89R22075 ANG-F
By: Darby H.B. No. 3158
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 3158:
By: Darby C.S.H.B. No. 3158
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to imposition of application fees for certain permits and
permit amendments for the disposal of oil and gas waste.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 91.1013, Natural Resources Code, is
amended by amending Subsections (a) and (b) and adding Subsection
(a-1) to read as follows:
(a) [With each application for a fluid injection well
permit, the applicant shall submit to the commission a
nonrefundable fee of $200.] In this section:
(1) "Commercial oil and gas waste separation facility"
means a facility that manages but does not dispose of oil and gas
waste on site and that is managed by an owner or operator whose
primary business is to provide oil field fluid or oil and gas waste
management services for compensation.
(2) "Commercial surface oil and gas waste disposal
facility" means a facility that disposes of oil and gas waste on
site and that is managed by an owner or operator whose primary
business is to provide oil field fluid or oil and gas waste disposal
services for compensation.
(3) "Fluid[, "fluid] injection well" means any well
used to inject fluid or gas into the ground in connection with the
exploration or production of oil or gas other than an oil and gas
waste disposal well regulated by the commission pursuant to Chapter
27, Water Code.
(4) "Land application permit" means a permit
authorizing the covering of a controlled area with gas plant
effluent or low-chloride produced water through the use of a
sprinkler or other irrigation system.
(5) "Landfarm permit" means a permit authorizing the
disposal of low-chloride, water-based oil and gas waste, including
drilling fluid, by mixing or tilling the fluid or waste into the
natural soil so that the waste will not migrate from the area
covered by the landfarm permit.
(6) "Landtreatment permit" means a permit authorizing
the disposal of oil-based oil and gas waste, including oil-based
drilling fluid, oil-impacted soil, or other oil and gas waste, by
mixing or tilling the fluid, soil, or waste into the natural soil to
degrade the fluid, impacted soil, or waste so that the fluid,
impacted soil, or waste will not migrate from the area covered by
the landtreatment permit.
(a-1) With each application for a fluid injection well
permit, the applicant shall submit to the commission a
nonrefundable fee of $200.
(b) An applicant [With each application] for a permit to
store, treat, or dispose of certain oil and gas waste [discharge to
surface water under this chapter and commission rules, other than a
permit for a discharge that meets National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System requirements for agricultural or wildlife use,
the applicant] shall submit to the commission a nonrefundable fee
for that application as follows:
(1) $500 for an application for a landfarm,
landtreatment, or land application permit or permit amendment;
(2) $2,000 for an application for a commercial oil and
gas waste separation facility permit;
(3) $1,000 for an application for an amendment to a
commercial oil and gas waste separation facility permit;
(4) $3,000 for an application for a commercial surface
oil and gas waste disposal facility permit; and
(5) $1,000 for an application for an amendment to a
commercial surface oil and gas waste disposal facility permit [of
$300].
SECTION 2. Section 91.1013, Natural Resources Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to an application for the issuance
or amendment of a permit that is filed with the Railroad Commission
of Texas on or after the effective date of this Act. An application
for a permit filed before the effective date of this Act is governed
by the law in effect on the date of the filing, and the former law is
continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.