| TO: | Honorable Kip Averitt, Chair, Senate Committee on Natural Resources |
| FROM: | John S. O'Brien, Director, Legislative Budget Board |
| IN RE: | SB540 by Estes (Relating to notice of an application for a permit to dispose of oil and gas waste in a disposal well.), As Introduced |
The bill would require the Railroad Commission to require that a permit applicant for a disposal well provide notice to the groundwater conservation district (GCD) the area where the well is to be located and to allow 30 days, rather than 15 days, for the GCD to file a protest with the agency.
The Railroad Commission reports that the changes proposed by the bill would require the agency to dedicate more staff time to the review of disposal well permit applications and paperwork associted with notification requirements and additional requests for hearings that may occur as a result of the bill's passage. The agency expects that this additional work would require the resources of 1.0 FTE. This estimate assumes that these resources could be absorbed within the agency's current budget and FTE cap.
| Source Agencies: | 455 Railroad Commission, 582 Commission on Environmental Quality
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| LBB Staff: | JOB, WK, ZS, TL
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