| (II) In the event of an unauthorized discharge from
any pit authorized by this paragraph, the operator shall take any
measures necessary to stop or control the discharge and report the
discharge to the district office as soon as possible.
(5) Responsibility for disposal.
(A) Permit required. No generator or receiver may knowingly
utilize the services of a carrier to transport oil and gas wastes
if the carrier is required by this rule to have a permit to transport
such wastes but does not have such a permit. No carrier may knowingly
utilize the services of a second carrier to transport oil and gas
wastes if the second carrier is required by this rule to have a permit
to transport such wastes but does not have such a permit. No generator
or carrier may knowingly utilize the services of a receiver to store,
handle, treat, reclaim, or dispose of oil and gas wastes if the receiver
is required by statute or commission rule to have a permit to store,
handle, treat, reclaim, or dispose of such wastes but does not have
such a permit. No receiver may knowingly utilize the services of a
second receiver to store, handle, treat, reclaim, or dispose of oil
and gas wastes if the second receiver is required by statute or commission
rule to have a permit to store, handle, treat, reclaim, or dispose
of such wastes but does not have such a permit. Any person who plans
to utilize the services of a carrier or receiver is under a duty to
determine that the carrier or receiver has all permits required by
the Oil and Gas Division to transport, store, handle, treat, reclaim,
or dispose of oil and gas wastes.
(B) Improper disposal prohibited. No generator, carrier,
receiver, or any other person may improperly dispose of oil and gas
wastes or cause or allow the improper disposal of oil and gas wastes.
A generator causes or allows the improper disposal of oil and gas
wastes if:
(i) the generator utilizes the services of a carrier
or receiver who improperly disposes of the wastes; and
(ii) the generator knew or reasonably should have known
that the carrier or receiver was likely to improperly dispose of the
wastes and failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the improper
disposal.
(6) Permits.
(A) Standards for permit issuance. A permit to maintain
or use a pit for storage of oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes
may only be issued if the commission determines that the maintenance
or use of such pit will not result in the waste of oil, gas, or geothermal
resources or the pollution of surface or subsurface waters. A permit
to dispose of oil and gas wastes by any method, including disposal
into a pit, may only be issued if the commission determines that the
disposal will not result in the waste of oil, gas, or geothermal resources
or the pollution of surface or subsurface water. A permit to maintain
or use any unlined brine mining pit or any unlined pit, other than
an emergency saltwater storage pit, for storage or disposal of oil
field brines, geothermal resource waters, or other mineralized waters
may only be issued if the commission determines that the applicant
has conclusively shown that use of the pit cannot cause pollution
of surrounding productive agricultural land nor pollution of surface
or subsurface water, either because there is no surface or subsurface
water in the area of the pit, or because the surface or subsurface
water in the area of the pit would be physically isolated by naturally
occurring impervious barriers from any oil and gas wastes which might
escape or migrate from the pit. Permits issued pursuant to this paragraph
will contain conditions reasonably necessary to prevent the waste
of oil, gas, or geothermal resources and the pollution of surface
and subsurface waters. A permit to maintain or use a pit will state
the conditions under which the pit may be operated, including the
conditions under which the permittee shall be required to dewater,
backfill, and compact the pit. Any permits issued pursuant to this
paragraph may contain requirements concerning the design and construction
of pits and disposal facilities, including requirements relating to
pit construction materials, dike design, liner material, liner thickness,
procedures for installing liners, schedules for inspecting and/or
replacing liners, overflow warning devices, leak detection devices,
and fences. However, a permit to maintain or use any lined brine mining
pit or any lined pit for storage or disposal of oil field brines,
geothermal resource waters, or other mineralized waters will contain
requirements relating to liner material, liner thickness, procedures
for installing liners, and schedules for inspecting and/or replacing
liners.
(B) Application. An application for a permit to maintain
or use a pit or to dispose of oil and gas wastes shall be filed with
the commission in Austin. The applicant shall mail or deliver a copy
of the application to the appropriate district office on the same
day the original application is mailed or delivered to the commission
in Austin. A permit application shall be considered filed with the
commission on the date it is received by the commission in Austin.
When a commission-prescribed application form exists, an applicant
shall make application on the prescribed form according to the instructions
on such form. The director may require the applicant to provide the
commission with engineering, geological, or other information which
the director deems necessary to show that issuance of the permit will
not result in the waste of oil, gas, or geothermal resources or the
pollution of surface or subsurface water.
(C) Notice. The applicant shall give notice of the
permit application to the surface owners of the tract upon which the
pit will be located or upon which the disposal will take place. When
the tract upon which the pit will be located or upon which the disposal
will take place lies within the corporate limits of an incorporated
city, town, or village, the applicant shall also give notice to the
city clerk or other appropriate official. Where disposal is to be
by discharge into a watercourse other than the Gulf of Mexico or a
bay, the applicant shall also give notice to the surface owners of
each waterfront tract between the discharge point and 1/2 mile downstream
of the discharge point except for those waterfront tracts within the
corporate limits of an incorporated city, town, or village. When one
or more waterfront tracts within 1/2 mile of the discharge point lie
within the corporate limits of an incorporated city, town, or village,
the applicant shall give notice to the city clerk or other appropriate
official. Notice of the permit application shall consist of a copy
of the application together with a statement that any protest to the
application should be filed with the commission within 15 days of
the date the application is filed with the commission. The applicant
shall mail or deliver the required notice to the surface owners and
the city clerk or other appropriate official on or before the date
the application is mailed or delivered to the commission in Austin.
If, in connection with a particular application, the director determines
that another class of persons, such as offset operators, adjacent
surface owners, or an appropriate river authority, should receive
notice of the application, the director may require the applicant
to mail or deliver notice to members of that class. If the director
determines that, after diligent efforts, the applicant has been unable
to ascertain the name and address of one or more persons required
by this subparagraph to be notified, then the director may authorize
the applicant to notify such persons by publishing notice of the application.
The director shall determine the form of the notice to be published.
The notice shall be published once each week for two consecutive weeks
by the applicant in a newspaper of general circulation in the county
where the pit will be located or the disposal will take place. The
applicant shall file proof of publication with the commission in Austin.
The director will consider the applicant to have made diligent efforts
to ascertain the names and addresses of surface owners required by
this subparagraph to be notified if the applicant has examined the
current county tax rolls and investigated other reliable and readily
available sources of information.
(D) Protests and hearings. If a protest from an affected
person is made to the commission within 15 days of the date the application
is filed, then a hearing shall be held on the application after the
applicant requests a hearing. If the director has reason to believe
that a person entitled to notice of an application has not received
such notice within 15 days of the date an application is filed with
the commission, then the director shall not take action on the application
until reasonable efforts have been made to give such person notice
of the application and an opportunity to file a protest to the application.
If the director determines that a hearing is in the public interest,
a hearing shall be held. A hearing on an application shall be held
after the commission provides notice of hearing to all affected persons,
or other persons or governmental entities who express an interest
in the application in writing. If no protest from an affected person
is received by the commission, the director may administratively approve
the application. If the director denies administrative approval, the
applicant shall have a right to a hearing upon request. After hearing,
the Cont'd... |
