Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas House Bill HB4524 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R9570 JAM-D
2	2	By: Zwiener H.B. No. 4524
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the adoption of rules by the Texas Commission on
8	8	Environmental Quality regarding the discharge into water in this
9	9	state of produced water resulting from certain oil and gas
10	10	activities.
11	11	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
12	12	SECTION 1. Section 26.131, Water Code, as effective until
13	13	delegation of authority under the Resource Conservation and
14	14	Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.) to the
15	15	Railroad Commission of Texas, is amended by amending Subsection (d)
16	16	and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
17	17	(d) The commission may issue permits for the discharge into
18	18	water in this state of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and
19	19	gas plant effluent resulting from the activities described by
20	20	Subsection (a) on delegation to the commission of NPDES authority
21	21	for those discharges. The discharge of produced water, hydrostatic
22	22	test water, and gas plant effluent into water in this state under
23	23	this subsection must meet the water quality standards established
24	24	by the commission, including the standards established under
25	25	Subsection (e).
26	26	(e) The commission shall adopt rules governing the
27	27	discharge, handling, treatment, and disposition of produced water
28	28	resulting from the activities described by Subsection (a). Rules
29	29	adopted under this section must:
30	30	(1) be based on the best available science and
31	31	technology;
32	32	(2) impose standards that exceed the minimum standards
33	33	established by 40 C.F.R. Parts 435 and 437, as those provisions
34	34	existed on January 15, 2021;
35	35	(3) prohibit a discharge of untreated produced water
36	36	into water in this state;
37	37	(4) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water
38	38	into water in this state unless the commission determines that the
39	39	discharge will not result in water pollution, including a violation
40	40	of anti-degradation standards;
41	41	(5) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water to
42	42	impaired state waters, unless advanced and secondary treatment
43	43	standards can be implemented that will prevent further degradation
44	44	of the impaired water;
45	45	(6) require a person who proposes to discharge treated
46	46	produced water, or to treat produced water for activities unrelated
47	47	to oil or gas operations, to provide to the commission for public
48	48	disclosure the water contaminants in the untreated produced water,
49	49	including constituents added for oil or gas drilling or production;
50	50	and
51	51	(7) require a thorough characterization of all
52	52	contaminants present in the produced water, including the
53	53	contaminants' toxicity, mobility, radioactivity, and propensity to
54	54	bioaccumulate.
55	55	SECTION 2. Section 26.131, Water Code, as effective upon
56	56	delegation of authority under the Resource Conservation and
57	57	Recovery Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. Section 6901 et seq.) to the
58	58	Railroad Commission of Texas, is amended by amending Subsection (c)
59	59	and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
60	60	(c) The commission may issue permits for the discharge into
61	61	water in this state of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and
62	62	gas plant effluent resulting from the activities described by
63	63	Subsection (a) on delegation to the commission of NPDES authority
64	64	for those discharges. The discharge of produced water, hydrostatic
65	65	test water, and gas plant effluent into water in this state under
66	66	this subsection must meet the water quality standards established
67	67	by the commission, including the standards established under
68	68	Subsection (d).
69	69	(d) The commission shall adopt rules governing the
70	70	discharge, handling, treatment, and disposition of produced water
71	71	resulting from the activities described by Subsection (a). Rules
72	72	adopted under this section must:
73	73	(1) be based on the best available science and
74	74	technology;
75	75	(2) impose standards that exceed the minimum standards
76	76	established by 40 C.F.R. Parts 435 and 437, as those provisions
77	77	existed on January 15, 2021;
78	78	(3) prohibit a discharge of untreated produced water
79	79	into water in this state;
80	80	(4) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water
81	81	into water in this state unless the commission determines that the
82	82	discharge will not result in water pollution, including a violation
83	83	of anti-degradation standards;
84	84	(5) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water to
85	85	impaired state waters, unless advanced and secondary treatment
86	86	standards can be implemented that will prevent further degradation
87	87	of the impaired water;
88	88	(6) require a person who proposes to discharge treated
89	89	produced water, or to treat produced water for activities unrelated
90	90	to oil or gas operations, to provide to the commission for public
91	91	disclosure the water contaminants in the untreated produced water,
92	92	including constituents added for oil or gas drilling or production;
93	93	and
94	94	(7) require a thorough characterization of all
95	95	contaminants present in the produced water, including the
96	96	contaminants' toxicity, mobility, radioactivity, and propensity to
97	97	bioaccumulate.
98	98	SECTION 3. (a) Not later than September 1, 2022, the
99	99	commission shall adopt rules required by Section 26.131, Water
100	100	Code, as amended by this Act.
101	101	(b) Rules adopted under Section 26.131, Water Code, as
102	102	amended by this Act, become effective on the effective date of
103	103	delegation of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
104	104	permit authority for discharges of produced water to the Texas
105	105	Commission on Environmental Quality by the United States
106	106	Environmental Protection Agency under Section 402(b) of the Federal
107	107	Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1342(b)).
108	108	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.