(a) The commission shall collect one or more representative composite soil samples from each permitted waste application field associated with a concentrated animal feeding operation. The commission shall perform the sampling under this subsection not less often than once every 12 months. Sampling results obtained by the commission shall be used by the permitted concentrated animal feeding operator to satisfy any annual sampling of permitted waste application fields required by commission rule or individual permit.
(b) Each sample collected under this section must be tested for phosphorus and any other nutrient designated by the commission. The commission may have the sampling required by this section performed under contract. The sampling must be performed by a person described by § 26.503(b)(2)(E)(ii). The test results must be made available to the operator of the concentrated animal feeding operation. The test results are public records of the commission.

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Terms Used In Texas Water Code 26.504

  • Commission: means the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. See Texas Water Code 26.001
  • Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
  • Executive director: means the executive director of the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission. See Texas Water Code 26.001
  • Permit: means an order issued by the commission in accordance with the procedures prescribed in this chapter establishing the treatment which shall be given to wastes being discharged into or adjacent to any water in the state to preserve and enhance the quality of the water and specifying the conditions under which the discharge may be made. See Texas Water Code 26.001
  • Person: means an individual, association, partnership, corporation, municipality, state or federal agency, or an agent or employee thereof. See Texas Water Code 26.001
  • Rule: includes regulation. See Texas Government Code 311.005

(c) If the samples tested under Subsection (b) show a phosphorus level in the soil of more than 500 parts per million, the operator shall file with the commission a new or amended nutrient utilization plan with a phosphorus reduction component that is certified as acceptable by a person listed by § 26.503(b)(2)(E)(ii).
(d) If the samples tested under Subsection (b) show a phosphorus level in the soil of more than 200 parts per million but not more than 500 parts per million, the operator shall:
(1) file with the commission a new or amended nutrient utilization plan with a phosphorus reduction component that is certified as acceptable by a person listed by § 26.503(b)(2)(E)(ii); or
(2) show that the level is supported by a nutrient utilization plan certified as acceptable by a person listed by § 26.503(b)(2)(E)(ii).
(e) The owner or operator of a waste application field required by this section to have a nutrient utilization plan with a phosphorus reduction component for which the results of tests performed on composite soil samples collected 12 months or more after the plan is filed do not show a reduction in phosphorus is subject to enforcement for a violation of this subchapter at the discretion of the executive director. The executive director, in determining whether to take an enforcement action under this subsection, shall consider any explanation presented by the owner or operator regarding the reasons for the lack of phosphorus reduction, including an act of God, meteorologic conditions, diseases, vermin, crop conditions, or variability of soil testing results.
(f) Repealed by Acts 2009, 81st Leg., R.S., Ch. 769, Sec. 2, eff. June 1, 2010.