| (5) the closure plan, corrective action plan, and post-closure
plan submitted in the technical report accompanying the permit application;
except that a post-closure plan is not required for those Class I
wells authorized to inject only nonhazardous desalination concentrate
or nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals; and
(6) any additional information required by the executive
director for the evaluation of the proposed injection well.
(b) In determining whether the use or installation
of an injection well is in the public interest under Texas Water Code, §27.051(a)(1),
the commission shall also consider:
(1) the compliance history of the applicant in accordance
with Texas Water Code, §27.051(e) and §281.21(d) of this
title (relating to Draft Permit, Technical Summary, Fact Sheet, and
Compliance History);
(2) whether there is a practical, economic and feasible
alternative to an injection well reasonably available to manage the
types and classes of hazardous waste;
(3) if the injection well will be used for the disposal
of hazardous waste, whether the applicant will maintain liability
coverage for bodily injury and property damage to third parties that
is caused by sudden and nonsudden accidents in accordance with Chapter
37 of this title (relating to Financial Assurance); and
(4) that any permit issued for a Class I injection
well for disposal of hazardous wastes generated on site requires a
certification by the owner or operator that:
(A) the generator of the waste has a program to reduce
the volume or quantity and toxicity of such waste to the degree determined
by the generator to economically practicable; and
(B) injection of the waste is that practicable method
of disposal currently available to the generator which minimizes the
present and future threat to human health and the environment.
(c) The commission shall consider the following minimum
criteria for siting before issuing a Class I injection well permit
for all Class I wells except those Class I wells authorized to inject
only nonhazardous desalination concentrate or nonhazardous drinking
water treatment residuals. For Class I wells authorized to inject
only nonhazardous desalination concentrate or nonhazardous drinking
water treatment residuals, only paragraph (1) of this subsection applies.
(1) All Class I injection wells shall be sited such
that they inject into a formation that is beneath the lowermost formation
containing, within 1/4 mile of the wellbore, a USDW or freshwater
aquifer.
(2) The siting of Class I injection wells shall be
limited to areas that are geologically suitable. The executive director
shall determine geologic suitability based upon:
(A) an analysis of the structural and stratigraphic
geology, the hydrogeology, and the seismicity of the region;
(B) an analysis of the local geology and hydrogeology
of the well site, including, at a minimum, detailed information regarding
stratigraphy, structure, and rock properties, aquifer hydrodynamics,
and mineral resources; and
(C) a determination that the geology of the area can
be described confidently and that limits of waste fate and transport
can be accurately predicted through the use of analytical and numerical
models.
(3) Class I injection wells shall be sited such that:
(A) the injection zone has sufficient permeability,
porosity, thickness, and areal extent to prevent migration of fluids
into USDWs or freshwater aquifers;
(B) the confining zone:
(i) is laterally continuous and free of transecting,
transmissive faults or fractures over an area sufficient to prevent
the movement of fluids into a USDW or freshwater aquifer; and
(ii) contains at least one formation of sufficient
thickness and with lithologic and stress characteristics capable of
preventing initiation and/or propagation of fractures.
(4) The owner or operator shall demonstrate to the
satisfaction of the executive director that:
(A) the confining zone is separated from the base of
the lowermost USDW or freshwater aquifer by at least one sequence
of permeable and less permeable strata that will provide an added
layer of protection for the USDW or freshwater aquifer in the event
of fluid movement in an unlocated borehole or transmissive fault;
or
(B) within the area of review, the piezometric surface
of the fluid in the injection zone is less than the piezometric surface
of the lowermost USDW or freshwater aquifer, considering density effects,
injection pressures, and any significant pumping in the overlying
USDW or freshwater aquifer; or
(C) there is no USDW or freshwater aquifer present;
(D) the commission may approve a site which does not
meet the requirements in subparagraphs (A), (B), or (C) of this paragraph
if the owner or operator can demonstrate to the commission that because
of the geology, nature of the waste, or other considerations, that
abandoned boreholes or other conduits would not cause endangerment
of USDWs, and fresh or surface water.
(d) The commission shall also consider the following
additional information, which must be submitted in the technical report
of the application as part of demonstrating that the facility will
meet the performance standard in §331.162 of this title (relating
to Performance Standard), before issuing a salt dome cavern Class
I injection well permit:
(1) a thorough characterization of the salt dome to
establish the geologic suitability of the location, including:
(A) data and interpretation from all appropriate geophysical
methods (such as well logs, seismic surveys, and gravity surveys),
subject to the approval of the executive director, necessary to:
(i) map the overall geometry of the salt dome, including
all edges and any suspected overhangs of the salt stock;
(ii) demonstrate the existence of a minimum distance
of 500 feet between the boundaries of the proposed salt dome cavern
injection zone and the boundaries of the salt stock;
(iii) define the composition and map the top and thickness
of the sedimentary rock units between the caprock and surface, including
the flanks of the salt stock;
(iv) define the composition and map the top and thickness
of the caprock overlying the salt stock;
(v) map the top of the salt stock;
(vi) calculate the movement and the salt loss rate
of the salt stock;
(vii) define any other caverns and other uses of the
salt dome, and address any conditions that may result in potential
adverse impact on the salt dome; and
(viii) satisfy any other requirement of the executive
director necessary to demonstrate the geologic suitability of the
location;
(B) a surface-recorded three-dimensional seismic survey,
subject to the following minimum requirements:
(i) the lateral extent of the survey will be determined
by the executive director; and
(ii) the survey must provide information as part of
demonstrating that the location is geologically suitable for the purpose
of meeting the performance standard in §331.162 of this title;
(C) identification of any unusual features, such as
depressions or lineations observable at the land surface or within
or detectable within the subsurface, which may be indicative of underlying
anomalies in the caprock or salt stock, which might affect construction,
operation, or closure of the cavern;
(D) the petrology of the caprock, salt stock, and deformed
strata; and
(E) for strata surrounding the salt stock, information
on their nature, structure, hydrodynamic properties, and relationships
to USDWs, including a demonstration that the proposed salt dome cavern
injection zone will not be in or above a formation which within 1/4
mile of the salt dome cavern injection zone contains a USDW;
(2) establishment of a pre-development baseline for
subsidence and groundwater monitoring, over the area of review;
(3) characterization of the predicted impact of the
proposed operations on the salt stock, specifically the extent of
the disturbed zone;
(4) demonstration of adequate separation between the
outer limits of the injection zone and any other activities in the
domal area. The thickness of the disturbed zone, as well as any additional
safety factors will be taken into consideration; and
(5) the commission will consider the presence of salt
cavern storage activities, sulfur mining, salt mining, brine production,
oil and gas activity, and any other activity which may adversely affect
or be affected by waste disposal in a salt cavern.
(e) Information requirements for Class I hazardous
waste injection well permits.
Cont'd... |
