| (6) Permit actions. The permit may be modified, revoked
and reissued, or terminated for cause. The filing of a request by
the operator for a permit modification, revocation and reissuance,
or termination, or a notification of planned changes or anticipated
noncompliance does not stay any permit condition.
(7) Property rights. The permit does not convey any
property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.
(8) Duty to provide information. The operator shall
also 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.
(9) Inspection and entry. The operator shall allow
any member or employee of the commission, on proper identification,
to:
(A) enter upon the premises where a regulated activity
is conducted or where records are kept under the conditions of the
permit;
(B) have access to and copy, during reasonable working
hours, any records required to be kept under the conditions of the
permit;
(C) inspect any facilities, equipment (including monitoring
and control equipment), practices, or operations regulated or required
under the permit; and
(D) 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.
(10) Monitoring and records.
(A) Samples and measurements taken for the purpose
of monitoring must be representative of the monitored activity.
(B) The operator shall retain records of all monitoring
information, including all calibration and maintenance records and
all original 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 at least three years
from the date of the sample, measurement, report, or application.
This period may be extended by request of the commission at any time.
(C) Records of monitoring information must include
the date, exact place, and time of the sampling or measurements; the
individual(s) who performed the sampling or measurements; the date(s)
analyses were performed; the individual(s) who performed the analyses;
the analytical techniques or methods used; and the results of the
analyses.
(11) Signatory requirements. All reports and other
information submitted to the commission shall be signed and certified
in accordance with subsection (e) of this section.
(12) Reporting requirements.
(A) The operator shall notify the commission as soon
as possible of any planned physical alteration or addition to the
facility.
(B) The operator shall give advance notice to the commission
of any planned changes in the facility that may result in noncompliance
with permit requirements.
(C) Monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals
specified in the permit.
(D) Reports of compliance or noncompliance with the
requirements contained in any compliance schedule of the permit shall
be submitted no later than 30 days after each scheduled date.
(E) The operator shall report to the commission any
noncompliance that may endanger human health or the environment.
(i) An oral report shall be made to the appropriate
district office immediately after the operator becomes aware of the
noncompliance. A written report shall be filed with the Austin office
within five days of the time the operator becomes aware of the noncompliance.
The written report must contain the following information:
(I) a description of the noncompliance and its cause;
(II) 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
(III) steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate,
and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
(ii) Information that shall be reported under this
subparagraph includes the following:
(I) any monitoring or any other information that indicates
that any contaminant may endanger fresh water; or
(II) any noncompliance with a permit condition or malfunction
of the injection system that may cause fluid migration into or between
fresh water strata.
(F) The operator shall report any noncompliance not
reported under subparagraphs (C), (D), and (E) of this paragraph at
the time monitoring reports are submitted. The report must contain
the information listed in subparagraph (E) of this paragraph.
(G) If the operator becomes aware that it failed to
submit any relevant facts or submitted incorrect information in a
permit application or a report to the commission, the operator shall
promptly submit the relevant facts or correct information.
(13) Transfers. The permit is not transferable to any
person except by modification, or revocation and reissuance, to change
the name of the operator and incorporate other necessary requirements.
(14) Completion report. Injection operations may not
begin in any new brine mining injection well until the operator has
submitted a completion report to the director, and the director has
reviewed the completion report and found the well in compliance with
the conditions of the permit.
(15) Workovers. The operator shall notify the appropriate
district office at least 48 hours before performing any workover or
corrective maintenance operations that involve the removal of the
tubing or well stimulation.
(16) Mechanical integrity.
(A) No person may perform injection operations in a
brine mining injection well that lacks mechanical integrity. A well
has mechanical integrity if:
(i) there is not significant leak in the casing; and
(ii) there is no significant fluid movement into fresh
water strata through vertical channels adjacent to the wellbore.
(B) For any existing brine mining injection well, mechanical
integrity must be demonstrated annually. For any new brine mining
injection well, mechanical integrity must be demonstrated before injection
operations begin and annually thereafter. In addition, for all brine
mining injections wells, mechanical integrity must be demonstrated
after any workover that involves the removal of the tubing.
(C) To demonstrate the absence of a significant leak
in the casing, the operator shall conduct a fluid pressure test in
accordance with the following procedures:
(i) the operator shall submit a written test procedure
to the commission in Austin at least 15 days before the test;
(ii) the operator shall notify the district office
orally at least 48 hours before the test;
(iii) the operator shall perform the test using the
test procedure submitted prior to the testing unless otherwise instructed
by the commission; and
(iv) the operator shall file a complete record of the
test with the commission in Austin within 30 days after the test.
(D) In lieu of an annual fluid pressure test, the operator
may monitor the pressure of a hydrocarbon pad or blanket contained
in the annulus space of the well, provided the operator has obtained
written approval from the director prior to using this method.
(E) One of the following methods shall be used to demonstrate
the absence of significant fluid movement into fresh water strata
through vertical channels adjacent to the wellbore:
(i) the results of a temperature or noise log; or
(ii) where the nature of the casing precludes the use
of the logging techniques prescribed in clause (i) of this subparagraph,
cementing records demonstrating the presence of adequate cement to
prevent such movement.
(F) The director may allow the use of a method of demonstrating
mechanical integrity other than one listed in subparagraphs (C), (D),
and (E) of this paragraph with the approval of the administrator of
the Environmental Protection Agency obtained pursuant to 40 Code of
Federal Regulations §146.8(d).
(G) Mechanical integrity must be demonstrated to the
satisfaction of the director. In conducting and evaluating the results
of a mechanical integrity test, the operator and the director will
apply procedures and standards generally accepted in the industry.
In reporting the results of a mechanical integrity test, the operator
must include a description of the method and procedures used. In evaluating
the results, the director will review monitoring and other test data
submitted since the previous mechanical integrity test.
Cont'd... |
