Current through Reg. 49, No. 12; March 22, 2024
(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.