1. 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

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

3. 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

4. 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

5. 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

6. 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 .

7. 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.

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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 State Water Plan

12. 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.

13. 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.

14. 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

15. 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

16. 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.

17. Recent TCEQ ASR Authorizations:
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

18. Thank you!
Contact Information:
Lorrie Council, P.G., Manager
UIC Permits Section
(512)
Tamara Young, UIC Program Coordinator
(512)
Main RMD/UIC Phone:
Texas Commission on Environmental Quality