USA – TEXAS Law and Practice Contributed by: Gerald J. Pels, Elizabeth E. Mack, Gerald D. Higdon, Susan Rainey, Elizabeth Corey and Brett A. Miller, Troutman Pepper Locke LLP
16. Environmental Disclosure and Information 16.1 Disclosure and Reporting Requirements Texas law includes numerous spill, release, and inci- dent reporting to environmental media, including ambient air. Specific reporting requirements depend on the substance released and the nature of the source. In most instances, release reporting will be to the TCEQ. If, however, the source in question is an oil and gas facility, reporting will likely fall under the jurisdiction of the RRC. There are notable exceptions, including that the TCEQ permits and regulates certain discharges from oil and gas activities associated with produced water, hydrostatic test water, and gas plant effluent. The RRC, however, maintains authority over the disposal of oil and gas wastewater through meth- ods that do not discharge into state waters. Likewise, spills involving crude oil and gas at exploration and production sites must be reported to the RRC. However, certain spills must be reported to the TCEQ, including those involving hazardous substances, solid waste, and refined petroleum products during trans- portation. Reporting requirements will vary depending on the media impacted as well as the nature of the material released ( e g, hazardous substance, crude oil, other petroleum product, etc). Texas law contains broad and complex reporting requirements for releases of regulated materials. Regarding releases to state waters, the Texas Water Code stipulates that if a release causes or may cause pollution, the person in charge of the facility or activity must provide notice within 24 hours. Jurisdiction for release reporting is not limited to a single agency. The general reporting requirements are outlined below. Facilities should have a thorough understanding of agency jurisdiction. These reporting requirements are to the TCEQ and are within 24 hours, unless separately noted: • petroleum/used oil products to state waters – existence of a sheen; • petroleum products/used oil (not UST) – 25 gallons; • crude oil to inland waters – existence of a sheen; • crude oil to land – five barrels;
• hazardous substance to land – governed by federal reportable quantity (RQ); • hazardous substance to state waters – lesser of 100 pounds or the federal RQ; • industrial solid waste to inland waters – 100 pounds; • oil to coastal waters – actual or threatened dis- charge (immediate reporting, within one hour, to the Texas GLO); • petroleum products from tanks onto the surface (UST/AST) – generally > 25 gallons; and • petroleum products into the subsurface from underground tanks – generally any amount. The RRC has specific reporting requirements for oil and gas facilities under its jurisdiction. Generally, facilities must immediately report any incidents of fire, leak, spill, or break. However, notice is not required for releases of less than five barrels of crude oil. Notice is typically followed by a letter giving a full description of the event, including the volume of materials lost. General RRC reporting includes: • crude oil to state waters – existence of a sheen; • crude oil to land – five barrels; • produced water to inland water – any amount; and • hazardous substance – federal RQ. The Texas GLO also requires reporting of certain releases: • oil to coastal waters – actual or threatened dis- charge (immediate reporting, within one hour). Additionally, TCEQ air emissions rules contain broad provisions requiring reporting of specific air emission events, and RRC rules also require reporting for cer- tain venting events. TCEQ requires operators to report certain air emission events, including: • unscheduled, unplanned, or unavoidable events leading to unauthorised emissions exceeding a reportable quantity; • scheduled maintenance, startup, and shutdown activities that result in unauthorised emissions or are deemed reportable; and
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