Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a)
Purpose. This section authorizes the methods for disposing of oil and gas NORM
waste without a permit.
(b)
Disposal in plugged and abandoned well. A person may dispose of oil and gas
NORM waste by placing it between plugs in a well that is being plugged and
abandoned, provided that:
(1) No person may
dispose of oil and gas NORM waste at a lease or unit other than the lease or
unit where the oil and gas NORM waste was generated unless prior to
commencement of disposal operations, the surface owner of the lease or unit
where the disposal occurs provides written consent for the disposal.
(2) The oil and gas NORM waste shall be
placed in the well at a depth at least 250 feet below the base of usable
quality water in compliance with §
RSA 3.14 of
this title (relating to Plugging).
(3) If the oil and gas NORM waste is encased
in a tubing string, the tubing shall be:
(A)
placed, not dropped, in the well; and
(B) left with an assembly that allows ready
retrieval, if the string is not secured in cement.
(4) A cement plug shall be set immediately
above the oil and gas NORM waste and the plug shall be either:
(A) above a cement retainer;
(B) above a cast iron bridge plug;
or
(C) tagged to locate its
position.
(5) The cement
of the surface plug shall be color dyed with red iron oxide.
(6) A permanent marker that shows the
three-bladed radiation symbol specified in 25 TAC §
RSA
289.202<subdiv>(z)</subdiv>
(relating to Standards for Protection Against Radiation from Radioactive
Material), adopted effective October 1, 2000, without regard to color, shall be
welded to the steel plate at the top of the well casing.
(7) The operator shall state on Form W-3A,
Intent to Plug and Abandon:
(A) the physical
nature (such as pipe scale, contaminated soil, basic sediment, equipment, pipe,
pumps, or valves) of the oil and gas NORM waste;
(B) the volume of oil and gas NORM
waste;
(C) the radioactivity level
of the oil and gas NORM waste (in pCi/g of Radium-226 combined with Radium-228
and any other NORM radionuclides for soil or other media (such as pipe scale,
contaminated soil, basic sediment, etc.), or in µR/hr for equipment (such
as pipes, pumps and valves);
(D)
the operator(s) of the lease, unit, or facility at which oil and gas NORM waste
was generated; and
(E) the
source(s), if known, of the oil and gas NORM waste by Commission district;
field; lease, unit, or facility; and producing formation.
(8) If the oil and gas NORM waste is encased
in tubing, the operator shall state on Form W-3A, Intent to Plug and Abandon:
(A) the size, grade, weight per foot, and
outside diameter of the tubing;
(B)
the subsurface depth of both the top and bottom of the tubing;
(C) the diameter of the retrieval assembly;
and
(D) whether the tubing is free
in the hole or is secured by cement, a bridge plug, or a cement
retainer.
(9) The
operator shall submit Form W-3A to the Commission's district office for the
location of the oil and gas NORM waste disposal site.
(c) Burial. Except as otherwise provided in
this subsection, a person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste by burial at
the same site where the oil and gas NORM waste was generated, provided that,
prior to burial, the oil and gas NORM waste has been treated or processed such
that the radioactivity concentration does not exceed 30 pCi/g Radium-226
combined with Radium-228 or 150 pCi/g of any other NORM radionuclide within the
treated or processed waste. Such treatment or processing, if it occurs at the
disposal site, is considered to fall within the definition of disposal because
it is necessary to facilitate disposal. This subsection does not authorize any
person to bury NORM-contaminated equipment.
(d) Landfarming. A person may dispose of oil
and gas NORM waste at the same site where the oil and gas NORM waste was
generated by applying it to and mixing it with the land surface, provided that
after such application and mixing the radioactivity concentration in the area
where the oil and gas NORM waste was applied and mixed does not exceed 30 pCi/g
Radium-226 combined with Radium-228 or 150 pCi/g of any other
radionuclide.
(e) Disposal at a
licensed facility. A person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste at a facility
that has been licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the
State of Texas, or another state if such facility is authorized under its
license to receive and dispose of such waste.
(f) Injection. Injection of oil and gas NORM
waste that meets exemption criteria of 25 TAC §
RSA
289.259(relating to Licensing of Naturally
Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)), as a result of treatment or processing
at a facility licensed by the TDH (hereinafter referred to as a "specifically
licensed facility") into a well permitted under §
RSA
3.9<subdiv>(z)</subdiv> of this
title (relating to Disposal Wells) is authorized under this section, provided
that the requirements of this subsection are met.
(1) Prior to injecting treated or processed
oil and gas NORM waste, the operator of the injection well shall notify the
Commission in writing that the operator plans to inject oil and gas NORM waste
that meets the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §
RSA
289.259as a result of treatment or processing
at a specifically licensed facility. The operator shall include a copy of the
TDH license for each facility where oil and gas NORM waste that will be
injected is treated or processed in order to meet the exemption criteria of 25
TAC §
RSA
289.259.
(2) Prior to injecting oil and gas NORM waste
that has been treated or processed to meet the exemption criteria of 25 TAC
§
RSA
289.259, the injection well operator shall
verify that the waste meets the exemption criteria by obtaining from the
specifically licensed facility documentation regarding NORM surveys or other
analyses conducted to ensure that the treated or processed oil and gas NORM
waste meets the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §
RSA
289.259.