79R16101 SMH-F
By: West H.B. No. 2982
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2982:
By: Gonzalez Toureilles C.S.H.B. No. 2982
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the transfer of the regulation of injection wells used
for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste from in situ
uranium mining from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
to the Railroad Commission of Texas.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 27.002(12), Water Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(12) "Extraction of minerals" means the use of an
injection well for the development or recovery of natural resources
other than resources subject to the jurisdiction of the railroad
commission, and includes solution mining of minerals[, in situ
uranium mining,] and mining of sulfur by the Frasch process, but
does not include the solution mining of salt when leaching a cavern
for the storage of hydrocarbons.
SECTION 2. The heading to Subchapter C, Chapter 27, Water
Code, is amended to read as follows:
SUBCHAPTER C. JURISDICTION OF RAILROAD COMMISSION [OIL AND GAS
WASTE]
SECTION 3. Section 27.033, Water Code, is amended to read as
follows:
Sec. 27.033. LETTER FROM EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR. A person
making application to the railroad commission for a permit under
this chapter shall submit with the application a letter from the
executive director stating that drilling and using the disposal
well and injecting oil and gas waste or waste from in situ uranium
mining into the subsurface stratum will not endanger the freshwater
strata in that area and that the formation or stratum to be used for
the disposal is not freshwater sand.
SECTION 4. Subchapter C, Chapter 27, Water Code, is amended
by adding Sections 27.037 and 27.038 to read as follows:
Sec. 27.037. JURISDICTION OVER IN SITU URANIUM MINING. (a)
The railroad commission has jurisdiction over in situ uranium
mining and may issue permits for injection wells used for in situ
uranium mining and injection wells used for the disposal of waste
from in situ uranium mining.
(b) A person may not begin to drill an injection well to be
used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste from in
situ uranium mining unless that person holds a permit for the well
issued by the railroad commission under this chapter.
(c) The railroad commission shall adopt rules that are
necessary to administer and regulate in situ uranium mining and
injection wells used for the disposal of waste from in situ uranium
mining.
(d) For purposes of regulation by the railroad commission:
(1) an injection well used for in situ uranium mining
is designated as a Class III well under the underground injection
control program administered by the railroad commission; and
(2) an injection well used for the disposal of waste
from in situ uranium mining is designated as a Class I injection
well under the underground injection control program administered
by the railroad commission.
Sec. 27.038. AUTHORIZATION FOR AREA-WIDE IN SITU MINING OF
RADIOACTIVE SUBSTANCES. (a) As a component of an injection well
permit, the railroad commission may issue an authorization for in
situ mining of radioactive substances in a specified production
area. The authorization may require additional administrative
approval of the railroad commission but may not require an
additional hearing for the permit holder to conduct in situ mining
in the production area.
(b) Except as an exercise of authority under Subsection (c),
on and after September 1, 2005, a rule or order of the railroad
commission that requires an additional hearing for the permit
holder to conduct in situ mining in the production area specified in
an injection well permit is void.
(c) Notwithstanding Subsections (a) and (b), this section
does not affect the authority of the railroad commission to:
(1) revoke, suspend, or amend a permit issued under
this chapter;
(2) investigate a permit holder or an action taken
under or in violation of a permit issued under this chapter; or
(3) enforce a provision of a permit issued under this
chapter.
SECTION 5. (a) On the effective date of this Act:
(1) all functions and activities performed by the
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality that relate to the
regulation of injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for
the disposal of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27,
Water Code, are transferred to the Railroad Commission of Texas;
(2) all employees of the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality who primarily perform duties related to the
regulation of injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for
the disposal of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27,
Water Code, become employees of the Railroad Commission of Texas;
(3) a rule, standard, or form adopted by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality that is related to the
regulation of injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for
the disposal of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27,
Water Code, is a rule, standard, or form of the Railroad Commission
of Texas and remains in effect until altered by the railroad
commission;
(4) a proceeding involving the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality that is related to the regulation of
injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal
of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27, Water Code,
is transferred without change in status to the Railroad Commission
of Texas, and the railroad commission assumes, without change in
status, the position of the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality in any proceeding relating to the regulation of injection
wells used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste
from in situ uranium mining to which the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality is a party;
(5) all money, contracts, leases, rights, and
obligations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality
related to injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for
the disposal of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27,
Water Code, are transferred to the Railroad Commission of Texas;
(6) all property, including records, in the custody of
the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality related to the
regulation of injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for
the disposal of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27,
Water Code, is transferred to the Railroad Commission of Texas; and
(7) all money appropriated to the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality for purposes related to the regulation of
injection wells used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal
of waste from in situ uranium mining under Chapter 27, Water Code,
is transferred to the Railroad Commission of Texas.
(b) This Act does not invalidate a permit for an injection
well used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste
from in situ uranium mining that was issued by the Texas Commission
on Environmental Quality before the effective date of this Act. The
Railroad Commission of Texas shall issue a substitute permit under
the name and authority of the railroad commission to each person who
on the effective date of this Act holds a permit issued by the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality for an injection well used for
in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste from in situ
uranium mining. A permit for an injection well used for in situ
uranium mining or for the disposal of waste from in situ uranium
mining that was issued by the Texas Commission on Environmental
Quality before the effective date of this Act remains in effect
until the permit holder receives a substitute permit issued by the
Railroad Commission of Texas.
(c) A person who submitted an application to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality for a permit for an injection
well used for in situ uranium mining or for the disposal of waste
from in situ uranium mining that is pending on the effective date of
this Act may withdraw the application without prejudice and, on or
after the effective date of this Act, refile the application with
the Railroad Commission of Texas.
SECTION 6. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.