Texas Administrative Code › Title 31 - NATURAL RESOURCES AND CONSERVATION › Part 1 - GENERAL LAND OFFICE › Chapter 19 - OIL SPILL PREVENTION AND RESPONSE › Subchapter B - SPILL PREVENTION AND PREPAREDNESS › Section 19.12 - Facility Certification Requirements

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) Applicability. This section applies to
				  any person who operates a waterfront or offshore facility. If an operator
				  controls part of a facility which is waterfront or offshore, the entire
				  facility in which oil is handled or stored under the control of that operator
				  must be covered by the discharge prevention and response certificate.
				  Pipelines, flowlines, gathering lines, or transmission lines that transfer oil
				  across an area of coastal waters are considered facilities. A combination of
				  interrelated or adjacent tanks, impoundments, pipelines, gathering lines, flow
				  lines, separator or treatment facilities, and other structures, equipment, or
				  devices under common ownership or operation will be considered a single
				  facility under OSPRA. Interrelated means the devices are all an integral part
				  of one commercial or industrial operation or are managed and controlled by a
				  single entity. The term includes facilities owned by units of federal, state,
				  or local government, as well as privately owned facilities.
(b) Current certificate and implementation of
				  certified plan required to operate. No entity may operate a waterfront or
				  offshore facility without implementing a current discharge prevention and
				  response plan that has been certified by the GLO. This requirement does not
				  apply, however, to an entity that operates a facility and has obtained a waiver
				  from the facility certification requirement pursuant to §
										19.4 of this
				  title (relating to Waiver) or if an exemption applies to the
				  facility.
(c) Certificate void when
				  operator changes or facility classification level increases. A discharge
				  prevention and response certificate is issued to a specific operator and for a
				  particular facility classification level. When the operator of a facility
				  changes, the discharge prevention and response certificate is void. The new
				  operator of the facility will need to submit an application for a certificate
				  to the GLO before beginning to operate the facility. A certificate is also void
				  when the facility changes its operations in a manner that increases its
				  facility classification level. If an operator increases storage capacity or
				  installs new oil transfer lines at a facility, causing the facility
				  classification to change from small to intermediate or large or from
				  intermediate to large, the operator will need to apply for a new certificate in
				  accordance with 31 TAC § 19.12(d).
(d) Obtaining a discharge prevention and
				  response certificate.
(1) The operator of a
				  facility must apply for a discharge prevention and response certificate by
				  submitting a completed application form to the GLO. Application forms are
				  available from the General Land Office, Oil Spill Prevention and Response
				  Program, 1700 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1495 or from any
				  regional office of the GLO. The application form can also be downloaded from
				  the GLO's Oil Spill Prevention and Response Program website,
www.glo.texas.gov/
.
(2) The certificate application must be
				  signed by a representative of the facility operator who has approved the
				  facility's discharge prevention and response plan and has the authority to
				  commit the necessary resources to implement the plan.
(3) After consultation with the GLO, the
				  applicant must prepare and implement a discharge prevention and response plan
				  that meets the requirements of §
											19.13
				  of this title (relating to Requirements for Discharge Prevention and Response
				  Plans) and make the plan available to the GLO for review.