- (a) The commissioners court of a county with a population of 250,000 or more may establish a program for the cleanup and economic redevelopment of brownfields located in the county, as authorized by Section 52-a, Article III, Texas Constitution.
(b) A brownfield program must include:
(1) procedures to:
- (A) identify eligible sites;
- (B) conduct assessments;
(C) prioritize the remediation of eligible sites, with consideration given to:
- (i) the number of jobs related to the remediation; and
- (ii) the resulting economic and environmental benefits to the county;
- (D) conduct the remediation of an eligible site;
- (E) conduct the inspection of a property or facility after remediation; and
- (F) guide eligible owners in applying for county assistance under the program; and
(2) standards by which the county can determine:
- (A) the eligibility of a person for a grant or loan under the program;
- (B) the eligibility of a person to enter into a contract with the county to perform remediation or inspection; and
- (C) the completeness of the remediation of a property or facility.
- (c) The county shall make available to the public and to the commission a draft of the proposed program at least 60 days before a public hearing to receive comments on the proposed program.
- (d) The county shall review comments received and make amendments to the draft as appropriate before adopting and implementing the program.
- (e) The county shall submit a copy of the final draft of a program adopted under this section to the commission and shall make the final draft available to the public.
- (f) The county may amend a program adopted under this section by applying the procedures described by Subsections (c), (d), and (e) to the proposed amendment.
- (g) The county may assign current or employ additional staff to implement a program adopted under this section.
Added by Acts 2005, 79th Leg., Ch. 379 (S.B. 1413), Sec. 2, eff. September 1, 2005.