Part 1.
RAILROAD COMMISSION OF TEXAS
Chapter 1.
PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Subchapter I. PERMIT PROCESSING
16 TAC §1.201
The Railroad Commission of Texas (Commission) adopts amendments
to §1.201, relating to Time Periods for Processing Applications and Issuing
Permits Administratively, with changes to the version published in the March
12, 2004, issue of the
Texas Register
(29
TexReg 2509). The Commission adopts the amendments in order to conform the
rule text and Table 1 in §1.201 with organizational changes made at the
Commission, with substantive changes adopted in rules in other chapters, and
with the transfer of the Quarry Safety program to the Texas Department of
Transportation, pursuant to House Bill (HB) 3442, 78th Legislature (2003)
(Acts 2003, 78th Leg., ch. 200, eff. September 1, 2003).
The adopted amendments to the rule text and to the table are non-substantive
and made for clarification purposes. Changes that reflect the new organizational
structure of the Commission are found in subsections (a), (d), and (e); these
changes indicate the correct names of Commission divisions, employee titles,
and the title of Chapter 1. In certain rows, the name of an Oil and Gas Division
section is changed from the "Production and Permitting Section" to the new
name, the "Permitting/Production Services Section." This change is found in
the rows for §§3.6, 3.10, 3.23, 3.38, 3.41, 3.43, 3.48, the three
rows for §§3.50, 3.57, 3.83, and 3.101.
In the row for §3.70, the rule number is corrected from the old number
of §3.65, and the section name is corrected from the Gas Services Division
"Pipeline Safety Section" to the "License and Permit Section."
In the row for §3.81, the rule number is corrected from the old number
of §3.77
In the row for §9.10, the rule number and title are corrected from
the old rule number and title, and the Gas Services Division section is corrected
to the new "License and Permit Section." The $20 fee is correct but applies
only to an employee-level examination; the $50 fee for a management-level
examination is added. These fees previously were adopted in §9.10 and
are not new.
In the row for §9.27, the rule number is corrected and the division
is corrected from Gas Services Division, LP-Gas Section, to the new "Rail/LP-Gas/Pipeline
Safety Division." The reference to an "individual application" is deleted
to conform to the current language of §9.27.
A new row is added for §9.54, Commission-Approved Outside Instructors;
this rule applies to persons who wish to provide Commission-approved training
or continuing education to LP-gas companies or employees. The Alternative
Fuels Research and Education Division processes these applications, which
are made on written request, do not require a Form P-5, require an application
fee of $300, and have an initial review period of 14 days and a final review
period of 10 days. These requirements previously were adopted in §9.54
and are not new.
In the row for §9.101, the rule number and the division name are corrected
in the same manner as the row for §9.27.
Four rows are deleted from the Table because the Quarry Safety program
was transferred from the Commission to the Texas Department of Transportation;
the deleted rows are for §§11.1038 (two rows), 11.1043, and 11.1045.
In the row for §12.148, the initial review period has decreased from
120 days to 60 days.
In the row for §12.226, regarding administrative permit revisions,
the application form has been corrected from SMRD-1C to SMRD-2C; the application
fee for a permit revision of $500 added; the footnote deleted; and the initial
review period changed from 120 days to 60 days. The $500 fee previously was
adopted in §12.108(a)(2) and is not a new fee.
In the row for §§12.231-12.233, the application fee for a permit
transfer of $500 has been added; again, this fee previously was adopted in §12.108(a)(2)
and is not a new fee.
In the row for §13.35, the division name has been corrected to the
Rail/LP-Gas/Pipeline Safety Division, and the reference to an individual application
has been deleted; as with §9.27, §13.35 requires an application
form.
In the rows for both §13.70 and §14.2019, the rule titles are
corrected and the new "License and Permit Section" name is added. As with §9.10,
a statement clarifying that the $20 examination fee is for an employee-level
examination and the $50 fee for a management-level examination is added; these
fees previously were adopted in §9.10 and are not new.
In the row for §14.2040, the rule number and division name are corrected.
In the row for §14.2052, the rule number and division name are corrected,
and the reference to an individual application is deleted in the same manner
as in the rows for §§9.27 and 13.35.
Finally, in the row for the clearance deviation authorization pursuant
to Texas Revised Civil Statutes Annotated, article 6559f, the division name
is corrected.
The Commission adopts §1.201 with seven changes from the proposal,
all found in Table 1. In the first row for §3.46, the fee for an injection
permit is $200 per well; the words "per well" are added for clarification.
In the second row for §3.46, the fee for an injection permit with authorization
to inject resh water was published in the proposal as "$200; $150 per exception."
In fact, this permit does not require a fee, so that block is changed to "None."
In the third row for §3.46, the fee for an area permit is $200 per well;
the words "per well" are added for clarification. In the row for §3.81,
the fee for a brine mining injection permit was proposed as $100; that fee
is corrected to $200 pursuant to recently adopted amendments to §3.78
of this title (relating to Fees, Performance Bonds and Alternate Forms of
Financial Security Required To Be Filed). In the rows for §§3.95,
3.96, and 3.97, the fees were in the proposed Table as $100 per well; pursuant
to §3.78, these fees are in fact $200 per well.
The Commission received no comments on the proposal.
The Commission adopts the amendments to §1.201 pursuant
to Texas Government Code, §§2005.001 - 2005.007, which require the
Commission to adopt procedural rules for processing permit applications and
issuing permits and to establish by rule a complaint procedure allowing permit
applicants to complaint directly to the chief administrator of the agency;
Texas Government Code, §2001.004, which requires agencies to adopt rules
of practice stating the nature and requirements of all available formal and
informal procedures; and HB 3442 (78th Legislature, 2003) (Acts 2003, 78th
Leg., ch. 200, eff. September 1, 2003).
Texas Government Code, §2001.004 and §§2005.001-2005.007,
and Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 133, as amended by HB 3442 (Acts
2003, 78th Leg., ch. 200, eff. September 1, 2003), are affected by the adopted
amendments.
Statutory authority: Texas Government Code, §§2001.004, and 2005.001
- 2005.007, and Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 133, as amended by HB
3442.
Cross-reference to statute: Texas Government Code, §§2001.004
and 2005.001-2005.007, and Texas Natural Resources Code, Chapter 133.
Issued in Austin, Texas, on April 23, 2004.
§1.201.Time Periods for Processing Applications and Issuing Permits Administratively.
(a)
Applicability. This rule applies to the permits listed
in Column A of Table 1 of this section. For purposes of this rule, the term
"permit" includes any authorization issued administratively by the Commission,
through the Oil and Gas Division, the Gas Services Division, the Surface Mining
and Reclamation Division, or the Rail/LP-Gas/Pipeline Safety Division, and
required by the Commission either to engage in or conduct a specific activity
or to deviate from requirements, standards, or conditions in statutes or Commission
rules and for which the median processing time exceeds seven days.
(b)
Completeness. An application is complete when the division
or section shown in Column B of Table 1 has determined that the application
contains information addressing each application requirement of the regulatory
program and all information necessary to initiate the final review by the
division or section processing the application. For purposes of this section,
certain applicants, as shown in Column D of Table 1, are required to have
an approved organization report (Form P-5) on file with the Commission in
order for an application to be complete.
(c)
Time periods.
(1)
The date a permit application is received under this section
is the date the application reaches the designated division or section within
a division as shown in Column B of Table 1.
(2)
The division or section shown in Column B of Table 1 shall
process permit applications in accordance with the time periods shown in Columns
F and G of Table 1 for a particular permit. Time periods are counted on the
basis of calendar days.
(3)
The Initial Review Period, shown in Column F of Table 1,
begins on the date the designated division or section receives the application
and ends on the date the division or section gives written notice to the applicant
indicating that either:
(A)
the application is complete and accepted for filing; or
(B)
the application is incomplete, as described in paragraph
(4) of this subsection.
(4)
If the division or section determines that an application
is incomplete, the division or section shall notify the applicant in writing
and shall describe the specific information required to complete the application.
An applicant may make no more than two supplemental filings to complete an
application. The Initial Review Period shall start again each time the division
or section receives a supplemental filing relating to an incomplete application.
After the second supplemental submission, if the application is complete,
the division or section shall administratively rule on the application; if
the application is still incomplete, the division or section shall administratively
deny the application. The division or section specifically does not have the
authority to accept or review any other additional supplemental submissions.
The division or section shall notify the applicant in writing of the administrative
decision and, in the case of an administrative denial, the applicant's right
to request a hearing on the application as it stands. The applicant may withdraw
the application.
(5)
The Final Review Period, shown in Column G of Table 1,
begins on the date the division or section makes a determination under paragraph
(3)(A) of this subsection and ends on the date the permit is:
(A)
administratively granted;
(B)
administratively denied; or
(C)
docketed as a contested case proceeding if the application
is neither administratively granted nor administratively denied.
(6)
An applicant whose application has been administratively
denied may request a hearing by filing a written request for a hearing addressed
to the division or section processing the application, within 30 days of the
date the application is administratively denied.
(7)
Within seven days of either docketing an application under
paragraph (5)(C) of this subsection or receiving a written request for a hearing
under paragraph (6) of this subsection, the division or section processing
the application shall forward the file and any request for hearing, including
any memoranda or notes explaining or describing the reasons for docketing
or administrative denial, to the Docket Services Section of the Office of
General Counsel. The Office of General Counsel shall process the application
as prescribed in subsection (e) of this section.
(d)
Complaint procedure.
(1)
An applicant may complain directly to the Executive Director
if a division or section does not process an application within the applicable
time periods shown in Columns F and G of Table 1, and may request a timely
resolution of any dispute arising from the claimed delay. All complaints shall
be in writing and shall state the specific relief sought, which may include
the full reimbursement of the fee paid in that particular application process,
if any, as shown in Column E of Table 1. As soon as possible after receiving
a complaint, the Executive Director shall notify the appropriate division
director of the complaint.
(2)
Within 30 days of receipt of a complaint, the division
director of the division or section processing the application that is the
subject of the complaint shall submit to the Executive Director a written
report of the facts relating to the processing of the application. The report
shall include the division director's explanation of the reason or reasons
the division or section did or did not exceed the established time periods.
If the Executive Director does not agree that the division or section has
violated the established periods or finds that good cause existed for the
division or section to have exceeded the established periods, the Executive
Director may deny the relief requested by the complaint.
(3)
For purposes of this section, good cause for exceeding
the established period means:
(A)
the number of permit applications to be processed by the
division or section exceeds by at least 15 percent the number of permit applications
processed by that division or section in the same quarter of the previous
calendar year;
(B)
the division or section must rely on another public or
private entity to process all or part of the permit application received by
the agency, and the delay is caused by that entity; or
(C)
other conditions exist that give the division or section
good cause for exceeding the established period, including but not limited
to circumstances such as personnel shortages, equipment outages, and other
unanticipated events or emergencies.
(4)
The Executive Director shall make the final decision and
provide written notification of the decision to the applicant and the division
or section within 60 days of receipt of the complaint.
(e)
Hearings. If an application is docketed as a contested
case proceeding, it is governed by the time periods in this chapter (relating
to Practice and Procedure) once the application has been filed with the Docket
Services Section of the Office of General Counsel.
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 April 23, 2004.
TRD-200402728
Mary Ross McDonald
Managing Director
Railroad Commission of Texas
Effective date: May 13, 2004
Proposal publication date: March 12, 2004
For further information, please call: (512) 475-1295
Subchapter B. PROPANE CONSUMER REBATE PROGRAM
Chapter 15.
ALTERNATIVE FUELS RESEARCH AND EDUCATION DIVISION