SB1663

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality’s notice effort must target three groups: owners of private drinking-water wells that may be affected, applicable groundwater conservation districts, and residents of every residential address within one mile of the contamination site. The one-mile rule expands the recipients; it does not cut off notice to an affected private-well owner farther away. The residents covered by the new rule need not themselves own a well. Final law.

First-class mail remains available, but the law also allows email, a notice placed on a residence’s door, or another effective delivery method. It adds “as soon as practicable” while retaining the deadline no later than the 30th day after the commission receives the statutory notice or obtains independent knowledge. The statute says “make every effort”; it does not guarantee actual receipt by every resident or allow the agency simply to wait 30 days when earlier notice is practicable. Final law.

All five operative bill versions are the same, and the official amendment index lists no floor amendments. The added recipients, delivery options and promptness instruction were in the introduced bill, not added by a later floor amendment. Introduced; Senate committee; Senate-passed; House committee; Final law; Version index; Amendment index.

Compare the published text versions in the official text index. A change is not attributed to a specific amendment here without a verified record.

Nearby residents, including renters and households without private wells, may receive information they would not have received under the former recipient list. More delivery options may help the agency reach people sooner. The commission must identify and attempt to reach the larger group; the act does not itself prove faster notice, safer water, completed remediation or a particular health outcome. Final law.

The April 3 fiscal note anticipates no significant state or local-government fiscal impact and assumes costs can be absorbed with existing resources. It gives no dollar estimate or quantified household benefit. The act makes no appropriation and does not create a cleanup grant or payment entitlement. Fiscal note; Final law.