Part IV.
General Land Office
Chapter 201.
General Rules
31 TAC §§201.1-201.16
The General Land Office, the Texas Department of Parks and
Wildlife, and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice Boards for Lease, adopt
the repeal of Chapter 201, §§201.1-201.16, relating to General Rules,
without changes to the proposed text as published in the July 31, 1998, issue
of the
Texas Register
(24 TexReg 7719).
The repeal of Chapter 201 and the ultimate adoption of the new Chapter
201 has been undertaken as part of the comprehensive review of the agency's
rules mandated by the 1997 General Appropriations Act, Article X, §167.
No comments were received regarding the repeal of this chapter.
This chapter is repealed under Texas Natural Resources Code §34.065,
which grants rulemaking authority to the Texas Department of Parks and Wildlife
and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Boards for Lease.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on October
19, 1998.
TRD-9816333
Garry Mauro
Commissioner, General Land Office
General Land office
Effective date: November 8, 1998
Proposal publication date: July 31, 1998
For further information, please call: (512) 305-9129
31 TAC §§201.1-201.7
The General Land Office (GLO), the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department (TPWD), and the Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ), adopt
new Chapter 201, §§201.1-201.7, concerning Operations of the Texas
Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Boards
for Lease, with changes to the proposed text as published in the July 31,
1998, issue of the
Texas Register
(24 TexReg
7720).
The new chapter is being adopted in order to ensure that these boards operate
according to administrative rules that are clear, necessary and up-to-date.
The new chapter establishes that fees charged for the nomination of tracts
for the lease sale will now only be refunded if the commissioner of the GLO
determines that it is in the best interest of the state. Also, the new chapter
requires nominators of tracts for special lease sales to share in the costs
of any required advertising for those sales. Finally, §201.6 of the new
chapter clearly organizes and establishes a lessee's responsibilities with
respect to the operation and maintenance of the lease.
For purposes of clarification §201.1, relating to Boards for Lease
Meeting Administration, was changed to more clearly define that status of
persons appearing before the boards. Accordingly, §201.1(d) now states
that only those persons requesting a formal action by a Board for Lease are
to be considered parties to a Board for Lease meeting.
Section 201.7 has been modified so that it correctly refers to the Texas
Department of Criminal Justice Board for Lease rather than the Texas Department
of Corrections Board.
The new chapter is adopted under Texas Natural Resources Code,
§34.065, which grants rulemaking authority to the Texas Parks and Wildlife
Department and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Boards for Lease.
§201.1.Boards for Lease Meeting Administration
(a)
The secretary of a Board for Lease (Board) shall keep as
records at the General Land Office, the minutes and the docket of each meeting.
(b)
The secretary of the Board shall prepare the docket for
the meeting and file and post notice of the meeting in compliance with the
Open Meetings Act. Notice of the board meeting will include:
(1)
the time, date, and location of the meeting; and
(2)
those items to be considered by the Board.
(c)
Members of the public may make personal statements of their
views on a matter before the Board provided that they identify themselves
for the record. Members of the public making only such statements will not
be considered parties to the meeting.
(d)
Any person requesting a formal action by the Board must
notify the secretary prior to the meeting, providing in writing the person's
name, address, and interest in the meeting. Any such participant will be considered
a party to the meeting.
(e)
All persons appearing before the Board, and any evidence
they present, will be subject to full examination by the members of the Board.
(f)
Parties may be represented by an attorney. Upon notification
of the secretary, the attorney will receive all correspondence directed to
the party on behalf of the Board.
(g)
Any applicant before the Board and any other person filing
their name, address, and a request for notification with the secretary, will
be notified in writing of the date, time, and place of the board meeting at
which the application will be considered. However, failure to mail the notice
does not invalidate any action taken by the Board.
(h)
An applicant and those persons who have properly requested
notification will be informed in writing of any action taken by the Board
concerning that person's application as expeditiously as possible following
the meeting.
(i)
The Board shall adopt, amend, and repeal rules in accordance
with the
Texas Register
and Administrative
Code, Government Code, Chapter 2002. Any interested person may petition the
Board in writing to request adoption of a rule. The Board shall consider the
request at the next scheduled meeting and shall either grant or deny the request.
Rulemaking procedures shall be initiated within 60 days of the receipt of
the request if granted. If denied, the Board shall state its reasons in writing
and mail them to the petitioner within 60 days of the request.
(j)
The Board's policy is to encourage and ensure maximum public
participation in all matters it considers. The Board shall conduct all meetings
in accordance with the Open Meetings Act.
§201.2.Lease Sale
(a)
A Board for Lease (Board) may schedule a lease sale at
any time. Leases of land owned by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department
or the Texas Department of Corrections shall be advertised and sold in the
same manner as leases issued by the School Land Board (SLB) under Texas Natural
Resources Code, Chapter 32. The procedures, fees, and cost sharing set out
in Chapter 151 of this title, (relating to Operations of the School Land Board)
shall also apply to the Board's lease sales.
(b)
The lease shall contain the same terms and conditions as
leases issued by the SLB under Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 32 and
Chapter 151. However, a Board may place any other terms and conditions in
the lease it determines to be in the best interest of the state.
§201.3.Filing in General Land Office.
Records pertaining to leases by a Board for Lease are to be filed in
the records of the General Land Office accompanied by any filing fee prescribed
by §1.3 of this title, (relating to Fees).
§201.4.Deposits
Payments received by a Board for Lease are payable to the commissioner
of the General Land Office, who will deposit receipts with the state treasurer
to the credit of the appropriate special mineral fund for the agency involved.
§201.5.Provisions
The provisions of Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapters 32 and 52,
and §9.7 of this title, (relating to Royalty and Reporting Obligation
to the State), and §9.8 of this title, (relating to Discontinuing the
Leasehold Relationship) shall apply to leases issued by a Board for Lease.
§201.6. Lessee Responsibility.
(a)
Applicable Laws. All drilling, producing, gathering, transporting,
processing and other operations on state lands shall be subject to applicable
state and federal laws.
(b)
Conflict between this chapter and other rules and statutes.
Operations on state lands are subject to all valid applicable state and federal
regulatory authorities. This chapter supplements the regulatory powers of
such authorities.
(c)
General policy. These rules are not intended to unlawfully
impair any existing contract.
(d)
Exceptions to this chapter. A Board for Lease (Board) may
if authorized by law and upon proper written request, grant exceptions to
the provisions of this chapter if the Board deems the exceptions to be in
the best interest of the state. No such exception shall be effective until
a written request by the lessee and a written explanation, approved by the
Board and signed by the commissioner, as chairman of the Board, is placed
in the appropriate mineral file or other General Land Office file.
(e)
Compliance. Lessee shall comply with the provisions of
the lease. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed as relieving a lessee
of this duty or as impairing any remedies available to the state. If a lessee
or operator fails to comply with this chapter, the Board may seek any remedy
allowed by law, including forfeiture of the lease. Lessee shall be liable
for the damages caused by such failure and any costs and expenses incurred
while enforcing this chapter and cleaning areas affected by any pollution
or discharged waste. A lessee is also responsible for the actions or omissions
of its operator as well as for the actions or omissions of lessee's employees,
agents, servants, contractors, subcontractors, trustees, receivers, and any
other agent in control of any or all of the leasehold interest.
(f)
Identification. All well locations and other structures
shall be marked so as to identify the state tract number, well number, and
the company operating the lease Additionally, any well drilled on property
leased under this chapter must be identified as a state well in Railroad Commission
records by using "state" as the first word in its designated Railroad Commission
name.
(g)
Inspections. The commissioner of the GLO, the attorney
general, the governor, and their representatives, shall at all times have
access to the premises upon which wells are being drilled or produced for
oil, gas, or other minerals to make inspections of all drilling, producing,
gathering, and processing operations, or for any other reason deemed necessary.
(h)
Records. The General Land Office may from time to time
require any records not otherwise required relating to any aspect of lease
operations and accounting. Such records shall be provided to the General Land
Office within 30 days of the agency's request for their production.
(i)
Commingling production. Requests to commingle production
from state leases should be sent with supporting data to the following address:
Commissioner of the General Land Office, Attention: Mineral Leasing Division,
Stephen F. Austin Building, 1700 North Congress Avenue, Austin, Texas 78701-1495.
(j)
Surface Use and Hole Abandonment. Any hole or holes drilled
by any exploration party under the terms of a lease issued by the state under
this chapter shall be drilled in such manner as to interfere as little as
possible with the current use of the surface. Upon the abandonment of such
holes, all of the rigging and material shall be removed, and the surface where
said hole was drilled shall be restored to its former condition as nearly
as possible. Upon abandonment of a well site, all wells shall be plugged and
all structures removed in compliance with Railroad Commission and United States
Army Corps of Engineer regulations. All fills for roads and drill sites shall
be removed if requested by the commissioner.
(k)
Degree of care. Lessee shall use the highest degree of
care in conducting operations on tracts leased under this chapter and shall
take all proper safeguards to prevent the discharge of any pollutant, including
solid waste, and of any hazardous substances. To satisfy these requirements,
lessee, at a minimum, must conduct operations as a reasonably prudent operator
using standard industry practices and procedures, must satisfy express lease
provisions, and must comply with all valid, applicable federal and state regulations.
(l)
Reporting Pollution. In the event that any pollution, whether
cumulative or the result of an isolated event, occurring on a leased tract
reaches a level at which it becomes a violation of state and/or federal law,
notice of all relevant facts related to such pollution shall be filed by lessee
with the General Land Office within 10 business days of lessee's receipt of
notification of the violation from the appropriate state and/or federal authorities.
(m)
Separator required. All wells producing liquids must be
produced through an oil and gas separator of ample capacity and in good working
order.
§201.7. Consistency with Coastal Management Program.
Except as otherwise provided in §16.1(c) of this title, (relating
to Definitions and Scope), an action listed in §16.1(b) taken or authorized
by the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department or Texas Department of Criminal
Justice Board for Lease pursuant to this chapter that may adversely affect
a coastal natural resource area, as defined in §16.1 is subject to and
must be consistent with the goals and policies identified in Chapter 16 in
addition to any goals, policies, and procedures applicable under this chapter.
If the provisions of this chapter conflict with and can not be harmonized
with certain provisions of Chapter 16, such conflicting provisions of Chapter
16 will control.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on October
19, 1998.
TRD-9816342
Garry Mauro
Commissioner, General Land Office
General Land office
Effective date: November 8, 1998
Proposal publication date: July 31, 1998
For further information, please call: (512) 305-9129
Chapter 357.
Regional Water Planning Guidelines
31 TAC §357.7
The Texas Water Development Board (board) adopts amendments
to 31 TAC §357.7 relating to Regional Water Plan Development without
change to the proposed text as published in the September 11, 1998 issue of
the
Texas Register
(23 TexReg 9263) and will
not be republished.
The amendments clarify that the data for current and projected population
and water demands, for evaluation of adequacy of current supplies, and for
water supply and demand analysis are to be tabulated by cities, major providers
of municipal and manufacturing water, and specified categories of use for
each county or portion of a county in the regional water planning area. If
a county or portion of a county is in more than one river basin, data shall
be reported for each river basin. The tabulation of data in this manner has
been anticipated from the initial adoption of the rule; however some conflicting
interpretations of the rules have been made. The amendments are intended to
clarify the board's interpretation. The tabulation of data in the manner proposed
will allow a full assessment by river basins and counties of population and
water demands, water supply adequacy, and supply and demand analysis. It will
allow the board to determine that data is not omitted in the final state water
plan and provide data to allow the Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission
and the board to make statutorily required finding of consistency of applications
with approved regional water plan. The tabulations will further allow for
the impacts of interbasin transfers to be studied by regions, local entities
and state agencies.
The board received one comment from Texas Utilities Services, Inc., which
strongly supported the proposed amendment.
The amendments are adopted under the authority granted in Texas
Water Code, §6.101, which provides the board with the authority to adopt
rules necessary to carry out its powers and duties under the Texas Water Code
and laws of Texas, and under the authority of Texas Water Code, §16.053,
which requires the board to develop rules and guidelines: to provide procedures
for adoption of regional water plans by regional water planning groups and
approval of regional water plans by the board; to govern procedures to be
followed in carrying out the responsibilities in Texas Water Code, §16.053;
and for the format in which information is to be presented in the regional
water plans.
This agency hereby certifies that the adoption has been reviewed
by legal counsel and found to be a valid exercise of the agency's legal authority.
Filed with the Office of the Secretary of State on October
15, 1998.
TRD-9816175
Suzanne Schwartz
General Counsel
Texas Water Development Board
Effective date: November 4, 1998
Proposal publication date: September 11, 1998
For further information, please call: (512) 463-7981
Subchapter A. Grants for Equipment Purchases
Chapter 201.
Operations of the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department and Texas Department of Criminal Justice Board for Lease
Part X.
Texas Water Development Board
Chapter 367.
Agricultural Water Conservation Program