87R9570 JAM-D
By: Zwiener H.B. No. 4524
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the adoption of rules by the Texas Commission on
Environmental Quality regarding the discharge into water in this
state of produced water resulting from certain oil and gas
activities.
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 (d)
and adding Subsection (e) to read as follows:
(d) The commission may issue permits for the discharge into
water in this state of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and
gas plant effluent resulting from the activities described by
Subsection (a) on delegation to the commission of NPDES authority
for those discharges. The discharge of produced water, hydrostatic
test water, and gas plant effluent into water in this state under
this subsection must meet the water quality standards established
by the commission, including the standards established under
Subsection (e).
(e) The commission shall adopt rules governing the
discharge, handling, treatment, and disposition of produced water
resulting from the activities described by Subsection (a). Rules
adopted under this section must:
(1) be based on the best available science and
technology;
(2) impose standards that exceed the minimum standards
established by 40 C.F.R. Parts 435 and 437, as those provisions
existed on January 15, 2021;
(3) prohibit a discharge of untreated produced water
into water in this state;
(4) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water
into water in this state unless the commission determines that the
discharge will not result in water pollution, including a violation
of anti-degradation standards;
(5) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water to
impaired state waters, unless advanced and secondary treatment
standards can be implemented that will prevent further degradation
of the impaired water;
(6) require a person who proposes to discharge treated
produced water, or to treat produced water for activities unrelated
to oil or gas operations, to provide to the commission for public
disclosure the water contaminants in the untreated produced water,
including constituents added for oil or gas drilling or production;
and
(7) require a thorough characterization of all
contaminants present in the produced water, including the
contaminants' toxicity, mobility, radioactivity, and propensity to
bioaccumulate.
SECTION 2. Section 26.131, Water Code, as effective upon
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 (c)
and adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
(c) The commission may issue permits for the discharge into
water in this state of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and
gas plant effluent resulting from the activities described by
Subsection (a) on delegation to the commission of NPDES authority
for those discharges. The discharge of produced water, hydrostatic
test water, and gas plant effluent into water in this state under
this subsection must meet the water quality standards established
by the commission, including the standards established under
Subsection (d).
(d) The commission shall adopt rules governing the
discharge, handling, treatment, and disposition of produced water
resulting from the activities described by Subsection (a). Rules
adopted under this section must:
(1) be based on the best available science and
technology;
(2) impose standards that exceed the minimum standards
established by 40 C.F.R. Parts 435 and 437, as those provisions
existed on January 15, 2021;
(3) prohibit a discharge of untreated produced water
into water in this state;
(4) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water
into water in this state unless the commission determines that the
discharge will not result in water pollution, including a violation
of anti-degradation standards;
(5) prohibit a discharge of treated produced water to
impaired state waters, unless advanced and secondary treatment
standards can be implemented that will prevent further degradation
of the impaired water;
(6) require a person who proposes to discharge treated
produced water, or to treat produced water for activities unrelated
to oil or gas operations, to provide to the commission for public
disclosure the water contaminants in the untreated produced water,
including constituents added for oil or gas drilling or production;
and
(7) require a thorough characterization of all
contaminants present in the produced water, including the
contaminants' toxicity, mobility, radioactivity, and propensity to
bioaccumulate.
SECTION 3. (a) Not later than September 1, 2022, the
commission shall adopt rules required by Section 26.131, Water
Code, as amended by this Act.
(b) Rules adopted under Section 26.131, Water Code, as
amended by this Act, become effective on the effective date of
delegation of National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System
permit authority for discharges of produced water to the Texas
Commission on Environmental Quality by the United States
Environmental Protection Agency under Section 402(b) of the Federal
Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. Section 1342(b)).
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.