SECTION 4.204. Definitions

Unless a word or term is defined differently in this section, the definitions in §3.8 of this title (relating to Water Protection), §3.98 of this title (relating to Standards for Management of Hazardous Oil and Gas Waste), and §4.603 of this title (relating to Definitions), shall apply in this subchapter. In addition, the following words and terms when used in this subchapter shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) 100-year flood plain--An area that is inundated by a 100-year flood, which is a flood that has a one percent or greater chance of occurring in any given year.

(2) Adjoining--Every tract of property surrounding the tract of property upon which the activity sought to be permitted will occur, including those tracts that meet only at a corner point.

(3) Commercial recycling facility--A facility whose owner or operator receives compensation from others for the storage, handling, treatment, and recycling of oil and gas wastes and the primary business purpose of the facility is to provide these services for compensation, whether from the generator of the waste, another receiver, or the purchaser of the recyclable product produced at the facility. Includes recycling of solid oil and gas wastes on or off lease. Does not include non-commercial fluid recycling as defined in §3.8 of this title.

(4) Commission--The Railroad Commission of Texas.

(5) Director--The director of the Commission's Oil and Gas Division or the director's delegate.

(6) EPA Method 1312, Synthetic Precipitation Leaching Procedure (SPLP)--An analytical method used to evaluate the potential for leaching of metals and/or benzene into surface and subsurface water.

(7) Legitimate commercial use--Use or reuse of a recyclable product as authorized or defined in a permit issued pursuant to this subchapter:

(A) as an effective substitute for a commercial product or as an ingredient to make a commercial product; or

(B) as a replacement for a product or material that otherwise would have been purchased; and

(C) in a manner that does not constitute disposal.

(8) Louisiana Department of Natural Resources Leachate Test Method--An analytical method designed to simulate water leach effects on treated oil and gas wastes included in "Laboratory Manual for the Analysis of E&P Waste," Louisiana Department of Natural Resources, May 2005.

(9) On-lease commercial solid oil and gas waste recycling--Commercial recycling performed on an oil or gas lease or well site using equipment that moves from one location to another, at which all materials and wastes are stored in authorized pits and/or tanks, and restricted in the:

(A) amount of time, generally less than one year, operations occur at any one location;

(B) volume and source of the waste that may be processed at any one location;

(C) the type and characteristics of the waste; and

(D) size of the area used for recycling.

(10) Oil and gas wastes--For purposes of this subchapter, this term means materials which have been generated in connection with activities associated with the exploration, development, and production of oil or gas or geothermal resources, as that term is defined in §3.8 of this title, and materials which have been generated in connection with activities associated with the solution mining of brine. The term "oil and gas wastes" includes, but is not limited to, saltwater, other mineralized water, sludge, spent drilling fluids, cuttings, waste oil, spent completion fluids, and other liquid, semiliquid, or solid waste material. The term "oil and gas wastes" includes waste generated in connection with activities associated with gasoline plants, natural gas or natural gas liquids processing plants, pressure maintenance plants, or repressurizing plants unless that waste is a hazardous waste as defined by the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the federal Solid Waste Disposal Act, as amended (42 United States Code §6901 et seq.).

(11) Partially treated waste--Oil and gas waste that has been treated or processed with the intent of being recycled, but which has not been determined to meet the environmental and engineering standards for a recyclable product established by the Commission in this subchapter or in a permit issued pursuant to this subchapter.

(12) Recyclable product--A reusable material that has been created from the treatment and/or processing of oil and gas waste as authorized or permitted by a Commission permit and that meets the environmental and engineering standards established by the permit or authorization for the intended use, and is used as a legitimate commercial product. A recyclable product is not a waste, but may become a waste if it is abandoned or disposed of rather than recycled as authorized by the permit or authorization.

(13) Recycle--To process and/or use or re-use oil and gas wastes as a product for which there is a legitimate commercial use and the actual use of the recyclable product for the purposes authorized in this subchapter or a permit. 'Recycle,' as defined in this subsection, does not include injection pursuant to a permit issued under §3.46 of this title (relating to Fluid Injection into Productive Reservoirs).

(14) Off-lease or centralized commercial solid oil and gas waste recycling facility--A commercial recycling facility that is capable of being moved from one location to another, but which is generally in operation in one location for a period of time longer than one year, but less than two years that shall recycle solid oil and gas waste.

(15) Off-lease commercial fluid recycling facility--A commercial recycling facility that is capable of being moved from one location to another, but which is generally in operation in one location for a period of time longer than one year, but less than two years that shall recycle wellbore fluid produced from an oil or gas well, including produced formation fluid, workover fluid, and completion fluid, including fluids produced from the hydraulic fracturing process.

(16) Solid oil and gas waste--Oil and gas waste that is not typically capable of being injected into a disposal well without the addition of fluids.

(17) Stationary commercial recycling facility--A commercial recycling facility in an immobile, fixed location for a period of greater than two years that recycles solid oil and gas waste or wellbore fluid produced from an oil or gas well, including produced formation fluid, workover fluid, and completion fluid, including fluids produced from the hydraulic fracturing process.

Source Note: The provisions of this §4.204 adopted to be effective December 4, 2006, 31 TexReg 9711; amended to be effective February 3, 2011, 36 TexReg 410; amended to be effective April 15, 2013, 38 TexReg 2334