by Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 693, Sec. 4, eff. Sept. 1, 1993. Amended by: Acts 2025, 89th Leg., R.S., Ch. 204 (H.B. 1620), Sec. 14.006, eff. September 1, 2025.