REGULATION OF CERTAIN RECYCLING FACILITIES IN CERTAIN COUNTIES.

(a) This section applies only to a municipal solid waste recycling facility that does not hold a permit or registration issued by the commission that stores combustible materials to produce mulch or compost and is located in a county that:

(1) has a population of more than 1.3 million; and

(2) includes areas designated as a recharge or transition zone of an aquifer as defined under the commission's Edwards Aquifer Protection Program that is the sole or principal source of drinking water for an area designated under Section 1424(e), Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 (42 U.S.C. Section 300h-3(e)) and by the Environmental Protection Agency as the Edwards Underground Reservoir under 40 Federal Register 58344.

(b) The commission by rule shall:

(1) prescribe time limits for processing and removing materials from a facility;

(2) limit the amount of combustible material that may be stored at a recycling facility;

(3) limit the size of a pile of combustible recyclable or recycled materials, including composting materials or mulch, at a recycling facility;

(4) impose different standards for a recycling facility appropriate to the size and number of piles of combustible materials to be stored or processed at the facility;

(5) require a recycling facility to establish fire lanes between piles of combustible materials;

(6) require buffer zones between a recycling facility and a residence, school, or church; and

(7) for a recycling facility that is located on a recharge or transition zone referenced in Subsection 361.1191(a)(2):

(A) impose more stringent standards; and

(B) require groundwater protection features, such as liners and monitor wells.

(c) A rule adopted by the commission under this section does not become effective until the first anniversary of the date on which the rule was adopted.