(a) Applicability. This section applies to applications for municipal solid waste permits that are declared administratively complete on or after September 1, 1999.
(b) Preapplication local review committee process. If an applicant for a municipal solid waste permit decides to participate in a local review committee process under Texas Health and Safety Code, §361.063, the applicant shall submit to the executive director a notice of intent to file an application, setting forth the proposed location and type of facility. The executive director shall mail notice to the county judge of the county in which the facility is to be located. If the proposed facility is to be located in a municipality or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a municipality, a copy of the notice must also be mailed to the mayor of the municipality. The executive director shall also mail notice to the appropriate regional solid waste planning agency or council of government. The mailing must be by certified mail.
(c) Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain a Permit.
  (1) Upon the executive director's receipt of an application, or notice of intent to file an application, the chief clerk shall mail notice to the state senator and representative who represent the area in which the facility is or will be located.
  (2) After the executive director determines that the application is administratively complete:
    (A) notice must be given as required by §39.418 of this title (relating to Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit) and, if a newspaper is not published in the county, then the applicant shall publish notice in a newspaper of circulation in the immediate vicinity in which the facility is located or proposed to be located. This notice must contain the text as required by §39.411(b)(1) - (11) of this title (relating to Text of Public Notice);
    (B) the chief clerk shall publish Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit in the Texas Register; and
    (C) the executive director or chief clerk shall mail the Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit, along with a copy of the application or summary of its contents to the mayor and health authority of a municipality in whose territorial limits or extraterritorial jurisdiction the solid waste facility is located, and to the county judge and the health authority of the county in which the facility is located.
(d) Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision. The notice required by §39.419 of this title (relating to Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision) must be published once as required by §39.405(f)(2) of this title (relating to General Notice Provisions). The notice must be published after the chief clerk has mailed the Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision to the applicant. The notice must contain the text as required by §39.411(c)(1) - (6) of this title.
(e) Notice of public meeting.
  (1) For an application for a new facility, the agency:
    (A) may hold a public meeting under §55.154 of this title (relating to Public Meetings) in the county in which the facility is proposed to be located to receive public comment concerning the application; but
    (B) shall hold a public meeting under §55.154 of this title in the county in which the facility is proposed to be located to receive public comment concerning the application:
      (i) on the request of a member of the legislature who represents the general area in which the facility is proposed to be located; or
      (ii) if the executive director determines that there is substantial public interest in the proposed facility.
  (2) The applicant may hold a public meeting in the county in which the facility is proposed to be located.
  (3) For purposes of this subsection, "substantial public interest" is demonstrated if a request for a public meeting is filed by:
    (A) a local governmental entity with jurisdiction over the location at which the facility is proposed to be located by formal resolution of the entity's governing body;
    (B) a council of governments with jurisdiction over the location at which the facility is proposed to be located by formal request of either the council's solid waste advisory committee, executive committee, or governing board;
    (C) a homeowners' or property owners' association formally organized or chartered and having at least ten members located in the general area in which the facility is proposed to be located; or
    (D) a group of ten or more local residents, property owners, or businesses located in the general area in which the facility is proposed to be located.
  (4) A public meeting is not a contested case proceeding under the Administrative Procedure Act. A public meeting held as part of a local review committee process under subsection (b) of this section meets the requirements of paragraph (1) of this subsection if public notice is provided under this subsection.
  (5) The applicant shall publish notice of any public meeting under this subsection, in accordance with §39.405(f)(2) of this title, once each week during the three weeks preceding a public meeting. The published notice must be at least 15 square inches (96.8 square centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three inches (7.6 centimeters). For public meetings under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the notice of public meeting is not subject to §39.411(d) of this title, but instead must contain at least the following information:
    (A) permit application number;
    (B) applicant's name;
    (C) proposed location of the facility;
    (D) location and availability of copies of the application;
    (E) location, date, and time of the public meeting; and
    (F) name, address, and telephone number of the contact person for the applicant from whom interested persons may obtain further information.
  (6) For public meetings held by the agency under paragraph (1) of this subsection, the chief clerk shall mail notice to the persons listed in §39.413 of this title (relating to Mailed Notice).
(f) Notice of hearing.
  (1) This subsection applies if an application is referred to the State Office of Administrative Hearings for a contested case hearing under Chapter 80 of this title (relating to Contested Case Hearings).
  (2) The applicant shall publish notice at least once under §39.405(f)(2) of this title.
  (3) Mailed notice.
    (A) If the applicant proposes a new facility, the applicant shall mail notice of the hearing to each residential or business address located within 1/2 mile of the facility and to each owner of real property located within 1/2 mile of the facility listed in the real property appraisal records of the appraisal district in which the facility is located. The notice must be mailed to the persons listed as owners in the real property appraisal records on the date the application is determined to be administratively complete. The notice must be mailed no more than 45 days and no less than 30 days before the hearing. Within 30 days after the date of mailing, the applicant shall file with the chief clerk an affidavit certifying compliance with its obligations under this subsection. Filing an affidavit certifying facts that constitute compliance with notice requirements creates a rebuttable presumption of compliance with this subparagraph.
    (B) If the applicant proposes to amend a permit, the chief clerk shall mail notice to the persons listed in §39.413 of this title.
  (4) Notice under paragraphs (2) and (3)(B) of this subsection must be completed at least 30 days before the hearing.

Source Note: The provisions of this §39.501 adopted to be effective September 23, 1999, 24 TexReg 8190; amended to be effective August 15, 2002, 27 TexReg 7132; amended to be effective July 19, 2006, 31 TexReg 5646; amended to be effective June 24, 2010, 35 TexReg 5198; amended to be effective May 14, 2020, 45 TexReg 3060