7/18/10

The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality recently posted proposed amendments to rules relating to pollution control property to be exempted from property taxes.  The proposed amendments are to Title 30, Environmental Quality, Part 1, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, Chapter 17, Tax Relief for Property Used for Environmental Protection.  The posting provided a schedule for public hearings in five locations from August 9 through August 13, 2010.  The Commission's Texas Register notice specifically statesthat one of purposes for the public hearings and notice are to gather feedback about various options for certain aspects of methodologies and processes to be followed by the Commission for the ultimate determination of the value of property to be exempted from property taxes.   The comment period closes August 16, 2010.

Five public hearings are scheduled as follows:

Houston on August 9, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. in Conference Room A at the Houston Galveston Area Council (HGAC) located at 3555 Timmons, Suite 120, Houston.

Beaumont on August 10, 2010, at 9:00 a.m. in the commission's Beaumont regional office located at 3870 Eastex Freeway, Beaumont.

Austin on August 10, 2010, at 2:00 p.m. in Building E, Room 201S, at the commission's central office located at 12100 Park 35 Circle.

Corpus Christi on August 12, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. in Conference Room 1003 in the NRC Building on the Texas A&M Corpus Christi campus located at 6300 Ocean Drive, Corpus Christi.

Fort Worth on August 13, 2010, at 1:00 p.m. in the public meeting room of the commission's Dallas/Fort Worth regional office located at 2309 Gravel Drive, Fort Worth.

Comments may be submitted through August 16, 2010, as follows:

Written comments may be submitted to Devon Ryan, MC 205, Office of Legal Services, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 13087, Austin, Texas 78711-3087, or faxed to (512) 239-4808.

Electronic comments may be submitted at: http://www5.tceq.state.tx.us/rules/ecomments/.File size restrictions may apply to comments being submitted via the eComments system.

All comments should reference Rule Project Number 2009-050-017-EN.

Copies of the proposed rulemaking can be obtained from the commission's Web site at http://www.tceq.state.tx.us/nav/rules/propose_adopt.html.

For further information, please contact Emmanuel Wada, Air Quality Division, at (512) 239-1917.

To access the Commission's posting in the Texas Register click on the link below.

http://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/sos/PROPOSED/30.ENVIRONMENTAL%20QUALITY.html#398