Oil and Gas Discharge Delegation Stakeholder Meeting

HB 2771, effective September 1, 2019, requires TCEQ to submit a delegation request by September 1, 2021, to seek authority from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to issue federal permits for discharges of produced water, hydrostatic test water, and gas plant effluent into water in the state, resulting from certain oil and gas activities under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) program. Additionally, HB 2771 transfers permitting authority for these discharges from the Railroad Commission of Texas to the TCEQ, upon delegation of authority for these discharges from EPA to TCEQ.

Governor Abbott signed the oil and gas delegation application on October 9, 2020, and it was officially submitted to EPA Region 6 on October 12, 2020, almost a year ahead of the legislatively mandated deadline of September 1, 2021. EPA has 30 days to review the application to determine if it is complete and 90 days to either approve or deny the request. During the 90-day time period, EPA will publish notice of and take public comments on their decision and hold a public meeting during the comment period.

TCEQ will host a virtual meeting at 1:30 p.m. on December 10, 2020, via a Microsoft Teams Live Event, and will provide the agenda and a link to the virtual meeting that week. To receive this information and be added to the HB 2771 stakeholder list, please email your request to HB2771@tceq.texas.gov.

You can find summaries and handouts from past HB 2771 stakeholder meetings on the Oil and Gas Wastewater Stakeholder Group webpage.