Source: https://texreg.sos.state.tx.us/public/readtac$ext.TacPage?sl=T&app=9&p_dir=F&p_rloc=161466&p_tloc=14678&p_ploc=1&pg=15&p_tac=&ti=16&pt=1&ch=3&rl=13
Timestamp: 2019-09-21 04:45:43
Document Index: 258963530

Matched Legal Cases: ['§3', '§3', '§3', '§4', '§3', '§3', '§3']

(42) Non-commercial fluid recycling pit--Pit used in conjunction with one or more oil or gas leases or units that is constructed, maintained, and operated by the operator of record of the lease or unit and is located on an existing commission-designated lease or drilling unit associated with a commission-issued drilling permit, or upon land leased or owned by the operator for the purposes of operation of a non-commercial disposal well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.9 of this title or a non-commercial injection well operated pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title, for the storage of fluid for the purpose of non-commercial fluid recycling or for the storage of treated fluid.
(43) Recycle--To process and/or use or re-use oil and gas wastes as a product for which there is a legitimate commercial use and the actual use of the recyclable product. 'Recycle,' as defined in this subsection, does not include injection pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title.
(44) Treated fluid-Fluid that has been treated using water treatment technologies to remove impurities such that the treated fluid can be reused or recycled. Treated fluid is not a waste but may become a waste if it is abandoned or disposed of rather than reused or recycled.
(45) Recyclable product--A reusable material as defined in §4.204(12) of this title (relating to Definitions).
(47) Distilled water--Water that has been purified by being heated to a vapor form and then condensed into another container as liquid water that is essentially free of all solutes.
(c) Exploratory wells. Any oil, gas, or geothermal resource well or well drilled for exploratory purposes shall be governed by the provisions of statewide or field rules which are applicable and pertain to the drilling, safety, casing, production, abandoning, and plugging of wells.
(d) Pollution control.
(1) Prohibited disposal methods. Except for those disposal methods authorized for certain wastes by paragraph (3) of this subsection, subsection (e) of this section, or §3.98 of this title (relating to Standards for Management of Hazardous Oil and Gas Waste), or disposal methods required to be permitted pursuant to §3.9 of this title (relating to Disposal Wells) (Rule 9) or §3.46 of this title (relating to Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs) (Rule 46), no person may dispose of any oil and gas wastes by any method without obtaining a permit to dispose of such wastes. The disposal methods prohibited by this paragraph include, but are not limited to, the unpermitted discharge of oil field brines, geothermal resource waters, or other mineralized waters, or drilling fluids into any watercourse or drainageway, including any drainage ditch, dry creek, flowing creek, river, or any other body of surface water.
(2) Prohibited pits. No person may maintain or use any pit for storage of oil or oil products. Except as authorized by this subsection, no person may maintain or use any pit for storage of oil field fluids, or for storage or disposal of oil and gas wastes, without obtaining a permit to maintain or use the pit. A person is not required to have a permit to use a pit if a receiver has such a permit, if the person complies with the terms of such permit while using the pit, and if the person has permission of the receiver to use the pit. The pits required by this paragraph to be permitted include, but are not limited to, the following types of pits: saltwater disposal pits; emergency saltwater storage pits; collecting pits; skimming pits; brine pits; brine mining pits; drilling fluid storage pits (other than mud circulation pits); drilling fluid disposal pits (other than reserve pits or slush pits); washout pits; and gas plant evaporation/retention pits. If a person maintains or uses a pit for storage of oil field fluids, or for storage or disposal of oil and gas wastes, and the use or maintenance of the pit is neither authorized by this subsection nor permitted, then the person maintaining or using the pit shall backfill and compact the pit in the time and manner required by the director. Prior to backfilling the pit, the person maintaining or using the pit shall, in a permitted manner or in a manner authorized by paragraph (3) of this subsection, dispose of all oil and gas wastes which are in the pit.
(A) Fresh water condensate. A person may, without a permit, dispose of fresh water which has been condensed from natural gas and collected at gas pipeline drips or gas compressor stations, provided the disposal is by a method other than disposal into surface water of the state.
(B) Inert wastes. A person may, without a permit, dispose of inert and essentially insoluble oil and gas wastes including, but not limited to, concrete, glass, wood, and wire, provided the disposal is by a method other than disposal into surface water of the state.
(E) Completion/workover pit wastes. A person may, without a permit, dispose of the following oil and gas wastes by burial in a completion/workover pit, provided the wastes have been dewatered, and provided the wastes are disposed of at the same well site where they are generated: spent completion fluids, workover fluids, and the materials cleaned out of the wellbore of a well being completed or worked over.
(F) Contents of non-commercial fluid recycling pit. A person may, without a permit, dispose of the solids from a non-commercial fluid recycling pit by burial in the pit, provided the pit has been dewatered.
(G) Effect on backfilling. A person's choice to dispose of a waste by methods authorized by this paragraph shall not extend the time allowed for backfilling any reserve pit, mud circulation pit, or completion/workover pit whose use or maintenance is authorized by paragraph (4) of this subsection.
(4) Authorized pits. A person may, without a permit, maintain or use reserve pits, mud circulation pits, completion/workover pits, basic sediment pits, flare pits, fresh makeup water pits, fresh mining water pits, non-commercial fluid recycling pits, and water condensate pits on the following conditions.
(A) Reserve pits and mud circulation pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a reserve pit or mud circulation pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes, other than the following:
(i) drilling fluids, whether fresh water base, saltwater base, or oil base;
(ii) drill cuttings, sands, and silts separated from the circulating drilling fluids;
(iii) wash water used for cleaning drill pipe and other equipment at the well site;
(iv) drill stem test fluids; and
(v) blowout preventer test fluids.
(B) Completion/workover pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a completion/workover pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes other than spent completion fluids, workover fluid, and the materials cleaned out of the wellbore of a well being completed or worked over.
(C) Basic sediment pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a basic sediment pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes other than basic sediment removed from a production vessel or from the bottom of an oil storage tank. Although a person may store basic sediment in a basic sediment pit, a person may not deposit oil or free saltwater in the pit. The total capacity of a basic sediment pit shall not exceed a capacity of 50 barrels. The area covered by a basic sediment pit shall not exceed 250 square feet.
(D) Flare pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a flare pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes other than the hydrocarbons designed to go to the flare during upset conditions at the well, tank battery, or gas plant where the pit is located. A person shall not store liquid hydrocarbons in a flare pit for more than 48 hours at a time.
(E) Fresh makeup water pits and fresh mining water pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a fresh makeup water pit any oil and gas wastes or any oil field fluids other than fresh water used to make up drilling fluid or hydraulic fracturing fluid. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a fresh mining water pit any oil and gas wastes or any oil field fluids other than water used for solution mining of brine.
(F) Water condensate pits. A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a water condensate pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes other than fresh water condensed from natural gas and collected at gas pipeline drips or gas compressor stations.
(G) Non-commercial fluid recycling pits.
(i) A person shall not deposit or cause to be deposited into a non-commercial fluid recycling pit any oil field fluids or oil and gas wastes other than those fluids described in subsection (a)(42) of this section.
(ii) All pits shall be sufficiently large to ensure adequate storage capacity and freeboard taking into account anticipated precipitation.
(iii) All pits shall be designed to prevent stormwater runoff from entering the pit. If a pit is constructed with a dike or berm, the height, slope, and construction material of such dike or berm shall be such that it is structurally sound and does not allow seepage.
(iv) A freeboard of at least two feet shall be maintained at all times.
(v) All pits shall be lined. The liner shall be designed, constructed, and installed to prevent any migration of materials from the pit into adjacent subsurface soils, ground water, or surface water at any time during the life of the pit. The liner shall be installed according to standard industry practices, shall be constructed of materials that have sufficient chemical and physical properties, including thickness, to prevent failure during the expected life of the pit. All liners shall have a hydraulic conductivity that is 1.0 x 10-7 cm/sec or less. A liner may be constructed of either natural or synthetic materials.
(I) Procedures shall be in place to routinely monitor the integrity of the liner of pit. If liner failure is discovered at any time, the pit shall be emptied and the liner repaired prior to placing the pit back in service. Acceptable monitoring procedures include an annual visual inspection of the pit liner or the installation of a double liner and leak detection system. Alternative monitoring procedures may be approved by the director if the operator demonstrates that the alternative is at least equivalent in the protection of surface and subsurface water as the provisions of this section.
(II) The liner of a pit with a single liner shall be inspected annually to ensure that the liner has not failed. This inspection shall be completed by emptying the pit and visually inspecting the liner.
(III) If the operator does not propose to empty the pit and inspect the pit liner on at least an annual basis, the operator shall install a double liner and leak detection system. A leak detection system shall be installed between a primary and secondary liner. The leak detection system must be monitored on a monthly basis to determine if the primary liner has failed. The primary liner has failed if the volume of water passing through the primary liner exceeds the action leakage rate, as calculated using accepted procedures, or 1,000 gallons per acre per day, whichever is larger.
(IV) The operator of the pit shall keep records to demonstrate compliance with the pit liner integrity requirements and shall make the records available to commission personnel upon request.
(vi) The operator of the pit shall provide written notification to the district director prior to construction of the pit, or prior to the use of an existing pit as a non-commercial fluid recycling pit. Such notification shall include:
(I) the location of the pit including the lease name and number or drilling permit number and the latitude and longitude;