| (a) Definitions:
(1) "Animal" means livestock, exotic livestock, domestic
fowl, or exotic fowl.
(2) "Executive Director" means the Executive Director
of the Texas Animal Health Commission.
(3) "Air Curtain Incineration" means a mechanical process
of incineration by which super-heated air is continuously circulated
to enhance combustion.
(4) "Burial" means interment of a dead animal below
the natural surface of the ground.
(5) "Burning" means the act of consuming or destroying
by fire with or without the use of an accelerant.
(6) "Composting" means the biological decomposition
of organic matter under controlled conditions.
(7) "Dead Animals" means carcasses and parts of carcasses
from animals that are dead from a disease.
(8) "Dead Animal Emergencies" means those situations
involving dead animals that may require extenuating disposal measures
as determined by the Executive Director.
(9) "Decomposition" means the decay of dead animals
under natural conditions.
(10) "Digestion" means a process by which organic matter
is hydrolyzed.
(11) "Disposal" means the management of a dead animal.
(12) "Incineration" means the controlled and monitored
combustion of dead animals for the purposes of volume reduction and
pathogen control.
(13) "Person" means any individual, association, partnership,
firm, joint stock company, joint venture, trust, estate, political
subdivision, public or private corporation, state or federal government
department, agency or instrumentality, or any legal entity, which
is recognized by law as the subject of rights and duties.
(14) "Rendering" means the process or business of recycling
dead animals and animal by-products.
(15) "Sanitary Landfill" means a solid waste disposal
site permitted or approved by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality.
(b) Carcass Disposal. A person who is the owner or
caretaker of livestock, exotic livestock, domestic fowl, or exotic
fowl that die from a disease or agent of disease transmission listed
in §45.3(a) - (c) of this title (relating to Reportable and Actionable
Disease List), or who owns or controls the land on which the livestock,
exotic livestock, domestic fowl, or exotic fowl die or upon which
a diseased carcass of a dead animal is exposed to other animals, shall
dispose of the carcass in the manner required by the commission under
this section.
(c) Executive Director Authorization. The Commission
authorizes the Executive Director to issue orders regarding the disposal
of carcasses of livestock, exotic livestock, domestic fowl, or exotic
fowl as necessary to eradicate or control the disease as well as to
protect the livestock of this state. The Executive Director may also
publish directives, guidelines and standards to be followed for carcass
disposal in general events involving a diseased animal.
(d) Disposal of Diseased Carcass. A person who is the
owner or caretaker of livestock, exotic livestock, domestic fowl,
or exotic fowl, if ordered by the Executive Director, shall dispose
of the carcasses under the direction of authorized agents of the commission
and in accordance with all applicable legal standards and requirements.
(e) Disposal Methods Determined by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director may determine the appropriate method of disposal
for animals that die of infectious or contagious diseases or agents
of disease transmission listed in §45.3(a) - (c) of this title
(relating to Reportable and Actionable Disease List).
(1) Rendering. If a licensed and approved rendering
facility accepts the dead animal, rendering is an approved method
of disposal.
(2) Burial. Dead animals shall be buried to such a
depth that no part of the dead animal shall be nearer than three (3)
feet to the natural surface of the ground. Every part of the dead
animal shall be covered with at least three (3) feet of earth. The
location of a burial site shall comply with any applicable setbacks
for sanitary or public health reasons.
(3) Disposal in an Approved Sanitary Landfill. Arrangements
shall be made with a city, county, regional, or private landfill official
in order to dispose of a dead animal in a city, county, regional,
or private landfill.
(4) Composting. Composting dead animals shall be accomplished
in a manner approved by the Executive Director.
(5) Digestion. Digestion of dead animals shall be accomplished
in a properly designed and sized dead animal digester approved by
the Executive Director.
(6) Incineration.
(A) Incineration of dead animals shall be accomplished
in an approved incineration facility, or by a mobile air curtain incinerator
at a site approved by the Executive Director.
(B) The incineration shall be thorough and complete,
reducing the carcass to mineral residue.
(7) Burning. Any person who is the owner or caretaker
of animals that have died from anthrax, or who owns or controls the
land on which the animals have died, is responsible for assuring that
the carcass of each animal is set on fire and burned until it is thoroughly
consumed as found in §31.3 of this title (relating to Disposal).
(8) Decomposition. Animals that die on private or state
rangeland from causes other than significant infectious or contagious
diseases or agents may be left to decompose naturally provided their
location is not in violation of another legal requirement.
(9) Waiver of Requirements by the Executive Director.
The Executive Director may grant variances from the requirements on
a case-by-case basis.
(f) Dead Animal Emergencies. Dead animal emergencies
are those situations involving dead animals that have been determined
by the Executive Director to require extraordinary disposal measures.
(1) Situations Requiring Extraordinary Disposal Measures.
These situations include, but are not limited to, the following:
(A) Situations where one (1) or more animals die of
an infectious or contagious disease or agent that may pose a significant
threat to humans or animals;
(B) Situations wherein the number of dead animals is
large enough to require extraordinary disposal measures.
(2) Executive Director to Determine Disposal Methods.
The Executive Director may employ exceptional or extraordinary methods
of dead animal disposal as necessary to protect the health and welfare
of the human and animal populations of the State of Texas. Such methods
may include, but shall not be limited to:
(A) Open burning;
(B) Pit burning;
(C) Burning with accelerants;
(D) Pyre burning;
(E) Air curtain incineration;
(F) Mass burial; or
(G) Natural decomposition.
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