(a) A permit or other order of the commission does not become a vested right and may be suspended or revoked for good cause at any time by order of the commission after opportunity for a public hearing is given. Good cause includes, but is not limited to, the following: (1) the permittee has failed or is failing to comply with the conditions of the permit or a commission order, including failure to construct, during the life of the permit, facilities necessary to conform with the terms and conditions of the permit; (2) the permit or the operations thereunder have been abandoned; (3) the permit or other order is no longer needed by the permittee; (4) the permittee's failure in the application or hearing process to disclose fully all relevant facts, or the permittee's misrepresentation of relevant facts at any time; (5) a determination that the permitted activity endangers human health or safety or the environment to such an extent that permit termination is necessary to prevent further harm; (6) the facility is being operated by a transferee before commission approval of the transfer; (7) for underground injection wells, a determination that the waste being injected is a hazardous waste as defined under §335.1 of this title (relating to Definitions) either because the definition has been revised, or because a previous determination has been changed; (8) for Class III injection wells, failure to achieve satisfactory restoration progress; (9) for radioactive material licenses, any violation of the Texas Radiation Control Act or Chapter 336 of this title (relating to Radioactive Substance Rules), or when conditions are revealed by an application, statement of fact, report, record, inspection, or other means, which would have warranted the commission's refusal to issue a license on an original application; or (10) such other cause sufficient to warrant termination or suspension of the authorization. (11) the executive director has received notification under §305.42 and §305.653 of this title (relating to Application Required; and Applying for a Standard Permit) of a facility owner or operator's intent to be covered by a standard permit. (b) The authority to discharge waste into or adjacent to the water in the state under a waste discharge permit is subject to cancellation or suspension under the Texas Water Code, §26.084. (c) The commission may, for good cause, deny, amend, revoke, or suspend, after notice and hearing according to §305.68 of this title (relating to Action and Notice on Petition for Revocation and Suspension), any permit it issues or has authority to issue for a solid waste storage, processing, or disposal facility, for good cause, for reasons pertaining to public health, air or water pollution, land use, or for violations of the Texas Solid Waste Disposal Act, or any other applicable laws or rules controlling the management of solid waste. (d) When the executive director determines revocation or suspension proceedings are warranted, a petition requesting appropriate action may be filed by the executive director with the commission. A person affected by the issuance of a permit or other order of the commission may initiate proceedings for revocation or suspension by forwarding a petition to the executive director to be filed with the commission. (e) If the executive director or an affected person intends to file a petition to revoke or suspend a permit, notice of the intention and a copy of the petition to be filed shall be personally served on or sent by registered or certified mail to the permittee at the last address of record with the commission. This notice shall be given at least 15 days before a petition for revocation or suspension is submitted to the executive director or filed with the commission for further proceedings. Failure to provide such notice shall not be jurisdictional. For radioactive material licenses issued under Chapter 336 of this title (relating to Radioactive Substance Rules), only the executive director may file a petition to revoke or suspend a license. (f) The commission may deny, suspend for not more than 90 days, or revoke an original or renewal permit if the commission finds after notice and hearing, that: (1) the permit holder has a record of environmental violations in the preceding five years at the permitted site; (2) the applicant has a record of environmental violations in the preceding five years at any site owned, operated, or controlled by the applicant; (3) the permit holder or applicant made a false or misleading statement in connection with an original or renewal application, either in the formal application or in any other written instrument relating to the application submitted to the commission, its officers, or its employees; (4) the permit holder or applicant is indebted to the state for fees, payment of penalties, or taxes imposed by Title 5, Sanitation and Environmental Quality, of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Vernon 1991) or by a rule of the commission; (5) the permit holder or applicant is unable to ensure that the management of the hazardous waste management facility conforms or will conform to this title and the rules of the commission. (g) Before denying, suspending, or revoking a permit under this section, the commission must find: (1) that a violation or violations are significant and that the permit holder or applicant has not made a substantial attempt to correct the violations; or (2) that the permit holder or applicant is indebted to the state for fees, payment of penalties, or taxes imposed by Title 5, Sanitation and Environmental Quality, of the Texas Health and Safety Code (Vernon 1991) or by rule of the commission. (h) The commission may not suspend a new commercial hazardous waste management permit on the basis of a failure of a county or a municipality to accept the funds and make the roadway improvements pursuant to §335.182 of this title (relating to Burden on Public Roadways by a New Commercial Hazardous Waste Management Facility). (i) For applications for new hazardous waste management facility permits, the commission may deny such an application if it determines that the facility is not compatible with local land use pursuant to §335.180 of this title (relating to Impact of New Hazardous Waste Management Facilities on Local Land Use). (j) For applications for new commercial hazardous waste management facility permits, the commission may not deny such an application on the basis of a failure of a county or a municipality to accept the funds and make the roadway improvements pursuant to §335.182 of this title. (k) For applications for any new commercial hazardous waste management facility permits, the commission shall not grant such an application if the applicant is without experience in the particular hazardous waste management technology and has not conspicuously stated that lack of experience in the application, and the commission shall not grant such an application unless the applicant provides a summary of its experience, pursuant to §305.50(12)(D) of this title (relating to Additional Requirements for an Application for a Hazardous or Industrial Solid Waste Permit and for a Post-Closure Order). The commission may not deny an application for a new commercial hazardous waste management facility permit solely on the basis of lack of experience of the applicant. (l) For purposes of this section, the terms "permit holder" and "applicant" include each member of a partnership or association and, with respect to a corporation, each officer and the owner or owners of a majority of the corporate stock, provided such partner or owner controls at least 20% of the permit holder or applicant and at least 20% of another business which operates a solid waste management facility. |
Source Note: The provisions of this §305.66 adopted to be effective June 19, 1986, 11 TexReg 2594; amended to be effective July 5, 1989, 14 TexReg 3046; amended to be effective November 7, 1991, 16 TexReg 6051; amended to be effective June 5, 1997, 22 TexReg 4583; amended to be effective October 29, 2009, 34 TexReg 7315 |