Sec. 26.176. DISPOSAL SYSTEM RULES. (a) Every local government which owns or operates a disposal system is empowered to and shall, except as authorized in Subsection (c) of this section, enact and enforce rules, ordinances, orders, or resolutions, referred to in this section as rules, to control and regulate the type, character, and quality of waste which may be discharged to the disposal system and, where necessary, to require pretreatment of waste to be discharged to the system, so as to protect the health and safety of personnel maintaining and operating the disposal system and to prevent unreasonable adverse effects on the disposal system.

(b) The local government in its rules may establish the charges and assessments which may be made to and collected from all persons who discharge waste to the disposal system or who have conduits or other facilities for discharging waste connected to the disposal system, referred to in this subsection as "users." The charges and assessments shall be equitable as between all users and shall correspond as near as can be practically determined to the cost of making the waste disposal services available to all users and of treating the waste of each user or class of users. The charges and assessments may include user charges, connection fees, or any other methods of obtaining revenue from the disposal system available to the local government. In establishing the charges and assessments, the local government shall take into account:

(1) the volume, type, character, and quality of the waste of each user or class of users;

(2) the techniques of treatment required;

(3) any capital costs and debt retirement expenses of the disposal system required to be paid for from the charges and assessments;

(4) the costs of operating and maintaining the system to comply with this chapter and the permits, rules, and orders of the commission; and

(5) any other costs directly attributable to providing the waste disposal service under standard, accepted cost-accounting practices.

(c) A local government may apply to the commission for an exception from the requirements of Subsections (a) and (b) of this section or for a modification of those requirements. The application shall contain the exception or modifications desired, the reasons the exception or modifications are needed, and the grounds authorized in this subsection on which the commission should grant the application. A public hearing on the application shall be held in or near the territorial area of the local government, and notice of the hearing shall be given to the local government. If after the hearing the commission in its judgment determines that the volume, type, character, and quality of the waste of the users of the system or of a particular user or class of users of the system do not warrant the enactment and enforcement of rules containing the requirements prescribed in Subsections (a) and (b) of this section or that the enactment and enforcement of the rules would be impractical or unreasonably burdensome on the local government in relation to the public benefit to be derived, then the commission in its discretion may enter an order granting an exception to those requirements or modifying those requirements in any particular in response to circumstances shown to exist.

(d) At any time and from time to time as circumstances may require, the commission may amend or revoke any order it enters pursuant to Subsection (c) of this section. Before the commission amends or revokes such an order, a public hearing shall be held in or near the territorial area of the local government in question, and notice of the hearing shall be given to the local government. If after the hearing the commission in its judgment determines that the circumstances on which it based the order have changed significantly or no longer exist, the commission may revoke the order or amend it in any particular in response to the circumstances then shown to exist.

(e) In the event of any conflict between the provisions of this section and any other laws or parts of laws, the provisions of this section shall control.

Amended by Acts 1977, 65th Leg., p. 2207, ch. 870, Sec. 1, eff. Sept. 1, 1977; Acts 1985, 69th Leg., ch. 795, Sec. 1.105, eff. Sept. 1, 1985.