Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission Austin Texas Interoffice From: Steve Spaw, P.E., Director, Central Regulatory Operations To: Regional Directors Date: July 23, 1985 Subject: Public Notice for Concrete Batch Plants Section 3.27(c) of the Texas Clean Air Act (TCAA) was amended in the recently concluded legislative session. The amendment provides that no person may commence construction on a concrete batch plant (permanent or temporary) that accomplishes wet batching, dry batching or central mixing pursuant to an exemption without first providing public notice and an opportunity for a public hearing as specified in Sections 3.271(a) and (c) of the TCAA. The only exception to this requirement applies to concrete plants located temporarily in the right-of-way of a public works project. Section 3.27(c) also defines a person who may be affected by emissions from a concrete batch plant as only those persons actually residing in a permanent residence within one-quarter (1/4) mile of the proposed plant. This is important because under Section 3.271(c), hearings will be granted when requested by either a "person who may be affected by emissions" or by a member of the Texas Legislature from the general area where the proposed facility is to be located. I am requesting that we implement these changes to Section 3.27(c) effective August 1, 1985. The following guidelines should be used to insure consistent implementation of the statutory changes: 1. All concrete batch plants proposed for construction pursuant to either a standard exemption or the relocation provisions of a transient permit shall be required to utilize the public notice procedures. Authorization of public notice will be made by the Austin office for these exemptions and transient permits. The only concrete batch plants not subject to this requirement will be those to be located temporarily in the right-of-way of a public works project. The following should be used to assist you in interpreting this exception: A. Right-of-Way All of the property that is the subject of the public works project. In many cases, there will be a legal metes and bounds description of the property that has been developed by a surveyor. In some cases, where the land is already owned by a public entity, a survey may not have been performed, but the agency in charge of the project should have developed maps or other documents that will describe that portion of the total property that has been assigned to the public works project. When it is not clear whether a plant is located within the right-of-way, the plant owner should be directed to consult with the appropriate authorities of the public works project to establish the claim. For purposes of this exception, hardware associated with the concrete batch plant must be within the right-of-way. B. Public Works Project All construction and improvements, ordinarily of a fixed nature, designed for public use, protection or enjoyment, that are undertaken or authorized by a governmental entity. 2. Requests for hearing must be granted if made by members of the Texas Legislature from the general area where the plant is to be located or from persons actually residing in a permanent residence within one-quarter mile of the proposed plant who offer a reasonable basis for their request. A permanent residence is the person's "permanent" home where the person resides with no present intention to create a different permanent residence. Thus, homes, apartments, mobile homes, etc., are normally (but not always) permanent residences. Motels and campgrounds may be permanent residences if the person involved actually intends it to be his permanent residence as evidenced by such things as drivers license, voting registration, etc. Persons who stay at motels and campgrounds only to transact business or work at a temporary job have not established a permanent residence. 3. In order to ensure good communication between the regional offices and Austin office on these projects it will be necessary to provide information to the Mechanical Section about each standard exemption application, standard exemption relocation or transient permit relocation for concrete batch plants. Information needed consists of data from the PI-7 for creation of an application record in the permits database. 4. Facilities that have previously received exemptions may use the same exemption number (X-number) with the next suffix letter applied, but the above data will need to be furnished to the CORE Section for creation of computer records. 5. All material received in the Austin office at the time of filing for the standard exemption, including a PI-7, will need to be furnished to the CORE Section who will create a file for the data and forward it to the reviewing engineer. 6. Information about concrete batch plant transient permit relocations may be communicated to the agency by sending the letter requesting the relocation to the Austin office, regional office and any applicable local program(s). 7. Before any authorization for public notice for concrete batch plants is made, a determination must be made that the application is complete, containing all necessary information to allow a determination to be made whether the proposed facility meets the requirements for obtaining an exemption or relocation approval. 8. Examples of public notices for concrete batch plants proposing to construct under standard exemption or transient permit relocation will be provided. The usual site approval letters for these facilities may be used to issue site approval. 9. The public notice package to a company will include the following: A. Letter of Transmittal. B. Public Notice Procedures. C. Example of Public Notice (Standard Exemption or Transient Permit). D. List of agencies to be notified (with air contaminants to be publicly specified). E. Address of regional office in the region where the plant will be constructed.