Current through Reg. 50, No. 13; March 28, 2025
(a)
Applicability. This subchapter applies to applications for injection well
permits that are declared administratively complete on or after September 1,
1999.
(b) Preapplication local
review committee process. If an applicant decides to participate in a local
review committee process under Texas Health and Safety Code, §
361.063, the
applicant shall submit a notice of intent to file an application to the
executive director, setting forth the proposed location and type of facility.
The applicant shall mail notice to the county judge of the county in which the
facility is to be located. In addition, if the proposed facility is to be
located in a municipality or the extraterritorial jurisdiction of a
municipality, a copy of the notice must be mailed to the mayor of the
municipality.
(c) Notice of Receipt
of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit.
(1) On the executive director's receipt of an
application, or notice of intent to file an application, the Office of the
Chief Clerk (chief clerk) shall mail notice to the state senator and
representative who represent the area in which the facility is or will be
located.
(2) After the executive
director determines that the application is administratively complete, notice
must be given as required by §
39.418 of this title (relating to
Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain Permit). This notice must
contain the text as required by §
39.411(b)(1) - (9) and
(11) of this title (relating to Text of
Public Notice). Notice under §
39.418 of this title will satisfy
the notice of receipt of application required by §
281.17(d) of
this title (relating to Notice of Receipt of Application and Declaration of
Administrative Completeness).
(3)
After the executive director determines that the application is
administratively complete, in addition to the requirements of §
39.418 of this title, notice must
be given to the School Land Board, if the application will affect lands
dedicated to the permanent school fund. The notice must be in the form required
by Texas Water Code, §
5.115(c).
(4) For Notice of Receipt of Application and
Intent to Obtain a Permit concerning Class I or Class III underground injection
wells, the chief clerk shall also mail notice to:
(A) persons who own the property on which the
existing or proposed injection well facility is or will be located, if
different from the applicant;
(B)
landowners adjacent to the property on which the existing or proposed injection
well facility is or will be located;
(C) persons who own mineral rights underlying
the existing or proposed injection well facility;
(D) persons who own mineral rights underlying
the tracts of land adjacent to the property on which the existing or proposed
injection well facility is or will be located; and
(E) any groundwater conservation district
established in the county in which the existing or proposed injection well
facility is or will be located.
(5) The chief clerk or executive director
shall also mail a copy of the application or a summary of its contents to the
mayor and health authority of a municipality in whose territorial limits or
extraterritorial jurisdiction the solid waste facility is located and to the
county judge and the health authority of the county in which the facility is
located.
(6) For Class I
underground injection wells, the published notice must be at least 15 square
inches (96.8 square centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three
inches (7.6 centimeters) and the notice must appear in the section of the
newspaper containing state or local news items.
(d) Notice of Application and Preliminary
Decision. The notice required by §
39.419 of this title (relating to
Notice of Application and Preliminary Decision) must be published once under
§
39.405(f)(2) of
this title (relating to General Notice Provisions) after the chief clerk has
mailed the preliminary decision and the Notice of Application and Preliminary
Decision to the applicant. This notice must contain the text as required by
§
39.411(c)(1) -
(6) of this title. In addition to the
requirements of §
39.419 of this title and §
39.426 of this title (relating to
Alternative Language Requirements), the following requirements apply.
(1) The applicant shall publish notice at
least once in a newspaper of general circulation in each county that is
adjacent or contiguous to each county in which the proposed facility is
located. One notice may satisfy the requirements of §
39.405(f)(2) of
this title and of this subsection, if the newspaper meets the requirements of
both rules.
(2) For Class I
underground injection wells, the published notice must be at least 15 square
inches (96.8 square centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three
inches (7.6 centimeters) and the notice must appear in the section of the
newspaper containing state or local news items.
(3) The chief clerk shall mail notice to the
persons listed in §
39.413 of this title (relating to
Mailed Notice) and to local governments located in the county of the facility.
"Local governments" have the meaning as defined in Texas Water Code, Chapter
26.
(4) For Notice of Application
and Preliminary Decision concerning Class I or Class III underground injection
wells, the chief clerk shall also mail notice to:
(A) persons who own the property on which the
existing or proposed injection well facility is or will be located, if
different from the applicant;
(B)
landowners adjacent to the property on which the existing or proposed injection
well facility is or will be located;
(C) persons who own mineral rights underlying
the existing or proposed injection well facility;
(D) persons who own mineral rights underlying
the tracts of land adjacent to the property on which the existing or proposed
injection well facility is or will be located; and
(E) any groundwater conservation district
established in the county in which the existing or proposed injection well
facility is or will be located.
(5) If the application concerns a hazardous
waste facility, the applicant shall broadcast notice under §
39.503(d)(2) of
this title (relating to Application for Industrial or Hazardous Waste Facility
Permit).
(6) The deadline for
public comments on industrial solid waste, Class III, or Class V injection well
permit applications will be not less than 30 days after newspaper publication,
and for hazardous waste applications, not less than 45 days after newspaper
publication.
(e) Notice
of public meeting.
(1) For an application for
a new hazardous waste facility, the agency:
(A) may hold a public meeting under §
55.154 of this title (relating to
Public Meetings) in the county in which the facility is proposed to be located
to receive public comment concerning the application; but
(B) shall hold a public meeting under §
55.154 of this title in the county
in which the facility is proposed to be located to receive public comment
concerning the application:
(i) on the
request of a member of the legislature who represents the general area in which
the facility is proposed to be located; or
(ii) if the executive director determines
that there is substantial public interest in the proposed facility.
(2) For an application
for a major amendment to or a Class 3 modification of an existing hazardous
waste facility permit, the agency:
(A) may
hold a public meeting under §
55.154 of this title in the county
in which the facility is located to receive public comment on the application;
but
(B) shall hold a public meeting
under §
55.154 of this title in the county
in which the facility is located to receive public comment concerning the
application:
(i) on the request of a member
of the legislature who represents the general area in which the facility is
located; or
(ii) if the executive
director determines that there is substantial public interest in the
facility.
(3)
For purposes of this subsection, "substantial public interest" is demonstrated
if a request for a public meeting is filed by:
(A) a local governmental entity with
jurisdiction over the location in which the facility is located or proposed to
be located by formal resolution of the entity's governing body;
(B) a council of governments with
jurisdiction over the location in which the facility is located or proposed to
be located by formal request of either the council's solid waste advisory
committee, executive committee, or governing board;
(C) a homeowners' or property owners'
association formally organized or chartered and having at least ten members
located in the general area in which the facility is located or proposed to be
located; or
(D) a group of ten or
more local residents, property owners, or businesses located in the general
area in which the facility is located or proposed to be located.
(4) A public meeting is not a
contested case proceeding under the Administrative Procedure Act. A public
meeting held as part of a local review committee process under subsection (b)
of this section meets the requirements of this subsection if public notice is
provided in accordance with this subsection.
(5) The applicant shall publish notice of the
public meeting once each week during the three weeks preceding a public meeting
under §
39.405(f)(2) of
this title. The published notice must be at least 15 square inches (96.8 square
centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three inches (7.6
centimeters).
(6) The chief clerk
shall mail notice to the persons listed in §
39.413 of this title.
(f) Notice of contested case
hearing.
(1) Applicability. This subsection
applies if an application is referred to the State Office of Administrative
Hearings for a contested case hearing under Chapter 80 of this title (relating
to Contested Case Hearings).
(2)
Newspaper notice.
(A) If the application
concerns a facility other than a hazardous waste facility, the applicant shall
publish notice at least once in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county in which the facility is located and in each county and area that is
adjacent or contiguous to each county in which the proposed facility is
located.
(B) For Class I
underground injection wells, the published notice must be at least 15 square
inches (96.8 square centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three
inches (7.6 centimeters) and the notice must appear in the section of the
newspaper containing state or local news items.
(C) If the application concerns a hazardous
waste facility, the hearing must include one session held in the county in
which the facility is located. The applicant shall publish notice of the
hearing once each week during the three weeks preceding the hearing under
§
39.405(f)(2) of
this title. The published notice must be at least 15 square inches (96.8 square
centimeters) with a shortest dimension of at least three inches (7.6
centimeters). The notice must appear in the section of the newspaper containing
state or local news items. The text of the notice must include the statement
that at least one session of the hearing will be held in the county in which
the facility is located.
(3) Mailed notice.
(A) For all applications concerning
underground injection wells, the chief clerk shall mail notice to persons
listed in §
39.413 of this title.
(B) For notice of hearings concerning Class I
or Class III underground injection wells, the chief clerk shall also mail
notice to:
(i) persons who own the property on
which the existing or proposed injection well facility is or will be located,
if different from the applicant;
(ii) landowners adjacent to the property on
which the existing or proposed injection well facility is or will be
located;
(iii) persons who own
mineral rights underlying the existing or proposed injection well
facility;
(iv) persons who own
mineral rights underlying the tracts of land adjacent to the property on which
the existing or proposed injection well facility is or will be located;
and
(v) any groundwater
conservation district established in the county in which the existing or
proposed injection well facility is or will be located.
(C) If the applicant proposes a new solid
waste management facility, the applicant shall mail notice to each residential
or business address, not listed under subparagraph (A) of this paragraph,
located within 1/2 mile of the facility and to each owner of real property
located within 1/2 mile of the facility listed in the real property appraisal
records of the appraisal district in which the facility is located. The notice
must be mailed to the persons listed as owners in the real property appraisal
records on the date the application is determined to be administratively
complete. The notice must be mailed no more than 45 days and no less than 30
days before the contested case hearing. Within 30 days after the date of
mailing, the applicant shall file with the chief clerk an affidavit certifying
compliance with its obligations under this subsection. Filing an affidavit
certifying facts that constitute compliance with notice requirements creates a
rebuttable presumption of compliance with this subparagraph.
(4) Radio broadcast. If the
application concerns a hazardous waste facility, the applicant shall broadcast
notice under §
39.503(d)(2) of
this title.
(5) Deadline. Notice
under paragraphs (2)(A), (3), and (4) of this subsection must be completed at
least 30 days before the contested case hearing.
(g) Approval. All published notices required
by this section must be in a form approved by the executive director prior to
publication.
(h) Applications for
individual Class V injection well permits for aquifer storage and recovery
(ASR) projects and aquifer recharge (AR) projects. Notwithstanding the
requirements of subsections (c) and (d) of this section, this subsection
establishes the public notice requirements for an application for an individual
Class V injection well permit application for either an ASR project or an AR
project. Issuance of the Notice of Receipt of Application and Intent to Obtain
a Permit is not required for an individual Class V injection well permit
application for an ASR project or an AR project. The notice required by §
39.419 of this title must be
published by the applicant once in a newspaper of general circulation in the
county in which the injection well will be located after the chief clerk has
mailed the preliminary decision and the Notice of Application and Preliminary
Decision to the applicant. The chief clerk shall provide notice by first class
mail to any groundwater conservation district in which the wells associated
with the ASR project or AR project will be located. The chief clerk shall also
mail notice to the persons listed in §
39.413(7) - (9)
of this title. This notice must contain the text as required by §
39.411(c)(1) -
(6) of this title.
