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TITLE 16ECONOMIC REGULATION
PART 1RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
CHAPTER 3OIL AND GAS DIVISION
RULE §3.1Organization Report; Retention of Records; Notice Requirements

(a) Filing requirements.

  (1) Except as provided under subsection (e) of this section, no organization, including any person, firm, partnership, joint stock association, corporation, or other organization, domestic or foreign, operating wholly or partially within this state, acting as principal or agent for another, for the purpose of performing operations within the jurisdiction of the Commission shall perform such operations without having on file with the Commission an approved organization report and financial security as required by Texas Natural Resources Code §§91.103 - 91.1091. Operations within the jurisdiction of the Commission include, but are not limited to, the following:

    (A) drilling, operating, or producing any oil, gas, geothermal resource, brine mining injection, fluid injection, or oil and gas waste disposal well;

    (B) transporting, reclaiming, treating, processing, or refining crude oil, gas and products, or geothermal resources and associated minerals;

    (C) discharging, storing, handling, transporting, reclaiming, or disposing of oil and gas waste, including hauling salt water for hire by any method other than pipeline;

    (D) operating gasoline plants, natural gas or natural gas liquids processing plants, pressure maintenance or repressurizing plants, or recycling plants;

    (E) recovering skim oil from a salt water disposal site;

    (F) nominating crude oil;

    (G) operating a directional survey company;

    (H) cleaning a reserve pit;

    (I) operating a pipeline;

    (J) operating as a cementer approved for plugging wells, operating as a cementer cementing casing strings or liners, or operating a well service company performing well stimulation activities, including hydraulic fracturing; or

    (K) operating an underground hydrocarbon or natural gas storage facility.

  (2) The Commission shall notify organizations that perform operations not included in paragraph (1)(A) - (K) of this subsection of any additional activities subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission which require the filing of the organization report. Such notification shall make the provisions of this section applicable to such activities.

  (3) Each organization performing activities subject to the jurisdiction of the Commission shall maintain a current organization report with the Commission until all duties, obligations, and liabilities incurred pursuant to Commission rules, the Natural Resources Code, Titles 3 (Subtitles A, B, C, and Chapter 111 of Subtitle D) and 5, Texas Health and Safety Code, Chapter 401; Texas Utilities Code, §121.201, and the Water Code, Chapters 26, 27, and 29, are fulfilled.

  (4) The organization report shall contain the following information:

    (A) the name, street address, mailing address, telephone number, and emergency after-hours telephone number of the organization;

    (B) the plan of the business organization;

    (C) for each officer, director, general partner, owner of more than 25% ownership interest, or trustee (hereinafter controlling entity) of the organization:

      (i) that entity's or individual's full legal name, the name(s) under which such entity or individual conducts business in the State of Texas, and all assumed names;

      (ii) the following:

        (I) if the entity is an individual, his or her social security number. Any individual who does not have a valid social security number shall submit, at that person's option, either his or her valid driver's license or Texas State Identification number;

        (II) if the entity is not an individual, the name and, at that person's option, either the valid driver's license, social security, or Texas Identification number of each officer, director, or other person, who, under Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.114, holds a position of ownership or control of the organization, or an active P-5 number for that entity. All controlling entities connected to an organization which are not individuals shall provide the identification of the individuals in ownership or control of those entities.

      (iii) a street address different than that of the organization; and

      (iv) if different from the mailing address of the organization, a mailing address;

    (D) if a foreign or nonresident organization, the name and street address of a resident agent.

    (E) the name of any non-employee agent that the organization authorizes to act for the organization in signing Oil and Gas Division certificates of compliance which initially designate the operator or change the designation of the operator. Organizations may designate non-employee agents to execute subsequent organization reports. That designation shall be authorized by the organization and not by a non-employee agent.

  (5) Any organization may designate a resident agent with a street address different than that of the organization in place of submitting the street addresses of the three (if applicable) primary controlling entities of the organization. Any foreign or nonresident organization identified in paragraph (1) of this subsection shall designate and maintain a resident agent upon whom may be served any process, notice, or demand required or permitted by law to be served upon such entity by or on behalf of the Commission. Failure of such organization to designate and maintain a resident agent shall render the organization report invalid. (Reference Order Number 20-60,617, effective January 1, 1971.)

  (6) Failure by any organization identified in paragraph (1) of this subsection to answer any subpoena, commission to take deposition, or directive to appear at a hearing served upon such organization by or on behalf of the Commission shall render the organization report invalid.

  (7) An organization shall refile an organization report annually according to the schedule assigned by the Commission. Prior to the filing date, the Commission shall mail notification and information to each organization for update of the organization report file. An organization shall file an amended organization report within 15 days after a change in any information required to be reported in the organization report. Only address changes may be made by letter.

  (8) The Commission shall meet any requirement under statute or Commission rule for an order to be sent or notice to be given by the Commission to an organization by mailing the item to the organization's mailing address shown on the most recently filed organization report or the most recently filed letter notification of change of address. Notices sent by regular first-class mail shall be presumed to have been received if, upon arrival of the deadline for any response to the notice, the wrapper containing the notice has not been returned to the Commission. Any Commission action or proceeding for which notice is required shall go forward on the basis of the notice provided under this subsection, whether or not actual notice has been received. Service of notices and orders sent by certified mail is effective upon:

    (A) acceptance of the item by any person at the address;

    (B) initial failure to claim or refusal to accept the item by any person at the address prior to its eventual return to the Commission by the United States Postal Service; or

    (C) return of the item to the Commission by the United States Postal Service bearing a notation such as "addressee unknown," "no forwarding address," "forwarding order expired," or any similar notation indicating that the organization's mailing address shown on the most recently filed organization report or address change notification letter is incorrect.

  (9) An organization may also designate to the Commission in writing a specified address for all Commission correspondence relating to a particular district. If designated by an operator, this specified address shall be used in lieu of the organization address for any notices, other than hearing notices, pertaining to that district.

  (10) The Commission may return, unapproved, to the organization address an organization report which is submitted to the Commission not fully completed according to the report's written instructions and not timely corrected. In the event that the Commission returns an organization report, all submitted financial assurances shall remain non-refundable. If an organization report approved by the Commission is found to contain information that was materially false at the time it was submitted for approval, the Commission may suspend or revoke the organization report after notice and opportunity for hearing.

Cont'd...

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