| (a) Notice requirements.
(1) The Commission shall give notice of the following
actions:
(A) a draft permit has been prepared under §5.202(e)
of this title (relating to Permit Required, and Draft Permit and Fact
Sheet); and
(B) a hearing has been scheduled under subsection (b)(2)
of this section.
(2) General notice by publication. The Commission shall
publish notice of a draft permit once a week for three consecutive
weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in each county where the
storage facility is located or is to be located. The Commission shall
also post notice of a draft permit on the Commission's website.
(3) Methods of notification. The Commission shall give
notice by the following methods:
(A) Individual notice. Notice of a draft permit or
a public hearing shall be given by mailing a copy of the notice to
the following persons:
(i) the applicant;
(ii) the EPA;
(iii) the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,
the Texas Water Development Board, the Texas Department of State Health
Services, the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department, the Texas General
Land Office, the Texas Historical Commission, the United States Fish
and Wildlife Service, other Federal and State agencies with jurisdiction
over fish, shellfish, and wildlife resources, and coastal zone management
plans, the Advisory Council on Historic Preservation, including any
affected States (Indian Tribes) and any agency that the Commission
knows has issued or is required to issue a permit for the same facility
under any federal or state environmental program;
(iv) each adjoining mineral interest owner, other than
the applicant, of the outermost boundary of the proposed geologic
storage facility;
(v) each leaseholder and interest owner of minerals
lying above or below the proposed geologic storage facility;
(vi) each adjoining leaseholder of minerals offsetting
the outermost boundary of the proposed geologic storage facility;
(vii) each owner or leaseholder of any portion of the
surface overlying the proposed geologic storage facility and the adjoining
area of the outermost boundary of the proposed geologic storage facility;
(viii) the clerk of the county or counties where the
proposed geologic storage facility is located or is proposed to be
located;
(ix) the city clerk or other appropriate city official
where the proposed geologic storage facility is located within city
limits;
(x) any other unit of local government having jurisdiction
over the area where the geologic storage facility is or is proposed
to be located, and each state agency having any authority under state
law with respect to the construction or operation of the geologic
storage facility;
(xi) any State, Tribe, or Territory any portion of
which is within the AOR of the Class VI project;
(xii) persons on the mailing list developed by the
Commission, including those who request in writing to be on the list
and by soliciting participants in public hearings in that area for
their interest in being included on area mailing lists; and
(xiii) any other class of persons that the director
determines should receive notice of the application.
(B) Any person otherwise entitled to receive notice
under this paragraph may waive his or her rights to receive notice
of a draft permit under this subsection.
(4) Content of notice. Individual notice must consist
of:
(A) the applicant's intention to construct and operate
an anthropogenic CO2 geologic storage
facility;
(B) a description of the geologic storage facility
location;
(C) a copy of any draft permit and fact sheet;
(D) each physical location and the internet address
at which a copy of the application may be inspected;
(E) a statement that:
(i) affected persons may protest, and interested persons
may request a hearing on, the application;
(ii) protests and requests for a hearing must be filed
in writing and must be mailed or delivered to Technical Permitting,
Oil and Gas Division, Railroad Commission of Texas, P.O. Box 12967,
Austin, Texas 78711; and
(iii) protests and requests for a hearing must be received
by the director within 30 days of the date of receipt of the application
by the division, receipt of individual notice, or last publication
of notice, whichever is later; and
(F) information satisfying the requirements of 40 CFR
§124.10(d)(1).
(5) Individual notice by publication. The applicant
must make diligent efforts to ascertain the name and address of each
person identified under paragraph (3)(A) of this subsection. The exercise
of diligent efforts to ascertain the names and addresses of such persons
requires an examination of county records where the facility is located
and an investigation of any other information that is publicly and/or
reasonably available to the applicant. If, after diligent efforts,
an applicant has been unable to ascertain the name and address of
one or more persons required to be notified under paragraph (3)(A)
of this subsection, the applicant satisfies the notice requirements
for those persons by the publication of the notice of application
as required in paragraph (2) of this subsection. The applicant must
submit an affidavit to the director specifying the efforts that the
applicant took to identify each person whose name and/or address could
not be ascertained.
(6) Notice to certain communities. The applicant shall
identify whether any portions of the AOR encompass an Environmental
Justice (EJ) or Limited English-Speaking Household community using
the most recent U.S. Census Bureau American Community Survey data.
If the AOR incudes an EJ or Limited English-Speaking Household community,
the applicant shall conduct enhanced public outreach activities to
these communities. Efforts to include EJ and Limited English-Speaking
Household communities in public involvement activities in such cases
shall include:
(A) published meeting notice in English and the identified
language (e.g., Spanish);
(B) comment forms posted on the applicant's webpage
and available at public meeting in English and the alternate language;
(C) interpretation services accommodated upon request;
(D) English translation of any comments made during
any comment period in the alternate language; and
(E) to the extent possible, public meeting venues near
public transportation.
(7) Comment period for a draft permit. Public notice
of a draft permit, including a notice of intent to deny a permit application,
shall allow at least 30 days for public comment.
(b) Public comment and hearing requirements.
(1) Public comment.
(A) During the public comment period, any interested
person may submit written comments on the draft permit and may request
a hearing if one has not already been scheduled.
(B) Reasonable limits may be set upon the time allowed
for oral statements, and the submission of statements in writing may
be required.
(C) The public comment period shall automatically be
extended to the close of any public hearing under this section. The
hearing examiner may also extend the comment period by so stating
at the hearing.
(2) Public hearing.
(A) If the Commission receives a protest regarding
an application for a new permit or for an amendment of an existing
permit for a geologic storage facility from a person notified pursuant
to subsection (a) of this section or from any other affected person
within 30 days of the date of receipt of the application by the division,
receipt of individual notice, or last publication of notice, whichever
is later, then the director will notify the applicant that the director
cannot administratively approve the application. Upon the written
request of the applicant, the director will schedule a hearing on
the application.
(B) The director shall hold a public hearing whenever
the director finds, on the basis of requests, a significant degree
of public interest in a draft permit.
(C) The director may also hold a public hearing at
the director's discretion, whenever, for instance, such a hearing
might clarify one or more issues involved in the permit decision.
(D) Public notice of a public hearing shall be given
at least 30 days before the hearing. Public notice of a hearing may
be given at the same time as public notice of the draft permit and
the two notices may be combined.
Cont'd... |
