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 5.206 - Permit Standards

Universal Citation: 16 TX Admin Code § 5.206

Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025

(a) General permit conditions.

(1) Each condition applicable to a permit shall be incorporated into the permit either expressly or by reference. If incorporated by reference, a specific citation to the rules in this chapter shall be given in the permit. The requirements listed in this section are directly enforceable regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of the permit.

(2) The permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance, does not stay any permit condition.

(b) General criteria. The director may issue a permit under this subchapter if the applicant demonstrates and the director finds that:

(1) the injection and geologic storage of anthropogenic CO2 will not endanger or injure any existing or prospective oil, gas, geothermal, or other mineral resource, or cause waste as defined by Texas Natural Resources Code, § 85.046(11);

(2) with proper safeguards, both USDWs and surface water can be adequately protected from CO2 migration or displaced formation fluids;

(3) the injection of anthropogenic CO2 will not endanger or injure human health and safety;

(4) the construction, operation, maintenance, conversion, plugging, abandonment, or any other injection activity does not allow the movement of fluid containing any contaminant into USDWs, if the presence of that contaminant may cause a violation of any primary drinking water regulation under 40 CFR Part 142 or may otherwise adversely affect the health of persons;

(5) the reservoir into which the anthropogenic CO2 is injected is suitable for or capable of being made suitable for protecting against the escape or migration of anthropogenic CO2 from the storage reservoir;

(6) the geologic storage facility will be sited in an area with suitable geology, which at a minimum must include:
(A) an injection zone of sufficient areal extent, thickness, porosity, and permeability to receive the total anticipated volume of the CO2 stream; and

(B) a confining zone that is laterally continuous and free of known transecting transmissive faults or fractures over an area sufficient to contain the injected CO2 stream and displaced formation fluids and allow injection at proposed maximum pressures and volumes without compromising the confining zone or causing the movement of fluids that endangers USDWs;

(7) the applicant for the permit meets all of the other statutory and regulatory requirements for the issuance of the permit;

(8) the applicant has provided a letter from the Groundwater Advisory Unit of the Oil and Gas Division in accordance with § 5.203(o) of this title (relating to Application Requirements);

(9) the applicant has provided a letter of determination from TCEQ concluding that drilling and operating an anthropogenic CO2 injection well for geologic storage or constructing or operating a geologic storage facility will not impact or interfere with any previous or existing Class I injection well, including any associated waste plume, or any other injection well authorized or permitted by TCEQ;

(10) the applicant has provided a signed statement that the applicant has a good faith claim to the necessary and sufficient property rights for construction and operation of the geologic storage facility for at least the first five years after initiation of injection in accordance with § 5.203(d)(1)(A) of this title;

(11) the applicant has paid the fees required in § 5.205(a) of this title (relating to Fees, Financial Responsibility, and Financial Assurance);

(12) the director has determined that the applicant has sufficiently demonstrated financial responsibility as required in § 5.205(b) of this title; and

(13) the applicant submitted to the director financial assurance in accordance with § 5.205(c) of this title.

(c) Permit conditions for injection well construction.

(1) Construction of anthropogenic CO2 injection wells must meet the criteria in § 5.203(e) of this title.

(2) Within 30 days after the completion or conversion of an injection well subject to this subchapter, the operator must file with the division a complete record of the well on Commission Form W-2, Oil Well Potential Test, Completion or Recompletion Report and Log showing the current completion.

(3) Except in the case of an emergency repair, the operator of a geologic storage facility must notify the director in writing at least 30 days prior to conducting any well workover that involves running tubing and setting packers, beginning any workover or remedial operation, or conducting any required pressure tests or surveys. Such activities shall not commence before the end of the 30 days unless authorized by the director. In the case of an emergency repair, the operator must notify the director of such emergency repair as soon as reasonably practical.

(d) Permit conditions for operating a geologic storage facility.

(1) Operating plan.
(A) The operator must maintain and comply with the approved operating plan.

(B) Prior to approval for the operation of a Class VI injection well, the operator shall submit, and the director shall consider, the following information:
(i) the final AOR based on modeling, using data obtained during logging and testing of the well and the formation as required by clauses (ii), (iii), (iv), (vi), (vii), and (x) of this subparagraph;

(ii) any relevant updates, based on data obtained during logging and testing of the well and the formation as required by clauses (iii), (iv), (vi), (vii), and (x) of this subparagraph to the information on the geologic structure and hydrogeologic properties of the proposed storage site and overlying formations, submitted to satisfy the requirements of § 5.203(c)(2) and (3) of this title;

(iii) information on the compatibility of the CO2 stream with fluids in the injection zones and minerals in both the injection and the confining zones, based on the results of the formation testing program, and with the materials used to construct the well;

(iv) the results of the formation testing program required by § 5.203(f) of this title;

(v) final injection well construction procedures that meet the requirements of § 5.203(e) of this title;

(vi) the status of corrective action on wells in the AOR;

(vii) all available logging and testing program data on the well required by § 5.203(f) of this title;

(viii) a demonstration of mechanical integrity pursuant to § 5.203(h) of this title;

(ix) any updates to the proposed AOR and corrective action plan, testing and monitoring plan, injection well plugging plan, post-injection storage facility care and closure plan, or the emergency and remedial response plan submitted under § 5.203(m) of this subchapter, which are necessary to address new information collected during logging and testing of the well and the formation as required by this section, and any updates to the alternative post-injection storage facility care timeframe demonstration submitted under § 5.203(m) of this title, which are necessary to address new information collected during the logging and testing of the well and the formation as required by this section; and

(x) any other information requested by the director.

(2) Operating criteria.
(A) Injection between the outermost casing protecting USDWs and the well bore is prohibited.

(B) The total volume of CO2 injected into the storage facility must be metered through a master meter or a series of master meters. The volume and/or mass of CO2 injected into each injection well must be metered through an individual well meter. If mass is determined using volume, the operator must provide calculations.

(C) The operator must comply with a maximum surface injection pressure limit approved by the director and specified in the permit. In approving a maximum surface injection pressure limit, the director must consider the results of well tests and, where appropriate, geomechanical or other studies that assess the risks of tensile failure and shear failure. The director must approve limits that, with a reasonable degree of certainty, will avoid initiation or propagation of fractures in the confining zone or cause otherwise non-transmissive faults or fractures transecting the confining zone to become transmissive. In no case may injection pressure cause movement of injection fluids or formation fluids in a manner that endangers USDWs. The Commission shall include in any permit it might issue a limit of 90 percent of the fracture pressure to ensure that the injection pressure does not initiate new fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection zone(s). In no case may injection pressure initiate fractures in the confining zone(s) or cause the movement of injection or formation fluids that endangers a USDW. The director may approve a plan for controlled artificial fracturing of the injection zone.

(D) The operator must fill the annulus between the tubing and the long string casing with a corrosion inhibiting fluid approved by the director. The owner or operator must maintain on the annulus a pressure that exceeds the operating injection pressure, unless the director determines that such requirement might harm the integrity of the well or endanger USDWs.

(E) The operator must install and use continuous recording devices to monitor the injection pressure, and the rate, volume, and temperature of the CO2 stream. The operator must monitor the pressure on the annulus between the tubing and the long string casing. The operator must continuously record, continuously monitor, or control by a preset high-low pressure sensor switch the wellhead pressure of each injection well.

(F) The operator must comply with the following requirements for alarms and automatic shut-off systems.
(i) The operator must install and use alarms and automatic shut-off systems designed to alert the operator and shut-in the well when operating parameters such as annulus pressure, injection rate or other parameters diverge from permitted ranges and/or gradients. On offshore wells, the automatic shut-off systems must be installed down-hole.

(ii) If an automatic shutdown is triggered or a loss of mechanical integrity is discovered, the operator must immediately investigate and identify as expeditiously as possible the cause. If, upon investigation, the well appears to be lacking mechanical integrity, or if monitoring otherwise indicates that the well may be lacking mechanical integrity, the operator must:
(I) immediately cease injection;

(II) take all steps reasonably necessary to determine whether there may have been a release of the injected CO2 stream into any unauthorized zone;

(III) notify the director as soon as practicable, but within 24 hours;

(IV) restore and demonstrate mechanical integrity to the satisfaction of the director prior to resuming injection; and

(V) notify the director when injection can be expected to resume.

(e) Permit conditions for monitoring, sampling, and testing requirements.

(1) The operator of an anthropogenic CO2 injection well must maintain and comply with the approved monitoring, sampling, and testing plan to verify that the geologic storage facility is operating as permitted and that the injected fluids are confined to the injection zone.

(2) All permits shall include the following requirements:
(A) the proper use, maintenance, and installation of monitoring equipment or methods;

(B) monitoring including type, intervals, and frequency sufficient to yield data that are representative of the monitored activity including, when required, continuous monitoring;

(C) reporting no less frequently than as specified in § 5.207 of this title (relating to Reporting and Record-Keeping).

(3) The director may require additional monitoring as necessary to support, upgrade, and improve computational modeling of the AOR evaluation and to determine compliance with the requirement that the injection activity not allow movement of fluid that would endanger USDWs.

(4) The director may require measures and actions designed to minimize and respond to risks associated with potential seismic events, including seismic monitoring.

(5) The operator shall comply with the following monitoring and record retention requirements.
(A) Samples and measurements taken for the purpose of monitoring shall be representative of the monitored activity.

(B) The permittee shall retain records of all monitoring information, including the following:
(i) calibration and maintenance records and all original strip 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 a period of at least ten years from the date of the sample, measurement, report, or application. This period may be extended by the director at any time; and

(ii) the nature and composition of all injected fluids until ten years after the completion of any plugging and abandonment procedures specified in § 5.203(k)(2) of this title for the injection wells. The director may require the operator to submit the records to the director at the conclusion of the retention period. This period may be extended by the director at any time.

(C) Records of monitoring information shall include:
(i) the date, exact place, and time of sampling or measurements;

(ii) the individuals who performed the sampling or measurements;

(iii) the dates analyses were performed;

(iv) the individuals who performed the analyses;

(v) the analytical techniques or methods used; and

(vi) the results of such analyses.

(D) Operators of Class VI wells shall retain records as specified in this subchapter.

(f) Permit conditions for mechanical integrity.

(1) The operator must maintain and comply with the approved mechanical integrity testing plan submitted in accordance with § 5.203(j) of this title.

(2) The operator must establish mechanical integrity prior to commencing injection. Thereafter, other than during periods of well workover in which the sealed tubing-casing annulus is of necessity disassembled for maintenance or corrective procedures, the operator must maintain mechanical integrity of the injection well at all times.

(3) If the director determines that the injection well lacks mechanical integrity, the director shall give written notice of the director's determination to the operator. Unless the director requires immediate cessation, the operator shall cease injection into the well within 48 hours of receipt of the director's determination. The director may allow plugging of the well or require the permittee to perform such additional construction, operation, monitoring, reporting and corrective action as is necessary to prevent the movement of fluid into or between USDWs caused by the lack of mechanical integrity. The operator may resume injection upon written notification of the director's determination that the operator has demonstrated the well has mechanical integrity.

(4) The operator must either repair and successfully retest or plug a well that fails a mechanical integrity test. However, the director may allow the operator of a well which lacks internal mechanical integrity because there is a leak in the casing, tubing, or packer to continue or resume injection if the operator has made a satisfactory demonstration that there is no movement of fluid into or between USDWs.

(5) The director may require additional or alternative tests if the results presented by the operator do not demonstrate to the director that there is no significant leak in the casing, tubing, or packer or movement of fluid into or between formations containing USDWs resulting from the injection activity.

(g) Permit conditions for AOR and corrective action. At the frequency specified in the approved AOR and corrective action plan or permit, and whenever warranted by a material change in the monitoring and/or operational data or in the evaluation of the monitoring and operational data by the operator, but no less frequently than every five years, the operator of a geologic storage facility also must:

(1) perform a re-evaluation of the AOR by performing all of the actions specified in § 5.203(d)(1)(A) - (C) of this title to delineate the AOR;

(2) identify all wells in the re-evaluated AOR that require corrective action;

(3) perform corrective action on wells requiring corrective action in the re-evaluated AOR in the same manner specified in § 5.203(d)(1)(C) of this title;

(4) submit an amended AOR and corrective action plan or demonstrate to the director through monitoring data and modeling results that no change to the AOR and corrective action plan is needed. Any amendments to the AOR and corrective action plan must be approved by the director, must be incorporated into the permit, and are subject to the permit modification requirements at § 5.202 of this title (relating to Permit Required, and Draft Permit and Fact Sheet), as applicable; and

(5) retain all modeling inputs and data used to support AOR reevaluations for at least 10 years.

(h) Permit conditions for emergency, mitigation, and remedial response.

(1) Plan. The operator must maintain and comply with the approved emergency and remedial response plan required by § 5.203(l) of this title. The operator must update the plan in accordance with § 5.207(a)(2)(D)(vi) of this title (relating to Reporting and Record-Keeping). The operator must make copies of the plan available at the storage facility and at the company headquarters. The emergency and remedial response plan and the demonstration of financial responsibility must account for the AOR delineated as specified in § 5.203(d)(1)(A) - (C) of this title or the most recently evaluated AOR delineated under subsection (g) of this section, regardless of whether or not corrective action in the AOR is phased.

(2) Training.
(A) The operator must prepare and implement a plan to train and test each employee at the storage facility on occupational safety and emergency response procedures to the extent applicable to the employee's duties and responsibilities. The operator must make copies of the plan available at the geological storage facility. The operator must train all employees before commencing injection and storage operations at the facility. The operator must train each subsequently hired employee before that employee commences work at the storage facility.

(B) The operator must hold a safety meeting with each contractor prior to the commencement of any new contract work at a storage facility. The operator must explain emergency measures specific to the contractor's work in the contractor safety meeting.

(C) The operator must provide training schedules, training dates, and course outlines to Commission personnel annually and upon request for the purpose of Commission review to determine compliance with this paragraph.

(3) Action.
(A) If an operator obtains evidence that the injected CO2 stream and associated pressure front may cause an endangerment to USDWs, the operator must:
(i) immediately cease injection;

(ii) take all steps reasonably necessary to identify and characterize any release;

(iii) notify the director as soon as practicable but within at least 24 hours; and

(iv) implement the approved emergency and remedial response plan.

(B) If any water quality monitoring of a USDW indicates the movement of any contaminant into the USDW, except as authorized by an aquifer exemption, the director shall prescribe such additional requirements for construction, corrective action, operation, monitoring, or reporting, including plugging of the injection well, as are necessary to prevent such movement.

(4) Resumption of injection. The director may allow the operator to resume injection prior to remediation if the operator demonstrates that the injection operation will not endanger USDWs.

(i) Permit conditions for Commission witnessing of testing and logging. The operator must provide the division with the opportunity to witness all planned well workovers, stimulation activities, other than stimulation for formation testing, and testing and logging. The operator must submit a proposed schedule of such activities to the Commission at least 30 days prior to conducting the first such activity and submit notice at least 48 hours in advance of any actual activity. Such activities shall not commence before the end of the 30 days unless authorized by the director.

(j) Permit conditions for well plugging. The operator of a geologic storage facility must maintain and comply with the approved well plugging plan required by § 5.203(k) of this title.

(k) Permit conditions for post-injection storage facility care and closure.

(1) Post-injection storage facility care and closure plan.
(A) The operator of an injection well must maintain and comply with the approved post-injection storage facility care and closure plan.

(B) The operator must update the plan in accordance with § 5.207(a)(2)(D)(vi) of this title. At any time during the life of the geologic sequestration project, the operator may modify and resubmit the post-injection site care and site closure plan for the director's approval within 30 days of such change. Any amendments to the post-injection site care and site closure plan must be approved by the director, be incorporated into the permit, and are subject to the permit modification requirements in § 5.202 of this title, as appropriate.

(C) Upon cessation of injection, the operator of a geologic storage facility must either submit an amended plan or demonstrate to the director through monitoring data and modeling results that no amendment to the plan is needed.

(2) Post-injection storage facility monitoring. Following cessation of injection, the operator must continue to conduct monitoring as specified in the approved plan until the director determines that the position of the CO2 plume and pressure front are such that the geologic storage facility will not endanger USDWs.

(3) Prior to closure. Prior to authorization for storage facility closure, the operator must demonstrate to the director, based on monitoring, other site-specific data, and modeling that is reasonably consistent with site performance that no additional monitoring is needed to assure that the geologic storage facility will not endanger USDWs. The operator must demonstrate, based on the current understanding of the site, including monitoring data and/or modeling, all of the following:
(A) the estimated magnitude and extent of the facility footprint (the CO2 plume and the area of elevated pressure);

(B) that there is no leakage of either CO2 or displaced formation fluids that will endanger USDWs;

(C) that the injected or displaced fluids are not expected to migrate in the future in a manner that encounters a potential leakage pathway into USDWs;

(D) that the injection wells at the site completed into or through the injection zone or confining zone will be plugged and abandoned in accordance with these requirements; and

(E) any remaining facility monitoring wells will be properly plugged or are being managed by a person and in a manner approved by the director.

(4) Notice of intent for storage facility closure. The operator must notify the director in writing at least 120 days before storage facility closure. At the time of such notice, if the operator has made any changes to the original plan, the operator also must provide the revised plan. The director may approve a shorter notice period.

(5) Authorization for storage facility closure. No operator may initiate storage facility closure until the director has approved closure of the storage facility in writing. After the director has authorized storage facility closure, the operator must plug all wells in accordance with the approved plan required by § 5.203(k) of this title and submit a plugging record (Form W-3) as required by § 3.14 of this title (relating to Plugging).

(6) Storage facility closure report. Once the director has authorized storage facility closure, the operator must submit a storage facility closure report within 90 days that must thereafter be retained by the Commission in Austin. The report must include the following information:
(A) documentation of appropriate injection and monitoring well plugging. The operator must provide a copy of a survey plat that has been submitted to the Regional Administrator of Region 6 of the EPA. The plat must indicate the location of the injection well relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks including the Latitude/Longitude or X/Y coordinates of the surface location in the NAD 27, NAD 83, or WGS 84 coordinate system, a labeled scale bar, and northerly direction arrow;

(B) documentation of appropriate notification and information to such state and local authorities as have authority over drilling activities to enable such state and local authorities to impose appropriate conditions on subsequent drilling activities that may penetrate the injection and confining zones; and

(C) records reflecting the nature, composition, volume and mass of the CO2 stream. If mass is determined using volume, the operator must provide calculations.

(7) Certificate of closure. Upon completion of the requirements in paragraphs (3) - (6) of this subsection, the director will issue a certificate of closure. At that time, the operator is released from the requirement in § 5.205(c) of this title to maintain financial assurance.

(l) Permit conditions for deed notation. The operator of a geologic storage facility must record a notation on the deed to the facility property; on any other document that is normally examined during title search; or on any other document that is acceptable to the county clerk for filing in the official public records of the county that will in perpetuity provide any potential purchaser of the property the following information:

(1) a complete legal description of the affected property;

(2) that land has been used to geologically store CO2;

(3) that the survey plat has been filed with the Commission;

(4) the address of the office of the United States Environmental Protection Agency, Region 6, to which the operator sent a copy of the survey plat; and

(5) the volume and mass of fluid injected, the injection zone or zones into which it was injected, and the period over which injection occurred. If mass is determined using volume, the operator must provide calculations.

(m) Permit conditions for retention of records. The permittee shall retain records as follows.

(1) All modeling inputs and data used to support area of review reevaluations under subsection (e) of this section shall be retained for 10 years.

(2) The permittee shall retain records as follows:
(A) All data collected under § 5.203 of this title for Class VI permit applications shall be retained throughout the life of the geologic storage project and for 10 years following site closure.

(B) Data on the nature and composition of all injected fluids collected pursuant to § 5.203(i)(1)(D) of this title shall be retained until 10 years following site closure. The director may require the operator to submit the records to the director at the conclusion of the retention period.

(C) Monitoring data collected pursuant to § 5.203(j)(2) of this title shall be retained for 10 years after it is collected.

(D) Well plugging reports, post-injection site care data, including data and information used to develop the demonstration of the alternative post-injection site care timeframe, and the site closure report collected pursuant to requirements of subsection (k)(6) of this section and paragraph (4) of this subsection shall be retained for 10 years following site closure.

(E) The director has authority to require the operator to retain any records required in this subchapter for longer than 10 years following site closure.

(3) Within 60 days after plugging, the operator must submit, pursuant to § 5.207(b)(2) of this title, a plugging report to the director. The report must be certified as accurate by the operator and by the person who performed the plugging operation (if other than the operator.) The operator shall retain the well plugging report for 10 years following site closure.

(4) The operator must submit a site closure report to the director within 90 days of site closure, which must thereafter be retained at a location designated by the director for 10 years following site closure. The report must include:
(A) documentation of appropriate injection and monitoring well plugging as specified in § 5.203(k) of this title. The operator must provide a copy of a survey plat which has been submitted to the local zoning authority designated by the director. The plat must indicate the location of the injection well relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks. The operator must also submit a copy of the plat to the Regional Administrator of the appropriate EPA Regional Office; and

(B) documentation of appropriate notification and information to such State, local and Tribal authorities that have authority over drilling activities to enable such State, local, and Tribal authorities to impose appropriate conditions on subsequent drilling activities that may penetrate the injection and confining zone(s); and

(5) Records reflecting the nature, composition, and volume of the CO2 plume shall be retained for 10 years following site closure.

(6) The operator must retain for 10 years following storage facility closure records collected to prepare the permit application, data on the nature and composition of all injected fluids, and records collected during the post-injection storage facility care period. The operator must submit the records to the director at the conclusion of the retention period, and the records must thereafter be retained at the Austin headquarters of the Commission.

(n) Permit conditions for signs. The operator must identify each location at which geologic storage activities take place, including each injection well, by a sign that meets the requirements specified in § 3.3(1), (2), and (5) of this title (relating to Identification of Properties, Wells, and Tanks). In addition, each sign must include a telephone number where the operator or a representative of the operator can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week in the event of an emergency.

(o) Other permit terms and conditions.

(1) Protection of USDWs. In any permit for a geologic storage facility, the director must impose terms and conditions reasonably necessary to protect USDWs. Permits issued under this subchapter shall be issued for the operating life of the facility and the post-injection storage facility care period. The director shall review each permit at least once every five years to determine whether it should be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated. Permits issued under this subchapter continue in effect until revoked, modified, or terminated by the Commission. The operator must comply with each requirement set forth in this subchapter as a condition of the permit unless modified by the terms of the permit.

(2) Other conditions. The following conditions shall also be included in any permit issued under this subchapter.
(A) Duty to comply. The permittee must comply with all conditions of this permit. Any permit noncompliance constitutes a violation of the Safe Drinking Water Act and is grounds for enforcement action; for permit termination, revocation and reissuance, or modification; or for denial of a permit renewal application. However, the permittee need not comply with the provisions of the permit to the extent and for the duration such noncompliance is authorized in an emergency permit under 40 CFR § 144.34.

(B) Need to halt or reduce activity not a defense. It shall not be a defense for a permittee 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 this permit.

(C) Duty to mitigate. The permittee shall take all reasonable steps to minimize or correct any adverse impact on the environment resulting from noncompliance with this permit.

(D) Proper operation and maintenance. The permittee shall at all times properly operate and maintain all facilities and systems of treatment and control (and related appurtenances) which are installed or used by the permittee to achieve compliance with the conditions of this 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 or auxiliary facilities or similar systems only when necessary to achieve compliance with the conditions of the permit.

(E) Property rights not conveyed. The issuance of a permit does not convey property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.

(F) Activities not authorized. The issuance of a permit does not authorize any injury to persons or property or invasion of other private rights, or any infringement of State or local law or regulations.

(G) Coordination with exploration. The permittee of a geologic storage well shall coordinate with any operator planning to drill through the AOR to explore for oil and gas or geothermal resources and take all reasonable steps necessary to minimize any adverse impact on the operator's ability to drill for and produce oil and gas or geothermal resources from above or below the geologic storage facility.

(H) Duty to provide information. The operator shall 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.

(I) Inspection and entry. The operator shall allow any member or employee of the Commission, on proper identification, to:
(i) enter upon the premises where a regulated activity is conducted or where records are kept under the conditions of the permit;

(ii) have access to and copy, during reasonable working hours, any records required to be kept under the conditions of the permit;

(iii) inspect any facilities, equipment (including monitoring and control equipment), practices, or operations regulated or required under the permit; and

(iv) 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, § 27.071, or the Texas Natural Resources Code, § 91.1012.

(J) Schedule of compliance: The permit shall, when appropriate, specify a schedule of compliance leading to compliance with all provisions of this subchapter and Chapter 3 of this title. If the time necessary for completion of any interim requirement is more than one year and is not readily divisible into stages for completion, the permit shall specify interim dates for the submission of reports of progress toward completion of the interim requirements and indicate a projected completion date.
(i) Any schedule of compliance shall require compliance as soon as possible, and in no case later than three years after the effective date of the permit.

(ii) If the schedule of compliance is for a duration of more than one year from the date of permit issuance, then interim requirements and completion dates (not to exceed one year) must be incorporated into the compliance schedule and permit.

(iii) Progress reports must be submitted no later than 30 days following each interim date and the final date of compliance.

(K) Modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination. This permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by the permittee for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated noncompliance, does not stay any permit condition.

(L) Signatory requirement. All applications, reports, or information shall be signed and certified.

(M) Reporting requirements.
(i) Planned changes. The permittee shall give notice to the director as soon as possible of any planned physical alterations or additions to the permitted facility.

(ii) Anticipated noncompliance. The permittee shall give advance notice to the director of any planned changes in the permitted facility or activity which may result in noncompliance with permit requirements.

(iii) Transfers. This permit is not transferable to any person except after notice to and approval by the director. The director may require modification or revocation and reissuance of the permit to change the name of the permittee and incorporate such other requirements as may be necessary under the SDWA.

(iv) Monitoring reports. Monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals specified elsewhere in this permit.

(v) Compliance schedules. Reports of compliance or noncompliance with, or any progress reports on, interim and final requirements contained in any compliance schedule of this permit shall be submitted no later than 30 days following each schedule date.

(vi) Twenty-four hour reporting. The permittee shall report any noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment. Any information shall be provided orally to the director within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. A written submission shall also be provided to the director within five days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. The written submission shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause, 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 steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the noncompliance. The permittee shall report any noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment including:
(I) any monitoring or other information which indicates that any contaminant may cause an endangerment to a USDW; and

(II) any noncompliance with a permit condition or malfunction of the injection system which may cause fluid migration into or between USDWs.

(N) Other information. Where the permittee becomes aware that it failed to submit any relevant facts in a permit application, or submitted incorrect information in a permit application or in any report to the director, it shall promptly submit such facts or information.

(O) Other noncompliance. The permittee shall report all instances of noncompliance not reported under subsection (e) of this section, subparagraphs (J) and (M) of this paragraph, and § 5.207(a)(2)(A) of this title at the time monitoring reports are submitted. Any information shall be provided orally to the director within 24 hours from the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. A written submission shall also be provided to the director within five days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the circumstances. The written submission shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause, 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 steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the noncompliance. The reports required by this subparagraph shall contain the following information:
(i) any monitoring or other information which indicates that any contaminant may cause an endangerment to a USDW; and

(ii) any noncompliance with a permit condition or malfunction of the injection system which may cause fluid migration into or between USDWs.

(P) Incorporation of requirements in permits. New permits, and to the extent allowed under § 5.202 of this title modified or revoked and reissued permits, shall incorporate each of the applicable requirements referenced in this section. An applicable requirement is a State statutory or regulatory requirement that takes effect prior to final administrative disposition of the permit. An applicable requirement is also any requirement that takes effect prior to the modification or revocation and reissuance of a permit, to the extent allowed in § 5.202 of this title.

(Q) Compliance with SWDA and related regulations. In addition to conditions required in all permits, the director shall establish conditions in permits as required on a case-by-case basis to provide for and assure compliance with all applicable requirements of the SWDA and 40 CFR Parts 144, 145, 146 and 124.

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