SECTION 296.58. Asbestos Consultant

(a) License required. A person must be licensed as an asbestos consultant to provide asbestos consulting services relating to a public building.

(b) Licensee scope of practice.

(1) An asbestos consultant may:

(A) design an asbestos abatement project;

(B) specify work practices that vary from the minimum requirements, as described in §296.212(a)(1)(A) of this chapter (relating to Standard Asbestos Abatement Practices and Procedures in a Public Building);

(C) collect bulk material samples and plan sampling strategies;

(D) develop a management plan;

(E) perform an asbestos survey and develop an asbestos survey report;

(F) provide consultation regarding compliance with asbestos regulations and standards;

(G) recommend abatement options, prepare contract documents for an asbestos abatement project, and provide technical specifications and plans;

(H) provide the building owner with asbestos project monitoring services, asbestos air monitoring services, or sampling strategies, alone or in combination, to be used during an asbestos abatement project;

(I) recommend appropriate personal protective equipment for an asbestos abatement activity;

(J) designate a project manager or an asbestos air monitoring technician project monitor (AMT/PM) to provide project monitoring and delegate specific responsibilities and authority to the project manager or AMT/PM in writing, for which the consultant, as well as the project manager or AMT/PM performing the delegated responsibility, are responsible;

(K) designate an asbestos air monitoring technician or AMT/PM to provide project air monitoring and delegate specific responsibilities and authority to the AMT or AMT/PM in writing, for which the consultant, as well as the AMT or AMT/PM performing the delegated responsibility, are responsible; and

(L) design, supervise, and direct an exposure assessment for purposes of §296.233(c) of this chapter (relating to Alternative Asbestos Practices and Procedures for Small Projects and Repetitive Tasks in a Public Building) that meet the requirements of that subsection.

(2) An asbestos consultant must not:

(A) design an asbestos abatement project that includes alterations to a building's structure, or its electrical, mechanical, or safety systems, or their components, unless the consultant is or works together with a licensed professional engineer in Texas and the specifications and plans are prepared in accordance with all applicable requirements of Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1001 (relating to Engineers) and 22 TAC Part 6 (relating to Texas Board of Professional Engineers); or

(B) employ an asbestos inspector, asbestos project manager, asbestos air monitoring technician, AMT/PM, asbestos management planner, or any additional asbestos consultant to work in the capacity of that individual's license unless the asbestos consultant is licensed as an asbestos consultant agency, as required in §296.59 of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Consultant Agency).

(c) Licensee responsibilities. When providing the following professional services to the building owner or the building owner's authorized representative, an asbestos consultant must:

(1) provide the building owner or the building owner's authorized representative with a signed written asbestos survey report after completion of an asbestos survey or assessment, as described in §296.53(b) of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Inspector), which must advise the building owner of the recommendation to address ACBM or assumed ACBM that is damaged or separating and the requirement to address ACBM that will be disturbed as part of any renovation, demolition, or O&M activity;

(2) provide a management plan, as required in §296.56(c) of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Management Planner);

(3) design an asbestos abatement project, as described in §296.21(16) of this chapter related to (Definitions);

(4) design and supervise any clearance-level assessment that is performed under §296.233 of this chapter;

(5) prepare site-specific specifications and plans consisting of:

(A) a clear and understandable written description of the determinations made during the asbestos abatement project design including the work to be performed and:

(i) the location and total quantities of homogeneous areas of ACBM to be removed;

(ii) the asbestos abatement methods and air clearance procedures to be used;

(iii) the abatement preparations to be made;

(iv) the equipment to be used; and

(v) the appropriate selection of personal protective equipment to be used; and

(B) drawings, floor plans, or the equivalent, that distinctly display the location of asbestos abatement activities and equipment to be used with a level of detail and in a size sufficient to make each location visually discernable, including the approximate locations of:

(i) the negative air machines;

(ii) the decontamination unit;

(iii) the bag-out area, if used; and

(iv) the boundaries of the containment;

(C) a clear and understandable written description of ACWM disposal methods, including:

(i) labeling of ACWM containers, in accordance with 40 CFR §61.150(a)(1)(iv) and (v) (relating to Standard for waste disposal for manufacturing, fabricating, demolition, renovation, and spraying operations); and

(ii) marking ACWM transport vehicles, in accordance with 40 CFR §61.150(c);

(D) the consultant's signature on every page that addresses the scope of work or contains drawings related to the abatement work; and

(E) a cover page with the consultant's signature, date, license number, and license expiration date;

(6) if required under §296.212(a)(1)(A) of this chapter, receive written approval from DSHS for specifications and plans prepared for an asbestos abatement project design that includes dry removal or no negative air before releasing specifications and plans to the asbestos abatement contractor;

(7) review specifications and plans developed by another asbestos consultant or asbestos consultant agency, for which the consultant must:

(A) review every page that addresses the scope of work or contains drawings related to the asbestos abatement project for which the consultant is preparing documents, as required under this subparagraph;

(i) amend each page, as needed; and

(ii) sign every reviewed page; and

(B) prepare a separate cover page that indicates the adequacy of the specifications and plans, references any amendments, and includes the consultant's signature, date, license number, and license expiration date; the consultant assumes responsibility for the content by signing the cover page;

(8) provide the site-specific specifications and plans used for asbestos abatement and prepared by the consultant, developed by another asbestos consultant or asbestos consultant agency, or both to the building owner before the asbestos abatement begins;

(9) advise on the selection and use of appropriate personal protective equipment for each asbestos abatement activity;

(10) review suggested changes to the asbestos abatement specifications and plans recommended by the consultant's designated project manager or AMT/PM and, if amending specifications and plans:

(A) amend each relevant page of the specifications and plans in writing;

(B) sign every amended page; and

(C) provide the amended specifications and plans to the designated project manager or AMT/PM, building owner, and asbestos abatement supervisor for the project;

(11) provide project monitoring, either personally or through a project manager or AMT/PM to whom the consultant has specifically delegated authority and responsibility as required in subsection (b)(1)(J) of this section, as follows:

(A) enter and inspect the regulated area, containment, or both, as necessary to monitor that asbestos abatement activities are conducted, as required by regulations adopted by reference in §296.2 of this chapter (relating to Reference of Federal Standards), in Subchapter L of this chapter (relating to General Requirements, and Practices and Procedures for Asbestos Abatement in a Public Building), and Subchapter M of this chapter (relating to Alternative Asbestos Practices and Procedures in a Public Building), as applicable, for the duration of the project, every day of asbestos abatement activity, before the start of the asbestos abatement activity for the day, and routinely throughout the day, from the beginning of containment abatement preparation through completion of the removal of containment, final visual inspection of the project site, and loading of ACWM for transport, as applicable, to:

(i) monitor the asbestos abatement activity by observing, reporting, and documenting that the regulated area, containment, or both is in compliance with this chapter and with the specifications and plans, as applicable;

(ii) identify and document any issue of noncompliance and corrections needed;

(iii) document correction of any identified issue of noncompliance with asbestos abatement activity in a regulated area, containment, or both, as applicable, before work proceeds;

(iv) report any identified issue of noncompliance that was not corrected to DSHS, as required in §296.41(f) of this chapter (relating to License and Registration Requirements);

(B) consult with and notify the asbestos abatement supervisor of:

(i) any issue of noncompliance with the provisions of this chapter and the specifications and plans; and

(ii) corrections that must be made;

(C) remain on-site and in immediate proximity of the regulated area, or the regulated area and containment, as applicable, at all times when an asbestos abatement activity is being conducted and when ACWM is being loaded for transport into a dumpster or other transport container or vehicle;

(12) provide project air monitoring, as required in §296.54(b) of this chapter (relating to Asbestos Air Monitoring Technician), either personally or through an air monitoring technician or AMT/PM to whom the consultant has specifically delegated authority and responsibility as required in subsection (b)(1)(J) of this section;

(13) provide progress records and, when necessary, photographs relating to any professional services undertaken for the building owner;

(14) provide final close-out documents for each asbestos abatement project to the building owner or the building owner's authorized representative, including:

(A) baseline and area air monitoring results;

(B) clearance documentation, including visual inspection and clearance air monitoring results, as required in §296.211 of this chapter (relating to General Requirements for Asbestos Abatement in a Public Building);

(C) copies of each required license ID card and certification for the consultant's personnel involved in the asbestos abatement project; and

(D) the asbestos abatement consultant's daily logs;

(15) cooperate with DSHS personnel during any inspection or investigation, as required in §296.271 of this chapter (relating to Inspections and Investigations); and

(16) comply with recordkeeping requirements, as required in §296.291 of this chapter (relating to Recordkeeping).

(d) Consultant licensed before the effective date of this section. An asbestos consultant who is issued a license before the effective date of this section and qualified for licensure with full-qualification membership in a national professional organization may continue to perform work with and renew that license under the eligibility and renewal requirements of the Texas Asbestos Health Protection rules that were in effect when the license was issued. If the asbestos consultant fails to timely renew the license and the license remains expired for one year or more, the license may not be renewed. The asbestos consultant may re-apply for an initial license by meeting all education, work experience, and other application requirements for initial licensure under this section.

Source Note: The provisions of this §296.58 adopted to be effective July 8, 2021, 46 TexReg 3880