Sec. 361.013. SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL AND TRANSPORTATION FEES. (a) Except as provided by Subsections (e) through (i), the commission shall charge a fee on all solid waste that is disposed of within this state. The fee is 94 cents per ton received for disposal at a municipal solid waste landfill if the solid waste is measured by weight. If the solid waste is measured by volume, the fee for compacted solid waste is 30 cents per cubic yard and the fee for uncompacted solid waste is 19 cents per cubic yard received for disposal at a municipal solid waste landfill. The commission shall set the fee for sludge or similar waste applied to the land for beneficial use on a dry weight basis and for solid waste received at an incinerator or a shredding and composting facility at half the fee set for solid waste received for disposal at a landfill. The commission may charge comparable fees for other means of solid waste disposal that are used.

(b) The commission may raise or lower the fees established under Subsection (a) in accordance with commission spending levels established by the legislature.

(c) The commission shall charge an annual registration fee to a transporter of municipal solid waste who is required to register with the commission under rules adopted by the commission. The commission by rule shall adopt a fee schedule. The fee shall be reasonably related to the volume, the type, or both the volume and type of waste transported. The registration fee charged under this subsection may not be less than $25 or more than $500.

(d) The operator of each municipal solid waste facility shall maintain records and report to the commission annually on the amount of solid waste that the facility transfers, processes, stores, treats, or disposes of. Each transporter required to register with the commission shall maintain records and report to the commission annually on the amount of solid waste that the transporter transports. The commission by rule shall establish procedures for recordkeeping and reporting required under this subsection.

(e) The commission may not charge a fee under Subsection (a) for scrap tires that are deposited in a designated recycling collection area at a landfill permitted by the commission or licensed by a county or by a political subdivision exercising the authority granted by Section 361.165 and that are temporarily stored for eventual recycling, reuse, or energy recovery.

(f) The commission may not charge a fee under Subsection (a) for source separated materials that are processed at a composting and mulch processing facility, including a composting and mulch processing facility located at a permitted landfill site. The commission shall credit any fee payment due under Subsection (a) for any material received and processed to compost or mulch product at the facility. Any compost or mulch product that is produced at a composting and mulch processing facility that is used in the operation of the facility or is disposed of in a landfill is not exempt from the fee.

(g) The commission shall allow a home-rule municipality that has enacted an ordinance imposing a local environmental protection fee for disposal services as of January 1, 1993, to offer disposal or environmental programs or services to persons within its jurisdiction, from the revenues generated by said fee, as such services are required by state or federal mandates. If such services or programs are offered, the home-rule municipality may require their use by those persons within its jurisdiction.

(h) The commission may not charge a fee under Subsection (a) on solid waste resulting from a public entity's effort to protect the public health and safety of the community from the effects of a natural or man-made disaster or from structures that have been contributing to drug trafficking or other crimes if the disposal facility at which that solid waste is offered for disposal has donated to a municipality, county, or other political subdivision the cost of disposing of that waste.

(i) The commission may not charge a fee under Subsection (a) for the disposal of:

(1) Class I industrial solid waste or hazardous waste subject to the assessment of fees under Section 361.136;

(2) an industrial solid waste for which no permit may be required under Section 361.090; or

(3) sewage sludge that:

(A) has been treated to reduce the density of pathogens to the lowest level provided by commission rules; and

(B) complies with commission rules regarding:

(i) metal concentration limits;

(ii) pathogen reduction; and

(iii) vector attraction reduction.

Acts 1989, 71st Leg., ch. 678, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989. Amended by Acts 1990, 71st Leg., 6th C.S., ch. 10, art. 2, Sec. 3, eff. Sept. 6, 1990; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 303, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., ch. 370, Sec. 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1991, 72nd Leg., 1st C.S., ch. 5, Sec. 9.13, eff. Sept. 1, 1991; Acts 1993, 73rd Leg., ch. 899, Sec. 1.08, eff. Aug. 30, 1993; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 76, Sec. 11.20, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1995, 74th Leg., ch. 956, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1995; Acts 1999, 76th Leg., ch. 376, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1999.

Amended by:

Acts 2013, 83rd Leg., R.S., Ch. 835 (H.B. 7), Sec. 3, eff. June 14, 2013.