Texas Underground Injection Control Program 2015 TCEQ Environmental Conference and Trade Fair May 6, 2015 Lorrie Council, P.G., Manager, UIC Permits Section.

Texas Underground Injection Control Program 2015

TCEQ Environmental Conference and Trade Fair May 6, 2015

Lorrie Council, P.G., Manager, UIC Permits SectionJan Bates, P.E., UIC Permits Section Project Manager

Radioactive Materials DivisionOffice of Waste

UIC Program Overview

TCEQ Regulates RRC Regulates None in TX

TCEQ Well Inventory by Class

Well Class

Type of Injection Well Number of Facilities

Active Wells

Wells Temp. Abandoned

I Hazardous Waste Disposal

24 59 5

I Nonhazardous Waste Disposal

27 48 2

III In Situ Mining 7 7,008 -

IV Prohibited (unless specifically authorized)

6 140 -

V Miscellaneous Wells (~21 subclasses)

2,422 43,502 -

Total No. Facilities and Wells (as reported to EPA in February

2015)

2,486 50,757 7

UIC Class I Permit Applications and Permits Issued in 2014

Class I Applications Class I Permits

New Permit 12 New Permit 0

Permit Renewal 8 Permit Renewal 5

Permit Renewal/Major Amend 6 Permit Renewal/Major Amend 0

Permit Renewal/Minor Amend 0 Permit Renewal/Minor Amend 0

Major Amendment 1 Major Amendment 0

Minor Amendment 1 Minor Amendment 0

Minor Modification 24 Minor Modification 24

Endorsement 7 Endorsement 7

Transfer 11 Transfer 6

PIU Registration New/Renewal 2 PIU Registration New/Renewal 1

PIU Minor Amendment 5 PIU Minor Amendment 4

Class I Highlights

TCEQ received a large number of new Class I permit applications; some for new facilities, others as replacements for old wells (half of active wells are > 30 years old). TCEQ also processed 24 minor modifications related to workovers

Railroad Commission “No-Harm” letters were initially not granted for a few applications due to presence of newer Oil & Gas wells in Texas (production from new petroleum reservoirs); this required Class I applicants to provide more detailed information to Railroad Commission for their evaluation

TCEQ successfully flowed Class I injection well permit data to EPA in 2014 using the NEIEN dataflow process

UIC Class III Applications and Permits Issued in 2014

Class III Applications Class III Permits

New Area Permit 2 New Area Permit 0

Area Permit Renewal 1 Area Permit Renewal 2

Permit Renewal/Major Amend 0 Permit Renewal/Major Amend 0

Production Area Authorization 0 Production Area Authorization 1Major Amendment 0 Major Amendment 1

Permit or PAA Minor Amend 3 Permit or PAA Minor Amend 3

Permit or PAA Minor Mod 3 Permit or PAA Minor Mod 3

Endorsement 0 Endorsement 0

Transfer 0 Transfer 0

Aquifer Exemption 0 Aquifer Exemption 0

Class III Highlights

TCEQ’s UIC Program coordinated more closely with EPA Region 6 to facilitate EPA’s review and approval of UIC Program revision requests related to Aquifer Exemptions at Class III in-situ uranium mines.

TCEQ/EPA site visit to the Mesteña mine to view proposed exempted area and nearby wells (non-potable)TCEQ began early coordination with EPA for the Palangaña mine to provide technical information related to a proposed exemption expansion, nearby wells, groundwater flow, etc.

EPA Region 6 approved two aquifer exemption related UIC Program revision requests in 2014/2015:

Rosita Expansion (Requested 5/20/10;Approved 1/30/14)Mesteña Expansion (Requested 5/7/13; Approved 9/25/14)La Palangana Expansion (Requested 12/5/14; Approved 3/26/15)

UIC Class V Authorizations 2014

Class V Well TypeNumber of Authorizations & Amendments

Number of Associated Wells

Aquifer Recharge 5R21 1 1

Aquifer Remediation 5X26 67 1,578

Other Wells 5X27 2 5

Total 70 1,584

70 Voluntary Revocation Applications Processed - All Were Aquifer Remediation Authorizations (most related to UIC outreach efforts)

Class V Inventory Initiative

TCEQ was able to use a student intern in 2014 to conduct a pilot program for a new initiative to review Class V authorization files, obtain updated information from regulated entities, and update TCEQ’s databases

TCEQ met with EPA Region 6 and HQ staff to discuss challenges with electronic reporting and to conceptually lay out a simple data reporting project

TCEQ requested UIC Special Project funding from EPA Region 6 and was granted a partial award for FY16 to expand the Class V authorization research and database update initiative, with a longer-term focus on electronic data reporting to EPA

Injection Well Usage Trends

Municipal water providers, industry, and agriculture sectors expressed interest in developing Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) projects in Texas as a water management tool (legislation on ASR was introduced in the 84th Texas Legislature)

Water providers continue to express interest in desalinating brackish groundwater and seawater to create new water supplies, as well as using injection wells to dispose drinking water treatment residuals (DWTR) (legislation was introduced in the 84th Texas Legislature on desalination)

TCEQ and Texas Railroad Commission, in consultation with EPA Region 6 and Oklahoma DEQ, evaluated dual permitting of Class II salt water disposal wells and Class V wells for disposal of DWTR (legislation was introduced the 84th Texas Legislature on dual permitting)

UIC Related Rule Revisions

HB 1079 (83rd Texas Legislature) regarding when contested case hearings can be considered for Class III Production Area Authorizations and use of Range Tables in Class III mine area permits – adopted 11/19/14, effective 12/11/14

SB 1532 (83rd Texas Legislature) concerning limited new authorizations for injection into and through the Edwards Aquifer in specific locations – to be considered for adoption at the Commission’s 6/3/15 Agenda

Focus on In-Situ Uranium Mining

During its February 2014 periodic program evaluation of the Texas Agreement State Programs, the Nuclear Regulatory Commission closely reviewed TCEQ’s UIC uranium mining regulatory program(Class III and Class I injection well permits and facilities); NRC found the UIC Program to be satisfactory

EPA proposed new rules on 1/27/15 relating to groundwater restoration standards for in-situ uranium mining operations; the proposed federal rules would require substantial revisions to the Texas Class III UIC and Uranium Licensing rules; EPA’s deadline for comments on the proposed rules is 5/27/15

TCEQ UIC Permits Section Staffing Update

UIC Permits Section recently added new technical staff to address retirements and transfers that occurred in the last few years; Staffing now includes:

1 Section Manager (TX PG)7 Geologists (TX PGs)3 Engineers (TX PEs)1 Environmental Permit Specialist1 Customer Service Rep (part-time, contract)

Questions?

UIC Program Contact Information

Lorrie Council, PG, Manager

UIC Permits Section

Radioactive Materials Division, Office of Waste

Phone: 512-239-6461, Fax: 512-239-6464

Email: [email protected]

http://www.tceq.texas.gov

http://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/waste_permits/uic_permits/uic.html