Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a)
Definitions. The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall
have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.
(1) Affected person--A person who, as a
result of the activity sought to be permitted, has suffered or may suffer
actual injury or economic damage other than as a member of the general
public.
(2) Brine mining facility
or facility--The brine mining injection well, and the pits, tanks, fresh water
wells, pumps, and other structures and equipment that are or will be used in
conjunction with the brine mining injection well.
(3) Brine mining injection well--A well used
to inject fluid for the purpose of extracting brine by the solution of a
subsurface salt formation. The term "brine mining injection well" does not
include a well used to inject fluid for the purpose of leaching a cavern for
the underground storage of hydrocarbons or the disposal of waste, or a well
used to inject fluid for the purpose of extracting sulphur by the thermofluid
mining process.
(4) Commission--The
Railroad Commission of Texas.
(5)
Director--The director of the Oil and Gas Division or a staff delegate
designated in writing by the director of the Oil and Gas Division or the
commission.
(6) Existing brine
mining injection well--A brine mining injection well in which injection
operations began prior to the effective date of this section.
(7) Fresh water--Water having
bacteriological, physical, and chemical properties that make it suitable and
feasible for beneficial use for any lawful purpose.
(8) New brine mining injection well--A brine
mining injection well in which injection operations begin on or after the
effective date of this section.
(9)
Permit--A written authorization issued by the commission under this section for
the operation of a brine mining injection well.
(10) Person--A natural person, corporation,
organization, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust,
estate, trust partnership, association, or any other legal entity.
(11) Pollution--The alteration of the
physical, chemical, or biological quality of, or the contamination of, water
that makes it harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, animal life,
vegetation or property or to public health, safety, or welfare, or impairs the
usefulness or the public enjoyment of the water for any lawful or reasonable
purpose.
(b)
Prohibitions.
(1) Unauthorized injection. No
person may operate a brine mining injection well without obtaining a permit
from the commission under this section. No person may begin constructing a new
brine mining injection well until the commission has issued a permit to operate
the well under this section and a permit to drill, deepen, plug back, or
reenter the well under §
RSA
3.5 of this title (relating to Application to
Drill, Deepen, Reenter, or Plug Back) (Statewide Rule 5).
(2) Fluid migration. No person may operate a
brine mining injection well in a manner that allow fluids to escape from the
permitted injection zone. If fluids are migrating from the permitted injection
zone, the operator shall immediately cease injection operations.
(3) Falsifying documents and tampering with
gauges. No person may knowingly make any false statement, representation, or
certification in any application, report, record, or other document submitted
or required to be maintained under this section or under any permit issued
pursuant to this section, or falsify, tamper with, or knowingly render
inaccurate any monitoring device or method required to be maintained under this
section or under any permit issued pursuant to this section.
(c) Standards for permit issuance.
A permit may be issued only if the commission determines that the operation of
the brine mining injection well will not result in the pollution of fresh
water. All permits issued under this section will contain the conditions
required by subsections (f) and (g) of this section, and all other conditions
reasonably necessary to prevent the pollution of fresh water.
(d) Permit application.
(1) Duty to apply. Any person who operates or
proposes to operate a brine mining injection well shall file a permit
application with the commission in Austin within the time provided in paragraph
(2) of this subsection. The applicant shall mail or deliver a copy of the
application to the appropriate district office on the same day the application
is mailed or delivered to the commission in Austin. A permit application will
be considered filed with the commission on the date it is received by the
commission in Austin.
(2) Time to
apply.
(A) Any person who proposes to operate
a new brine mining injection well shall file a permit application at least 180
days before the date on which injection is to begin, unless a later date has
been authorized by the director.
(B) Any person who is operating an existing
brine injection well shall file a permit application within 90 days of the
effective date of this section.
(C)
Any person who has obtained a permit under this section and who wishes to
continue to operate the brine mining injection well after the permit expires
shall file an application for new permit at least 180 days before the existing
permit expires, unless a later date has been authorized by the
director.
(3) Who
applies. When a brine mining facility is owned by one person but is operated by
another person, it is the operator's duty to file an application for a
permit.
(4) Application
requirements for all applicants. All applicants shall submit the following
information, using application forms supplied by the commission:
(A) name, mailing address, and location of
the brine mining facility for which the application is submitted;
(B) the operator's name, mailing address,
telephone number, and status as federal, state, private, public, or other
entity, and a statement indicating whether the operator is the owner of the
facility;
(C) the proposed uses for
the brine mined at the facility;
(D) a listing of all permits or construction
approvals for the facility received or applied for under federal or state
environmental programs;
(E) a
topographic map, or other map if the topographic map is unavailable, extending
one mile beyond the property boundaries of the facility, depicting the facility
and those springs, other surface water bodies, drinking water wells, and other
wells listed in public records or otherwise known to the applicant within 1/4
mile of the facility property boundary;
(F) a plat showing the oil and gas operators
of the tract on which the facility is located and the tracts adjacent to the
tract on which the facility is located. On the plat or on a separate sheet
attached to the plat, the applicant shall list the names and addresses of the
oil and gas operators;
(G) a plat
showing the surface ownership of the tract on which the facility is located and
the tracts adjacent to the tract on which the facility is located. On the plat
or on a separate sheet attached to the plat, the applicant shall list the names
and addresses of the surface owners, as determined from the current county tax
rolls or other reliable sources, and shall identify the source of the list. If
the director determines that, after diligent efforts, the applicant has been
unable to ascertain the name and address of one or more surface owners, the
director may waive the requirements of this subparagraph with respect to those
surface owners;
(H) a map with
surveys marked showing the type, location, and depth of all wells of public
record within a 1/4 mile radius of the brine mining injection well that
penetrate the salt formation. The applicant shall attach the following
information to the map:
(i) a tabulation of
the wells showing the dates the wells were drilled and the present status of
the wells; and
(ii) plugging
records for plugged and abandoned wells and completion records for other
wells;
(I) a letter from
the Groundwater Advisory Unit of the Oil and Gas Division stating the depth to
which fresh water strata should be protected;
(J) a complete electric log of the brine
mining injection well or a nearby well. On the log, the applicant shall
identify the geologic formations between the land surface and the top of the
salt formation and the depths at which they occur;
(K) a drawing of the surface and subsurface
construction details of the brine mining injection well;
(L) the proposed maximum daily injection rate
and maximum injection pressure;
(M)
the proposed injection procedure;
(N) the proposed mechanical integrity testing
procedure;
(O) the source of mining
water to be used at the facility. If the source is groundwater, the following
information must be included:
(i) the
groundwater formation name;
(ii) an
depth of the groundwater formation; and
(iii) an analysis of the
groundwater;
(P) the
direction of the hydraulic gradient in the area; and
(Q) the proposed groundwater monitoring plan,
or an alternate plan for assuring that fluids are not escaping from the
permitted injection zone.
(5) Additional information. The applicant
shall submit any other information required on the application form supplied by
the commission. In addition to the information reported on the application
form, the applicant shall submit, at the director's request, any other
information the commission may reasonably require to assess the brine mining
injection well and to determine whether to issue a permit.
(e) Signatories to applications and reports.
(1) Applications. All applications shall be
signed as follows:
(A) for a corporation, by
a responsible corporate officer. A responsible corporate officer means a
president, secretary, treasurer, or vice-president of the corporation in charge
of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar
policy-making or decision-making functions for the corporation; or
(B) for a partnership or sole proprietorship,
by a general partner or the proprietor, respectively.
(2) Reports. All reports required by permits
and other information requested by the commission shall be signed by a person
described in paragraph (1) of this subsection or by a duly authorized
representative of that person. A person is a duly authorized representative
only if:
(A) the authorization is made in
writing by a person described in paragraph (1) of this subsection;
(B) the authorization specifies an individual
or position having responsibility for the overall operation of the regulated
facility; and
(C) the authorization
is submitted to the commission before or together with any report of
information signed by the authorized representative.
(3) Certification. Any person signing a
document under paragraph (1) or (2) of this subsection shall make the following
certification: "I certify under penalty of law that this document and all
attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with
a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gathered and
evaluated the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or
persons who manage the system, or who are directly responsible for gathering
the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and
belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant
penalties for submitting false information."
(f) Conditions applicable to all permits. The
conditions specified in this subsection apply to all permits.
(1) Duty to comply. The operator shall comply
with all conditions of the permit. Any permit noncompliance is grounds for
enforcement action, for permit termination, revocation and reissuance, or
modification, or for denial of a permit renewal application.
(2) Duty to reapply. If the operator wishes
to continue a permitted activity after the expiration date of the permit, the
operator shall apply for and obtain a new permit.
(3) Need to halt or reduce activity not a
defense. It is not a defense for an operator in an enforcement action that it
would have been necessary to halt or reduce the permitted activity in order to
maintain compliance with the conditions of the permit.
(4) Duty to mitigate. The operator shall take
all reasonable steps to minimize and correct any adverse effect on the
environment resulting from noncompliance with the permit.
(5) Proper operation and maintenance. The
operator shall at all times properly operate and maintain all facilities and
systems of treatment and control, and related appurtenances, that are installed
or used by the operator to achieve compliance with the conditions of the
permit. Proper operation and maintenance includes effective performance,
adequate funding, adequate operator staffing and training, and adequate
laboratory and process controls, including appropriate quality assurance
procedures. This provision requires the operation of back-up and auxiliary
facilities or similar systems only when necessary to achieve compliance with
the conditions of the permit.
(6)
Permit actions. The permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated
for cause. The filing of a request by the operator for a permit modification,
revocation and reissuance, or termination, or a notification of planned changes
or anticipated noncompliance does not stay any permit condition.
(7) Property rights. The permit does not
convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.
(8) Duty to provide information. The operator
shall also furnish to the commission, within a time specified by the
commission, any information that the commission may request to determine
whether cause exists for modifying, revoking and reissuing, or terminating the
permit, or to determine compliance with the permit. The operator shall also
furnish to the commission, upon request, copies of records required to be kept
under the conditions of the permit.
(9) Inspection and entry. The operator shall
allow any member or employee of the commission, on proper identification, to:
(A) enter upon the premises where a regulated
activity is conducted or where records are kept under the conditions of the
permit;
(B) have access to and
copy, during reasonable working hours, any records required to be kept under
the conditions of the permit;
(C)
inspect any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control equipment),
practices, or operations regulated or required under the permit; and
(D) sample or monitor any substance or
parameter for the purpose of assuring compliance with the permit or as
otherwise authorized by the Texas Water Code, §
RSA
27.071, or the Texas Natural Resources Code,
§
RSA
91.1012.
(10) Monitoring and records.
(A) Samples and measurements taken for the
purpose of monitoring must be representative of the monitored
activity.
(B) The operator shall
retain records of all monitoring information, including all calibration and
maintenance records and all original chart recordings for continuous monitoring
instrumentation, copies of all reports required by the permit, and records of
all data used to complete the permit application, for at least three years from
the date of the sample, measurement, report, or application. This period may be
extended by request of the commission at any time.
(C) Records of monitoring information must
include the date, exact place, and time of the sampling or measurements; the
individual(s) who performed the sampling or measurements; the date(s) analyses
were performed; the individual(s) who performed the analyses; the analytical
techniques or methods used; and the results of the analyses.
(11) Signatory requirements. All
reports and other information submitted to the commission shall be signed and
certified in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.
(12) Reporting requirements.
(A) The operator shall notify the commission
as soon as possible of any planned physical alteration or addition to the
facility.
(B) The operator shall
give advance notice to the commission of any planned changes in the facility
that may result in noncompliance with permit requirements.
(C) Monitoring results shall be reported at
the intervals specified in the permit.
(D) Reports of compliance or noncompliance
with the requirements contained in any compliance schedule of the permit shall
be submitted no later than 30 days after each scheduled date.
(E) The operator shall report to the
commission any noncompliance that may endanger human health or the environment.
(i) An oral report shall be made to the
appropriate district office immediately after the operator becomes aware of the
noncompliance. A written report shall be filed with the Austin office within
five days of the time the operator becomes aware of the noncompliance. The
written report must contain the following information:
(I) a description of the noncompliance and
its cause;
(II) the period of
noncompliance, including exact dates and times, and, if the noncompliance has
not been corrected, the anticipated time it is expected to continue;
and
(III) steps taken or planned to
reduce, eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
(ii) Information that shall be
reported under this subparagraph includes the following:
(I) any monitoring or any other information
that indicates that any contaminant may endanger fresh water; or
(II) any noncompliance with a permit
condition or malfunction of the injection system that may cause fluid migration
into or between fresh water strata.
(F) The operator shall report any
noncompliance not reported under subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of this
paragraph at the time monitoring reports are submitted. The report must contain
the information listed in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph.
(G) If the operator becomes aware that it
failed to submit any relevant facts or submitted incorrect information in a
permit application or a report to the commission, the operator shall promptly
submit the relevant facts or correct information.
(13) Transfers. The permit is not
transferable to any person except by modification, or revocation and
reissuance, to change the name of the operator and incorporate other necessary
requirements.
(14) Completion
report. Injection operations may not begin in any new brine mining injection
well until the operator has submitted a completion report to the director, and
the director has reviewed the completion report and found the well in
compliance with the conditions of the permit.
(15) Workovers. The operator shall notify the
appropriate district office at least 48 hours before performing any workover or
corrective maintenance operations that involve the removal of the tubing or
well stimulation.
(16) Mechanical
integrity.
(A) No person may perform
injection operations in a brine mining injection well that lacks mechanical
integrity. A well has mechanical integrity if:
(i) there is not significant leak in the
casing; and
(ii) there is no
significant fluid movement into fresh water strata through vertical channels
adjacent to the wellbore.
(B) For any existing brine mining injection
well, mechanical integrity must be demonstrated annually. For any new brine
mining injection well, mechanical integrity must be demonstrated before
injection operations begin and annually thereafter. In addition, for all brine
mining injections wells, mechanical integrity must be demonstrated after any
workover that involves the removal of the tubing.
(C) To demonstrate the absence of a
significant leak in the casing, the operator shall conduct a fluid pressure
test in accordance with the following procedures:
(i) the operator shall submit a written test
procedure to the commission in Austin at least 15 days before the
test;
(ii) the operator shall
notify the district office orally at least 48 hours before the test;
(iii) the operator shall perform the test
using the test procedure submitted prior to the testing unless otherwise
instructed by the commission; and
(iv) the operator shall file a complete
record of the test with the commission in Austin within 30 days after the
test.
(D) In lieu of an
annual fluid pressure test, the operator may monitor the pressure of a
hydrocarbon pad or blanket contained in the annulus space of the well, provided
the operator has obtained written approval from the director prior to using
this method.
(E) One of the
following methods shall be used to demonstrate the absence of significant fluid
movement into fresh water strata through vertical channels adjacent to the
wellbore:
(i) the results of a temperature or
noise log; or
(ii) where the nature
of the casing precludes the use of the logging techniques prescribed in clause
(i) of this subparagraph, cementing records demonstrating the presence of
adequate cement to prevent such movement.
(F) The director may allow the use of a
method of demonstrating mechanical integrity other than one listed in
subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of this paragraph with the approval of the
administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency obtained pursuant to 40
Code of Federal Regulations §146.8(d).
(G) Mechanical integrity must be demonstrated
to the satisfaction of the director. In conducting and evaluating the results
of a mechanical integrity test, the operator and the director will apply
procedures and standards generally accepted in the industry. In reporting the
results of a mechanical integrity test, the operator must include a description
of the method and procedures used. In evaluating the results, the director will
review monitoring and other test data submitted since the previous mechanical
integrity test.
(17)
Notice of conversion or abandonment. The operator shall notify the commission
at such times as the permit requires before conversion or abandonment of the
well.
(18) Plugging. Within one
year after cessation of brine mining injection operations, the operator shall
plug the well in accordance with §
RSA 3.14<subdiv>(a) and
(c)(h)</subdiv> of this title (relating to
Plugging) (Rule 14(a) and (c) - (h)). For good cause, the director may grant a
reasonable extension of time in which to plug the well if the operator submits
a proposal that describes actions or procedures to ensure that the well will
not endanger fresh water during the period of the extension.
(g) Other permit conditions. In
addition to the conditions required in all permits, the commission will
establish conditions, as required on a case-by-case basis, to provide for and
assure compliance with the requirements specified in this subsection.
(1) Duration. Permits will be effective for a
term up to the operating life of the facility. The commission will review each
permit issued pursuant to this section at least once every five years to
determine whether cause exists for modification, revocation and reissuance, or
termination of the permit.
(2)
Operating requirements. Permits will prescribe operating requirements, which
will at a minimum specify that:
(A) except
during well stimulation, injection pressure at the wellhead may not exceed a
maximum calculated to assure that the injection pressure does not initiate new
fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection zone; and
(B) in no case may the injection pressure
initiate fractures in the confining zone or cause the escape of injection or
formation fluids from the injection zone.
(3) Monitoring requirements. Permits will
specify the following monitoring requirements:
(A) requirements concerning the proper use,
maintenance, and installation, when appropriate, of monitoring equipment or
methods;
(B) requirements
concerning the type, intervals, and frequency of monitoring sufficient to yield
data representative of the monitored activity, including continuous monitoring
when appropriate; and
(C)
requirements to report monitoring results with a frequency dependent on the
nature and effect of the monitored activity, but in no case less than
quarterly.
(4)
Construction requirements. Permits will specify construction requirements to
assure that the injection operations will not endanger fresh water. Changes in
construction requirements during construction may be approved by the director
as minor modifications of the permit. No such changes may be physically
incorporated into the construction of the well prior to approval of the
modifications by the director.
(A) An
existing brine mining injection well shall achieve compliance with the
construction requirements according to a compliance schedule established as
soon as possible and in no case later than one year after the effective date of
the permit. The permit will require the operator to submit a written compliance
report within 30 days after compliance has been achieved.
(B) A new brine mining injection well must be
cased and cemented in accordance with §
RSA
3.13 of this title (relating to Casing,
Cementing, Drilling, and Completion Requirements), (Rule 13), provided,
however, that the operator shall set and cement surface casing in accordance
with the letter obtained from the Groundwater Advisory Unit of the Oil and Gas
Division pursuant to subsection (d)(4)(I) of this section regardless of the
total depth of the well. No alternative program for setting less surface casing
will be authorized.
(C) Appropriate
logs and other tests must be conducted during the drilling and construction of
a new brine mining injection well. A descriptive report interpreting the
results of such logs and tests must be prepared by a knowledgeable log analyst
and submitted to the director. The logs and tests appropriate to each well will
be determined based on the depth, construction, and other characteristics of
the well, the availability of similar data in the area, and the need for
additional information that may arise from time to time as the construction of
the well progresses.
(5)
Financial responsibility. It shall be a permit condition that the operator
maintain financial responsibility and resources to plug and abandon the brine
mining injection well. The operator shall show evidence of such financial
responsibility to the commission by submitting a surety bond or letter of
credit in a form prescribed by the commission. Such bond or letter of credit
shall be maintained until the well is plugged in accordance with subsection
(f)(18) of this section.
(6)
Corrective action. For all known wells that penetrate the injection zone within
a 1/4 mile radius of the brine mining injection well and are improperly
completed, plugged, or abandoned, the commission will consider requiring
corrective action to prevent movement of fluid into fresh water strata.
(A) In determining the need for corrective
action, the commission will consider the following factors: nature and volume
of injected fluid; nature of native fluids; potentially affected population;
geology; hydrology; history of the injection operation; completion and plugging
records; abandonment procedures in effect at the time a well was abandoned; and
hydraulic connections with fresh water.
(B) For an existing brine mining injection
well requiring corrective action, any permit issued will include a compliance
schedule leading to compliance with corrective action requirements. The
compliance schedule will require compliance as soon as possible and in no case
later than one year after the effective date of the permit. The permit will
require the operator to submit a written compliance report within 30 days after
all required corrective action has been taken.
(C) For a new brine mining injection well,
the operator may not begin injection operations until all required corrective
action has been taken.
(h) Modification, revocation and reissuance,
and termination of permits. A permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or
terminated by the commission either upon the written request of any interested
person, including the operator, or upon the commission's initiative, but only
for the reasons and under the conditions specified in this subsection. Except
for minor modifications made under paragraph (2) of this subsection, the
commission will follow the applicable procedures in subsection (i) of this
section. In the case of a modification, the commission may request additional
information or an updated application. In the case of a revocation and
reissuance, the commission will require a new application. If a permit is
modified, only the conditions subject to modification are reopened. The term of
a permit may not be extended by modification. If a permit is revoked and
reissued, the entire permit is reopened and subject to revision, and the permit
is reissued for a new term.
(1) Modification,
or revocation and reissuance. The following are causes for modification, or
revocation and reissuance:
(A) material and
substantial alterations or additions to the facility occurred after permit
issuance and justify permit conditions that are different or absent in the
existing permit;
(B) the commission
receives new information;
(C) the
standards or regulations on which the permit was based have been changed by
promulgation of amended standards or regulations or by judicial decision after
the permit was issued;
(D) the
commission determines good cause exists for modifying a compliance schedule,
such as a act of God, strike, flood, materials shortage, or other event over
which the operator has little or no control and for which there is no
reasonably available remedy;
(E)
cause exists for terminating a permit under paragraph (3) of this subsection,
and the commission determines that modification, or revocation and reissuance,
is appropriate; or
(F) a transfer
of the permit is proposed.
(2) Minor modifications. With the operator's
consent, the director may make minor modifications to a permit
administratively, without following the procedures of subsection (i) of this
section. Minor modifications may only:
(A)
correct clerical or typographical errors, or clarify any description or
provision in the permit, provided that the description or provision is not
changed substantively;
(B) require
more frequent monitoring or reporting;
(C) change construction requirements provided
that any changes shall comply with the requirements of subsection (g)(4) of
this section; or
(D) allow a
transfer of the permit where the director determines that no change in the
permit is necessary other than a change in the name of the operator, provided
that a written agreement between the current operator and the new operator
containing a specific data for the transfer of permit responsibility, coverage,
and liability has been submitted to the commission.
(3) Termination. The following are causes for
terminating a permit during its term, or for denying a permit renewal
application:
(A) the operator fails to comply
with any condition of the permit or this section;
(B) the operator fails to disclose fully all
relevant facts in the permit application or during the permit issuance process,
or misrepresents any relevant fact at any time;
(C) a material change of conditions occurs in
the operation or completion of the well, or there are material changes in the
information originally furnished;
(D) the commission determines that the
permitted injection endangers human health or the environment, or that
pollution of fresh water is occurring or is likely to occur as a result of the
permitted injection; or
(E) fluids
are escaping from the permitted injection zone.
(i) Permitting procedures.
(1) Review of applications. Upon receipt of
an application for a permit, the director will review the application for
completeness. Within 30 days after receipt of the application, the director
will notify the applicant in writing whether the application is complete or
deficient. A notice of deficiency will state the additional information
necessary to complete the application, and a date for submitting this
information. The application will be deemed withdrawn if the necessary
information is not received by the specified date, unless the director has
extended this date upon request of the applicant. Upon timely receipt of the
necessary information, the director will notify the applicant that the
application is complete. The director will not begin processing a permit until
the application is complete.
(2)
Permit denial. If the director administratively denies a permit application, a
notice of administrative denial will be mailed to the applicant. The applicant
will have a right to a hearing on request. If the applicant requests a hearing,
the notice of administrative denial will be subject to the same procedures as a
draft permit prepared under paragraph (3) of this subsection.
(3) Draft permits.
(A) A draft permit will be prepared when the
director tentatively decides:
(i) to issue a
permit;
(ii) to modify, or revoke
and reissue, a permit; or
(iii) to
terminate a permit, in which case the director will prepare a notice of intent
to terminate, which is a type of draft permit.
(B) A draft permit will contain all proposed
permit conditions.
(4)
Fact sheets. The director will prepare a fact sheet to accompany every draft
permit that the director finds is the subject of widespread public interest or
raises important issues. The fact sheet will briefly set forth the principal
facts and the significant factual, legal, methodological, and policy questions
considered in preparing the draft permit. The fact sheet will include
information satisfying the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations
§124.8(b).
(5) Notice.
(A) The commission will give notice when a
draft permit is prepared under paragraph (3) of this subsection, and when a
hearing is scheduled under paragraph (7) of this subsection.
(B) Notice will be given by the methods
specified in this subparagraph.
(i) A copy of
the notice will be mailed to the following persons:
(I) any agency that the commission knows has
issued or is required to issue a permit for the same facility under any federal
or state environmental program;
(II) the United States Environmental
Protection Agency;
(III) persons on
a mailing list developed according to 40 Code of Federal Regulations
§124.10(c)(1)(viii);
(IV) any
unit of local government having jurisdiction over the area where the facility
is or is proposed to be located, and each state agency having any authority
under state law with respect to the construction or operation of the
facility;
(V) the operator;
and
(VI) any oil and gas operators
or surface owners required to be listed in the application under subsection
(d)(4)(F) and (G) of this section. If, pursuant to subsection (d)(4)(G), the
director waived the requirement to list certain surface owners in the
application, the applicant shall notify such persons by publishing the notice.
The notice shall be published by the applicant once each week for two
consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation for the county where
the facility is located. The applicant shall file proof of publication with the
commission in Austin.
(ii) The notice shall be published by the
applicant at least once in a newspaper of general circulation for the county
where the facility is located. The applicant shall file proof of publication
with the commission in Austin.
(C) Notices will include information
satisfying the requirements of 40 Code of Federal Regulations §124.10(d)
and the Texas Government Code, Chapter 2001.
(D) A copy of any draft permit, fact sheet,
and application will be mailed to the persons notified under subparagraph
(B)(i)(I) and (II) of this paragraph, and to any other person upon request. The
applicant will be mailed a copy of any draft permit and fact sheet.
(E) The Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality, the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Department of Health, the
Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the United States Fish and Wildlife
Service, other state and federal agencies with jurisdiction over fish,
shellfish, and wildlife resources, the Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation, state historic preservation officers, and other appropriate
government authorities will be given opportunity to receive copies of notices,
applications, draft permits, and fact sheets.
(6) Comments and requests for hearing. Notice
of a draft permit will allow at least 30 days for public comment. During the
public comment period, any interested person may submit written comments on the
draft permit and may request a hearing if one has not already been
scheduled.
(7) Hearings on draft
permits.
(A) A hearing will be held:
(i) when the director finds, on the basis of
requests, a significant degree of public interest in a draft permit;
(ii) when an applicant or an affected person
requests a hearing on a draft permit; or
(iii) when an operator requests a hearing on
a draft permit prepared when the director tentatively decides to modify, revoke
and reissue, or terminate a permit.
(B) The commission may hold a hearing at its
discretion, for instance, when a hearing might clarify one or more issues
involved in the permit decision.
(C) Notice of a hearing will be given at
least 30 days before the hearing. The public comment period under paragraph (6)
of this subsection will automatically be extended to the close of any hearing
under this paragraph.
(8) Administrative approval. After the close
of the public comment period, the director may issue, modify, revoke and
reissue, or terminate a permit administratively if no hearing is required under
paragraph (7) of this subsection.
(9) Response to comments. When a final permit
is issued, the commission will respond in writing to comments received during
the public comment period. The response will be made available to the public
and will:
(A) specify which provisions, if
any, of the draft permit have been changed in the final permit, and the reasons
for the changes; and
(B) briefly
describe and respond to all significant comments on the draft permit raised
during the public comment period, or during any hearing on the draft
permit.
(j)
Commission review of administrative actions. Administrative actions performed
by the director or commission staff pursuant to this section are subject to
review by the commissioners.
(k)
Federal regulations. All references to the Code of Federal Regulations in this
section are references to the 1987 edition of the Code. The following federal
regulations are adopted by reference and can be obtained at the William B.
Travis Building, 1701 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78711: 40 Code of
Federal Regulations §§124.8(b), 124.10(c)(1)(viii), 124.10(d), and
146.8(d). Where the word "director" is used in the adopted federal regulations,
it should be interpreted to mean "commission."
(l) Effective date. This section becomes
effective upon approval of the commission's Class III Underground Injection
Control (UIC) Program for brine mining injection wells by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency under the Safe Drinking Act, §1422
(42 United States Code
§300h-1).