| (8) In the case of permits issued under this section
prior to the effective date of this amendment which require pressure
testing more frequently than once every five years, the commission's
delegate may, by letter of authorization, reduce the required frequency
of pressure tests, provided that such tests are required at least
once every three years. The commission shall consider the permit to
have been amended to require pressure tests at the frequency specified
in the letter of authorization.
(k) Area Permits. A person may apply for an area permit
that authorizes injection into new or converted wells located within
the area specified in the area permit. For purposes of this subsection,
the term "permit area" shall mean the area covered or proposed to
be covered by an area permit. Except as specifically provided in this
subsection, the provisions of subsections (a) - (j) of this section
shall apply in the case of an area permit and all injection wells
converted, completed, operated, or maintained in accordance with that
permit. Except as otherwise specified in the area permit, once an
area permit has been issued, the operator may apply to operate individual
wells within the permit area as injection wells as specified in paragraph
(3) of this subsection.
(1) An application for an area permit must be accompanied
by an application for at least one injection well. The applicant must:
(A) identify the maximum number of injection wells
that will be operated within the permit area;
(B) identify the depth(s) of usable-quality water within
the permit area, as determined by the Groundwater Advisory Unit of
the Oil and Gas Division;
(C) for each existing well in the permit area that
may be converted to injection under the area permit, provide a wellbore
diagram that specifies the casing and liner sizes and depths, packer
setting depth, types and volumes of cement, and the cement tops for
the well. A single wellbore diagram may be submitted for multiple
wells that have the same configuration, provided that each well with
that type of configuration is identified on the wellbore diagram and
the diagram identifies the deepest cement top for each string of casing
among all the wells covered by that diagram.
(D) provide a wellbore diagram(s) showing the type(s)
of completion(s) that will be used for injection wells drilled after
the date the application for the area permit is filed, including casing
and liner sizes and depths and a statement indicating that such wells
will be cemented in accordance with the cementing requirements of §3.13
of this title (relating to Casing, Cementing, Drilling, and Completion
Requirements) (Statewide Rule 13);
(E) identify the type or types of fluids that are proposed
to be injected into any well within the permit area;
(F) identify the depths from top to bottom of the injection
interval throughout the permit area;
(G) specify the maximum surface injection pressure
for any well in the permit area covered by the area permit;
(H) specify the maximum amount of fluid that will be
injected daily into any individual well within the permit area as
well as the maximum cumulative amount of fluid that will be injected
daily in the permit area;
(I) in lieu of the area-of-review required under subsection
(e) of this section and subject to the area-of-review variance provisions
of subsection (e) of this section, review the data of public record
for wells that penetrate the proposed injection interval within the
permit area and the area 1/4 mile beyond the outer boundary of the
permit area to determine if all abandoned wells have been plugged
in a manner that will prevent the movement of fluids from the injection
interval into freshwater strata. The applicant shall identify in the
application the wells which appear from the review of such public
records to be unplugged or improperly plugged and any other unplugged
or improperly plugged wells of which the applicant has knowledge.
The applicant shall also identify in the application the date of plugging
of each abandoned well within the permit area and the area 1/4 mile
beyond the outer boundary of the permit area; and
(J) furnish a map showing the location of each existing
well that may be converted to injection under the area permit and
the location of each well that the operator intends, at the time of
application, to drill within the permit area for use for injection.
The map shall be keyed to identify the configuration of all such wells
as described in subparagraphs (C) and (D) of this paragraph.
(2) In lieu of the notice required under subsection
(c)(1) of this section, notice of an area permit shall be given by
providing a copy of the area permit application to each surface owner
of record within the permit area; each commission-designated operator
of a well located within one-half mile of the permit area; the county
clerk of each county in which all or part of the permit area is located;
and the city clerk or other appropriate city official of any incorporated
city which is located wholly or partially within the permit area,
on or before the date the application is mailed to or filed with the
commission. Notice of an application for an area permit shall also
be given in accordance with the requirements of subsection (c)(2).
If, in connection with a particular application, the commission or
its delegate determines that another class of persons, such as adjacent
surface owners or an appropriate underground water conservation district,
should receive notice of the application, the commission or its delegate
may require the applicant to mail or deliver a copy of the application
to members of that class.
(3) Once an area permit has been issued and except
as otherwise provided in the permit, no notice shall be required when
an application for an individual injection well permit for any well
covered by the area permit is filed.
(4) Prior to commencement of injection operations in
any well within the permit area, the operator shall file an application
for an individual well permit with the commission in Austin. The individual
well permit application shall include the following:
(A) the well identification and, for a new well, a
location plat;
(B) the location of any well drilled within 1/4 mile
of the injection well after the date of application for the area permit
and the status of any well located within 1/4 mile of the injection
well that has been abandoned since the date the area permit was issued,
including the plugging date if such well has been plugged;
(C) a description of the well configuration, including
casing and liner sizes and setting depths, the type and amount of
cement used to cement each casing string, depth of cement tops, and
tubing and packer setting depths;
(D) an application fee in the amount of $100 per well;
and
(E) any other information required by the area permit.
(5) An individual well permit may be issued by the
commission or its delegate in writing or, if no objection to the application
is made by the commission or its delegate within 20 days of receipt
of the application, the individual well permit shall be deemed issued.
(6) All individual injection wells covered by an area
permit must be permitted in accordance with the requirements of this
subsection and converted or completed, operated, maintained, and plugged
in accordance with the requirements of this section and the area permit.
(l) Gas storage operations. Storage of gas in productive
or depleted reservoirs shall be subject to the provisions of §3.96
of this title (relating to Underground Storage of Gas in Productive
or Depleted Reservoirs).
(m) Plugging. Injection wells shall be plugged upon
abandonment in accordance with §3.14 of this title (relating
to Plugging).
(n) Penalties.
(1) Violations of this section may subject the operator
to penalties and remedies specified in Title 3 of the Natural Resources
Code and any other statutes administered by the commission.
(2) The certificate of compliance for any oil, gas,
or geothermal resource well may be revoked in the manner provided
in §3.73 of this title (relating to Pipeline Connection; Cancellation
of Certificate of Compliance; Severance) for violation of this section.
|
| Source Note: The provisions of this §3.46 adopted to be effective January 1, 1976; amended to be effective April 1, 1982, 7 TexReg 655; amended to be effective January 1, 1994, 18 TexReg 8871; amended to be effective December 4, 1996, 21 TexReg 11361; amended to be effective April 7, 1998, 23 TexReg 3432; amended to be effective August 4, 1998, 23 TexReg 7768; amended to be effective December 28, 1999, 24 TexReg 11711; amended to be effective November 24, 2004, 29 TexReg 10728; amended to be effective July 2, 2012, 37 TexReg 4892; amended to be effective November 17, 2014, 39 TexReg 8988 |
