Relating to imposition of application fees for certain permits and permit amendments for the disposal of oil and gas waste, the official text

S.B. No. 2122

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.

______________________________
______________________________

President of the Senate
Speaker of the House

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2122 passed the Senate on

April 16, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8; and that

the Senate concurred in House amendment on May 14, 2025, by the

following vote: Yeas 23, Nays 8.

______________________________

Secretary of the Senate

I hereby certify that S.B. No. 2122 passed the House, with

amendment, on May 10, 2025, by the following vote: Yeas 101,

Nays 29, two present not voting.

______________________________

Chief Clerk of the House

Approved:

______________________________

Date

______________________________

Governor