The Wise Report
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
August 3, 2024
The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ, agency, or commission) proposes amendments to 30 Texas Administrative Code (TAC) §331.11 and §331.132. This proposed rulemaking implements Senate Bill (SB) 786 and SB 1186, 88th Texas Legislature, 2023, addressing agency jurisdiction over regulation of closed-loop geothermal injection wells and agency jurisdiction over brine injection wells in Texas. SB 786 confers the Railroad Commission of Texas (RRC) with jurisdiction over the regulation of closed-loop geothermal injection wells. SB 1186 confers the RRC with jurisdiction over the regulation of brine mining and the injection wells used for brine mining.
This proposed rulemaking implements SB 786 by amending the commission's underground injection control rules to remove requirements for the regulation of closed-loop geothermal injection wells. Prior to the enactment of SB 786, the commission's underground injection control rules included geothermal closed-loop injection wells as a type of Class V injection well under the jurisdiction of the commission. SB 786 provides that all commission functions and activities that relate to the regulation of closed-loop geothermal injection wells are transferred to the RRC. The RRC plans to implement SB 786 through adoption of their own rules relating to Class V closed-loop geothermal injection wells.
The proposed rulemaking implements SB 1186 by amending the commission's underground injection control rules to acknowledge that the RRC has jurisdiction over the regulation of Class V injection wells used for brine mining. SB 1186 defines "brine mining" as the "production of brine, including naturally occurring brine and brine extracted by the solution of a subsurface salt formation, for the purpose of extracting from a subsurface formation elements, salts, or other useful substances...." SB 1186 defines a "Class V brine injection well" as "a well that injects spent, naturally occurring brine produced by a brine mining operation into the same formation from which it was withdrawn after extraction of elements, salts or other useful substances, including halogens or halogen salts."
For more information go to: https://www.sos.state.tx.us/texreg/archive/August22024/Proposed%20Rules/30.ENVIRONMENTAL%20QUALITY.html#79
Henry M. Wise, P.G.
The Wise Report
8/3/2024