The Railroad Commission of Texas (RCC), through the Oil and Gas Division, administers oil and gas exploration, development, and production operations, except for oil and gas leasing, royalty payments, surface damages through oil and gas operations, and operator-landowner contracts. The RCC and the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), formerly, the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission (TNRCC), have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding clarifying jurisdiction over oil field wastes generated in connection with oil and gas exploration, development, and production. The RCC Oil and Gas Division operates nine district offices, each staffed with field enforcement and support personnel.

Contact

Railroad Commission of Texas
Oil & Gas Division
P.O. Box 12967
Austin, TX 78711-2967
(512) 463-6887 (phone)

Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 13087
Austin, TX 78711-3087 (mailing address)

12100 Park 35 Circle
Austin, TX 78753 (street address)
(512) 239-1000 (phone)

Produced Water Management Practices and Applicable Regulations

The state wide rules (SWRs) relative to oil and gas operations under the jurisdiction of the RCC are found in Title 16 (Economic Regulation), Part 1 (Railroad Commission of Texas), Chapter 3 (Oil and Gas Division) of the Texas Administrative Code. The SWRs are available online through the viewer at the Secretary of State's website.

• Rule §3.8 (Water Protection) governs discharge of produced water.
  • Pollution prohibition (Rule 8(b))
    • No person may cause or allow pollution of surface or subsurface water.
      
    
    
  • Pollution control (Rule 8(d))
    • Any person is prohibited from using an unpermitted carrier or receiver to transport, store, handle, treat, or dispose of produced water if the carrier or receiver is required to have a permit (Rule 8(d)(5)).
      
    • A permit to dispose of oil and gas wastes by any method, including disposal into a pit, may be issued only if the commission determines that the disposal will not result in the pollution of surface or subsurface water (Rule 8(d)(6), Form H-11, Requirements for a Permit Application to Discharge Produced Water to Inland Waters, Requirements for a Permit Application to Land Apply Produced Water).
      
    • The permitting process includes standards for issuance; application; notice; protests and hearings; modifications, suspension, and termination; emergency permits, and minor permits.
      
    
    
  • Pollution Prevention (Rule 8(e))
    • The operator shall not pollute the waters of the Texas offshore and adjacent estuarine zones (saltwater bearing bays, inlets, and estuaries) or damage the aquatic life therein.
      
    • All oil, gas, and geothermal resource well drilling and producing operations shall be conducted in such a manner to preclude the pollution of the waters of the Texas offshore and adjacent estuarine zones.
      
    • The disposal of liquid waste material into the Texas offshore and adjacent estuarine zones shall be limited to saltwater and other materials that have been treated, when necessary, for the removal of constituents that may be harmful to aquatic life or injurious to life or property.
      
    • Requirements for a Permit Application to Discharge Produced Water to the Gulf of Mexico
      
    
    
  • Oil and gas waste haulers ((Rule 8(f), Form WH-1, Form WH-2, Form WH 3).
    • The regulations require haulers to be permitted and keep records.
      
  
  
  • Rule §3.9 (Disposal Wells) governs disposal by injection into a porous formation not productive of oil, gas, or geothermal resources. All applications, including those with respect to commercial disposal wells, require permits from the RRC. This includes disposal into highly porous cap rock formations along the Gulf Coast as well as disposal into salt caverns.
    
    • The rule addresses filing of applications (Form W-14); notice and opportunity for hearing; protested applications; geological requirements; special equipment requirements (e.g., tubing and packer); and modification, suspension, or termination of permits for one or more of several causes.
      
    • The rule also provides instructions regarding records maintenance, monitoring and reporting, testing, and plugging.
      
    • The rule specifies consequences of noncompliance, including penalties and permit revocation.
      
    
    
  • Rule §3.46 (Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs) provides the requirements for fluid injection into reservoirs productive of oil, gas, or geothermal resources.
    
    • The rule addresses the application process (Form H-1, Form H-1A); notice and opportunity for hearing; protested applications; special equipment requirements (e.g., tubing and packer) and modification, suspension, or termination of permits for one or more of several causes.; and modification, suspension, or termination of permits for one or more of several causes.
      
    • The rule also provides instructions regarding records maintenance, monitoring and reporting, testing, and plugging.
      
    • The rule specifies consequences of noncompliance, including penalties and permit revocation.
      
    
    
  • Rule §3.47 (Allowable Transfers for Saltwater Injection Wells) states that an allowable transfer will not be authorized for a well converted from oil production to saltwater disposal.
    
    • However, an operator may make application to use the well for dual-purpose waterflood and saltwater disposal if injection is into an oil productive zone, and it is shown that the water injection will not injure the reservoir but will probably be of benefit to the reservoir as a secondary recovery program, even though the beneficial effect of the water injection cannot be readily determined.
      
    
    
  • Rule §3.78 (Fees and Financial Security Requirements) defines a commercial facility as 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:
    
    • The facility is permitted under §3.8 (relating to Water Protection);
      
    • The facility is permitted under §3.9 (relating to Disposal Wells) and a collecting pit permitted under §3.8 is located at the facility; or
      
    • The facility is permitted under §3.46 (relating to Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs) and a collecting pit permitted under §3.8 is located at the facility.
      
    
    
  • Although the EPA has approved National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting authority for Texas in general, the approval does not cover oil and gas discharges in Texas. The NPDES authority for oil and gas discharges remains with EPA Region 6, which has issued several general permits:
    
    • Region 6, Final NPDES General Permit for New and Existing Sources and New Dischargers in the Offshore Subcategory of the Oil and Gas Extraction Category for the Western Portion of the Outer Continental Shelf of the Gulf of Mexico, GMG290000
      
    • Region 6, Final NPDES General Permit for Discharges from the Offshore Subcategory Of The Oil And Gas Extraction Point Source Category To The Territorial Seas Off Texas, TXG260000
      
    • Region 6, Final NPDES General Permit for Discharges From the Oil and Gas Extraction Point Source Category to Coastal Waters in Texas, TXG330000
      

  Other Publications

  • The documents Underground Injection Control Manual, and Surface Waste Management Manual can be viewed at the RCC's website.
  
  
  
  • Also, the RRC's Waste Minimization Program web page offers the manual Waste Minimization in the Oil Field, the Annotated Bibliography of Waste Minimization Technology for Crude Oil and Natural Gas Exploration, Production, and Pipeline Transportation Operations, "Useful Links for Waste Minimization Assistance," and the waste minimization planning software 'WasteMin'.