| |
| |
|
|
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
|
|
|
AN ACT
|
|
|
relating to the authority of the Texas Commission on Environmental |
|
|
Quality to issue permits for the land application of water produced |
|
|
from certain mining and oil and gas extraction operations. |
|
|
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
|
|
SECTION 1. Section 26.131, Water Code, as effective until |
|
|
delegation of authority under the Resource Conservation and |
|
|
Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.) to the |
|
|
Railroad Commission of Texas, is amended by amending Subsection (b) |
|
|
and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (d) and |
|
|
(e), the Railroad Commission of Texas may issue permits for the |
|
|
discharge of waste resulting from the activities described by |
|
|
Subsection (a), and the discharge of waste into water in this state |
|
|
resulting from those activities must meet the water quality |
|
|
standards established by the commission. |
|
|
(e) The commission may issue permits for the land |
|
|
application of produced water resulting from activities described |
|
|
by Subsection (a) that has been treated for beneficial use. The |
|
|
commission shall adopt standards for the land application of water |
|
|
under this section, including standards that prevent the pollution |
|
|
of surface and subsurface water. |
|
|
SECTION 2. Section 26.131, Water Code, as effective on |
|
|
delegation of authority under the Resource Conservation and |
|
|
Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.) to the |
|
|
Railroad Commission of Texas, is amended by amending Subsection (b) |
|
|
and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
|
|
(b) Except as provided by Subsections [Subsection] (c) and |
|
|
(d), the Railroad Commission of Texas may issue permits for the |
|
|
discharge of waste resulting from the activities described by |
|
|
Subsection (a), and the discharge of waste into water in this state |
|
|
resulting from those activities must meet the water quality |
|
|
standards established by the commission. |
|
|
(d) The commission may issue permits for the land |
|
|
application of produced water resulting from activities described |
|
|
by Subsection (a) that has been treated for beneficial use. The |
|
|
commission shall adopt standards for the land application of water |
|
|
under this section, including standards that prevent the pollution |
|
|
of surface and subsurface water. |
|
|
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only |
|
|
to a permit, the application for which is filed on or after the |
|
|
effective date of this Act. A permit, the application for which is |
|
|
filed before the effective date of this Act, is subject to the law |
|
|
in effect on the date the application is filed, and that law is |
|
|
continued in effect for that purpose. |
|
|
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025. |