Marked Agenda
Commissioners' Work Session
Thursday, July 11, 1996
1:30 p.m.
Room 201S, Building E, Park 35, Austin

Old Business

  1. Consideration of issues related to the Title V Operating Permits program. Karen Olson (Air), Debra Barber (Field Operations), and Susan Owen (Legal) presented the issue. The Commissioners directed staff to -

  2. Consideration of issues related to National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) delegation, including issues regarding public participation in the administrative process, the Texas Private Real Property Rights Preservation Act, and the Texas Environmental, Health, and Safety Audit Privilege Act. The Commissioners chose not to take this issue up. The issue was continued as old business to the July 24th Regular Agenda Meeting.

  3. The Commission will meet in closed session to receive legal advice on agency options relating to delegation of the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program, pursuant to Section 551.071 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. The Commission may also meet in open session to take action on this matter, as required by Section 551.102 of the Texas Open Meetings Act, Chapter 551 of the Texas Government Code. The Commissioners chose not to take this issue up. The issue was continued as old business to the July 24th Regular Agenda Meeting.

New Business

  1. Consideration of the Commissioners' priorities on rule and policy development. The Commissioners chose to take this issue up as part of new business item #4.

  2. Consideration of issues related to constructed wetlands. Warren Samuelson (Water) presented the issue. The Commissioners directed staff to proceed with the proposed "Recommendation for Installation of Experimental, Demonstration, and/or Research Constructed Wetlands System" which will include gathering water quality data for the next two years as part of developing eventual rules. The Commissioners also stressed that this project should have no more than a minimum impact on the agency's staff and funds.

  3. Consideration of issues related to the issuance of permits in light of compliance history. Helen Gilbert (Legal) presented the issue. John Riley (Litigation Support) joined the discussion. The Commissioners discussed the issue of statutory differences among programs that existed prior to the agencies being merged. They also discussed the lack of a clear definition for what constitutes "non-compliance" for permit applications. The Commissioners directed the Litigation Support and Legal staff to review the statutes, look for common elements, and begin to consider developing the necessary guidance and rules.

  4. Planning for the next Commissioners' Work Session. The next Work Session has been scheduled for July 25th at 1:30 p.m. It will be held off-site. The primary issue to be discussed at this session will be the agency's legislative package. (Please note that this issue was originally scheduled to be discussed at the Aug. 29th session, but has been moved.) The Commissioners also requested that OPRD schedule an additional session sometime between July 25th and Aug. 29th. The Commissioners and Executive Director also discussed the scheduling of the Galveston and Corpus Estuary programs for a future briefing (either at a future session or as private, individual briefings for each Commissioner).