Amends TCA Title 5; Title 68, Chapter 211; Title 68, Chapter 221 and Title 69.

COUNTY POWERS SHARED WITH MUNICIPALITIES Present law prohibits anything in the law regarding county powers shared with municipalities from granting counties the power to prohibit or regulate normal agricultural activities. This bill revises this provision so that it does not apply in Polk County. Present law authorizes every municipality incorporated under a Mayor-Aldermanic Charter to (i) define, prohibit, abate, suppress, prevent and regulate all acts, practices, conduct, businesses, occupations, callings, trades, uses of property and all other things whatsoever detrimental, or liable to be detrimental, to the health, morals, comfort, safety, convenience or welfare of the inhabitants of the municipality, and exercise general police powers; and (ii) prescribe limits within which business occupations and practices liable to be nuisances or detrimental to the health, morals, security or general welfare of the people may lawfully be established, conducted or maintained. However, present law prohibits the power granted by the above provision from applying to those activities, businesses, or uses of property and business occupations and practices that are subject to regulation pursuant to, amongst other laws, the law regarding waters, waterways, drains, and levees relevant to water pollution control, water management, well drilling, and dams. This bill changes the present law by providing that, in Polk County, activities, businesses, or uses of property and business occupations and practices are not subject to regulation pursuant to the law regarding waters, waterways, drains and levees relevant to water pollution control as it pertains to the prohibition or regulation of the land application of biosolids, which is regulated by such county's legislative body. WATER QUALITY CONTROL ACT Present law authorizes the commissioner of environment and conservation to grant permits authorizing the discharges or activities described in existing law, but in granting such permits must impose such conditions as are necessary to accomplish the purposes of the Water Quality Control Act, and as are not inconsistent with the rules promulgated by the board of water quality, oil and gas. This bill prohibits the commissioner from issuing a permit for an activity that would cause a condition of pollution either by itself or in combination with others. Present law provides if a permit is required under the Water Quality Control Act for a public transportation project commissioned by a federal, state, or local government, then the alternatives analysis required by Tennessee law does not need to include alternative road locations but must include other measures to avoid and minimize impacts to resource values. Present law requires the permits to include, amongst other things, (i) the most stringent effluent limitations and schedules of compliance required to implement any applicable water quality standards, necessary to comply with an area-wide waste treatment plan, or necessary to comply with other state or federal laws or regulations; (ii) a definite term, not to exceed five years, for which the permit is valid; (iii) monitoring, recording, reporting, and inspection requirements; and (iv) in the case of permits authorizing discharges from publicly owned treatment works, terms and conditions requiring the permittee to enforce user and cost recovery charges, pretreatment standards, and toxic effluent limitations applicable to industrial users discharging into the treatment works; and (v) in the case of permits authorizing permanent impacts to waters of the state, provision for adequate compensatory mitigation to not result in a condition of pollution, by mitigation banking, permittee-responsible mitigation, or in-lieu fee payments. This bill changes the present law by providing that the permitting authority granted under the above provisions do not apply to the prohibition or regulation of the land application of biosolids in Polk County. The county legislative body of Polk County is granted such permitting authority.