SECTION 4.614. Authorized Disposal Methods

(a) Purpose. This section authorizes the methods for disposing of oil and gas NORM waste without a permit.

(b) Disposal in plugged and abandoned well. A person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste by placing it between plugs in a well that is being plugged and abandoned, provided that:

(1) No person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste at a lease or unit other than the lease or unit where the oil and gas NORM waste was generated unless prior to commencement of disposal operations, the surface owner of the lease or unit where the disposal occurs provides written consent for the disposal.

(2) The oil and gas NORM waste shall be placed in the well at a depth at least 250 feet below the base of usable quality water in compliance with §3.14 of this title (relating to Plugging).

(3) If the oil and gas NORM waste is encased in a tubing string, the tubing shall be:

(A) placed, not dropped, in the well; and

(B) left with an assembly that allows ready retrieval, if the string is not secured in cement.

(4) A cement plug shall be set immediately above the oil and gas NORM waste and the plug shall be either:

(A) above a cement retainer;

(B) above a cast iron bridge plug; or

(C) tagged to locate its position.

(5) The cement of the surface plug shall be color dyed with red iron oxide.

(6) A permanent marker that shows the three-bladed radiation symbol specified in 25 TAC §289.202(z) (relating to Standards for Protection Against Radiation from Radioactive Material), adopted effective October 1, 2000, without regard to color, shall be welded to the steel plate at the top of the well casing.

(7) The operator shall state on Form W-3A, Intent to Plug and Abandon:

(A) the physical nature (such as pipe scale, contaminated soil, basic sediment, equipment, pipe, pumps, or valves) of the oil and gas NORM waste;

(B) the volume of oil and gas NORM waste;

(C) the radioactivity level of the oil and gas NORM waste (in pCi/g of Radium-226 combined with Radium-228 and any other NORM radionuclides for soil or other media (such as pipe scale, contaminated soil, basic sediment, etc.), or in µR/hr for equipment (such as pipes, pumps and valves);

(D) the operator(s) of the lease, unit, or facility at which oil and gas NORM waste was generated; and

(E) the source(s), if known, of the oil and gas NORM waste by Commission district; field; lease, unit, or facility; and producing formation.

(8) If the oil and gas NORM waste is encased in tubing, the operator shall state on Form W-3A, Intent to Plug and Abandon:

(A) the size, grade, weight per foot, and outside diameter of the tubing;

(B) the subsurface depth of both the top and bottom of the tubing;

(C) the diameter of the retrieval assembly; and

(D) whether the tubing is free in the hole or is secured by cement, a bridge plug, or a cement retainer.

(9) The operator shall submit Form W-3A to the Commission's district office for the location of the oil and gas NORM waste disposal site.

(c) Burial. Except as otherwise provided in this subsection, a person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste by burial at the same site where the oil and gas NORM waste was generated, provided that, prior to burial, the oil and gas NORM waste has been treated or processed such that the radioactivity concentration does not exceed 30 pCi/g Radium-226 combined with Radium-228 or 150 pCi/g of any other NORM radionuclide within the treated or processed waste. Such treatment or processing, if it occurs at the disposal site, is considered to fall within the definition of disposal because it is necessary to facilitate disposal. This subsection does not authorize any person to bury NORM-contaminated equipment.

(d) Landfarming. A person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste at the same site where the oil and gas NORM waste was generated by applying it to and mixing it with the land surface, provided that after such application and mixing the radioactivity concentration in the area where the oil and gas NORM waste was applied and mixed does not exceed 30 pCi/g Radium-226 combined with Radium-228 or 150 pCi/g of any other radionuclide.

(e) Disposal at a licensed facility. A person may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste at a facility that has been licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the State of Texas, or another state if such facility is authorized under its license to receive and dispose of such waste.

(f) Injection. Injection of oil and gas NORM waste that meets exemption criteria of 25 TAC §289.259 (relating to Licensing of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM)), as a result of treatment or processing at a facility licensed by the TDH (hereinafter referred to as a "specifically licensed facility") into a well permitted under §3.9 of this title (relating to Disposal Wells) is authorized under this section, provided that the requirements of this subsection are met.

(1) Prior to injecting treated or processed oil and gas NORM waste, the operator of the injection well shall notify the Commission in writing that the operator plans to inject oil and gas NORM waste that meets the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §289.259 as a result of treatment or processing at a specifically licensed facility. The operator shall include a copy of the TDH license for each facility where oil and gas NORM waste that will be injected is treated or processed in order to meet the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §289.259.

(2) Prior to injecting oil and gas NORM waste that has been treated or processed to meet the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §289.259, the injection well operator shall verify that the waste meets the exemption criteria by obtaining from the specifically licensed facility documentation regarding NORM surveys or other analyses conducted to ensure that the treated or processed oil and gas NORM waste meets the exemption criteria of 25 TAC §289.259.

Source Note: The provisions of this §4.614 adopted to be effective March 3, 2003, 28 TexReg 1838