| (a) Applicability.
(1) The following are subject to this section:
(A) air quality permit applications; and
(B) permit applications other than air quality permit
applications that are required to comply with §39.418 or §39.419
of this title (relating to Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent
to Obtain Permit; and Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision)
that are filed on or after November 30, 2005.
(2) This section applies whenever notice is required
to be published under §39.418 or §39.419 of this title,
and either the elementary or middle school nearest to the facility
or proposed facility is required to provide a bilingual education
program as required by Texas Education Code, Chapter 29, Subchapter
B, and 19 TAC §89.1205(a) (relating to Required Bilingual Education
and English as a Second Language Programs) and one of the following
conditions is met:
(A) students are enrolled in a program at that school;
(B) students from that school attend a bilingual education
program at another location; or
(C) the school that otherwise would be required to
provide a bilingual education program has been granted an exception
from the requirements to provide the program as provided for in 19
TAC §89.1207(a) (relating to Bilingual Education Exceptions and
English as a Second Language Waivers).
(3) Elementary or middle schools that offer English
as a second language under 19 TAC §89.1205(d), and are not otherwise
affected by 19 TAC §89.1205(a), will not trigger the requirements
of this section.
(4) This section also applies when the executive director
determines that alternative language notice is necessary to provide
proper notice and meaningful access to affected communities.
(b) Alternative language newspaper notice.
(1) The notice required by §39.418 or §39.419
of this title must be published in a newspaper or publication that
is published primarily in the alternative languages in which the bilingual
education program is or would have been taught, and the notice must
be in those languages.
(2) The newspaper or publication must be of general
circulation in the county in which the facility is located or proposed
to be located. If the facility is located or proposed to be located
in a municipality, and there exists a newspaper or publication of
general circulation in the municipality, the applicant shall publish
notice only in the newspaper or publication in the municipality. This
paragraph does not apply to notice required to be published for air
quality permits under §39.603 of this title (relating to Newspaper
Notice).
(3) For notice required to be published in a newspaper
or publication under §39.603 of this title, relating to air quality
permits, the newspaper or publication must be of general circulation
in the municipality or county in which the facility is located or
is proposed to be located, and the notice must be published as follows.
(A) One notice must be published in the public notice
section of the newspaper and must comply with the applicable portions
of §39.411 of this title (relating to Text of Public Notice).
(B) Another notice with a total size of at least six
column inches, with a vertical dimension of at least three inches
and a horizontal dimension of at least two column widths, or a size
of at least 12 square inches, must be published in a prominent location
elsewhere in the same issue of the newspaper. This notice must contain
the following information:
(i) permit application number;
(ii) company name;
(iii) type of facility;
(iv) description of the location of the facility; and
(v) a note that additional information is in the public
notice section of the same issue.
(4) Waste and water quality alternative language must
be published in the public notice section of the alternative language
newspaper and must comply with §39.411 of this title.
(5) The requirements of this subsection are waived
for each language in which no publication exists, or if the publishers
of all alternative language publications refuse to publish the notice.
If the alternative language publication is published less frequently
than once a month, this notice requirement may be waived by the executive
director on a case-by-case basis.
(A) For permit applications that are declared by the
executive director to be administratively complete on or after May
1, 2022, if this notice is waived, the applicant will provide the
alternative language notice required in paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection
to the Office of the Chief Clerk (chief clerk), and this notice will
be posted electronically on the commission's website;
(B) The published English language notice will include
instructions in the alternative language explaining how to access
the electronic version of the alternative language notice.
(6) Notice under this subsection will only be required
to be published within the United States.
(7) Each alternative language publication must follow
the requirements of this chapter that are consistent with this section.
(8) If a waiver is received under this section on an
air quality permit application, the applicant shall complete a verification
and submit it as required under §39.605(3) of this title (relating
to Notice to Affected Agencies). If a waiver is received under this
section on a waste or water quality application, the applicant shall
complete a verification and submit it to the chief clerk and the executive
director.
(c) Alternative language requirement for applicant's
summary of application. For permit applications that are declared
by the executive director to be administratively complete on or after
May 1, 2022, when an application is subject to the requirements of
this section, the applicant shall also provide an alternative language
version of the summary of application that is required by §39.405(k)
of this title (relating to General Notice Provisions). This summary
shall be posted on the commission's website.
(d) Alternative language requirements for public meetings:
(1) When a public meeting is held under §55.154
of this title (relating to Public Meetings), the chief clerk shall
mail notice of that public meeting in the alternative language, if
alternative language notice is required to be published by subsection
(b) of this section.
(A) Notice of the public meeting shall be given as
required by §39.411(d) or (g) of this title (relating to Text
of Public Notice), as applicable.
(B) For air quality permit applications, this notice
shall be mailed by the chief clerk's office at least 30 calendar days
prior to the date of the public meeting.
(C) The alternative language notice of the public meeting
will be published on the commission's website.
(2) The applicant shall provide for competent interpretative
services in the same alternative language at the public meeting. Interpretation
services must be provided if:
(A) the chief clerk has received comments in the alternative
language at least two weeks before the public meeting is scheduled;
or
(B) there is substantial or significant public interest
that would be served by having translation services available.
(3) This subsection will apply to permit applications
that are declared by the executive director to be administratively
complete on or after May 1, 2022.
(e) Alternative language requirements for response
to comments.
(1) The executive director is required to evaluate
the need to provide a written response to comments in accordance with §55.156(b)(1)
of this title (relating to Public Comment Processing) in an alternative
language when formal written or oral comments are received on the
permit application in the alternative language; the executive director
will consider the following factors when making this determination:
(A) if the comments received on the application were
substantive;
(B) how many comments in an alternative language were
received on the proposed application;
(C) if the language in which the comments were received
is commonly spoken in the community in which the proposed application
would be located;
(D) if a notice was required by this section to be
published in that language; and
(E) if an alternative language response is necessary
to ensure that the commenter can fully participate in the processes
of the commission related to the permit application.
(2) The executive director may also provide the response
to comments in the alternative language when there is significant
public interest that would be served by the response to comments in
the alternative language.
(3) When a translated response to comments is provided,
the transmittal letter mailed out by the chief clerk in accordance
with §55.156(c) of this title shall:
(A) also be provided in the alternative language; and
(B) the instructions for further public participation
that are required by §55.156(d) and (e) of this title shall also
be provided in the alternative language.
(4) When a translated response to comments is necessary,
the executive director may use any resources available to translate
the response; the translated response to comments may include a statement
as to the source of the translation, and information for how to obtain
answers to questions related to the translation.
(5) When the executive director determines that it
is not necessary to translate a response to comments even though comments
have been received in an alternative language, the transmittal letter
will include information in both English and the alternative language
about how to use available translation tools to translate the response
into an alternative language.
(6) This subsection will apply to permit applications
that are declared by the executive director to be administratively
complete on or after May 1, 2022.
(f) Alternative language requirements for response
to requests for reconsideration or hearing requests. This subsection
applies whenever requests for reconsideration or hearing requests
are received in accordance with §55.201 of this title (relating
to Requests for Reconsideration or Contested Case Hearing) in an alternative
language.
(1) the notice transmitted by the chief clerk in accordance
with §55.209 of this title (relating to Processing Requests for
Reconsideration and Contested Case Hearing) concerning commission
action on hearing requests shall be provided in the alternative language;
(2) any written responses to the requests for reconsideration
or hearing requests submitted by the executive director, the Office
of Public Interest Counsel, and the applicant shall be provided in
the alternative language;
(3) when a translated response to requests for reconsideration
or hearing is required, the executive director, the Office of Public
Interest Counsel, and the applicant may use any resources available
to translate the response; the translated response may include a statement
as to the source of the translation, and information for how to obtain
answers to questions related to the translation;
(4) written commission orders on hearing requests subject
to this subsection shall also be provided in the alternative language;
(5) when hearing requests that require alternative
language documents are heard by the commissioners at agenda, the commission
shall provide oral interpretation of the agenda consideration in the
alternative language;
(6) notice required in accordance with §50.119
of this title (relating to Notice of Commission Action, Motion for
Rehearing), shall also be provided in the alternative language when
this subsection applies;
(7) notice required in accordance with §39.423
of this title (relating to Notice of Contested Case Hearing), shall
also be provided in the alternative language; and
(8) this subsection will apply to permit applications
that are declared by the executive director to be administratively
complete on or after May 1, 2022.
(g) Remedy for Alternative Language Translation Errors.
(1) For notices, only substantive errors in translation
require that notice be re-published or re-mailed. Substantive errors
include, but are not limited to, errors in deadlines, meeting locations,
log-in information for virtual meetings, time of meetings, information
relating to means to obtain further information about the subject
of the notice, and information about the permit applicant.
(2) Absent a demonstration of willful misconduct in
connection with the translation, a minor translation error shall not
be grounds for preventing, vacating, delaying, or otherwise impairing
the effectiveness of an action by the executive director or the commission.
(3) In the event of an alleged translation error, the
original English version of a document shall be deemed conclusive.
(4) A complainant's remedy shall be to receive a revised
translation within a reasonable period of time.
(5) This subsection will apply to permit applications
that are declared by the executive director to be administratively
complete on or after May 1, 2022.
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