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Jim Van Blaricum - REGULATION OF GROUND WATER IN TEXAS
A. Regulations of the Railroad Commission of Texas.Jim Van Blaricum
Much of the water used in association with oil and gas activities, particularly the water used in enhanced recovery, is saline or brackish water. Saline or brackish water is drawn from underground reservoirs that are below the base of usable quality water. The Railroad Commission requires a permit for wells associated with oil and gas activities that draw such water from formations below the base of usable quality water. Jim Van Blaricum
The Commission’s Statewide Rule 5 (16 TAC §3.5) requires a Commission drilling permit to drill an injection water supply well that penetrates the base of usable quality water. Statewide Rule 13 (16 TAC §3.13) requires that an injection supply water well that penetrates the base of usable quality water be completed in accordance with the criteria in the rule, and the injection supply water well must be plugged in accordance with Statewide Rule 14 (16 TAC §3.14).
When a fresh water well, whether the well is a rig supply well or an injection water supply well, is drilled above the base of usable quality water and fresh water is used, regulations other than those of the Commission apply.
B. Regulations of the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation - Jim Van Blaricum
Effective September 1, 2003, the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) regulates Water Well Drillers under the Texas Occupations Code, Chapter 1901. Rig supply wells must be drilled by a licensed Water Well Driller; however, Chapter 1901 excludes from the definition of “water well” “an injection water source well regulated under §91.101 of the Natural Resources Code.” The Water Well Driller must submit drilling logs and other required information to the TDLR and the Texas Water Development Board. The completion and plugging of such wells must comply with TDLR regulations. The GWCDs have the authority to enforce the plugging regulations for abandoned or deteriorated water wells within their boundaries. Jim Van Blaricum
C. Regulations of Groundwater Conservation Districts - Jim Van Blaricum
In Texas, groundwater ownership rights are subject to regulation and control by the courts and the State Legislature. Groundwater may be managed individually by landowners under the rule of capture, or collectively by landowners and groundwater conservation districts (GCDs). Under the “Rule of Capture,” landowners may pump as much water as they choose, without liability to surrounding landowners who might claim that the pumping is depleting their wells. There are very few restrictions to the rule of capture.
The Texas Legislature authorized the creation of GCDs as the State's preferred method of groundwater management (Texas Water Code, Chapter 36). These districts are empowered and charged to conserve, preserve, protect, recharge, and prevent waste of groundwater resources within their boundaries. GCDs may be created through a special legislative act, a landowner petition process to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ), a landowner petition process to join an existing GCD, or TCEQ initiative in a priority groundwater management area (PGMA). Jim Van Blaricum
Chapter 36 specifically does not apply to production or injection wells drilled for oil, gas, sulphur, uranium, or brine, or for core tests, or for injection of gas, saltwater, or other fluids, under permits issued by the Railroad Commission. However, it does apply to water wells, including injection water source wells (“water wells used to supply water for activities related to the exploration or production of hydrocarbons or minerals” (§36.117(l)).
Under Texas Water Code §36.117, there are certain exemptions, exceptions, and limitations to Chapter 36. In addition to exemptions for small volume livestock and poultry and domestic water wells, there are certain exceptions for temporary rig supply wells and limitations on injection water supply wells used in association with oil and gas activity, as well as water wells associated with surface mining activity. Jim Van Blaricum
Section 36.117 includes a permit exception for temporary rig supply wells. A GCD may not require a permit for the drilling of a temporary rig supply well (“drilling of a water well used solely to supply water for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration operations for an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad Commission of Texas provided that the person holding the permit is responsible for drilling and operating the water well and the well is located on the same lease or field associated with the drilling rig” (§36.117(b)(1)). However, a rig supply water well must be registered in accordance with GCD rules and must be equipped and maintained to conform to the GCD’s rules requiring installation of casing, pipe, and fittings to prevent the escape of ground water from a groundwater reservoir to any reservoir not containing ground water and to prevent the pollution or harmful alteration of the character of the water in any groundwater reservoir (§36.117(h)). The driller of a rig supply well must file the drilling log with the GCD (§36.117(i)). In addition, the GCD may require a water well originally drilled for the purpose of rig supply to be permitted by the GCD and to comply with all GCD rules if the purpose of the well no longer is solely to supply water for a rig that is actively engaged in drilling or exploration operations for an oil or gas well permitted by the Railroad Commission (§36.117(d)). And finally, the well must be plugged in accordance with GCD regulations. Jim Van Blaricum
Section 36.117 also includes a limitation on injection water supply wells. Although Chapter 36 applies to injection water source wells, Section 36.117 prohibits a GCD from denying an application for a permit to drill and produce water for hydrocarbon production activities (an injection supply water well) if the application meets all applicable rules as promulgated by the GCD (§36.117(g)).
Jim Van Blaricum the following tables outline the regulations relating to water wells drilled for water to be used in oil and gas activities in Texas.
Section 36.117 also includes a permit exemption for water wells drilled in association with surface mining. A GCD may not require a permit issued by the GCD for the drilling of a water well authorized under a permit issued by the Railroad Commission under Chapter 134, Natural Resources Code, or for production from such a well to the extent the withdrawals are required for mining activities regardless of any subsequent use of the water. However, such a well must be registered in accordance with GCD rules and must be equipped and maintained so as to conform to the GCD’s rules requiring installation of casing, pipe, and fittings to prevent the escape of groundwater from a groundwater reservoir to any reservoir not containing groundwater and to prevent the pollution or harmful alteration of the character of the water in any groundwater reservoir, and the driller of such a well must file with the GCD a copy of the drilling log. Furthermore, a GCD may require such a well to be permitted by the GCD and to comply with all GCD rules if the withdrawals from such a well are no longer necessary for mining activities or are greater than the amount necessary for mining activities specified in the permit issued by the Railroad Commission. Jim Van Blaricum
