Texas Administrative Code
Title 16 - ECONOMIC REGULATION
Part 1 - RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 5 - CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
Subchapter B - GEOLOGIC STORAGE AND ASSOCIATED INJECTION OF ANTHROPOGENIC CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2)
Section 5.202 - Permit Required, and Draft Permit and Fact Sheet
Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code ยง 5.202
Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(a) Permit required.
(1) A person shall not begin drilling or
operating an anthropogenic CO2 injection well for
geologic storage regulated under this subchapter or constructing or operating a
geologic storage facility regulated under this subchapter without first
obtaining the necessary permits from the Commission. Following receipt of a
geologic storage facility permit issued under this subchapter, the storage
operator shall obtain a permit to drill, deepen, or convert a well for storage
purposes in accordance with §
RSA
3.5 of this title (relating to Application to
Drill, Deepen, Reenter, or Plug Back).
(2) A person may not begin injection until:
(A) construction of the well is
complete;
(B) the operator has
submitted to the director notice of completion of construction;
(C) the Commission has inspected or otherwise
reviewed the injection well and finds it is in compliance with the conditions
of the permit; and
(D) the director
has issued a permit to operate the injection well.
(b) Permit amendment.
(1) An operator must file an application to
amend an existing geologic storage facility permit with the director:
(A) prior to expanding the areal extent of
the storage reservoir;
(B) prior to
increasing the permitted injection pressure or injection rate;
(C) prior to adding injection wells;
or
(D) at any time that conditions
at the geologic storage facility materially deviate from the conditions
specified in the permit or permit application.
(2) Compliance with plan amendments required
by this subchapter does not necessarily constitute a material deviation in
conditions requiring an amendment of the permit.
(c) Permit transfer. An operator may transfer its geologic storage facility permit to another operator if the requirements of this subsection are met. A new operator shall not assume operation of the geologic storage facility without a valid permit.
(1) Notice. An applicant must submit written
notice of an intended permit transfer to the director at least 45 days prior to
the date the transfer of operations is proposed to take place, unless such
action could trigger U. S. Securities and Exchange Commission fiduciary and
insider trading restrictions and/or rules.
(A)
The applicant's notice to the director must contain:
(i) the name and address of the person to
whom the geologic storage facility will be sold, assigned, transferred, leased,
conveyed, exchanged, or otherwise disposed;
(ii) the name and location of the geologic
storage facility and a legal description of the land upon which the storage
facility is situated;
(iii) the
date that the sale, assignment, transfer, lease conveyance, exchange, or other
disposition is proposed to become final; and
(iv) the date that the transferring operator
will relinquish possession as a result of the sale, assignment, transfer, lease
conveyance, exchange, or other disposition.
(B) The person acquiring a geologic storage
facility, whether by purchase, transfer, assignment, lease, conveyance,
exchange, or other disposition, must notify the director in writing of the
acquisition as soon as it is reasonably possible but not later than five
business days after the date that the acquisition of the geologic storage
facility becomes final. The director shall not approve the transfer of a
geologic storage facility permit until the new operator provides all of the
following:
(i) the name and address of the
operator from which the geologic storage facility was acquired;
(ii) the name and location of the geologic
storage facility and a description of the land upon which the geologic storage
facility is situated;
(iii) the
date that the acquisition became or will become final;
(iv) the date that possession was or will be
acquired; and
(v) the financial
assurance required by this subchapter.
(2) Evidence of financial responsibility. The
operator acquiring the permit must provide the director with evidence of
financial responsibility satisfactory to the director in accordance with §
RSA
5.205 of this title (relating to Fees,
Financial Responsibility, and Financial Assurance).
(3) Transfer of responsibility. An operator
remains responsible for the geologic storage facility until the director
approves in writing the sale, assignment, transfer, lease, conveyance,
exchange, or other disposition and the person acquiring the storage facility
complies with all applicable requirements.
(d) Modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination of a geologic storage facility permit.
(1) Permit review. Permits are subject to
review by the Commission. Any interested person may request that the Commission
review a permit issued under this subchapter for one of the reasons set forth
in paragraph (2) of this subsection. All requests must be in writing and must
contain facts or reasons supporting the request. If the Commission determines
that the request may have merit or at the Commission's initiative for one or
more of the reasons set forth in paragraph (2) of this subsection, the
Commission may review the permit.
(2) Action by the Commission. The director
may modify, revoke and reissue, or terminate a geologic storage facility permit
after notice and opportunity for hearing under any of the following
circumstances.
(A) Causes for modification or
for revocation and reissuance. The following may be causes for revocation and
reissuance as well as modification:
(i)
Alterations. There are material and substantial alterations or additions to the
permitted facility or activity which occurred after permit issuance that
justify the inclusion of permit conditions that are different from or absent in
the existing permit.
(ii) New
information. The director has received new material information that was not
available at the time of permit issuance and would have justified the inclusion
of different permit conditions at the time of issuance. This may include any
increase greater than the permitted CO2 storage volume,
and/or changes in the chemical composition of the CO2
stream that in the judgment of the director, would interfere with the operation
of the facility or its ability to meet the permit conditions.
(iii) New regulations. The standards or
regulations on which the permit was based have been materially changed by
promulgation of new or amended standards or regulations or by judicial decision
after the permit was issued.
(iv)
Compliance schedules. The director determines good cause exists for
modification of a compliance schedule, such as an act of God, strike, flood, or
materials shortage, or other events over which the permittee has little or no
control and for which there is no reasonably available remedy.
(v) Basis for permit modification. The
director shall modify the permit whenever the director determines that permit
changes are necessary based on:
(I) a
re-evaluation under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(d)</subdiv> of this
title (relating to Application Requirements);
(II) any amendments to the testing and
monitoring plan under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(j)</subdiv> of this
subchapter;
(III) any amendments to
the injection well plugging plan under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(k)</subdiv> of this
title;
(IV) any amendments to the
post-injection site care and site closure plan under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(m)</subdiv> of this
title;
(V) any amendments to the
emergency and remedial response plan under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(l)</subdiv> of this
title;
(VI) a review of monitoring
and/or testing results conducted in accordance with permit
requirements;
(VII) cause exists
for termination under subparagraph (B) of this paragraph, and the director
determines that modification or revocation and reissuance is
appropriate;
(VIII) the director
has received notification of a proposed transfer of the permit; or
(IX) a determination that the fluid being
injected is a hazardous waste as defined in
40 CFR §
261.3 either because the definition has been
revised, or because a previous determination has been
changed.
(vi) If the
director tentatively decides to modify or revoke and reissue a permit, the
director shall prepare a draft permit incorporating the proposed changes. The
director may request additional information and, in the case of a modified
permit, may require the submission of an updated application. In the case of
revoked and reissued permits, the director shall require the submission of a
new application.
(vii) In a permit
modification, only those conditions to be modified shall be reopened when a new
draft permit is prepared. All other aspects of the existing permit shall remain
in effect for the duration of the existing permit. When a permit is revoked and
reissued under this section, the entire permit is reopened just as if the
permit had expired and was being reissued. During any revocation and reissuance
proceeding, the permittee shall comply with all conditions of the existing
permit until a new final permit is reissued.
(viii) Upon the consent of the permittee, the
director may modify a permit to make the corrections or allowances for minor
changes in the permit, without following the procedures of subsection (e) of
this section, and §
RSA
5.204 of this title (relating to Notice of
Permit Actions and Public Comment Period), to:
(I) correct typographical errors;
(II) require more frequent monitoring or
reporting by the permittee;
(III)
change an interim compliance date in a schedule of compliance, provided the new
date is not more than 120 days after the date specified in the existing permit
and does not interfere with attainment of the final compliance date
requirement;
(IV) allow for a
change in ownership or operational control of a facility where the director
determines that no other change in the permit is necessary, provided that a
written agreement containing a specific date for transfer of permit
responsibility, coverage, and liability between the current and new permittees
has been submitted to the director;
(V) change quantities or types of fluids
injected which are within the capacity of the facility as permitted and, in the
judgment of the director, would not interfere with the operation of the
facility or its ability to meet the permit conditions;
(VI) change construction requirements
approved by the director pursuant to §
RSA
5.206 of this title (relating to Permit
Standards), provided that any such alteration shall comply with the
requirements of this subchapter;
(VII) amend a plugging and abandonment plan
which has been updated under §
RSA
5.203<subdiv>(k)</subdiv> of this
title; or
(VIII) amend an injection
well testing and monitoring plan, plugging plan, post-injection site care and
site closure plan, or emergency and remedial response plan where the
modifications merely clarify or correct the plan, as determined by the
director.
(B)
Termination of permits.
(i) The following may
be causes to terminate a permit during its term, or deny a permit renewal
application:
(I) the permittee's failure to
comply with any condition of the permit or applicable Commission orders or
regulations;
(II) the permittee's
failure in the application or during the permit issuance process to disclose
fully all relevant facts, or the permittee's misrepresentation of any relevant
facts at any time;
(III) fluids are
escaping or are likely to escape from the injection zone;
(IV) USDWs are likely to be endangered as a
result of the continued operation of the geologic storage facility;
or
(V) a determination that the
permitted activity endangers human health or the environment and can only be
regulated to acceptable levels by permit modification or termination.
(ii) The director shall follow the
applicable procedures in subsection (e) of this section, and §
RSA
5.204 of this title, in terminating any
permit under this section.
(iii) If
the director tentatively decides to terminate a permit under this subchapter,
where the permittee objects, the director shall issue a notice of intent to
terminate. A notice of intent to terminate is a type of draft
permit.
(3)
Facility siting. Suitability of the facility location shall not be considered
at the time of permit modification or revocation and reissuance unless new
information or standards indicate that a threat to human health or the
environment exists which was unknown at the time of permit issuance.
(4) Emergency shutdown. Notwithstanding the
provisions of paragraph (2) of this subsection, in the event of an emergency
that threatens endangerment to USDWs or to life or property, or an imminent
threat of uncontrolled release of CO2, the director may
immediately order suspension of the operation of the geologic storage facility
until a final order is issued pursuant to a hearing, if
any.
(e) Draft permit and fact sheet.
(1) Draft permit; notice of
intent to deny.
(A) Once a geologic storage
facility permit application is complete, the director shall decide whether to
prepare a draft permit or to deny the application.
(B) If the director tentatively decides to
deny the permit application, the director shall issue a notice of intent to
deny. A notice of intent to deny the permit application is a type of draft
permit which follows the same procedures as any draft permit prepared under
this section. If the director's final decision is that the tentative decision
to deny the permit application was incorrect, the director shall withdraw the
notice of intent to deny and proceed to prepare a draft permit.
(C) If the director decides to prepare a
draft permit, the draft permit shall contain the permit conditions required
under §
RSA
5.206 of this title (relating to Permit
Standards). If the director is issuing a denial, the permit conditions are not
required.
(2) Fact
sheet.
(A) The director shall prepare a fact
sheet for every draft permit. The fact sheet shall briefly set forth the
principal facts and the significant factual, legal, methodological and policy
questions considered in preparing the draft permit.
(B) The director shall send this fact sheet
to the applicant and, on request, to any other person. The director shall post
the fact sheet on the Commission's website.
(C) The fact sheet shall include, when
applicable:
(i) a brief description of the
type of facility or activity which is the subject of the draft
permit;
(ii) the source and
quantity of CO2 proposed to be injected and
stored;
(iii) the reasons why any
requested variances or alternatives to required standards do or do not appear
justified;
(iv) a description of
the procedures for reaching a final decision on the draft permit including:
(I) the beginning and ending dates of the
comment period;
(II) the address
where comments will be received;
(III) The date, time, and location of the
storage facility permit hearing, if a hearing has been scheduled; and
(IV) any other procedures by which the public
may participate in the final decision; and
(v) the name and telephone number of a person
to contact for additional information.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Texas may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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