| (a) Definitions. The following words and terms, when
used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1) Violation--Noncompliance with a Commission rule,
order, license, permit, or certificate relating to safety or the prevention
or control of pollution.
(2) Outstanding violation--A violation for which:
(A) either:
(i) a Commission order finding a violation has been
entered and all appeals have been exhausted; or
(ii) an agreed order between the Commission and the
organization relating to a violation has been entered; and
(B) one or more of the following conditions still exist:
(i) the conditions that constituted the violation have
not been corrected;
(ii) all administrative, civil, and criminal penalties,
if any, relating to the violation of such Commission rules, orders,
licenses, permits, or certificates have not been paid; or
(iii) all reimbursements of any costs and expenses
assessed by the Commission relating to the violation of such Commission
rules, orders, licenses, permits, or certificates have not been paid.
(3) Commercial facility--A facility whose owner or
operator receives compensation from others for the storage, reclamation,
treatment, or disposal of oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes that
are wholly or partially trucked or hauled to the facility and whose
primary business purpose is to provide these services for compensation
if:
(A) the facility is permitted under §3.8 of this
title (relating to Water Protection);
(B) the facility is permitted under §3.57 of this
title (relating to Reclaiming Tank Bottoms, Other Hydrocarbon Wastes,
and Other Waste Materials);
(C) the facility is permitted under §3.9 of this
title (relating to Disposal Wells) and a collecting pit permitted
under §3.8 is located at the facility; or
(D) the facility is permitted under §3.46 of this
title (relating to Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs) and
a collecting pit permitted under §3.8 is located at the facility.
(4) Financial security--An individual performance bond,
blanket performance bond, letter of credit, or cash deposit filed
with the Commission.
(5) Bay well--Any well under the jurisdiction of the
Commission for which the surface location is either:
(A) located in or on a lake, river, stream, canal,
estuary, bayou, or other inland navigable waters of the state and
which requires plugging by means other than conventional land-based
methods, including, but not limited to, use of a barge, use of a boat,
dredging, or building a causeway or other access road to bring in
the necessary equipment to plug the well; or,
(B) located on state lands seaward of the mean high
tide line of the Gulf of Mexico in water of a depth at mean high tide
of not more than 100 feet that is sheltered from the direct action
of the open seas of the Gulf of Mexico.
(6) Land well--Any well subject to Commission jurisdiction
for which the surface location is not in or on inland or coastal waters.
(7) Offshore well--Any well subject to Commission jurisdiction
for which the surface location is on state lands in or on the Gulf
of Mexico, that is not a bay well.
(8) Officers and owners--Any persons owning or controlling
an organization including officers, directors, general partners, sole
proprietors, owners of more than 25% ownership interest, any trustee
of an organization, and any person determined by a final judgment
or final administrative order to have exercised control over the organization.
(9) Letter of credit--An irrevocable letter of credit
issued:
(A) on a Commission-approved form;
(B) by and drawn on a third party bank authorized under
state or federal law to do business in Texas; and
(C) renewed and continued in effect until the conditions
of the letter of credit have been met or its release is approved by
the Commission or its authorized delegate.
(10) Bond--A surety instrument issued:
(A) on a Commission-approved form;
(B) by and drawn on a third party corporate surety
authorized under state law to issue surety bonds in Texas; and
(C) renewed and continued in effect until the conditions
of the bond have been met or its release is approved by the Commission
or its authorized delegate.
(11) Well-specific plugging insurance policy--An insurance
policy that:
(A) is approved by the Texas Department of Insurance;
(B) is issued by an insurer authorized under state
law to issue a well-specific plugging insurance policy in Texas;
(C) names the Commission as the owner and contingent
beneficiary of the policy;
(D) names a primary beneficiary who agrees to plug
the specified well bore;
(E) is fully prepaid and cannot be canceled or surrendered;
(F) provides that the policy continues in effect until
the well bore has been plugged as required by the Commission;
(G) provides that benefits will be paid when, but not
before, the specified well bore has been plugged; and
(H) provides that benefits that will equal or exceed:
(i) $2 per foot for each foot of well depth for land
wells;
(ii) $60,000 for bay wells; or
(iii) $100,000 for offshore wells.
(12) Director--The director of the Commission's Oil
and Gas Division or the director's delegate.
(13) Escrow funds--Funds deposited with the Commission
as part of an application for a plugging extension for an inactive
land well.
(14) Groundwater protection determination letter--A
letter of determination stating the total depth of surface casing
required for a well in accordance with Texas Natural Resources Code, §91.011.
(b) Filing fees. The following filing fees are required
to be paid to the Railroad Commission.
(1) With each application or materially amended application
for a permit to drill, deepen, plug back, or reenter a well, the applicant
shall submit to the Commission a nonrefundable fee of:
(A) $200 if the proposed total depth of the well is
2,000 feet or less;
(B) $225 if the proposed total depth of the well is
greater than 2,000 feet but less than or equal to 4,000 feet;
(C) $250 if the proposed total depth of the well is
greater than 4,000 feet but less than or equal to 9,000 feet; or
(D) $300 if the proposed total depth of the well is
greater than 9,000 feet.
(2) An application for a permit to drill, deepen, plug
back, or reenter a well will be considered materially amended if the
amendment is made for a purpose other than:
(A) to add omitted required information;
(B) to correct typographical errors; or
(C) to correct clerical errors.
(3) An applicant shall submit an additional nonrefundable
fee of $150 when requesting that the Commission expedite the application
for a permit to drill, deepen, plug back, or reenter a well.
(4) With each individual application for an exception
to any rule or rules in this chapter, the applicant shall submit to
the Commission a nonrefundable fee of $150, except as provided in
paragraph (5) of this subsection.
(5) With each application for an exception to any rule
or rules in this chapter that includes an exception to §3.37
of this title (relating to Statewide Spacing Rule) (Statewide Rule
37) or §3.38 of this title (relating to Well Densities) (Statewide
Rule 38), the applicant shall submit a nonrefundable fee of $200.
(6) With each application for an oil and gas waste
disposal well permit, the applicant shall submit to the Commission
a nonrefundable fee of $100 per well.
(7) With each application for a fluid injection well
permit, the applicant shall submit to the Commission a nonrefundable
fee of $200 per well. Fluid injection well means any well used to
inject fluid or gas into the ground in connection with the exploration
or production of oil or gas other than an oil and gas waste disposal
well.
(8) With each application for a permit to discharge
to surface water other than a permit for a discharge that meets national
pollutant discharge elimination system (NPDES) requirements for agricultural
or wildlife use, the applicant shall submit to the Commission a nonrefundable
fee of $300.
Cont'd... |
