Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 213 - EDWARDS AQUIFER › Subchapter A - EDWARDS AQUIFER IN MEDINA, BEXAR, COMAL, KINNEY, UVALDE, HAYS, TRAVIS, AND WILLIAMSON COUNTIES › Section 213.4 - Application Processing and Approval

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a)
				  Approval by the executive director.
(1) No
				  person may commence the construction of any regulated activity until an Edwards
				  Aquifer protection plan or modifications to the plan as required by §
											213.5
				  of this title (relating to Required Edwards Aquifer Protection Plans,
				  Notification, and Exemptions) or exception under §
											213.9 of
				  this title (relating to Exceptions) has been filed with the appropriate
				  regional office, and the application has been reviewed and approved by the
				  executive director.
(2) The
				  appropriate regional office shall provide copies of applications to affected
				  incorporated cities, groundwater conservation districts, and counties in which
				  the proposed regulated activity will be located. These copies will be
				  distributed within five days of the application being determined to be
				  administratively complete. Any person may file comments within 30 days of the
				  date the application is mailed to local governmental entities. The executive
				  director shall review all comments that are timely filed.
(3) A complete application for approval, as
				  described in this section, must be submitted with the appropriate fee as
				  specified in §
											213.12 of this
				  title (relating to Application Fees).
(4) Projects in progress when recharge and
				  transition zone maps are revised.
(A) For
				  areas designated as recharge zone or transition zone on official maps prior to
				  the effective date of this paragraph, and for which this designation did not
				  change, all Edwards Aquifer protection plans submitted to the executive
				  director, on or after the effective date of this paragraph, will be reviewed
				  under all the provisions of the subchapter in effect on the date the plan is
				  submitted.
(B) For areas that were
				  newly designated as recharge zone or transition zone on official maps on the
				  effective date of this paragraph, regulated activities will be considered to
				  have commenced construction and will be regulated under the provisions of this
				  chapter that were in effect at the time the plan was approved by the executive
				  director if, on the effective date, all federal, state, and local approvals or
				  permits required to begin physical construction have been obtained, and if
				  either on-site construction directly related to the development has begun or
				  construction commences within six months of the effective date of this
				  paragraph.
(C) Regulated activities
				  in areas designated as transition zone on official maps prior to the effective
				  date of this paragraph and designated as recharge zone on the effective date of
				  this paragraph will be regulated as transition zone activities if, on the
				  effective date, all federal, state, and local approvals or permits required to
				  begin physical construction have been obtained, and if either on-site
				  construction directly related to the development has begun or construction
				  commences within six months of the effective date of this paragraph.
(D) The effective date of this paragraph is
				  September 1, 2005.
(5)
				  Assumption of program by local government.
(A)
				  A local governmental entity may assume the rights, duties, and responsibilities
				  to review and either approve or deny Edwards Aquifer protection plan
				  applications within its boundaries and monitor and enforce compliance with
				  plans if the local government obtains certification from the executive
				  director.
(B) In order to obtain
				  certification, the local government must demonstrate that:
(i) it has a water quality protection program
				  equal to or more stringent than the rules contained in this chapter, including,
				  but not limited to, a program that:
(I)
				  regulates activities covered under this chapter; and
(II) has performance standards equal to or
				  more protective of water quality;
(ii) it has adopted ordinances or has other
				  enforceable means sufficient to enforce the program throughout the local
				  governmental entity's jurisdiction; and
(iii) it has adequate resources to implement
				  and enforce the program.
(C) Upon approval of a request for
				  certification under this section, the executive director shall enter into an
				  agreement with the local governmental entity to provide for the terms and
				  conditions of program assumption, including executive director oversight.
				  Nothing in a certification or agreement shall affect the commission's ability
				  to enforce its water quality protection rules or applicable state
				  law.
(D) An agreement under
				  subparagraph (C) of this paragraph shall not provide for the payment of fees
				  required by this chapter to the local entity, and shall not provide for partial
				  assumption of the program unless expressly authorized by the commission. Fees
				  shall be paid to the commission for continued proper oversight and
				  enforcement.
(E) Certification
				  shall be for a term not to exceed five years, subject to renewal.
(F) Upon written notice, certification may be
				  revoked or suspended by the executive director if the local entity does not
				  meet the terms and conditions of the agreement provided under subparagraph (D)
				  of this paragraph, or fails to meet the criteria for certification provided
				  under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph.
(G) A decision by the executive director
				  under this section is not subject to appeal to the commission.