Section 331.171 - Post-Closure Care(a) The owner or operator of a Class I salt cavern disposal well shall prepare, maintain, and comply with a plan for post-closure care that meets the requirements of subsection (b) of this section, and that is acceptable to the executive director. (1) The owner or operator shall submit the plan as a part of the permit application and, upon approval by the executive director, such plan shall be a condition of any permit issued.(2) The owner or operator shall submit any proposed significant revision to the plan and obtain any necessary permit amendment, as appropriate over the life of the well, but no later than the date of the closure report required under § 331.46 of this title (relating to Closure Standards).(3) The plan shall provide financial assurance as required in this chapter. The owner or operator shall demonstrate and maintain financial assurance in the amount of the post closure cost estimate to cover post closure in a manner that meets the requirements of this chapter and Chapter 37, Subchapter Q of this title (relating to Financial Assurance for Underground Injection Control Wells). The amount of the funds available shall be no less than the amount identified in paragraph (4)(F) of this subsection.(4) The plan shall include the following information:(A) the pressure in the injection zone before injection began;(B) the anticipated pressure in the injection zone at the time of closure;(C) the predicted time based on actual preclosure monitoring data until pressure in the injection interval reaches equilibrium with the surrounding salt stock;(D) predicted position of the waste front at closure (cavern sealing and well plugging);(E) the status of any corrective action required under § 331.44 of this title (relating to Corrective Action Standards);(F) the estimated cost of proposed closure and post-closure care to be based on a reasonable worst case scenario.(5) At the request of the owner or operator, or on his own initiative, the executive director may modify the post-closure plan after submission of the closure report following the procedures in § 331.46 of this title.(b) The owner or operator shall: (1) continue and complete any corrective action required under § 331.44 of this title;(2) continue to conduct any groundwater monitoring and subsidence monitoring required under the permit until pressure in the injection interval reaches equilibrium with the salt stock. The executive director may extend the period of post-closure monitoring if he determines that the well or cavern may endanger an underground source of drinking water or freshwater aquifer;(3) submit a survey plat to the local zoning authority designated by the executive director. The plat shall indicate the location of the well relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks, the depth of the cavern ceiling and floor, and the maximum cavern radius. A copy of the plat shall be submitted to the underground injection control staff of the commission;(4) provide appropriate notification and information to such state and local authorities as have authority over drilling activities to enable such state and local authorities to impose appropriate conditions on subsequent drilling activities that may penetrate the well's confining or injection zone;(5) retain for a period of three years following well closure records reflecting the nature, composition, and volume of all injected materials. The executive director shall require the owner or operator to deliver the records to the executive director at the conclusion of the retention period, and all records shall thereafter be retained at a location designated by the executive director for that purpose.30 Tex. Admin. Code § 331.171
The provisions of this §331.171 adopted to be effective June 22, 1992, 17 TexReg 4097; amended to be effective January 2, 1995, 19 TexReg 10099; amended to be effective March 21, 2000, 25 TexReg 2385; amended to be effective November 23, 2000, 25 TexReg 11433; amended to be effective August 16, 2012, 37 TexReg 6078