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Committee advances Miles— bill to tighten notice rules for large LP-gas installations after residents fault postal delivery
Summary
Senators voted to report Senate Bill 290 out of committee. The bill would require permit applicants to ensure delivery and retain proof of notices to property owners near stationary LP-gas installations, after residents in Houston said certified-mail notices were not received due to postal handling.
Senate Bill 290, introduced by Senator Royce West Miles, was reported favorably by the Senate Committee on Natural Resources & Economic Development after public testimony from residents who said they did not receive required certified-mail notices about a large liquid petroleum gas storage installation near their neighborhood.
Senator Miles described the bill as a response to a situation in his district in which property owners in the Southwest Crossing neighborhood said they did not receive notice of an LP-gas storage facility proposed within 500 feet of homes. "The post office made a unilaterally decision to sign for certified mails themselves and drop the letters off," Miles told the committee, describing how certified mail handling undermined the Railroad Commission—s notice rule.
Under current Railroad Commission rules cited in testimony, applicants for permitting of stationary LP-gas containers with capacity of 10,000 gallons or more must send notice to owners of real property within 500 feet of the proposed container location. SB 290 would codify procedures and add two requirements, as described to the committee: (1) the entity sending notice must ensure that the notice was actually delivered and (2) the entity must retain proof of delivery for a time period to be set by the commission.
Two residents of the Southwest Crossing neighborhood testified about their experience. Angela King said the installation was "housed less than 100 feet from 2 gas stations" and urged broader notice and longer reply time. "If it blows, it's not gonna be just 500 feet. I'm quite sure it'll be at least 30 mile radius," she said. Kenneth Burgess, a retired Chevron employee who survived a 1989 refinery explosion, told senators he had not received timely notice about "300,000 gallons of LPG storage near my home" and urged expanding notice radius and longer comment periods.
The committee recorded the vote to report SB 290 as "There being 7 ayes and no nays" and recommended the bill to the local and uncontested calendar. The bill was left pending for further Senate consideration.
