Texas Health and Safety Code 363.064 – Contents of Regional or Local Solid Waste Management Plan
(a) A regional or local solid waste management plan must:
(1) include a description and an assessment of current efforts in the geographic area covered by the plan to minimize production of municipal solid waste, including sludge, and efforts to reuse or recycle waste;
(2) identify additional opportunities for waste minimization and waste reuse or recycling;
(3) include a description and assessment of existing or proposed community programs for the collection of household hazardous waste;
(4) make recommendations for encouraging and achieving a greater degree of waste minimization and waste reuse or recycling in the geographic area covered by the plan;
(5) encourage cooperative efforts between local governments in the siting of landfills for the disposal of solid waste;
(6) consider the need to transport waste between municipalities, from a municipality to an area in the jurisdiction of a county, or between counties, particularly if a technically suitable site for a landfill does not exist in a particular area;
(7) allow a local government to justify the need for a landfill in its jurisdiction to dispose of the solid waste generated in the jurisdiction of another local government that does not have a technically suitable site for a landfill in its jurisdiction;
(8) establish recycling rate goals appropriate to the area covered by the plan;
(9) recommend composting programs for yard waste and related organic wastes that may include:
(A) creation and use of community composting centers;
(B) adoption of the “Don’t Bag It” program for lawn clippings developed by the Texas Agricultural Extension Service; and
(C) development and promotion of education programs on home composting, community composting, and the separation of yard waste for use as mulch;
(10) include an inventory of municipal solid waste landfill units, including:
(A) landfill units no longer in operation;
(B) the exact boundaries of each former landfill unit or, if the exact boundaries are not known, the best approximation of each unit’s boundaries;
(C) a map showing the approximate boundaries of each former landfill unit, if the exact boundaries are not known;
(D) the current owners of the land on which the former landfill units were located; and
(E) the current use of the land;
(11) assess the need for new waste disposal capacity; and
(12) include a public education program.
(b) If the boundaries of a municipal solid waste unit that is no longer operating are known to be wholly on an identifiable tract, the council of governments for the area in which the former landfill unit is located shall notify the owner of land that overlays the former landfill unit of the former use of the land and shall notify the county clerk of the county or counties in which the former landfill unit is located of the former use. The notice to the county clerk must include:
(1) a description of the exact boundaries of the former landfill unit or, if the exact boundaries are not known, the best approximation of each unit’s boundaries;
(2) a legal description of the parcel or parcels of land in which the former landfill unit is located;
(3) notice of the former landfill unit’s former use; and
(4) notice of the restrictions on the land imposed by this subchapter.
Terms Used In Texas Health and Safety Code 363.064
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
(c) The county clerk shall record the descriptions and notices submitted by a council of governments under Subsection (b). The county clerk may prescribe the method of arranging and indexing the descriptions and notices. The county clerk shall make the descriptions and notices available for public inspection.
(d) The municipalities and counties within each council of governments shall cooperate fully in compiling the inventory of landfill units.
(e) Each council of governments shall provide a copy of the inventory of municipal solid waste landfill units to the commission and to the chief planning official of each municipality and county in which a unit is located. The commission and the officials shall make the inventory available for public inspection.
(f) The commission may grant money from fees collected under Section 361.013 to a municipality or association of municipalities for the purpose of conducting the inventory required by this section.