Texas Water Law and Oil Gas Operations Professor

Texas Water Law and Oil & Gas Operations Professor Tracy Hester Environmental Law in Oil & Gas Sept. 25, 2017

If you’re interested in things that go boom… Houston Local Emergency Preparedness Committee meeting Sept. 27, 10 am – noon

Review • Adlaw concepts: – What’s an agency (APA) – Agency activities – rulemaking process, hearings, enforcement – Notice & comment rulemaking: record review, publication, final agency action – Judicial review – arbitrary & capricious; substantial evidence review; contested case hearings – Rules vs guidance; MOUs and agency coordination

Key questions for Texas water law and E&P operations

Key questions include: • Who owns Texas? • Above vs. below – links? • Where is Texas surface water located? • Where is Texas groundwater? • How is groundwater different from oil or gas deposits? • Water impacts of E&P?

Fracking and Federal Environmental Enforcement • Federal statutory exemption specifically for fracking materials injected into the ground (but diesel not protected) • Safe Drinking Water Act – potential contamination of drinking water sources • Clean Water Act – discharge of produced water into publicly owned treatment works (or to nearby intakes) • Range Resources enforcement action - dismissed

Surface water in Texas 8

Surface water in Texas Map of surface reservoirs 9

Texas Watermasters 10

11

Texas Groundwater – Rule of Capture 12

Professor Tracy Hester University of Houston Law Center tdheste 2@central. uh. edu 713 -743 -1152 (office)