Texas Underground Injection Control Program 2019 TCEQ Environmental Conference & Trade Fair May 15, 2019 Lorrie Council, P.G., Manager, UIC Permits Section Tamara Young, UIC Program Coordinator Radioactive Materials Division, Office of Waste Texas Commission on Environmental Quality Image Group is TCEQ Logo and Diagram of Class I Injection Wells

UIC 2019 Trade Fair Program Schedule Meeting notes – break it out by classification, add title, speaker name, room number.; Lorrie introduces me.

TCEQ UIC Organization UIC Program Implemented by: Office of Waste Radioactive Materials Division: UIC Permitting and Authorizations Class I Well Construction Oversight and Approval Well Plugging Oversight and Approval EPA Annual Reporting UIC Education and Outreach Office of Compliance & Enforcement: Workover Approvals Mechanical Integrity Test Oversight Routine Operations and Reporting EPA Compliance Related Reporting Compliance and Enforcement Complaint Investigations

TCEQ UIC Organization, cont. Within Radioactive Materials Division: UIC Permits Section Focus: Application Review and Permitting for Class I and V Wells UIC Programmatic Reporting and Coordination with EPA UIC Rulemaking and Legislative Bill Analysis UIC Program Coordination Radioactive Materials Section Focus: UIC Class I and III Permitting for In-Situ Uranium Mines Groundwater Restoration Oversight at In-situ Uranium Mines

Agency Staff Changes Relating to UIC Radioactive Materials Division: Ashley Forbes, Division Director, transferred in November 2018 UIC Permits Section: Tamara Young, UIC Program Coordinator, transferred in December 2018 Pavan Bairu, P.E., UIC Engineer, joined July 2018 Stephen Fryer, Contract Permit Specialist, as of January 2019 Kathryn Hoffman, P.E., Contract Engineer, as of April 2019 Radioactive Materials Section (RMS): Ron Thomas, Manager RMS, transferred February 2019 Debi Armbruster, RMS Program Coordinator, Nov. 2018 Office of Compliance & Enforcement Tim Perdue, Region 14, Waste Section Manager, joined 2018 Tim Dewbre, Region I, Investigator, joined July 2018 Notes update jpeg

TCEQ UIC 2018 Inventory by Well Class A table lists numbers of TCEQ-regulated UIC facilities and wells, as reported by TCEQ to EPA in February 2018, broken down by class of injection well .

UIC Class I Permit Applications and Permits Issued in 2018 Class I Applications Received Class I Permits Issued New Permit 2 Permit Renewal 10 7 Permit Renewal/Major Amend Permit Renewal/Minor Amend 3 Major Amendment Minor Amendment 12 6 Minor Modification 5 4 Endorsement Transfer 9 PIU Registration New/Renewal 1 A table depicts Class 1 applications by type as compared to the Class 1 permits issued for that type, for 2017.

UIC Class I Highlights During 2018 and into 2019, several new Class I disposal wells were constructed at facilities along the Texas Gulf Coast: Five constructed and approved for use: 1 commercial, hazardous waste well 2 non-commercial, hazardous waste wells 2 non-commercial, non-hazardous waste wells Two wells constructed with construction reports under agency review: 1 non-commercial, hazardous waste well 1 new industrial facility, non-commercial hazardous waste well

UIC Class III Applications and Permits Issued in 2018 Class III Applications Received Class III Permits Issued New Area Permit Area Permit Renewal 1 Major Amendment Minor Amendment Minor Modification 4 Endorsement 3 Transfer A table lists Class three applications by type compared to class three permits by each respective type, for calendar year 2017.

UIC Class V Authorizations 2018 Class V Well Type Number of Authorizations or Amendments Issued Number of Associated Wells Aquifer Recharge Wells 5R21 (includes ASR Wells) 1 WWTP Disposal 5W12 Experimental Wells 5X25 2 3 Aquifer Remediation 5X26 30 4,485 (includes temporary injection points) Total 34 4,490 A table lists the number of Authorizations and Amendments along with the number of associated wells for each type of class five wells in 2018. Meeting notes: Fix spacing; update for those that are newly issued.

Water Management in Texas Using Aquifer Storage and Recovery Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) is one type of Class V injection well regulated by the TCEQ. With continuing growth of population and industry in Texas, more cities and industries are taking steps to increase and protect their water supplies. ASR is an important water management tool that can help overcome the challenges of seasonal water usage as well as provide storage of water for use during times of drought. Photo Credit: Texas Water Development Board 2017 State Water Plan

What is Aquifer Storage and Recovery? Storage of available water underground in a geologic formation Subsequent recovery of the stored water when water demands are higher What is Aquifer Storage and Recovery? Essentially, it is a water management tool, where an entity that has excess available water injects the water through wells into a geologic formation underground where it is stored, and then later the stored water is produced through the same or additional wells during times of high water demand.   This slide shows a simple cross-section of an ASR system that takes excess river water and stores it in a confined aquifer, then later pumps the water back to the surface when more water is needed.

What is Aquifer Storage and Recovery Subsequent recovery of the stored water when water demands are higher Storage of available water underground in a geologic formation This is another graphic that shows a cross-section of an ASR system that stores water from a water treatment plant. The slide shows a bigger “bubble” of stored water in a confined aquifer during the injection (storage) phase and a smaller bubble when the well is recovering water.   The darker green area on this slide depicts a mixing zone or buffer zone around the stored water bubble – this is where native groundwater and the injected water mix. You can envision this as a “soft” tank wall or barrier that ASR operators would try to maintain during the life of the ASR to minimize any geochemical reactions that could occur between native groundwater and the stored water.

ASR in Texas Prior to 2015, only 3 city utilities in Texas had ASR projects to help manage their water supplies: Kerrville, San Antonio, and El Paso (now operated as managed aquifer recharge) Photos of water treatment plant at Kerrville and ASR well number 9 at SAWS

ASR Regulatory Update Rep. Lyle Larson introduced HB 655 during the 84th Texas Legislature in an effort to streamline the permitting process and encourage use of ASR After enactment, TCEQ adopted revised rules in 2016 to implement HB 655 to specify: Permitting elements Technical standards Water quality requirements Recoverability considerations Reporting requirements

ASR: How Much Water is Recoverable? ASR projects located within a groundwater conservation district are subject to the district’s rules for the volume of water produced that exceeds the “recoverable volume.” By rule, TCEQ must make a determination on the volume of water that can be recovered as compared to the volume of water injected. TCEQ’s ASR application asks applicants to demonstrate recoverability.

Recent TCEQ ASR Authorizations 2015-2017: TCEQ met with a dozen municipalities, several groundwater conservation districts, and 1 large ranch to discuss the permit process for potential ASR projects TCEQ issued 1 aquifer recharge authorization 2018: TCEQ issued 2 experimental well authorizations to drinking water providers to conduct ASR cycle testing TCEQ issued 1 aquifer recharge authorization amendment 2019: TCEQ issued an experimental well authorization to 1 water utility for ASR cycle testing Currently reviewing 2 ASR applications from municipal water providers in Central Texas Photo Credit: Alan Cherepon, TCEQ

Thank you! Contact Information: Lorrie Council, P.G., Manager UIC Permits Section lorrie.council@tceq.texas.gov (512) 239-6461 Tamara Young, UIC Program Coordinator tamara.young@tceq.Texas.gov (512) 239-6582 Main RMD/UIC Phone: 512-239-6466 Texas Commission on Environmental Quality http://www.tceq.texas.gov/permitting/waste_permits/uic_permits/uic.html