| (a) Oil and gas exploration and production on submerged
lands shall comply with the policies in this section.
(1) In or near critical areas, facilities shall be
located and operated and geophysical and other operations shall be
located and conducted in such a manner as to avoid and otherwise minimize
adverse effects, including those from the disposal of solid waste
and disturbance resulting from the operation of vessels and wheeled
or tracked vehicles, whether on areas under lease, easement, or permit
or on or across access routes thereto. Where practicable, buffer zones
for critical areas shall be established and directional drilling or
other methods to avoid disturbance, such as pooling or unitization,
shall be employed.
(2) Lessees, easement holders, and permittees shall
construct facilities in a manner that avoids impoundment or draining
of coastal wetlands, if practicable, and shall mitigate any adverse
effects on coastal wetlands impounded or drained in accordance with
the sequencing requirements in this section.
(3) Upon completion or cessation of operations, lessees,
easement holders, and permittees shall remove facilities and restore
any significantly degraded areas to pre-project conditions as closely
as practicable, unless facilities can be used for maintenance or enhancement
of CNRAs or unless restoration activities would further degrade CNRAs.
(b) To the extent applicable to the public beach, the
policies in this section are supplemental to any further restrictions
or requirements relating to the beach access and use rights of the
public.
(c) The GLO and SLB shall comply with the policies
in this section when approving oil, gas, and other mineral lease plans
of operation and granting surface leases, easements, and permits and
adopting rules under the Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32,
33 and 51 - 53, governing oil and gas exploration and production on
submerged lands.
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| Source Note: The provisions of this §26.17 adopted to be effective October 6, 2004, 29 TexReg 9407; transferred effective December 1, 2022, as published in the Texas Register October 28, 2022, 47 TexReg 7301 |
