American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017 - 79

how to get our industry back on its feet.
His administration has a big job ahead,
but we are excited by what we have seen
so far."
Among the laws and federal regulations

on which TIPRO is expressing hope for
reform are the Endangered Species Act,
Clean Air Act Section OOOO(a) rules
on methane emissions, and the venting
and flaring rules from the Bureau of Land

Management.
"Many did not anticipate that the election would turn out as it did," Longanecker
considers. "We are looking for good
things to happen in this term."
❒

Texas Deals With Induced Seismicity
AUSTIN, TX.-Earthquakes across a
half dozen oil and gas producing states
in the past decade have generated headlines
and calls for preventive action, alongside
some public perception of links between
seismic activity and wastewater disposal
in deep wells.
In Texas, a new monitoring and research program called TexNet aims to
provide insight and direction for state
regulators as they respond to the issue,
say its developers.
According to press accounts, within
the next two years, TexNet is expected to
produce a program of subsurface characterization and modeling that addresses
possible seismic triggers and provides
regulators with guidance on disposal well
permitting and operations.
From its earliest stages, the Texas Independent Producers & Royalty Owners
Association says it has supported the

program.
Expanded Authority
Published reports chronicle how concerns about induced seismicity have taken
shape amid a rise in reported earthquakes
that appear to overlap increased production
of wastewater and other fluids associated
with oil and gas activity. After a series of
quakes in 2012 and 2013 near Azle, Tx.,
northwest of Fort Worth, public concerns
prompted rule changes and later, a formal
inquiry.
By 2014, the Texas Railroad Commission had hired a seismologist and revised its disposal well regulations (AOGR,
May 2014, pg. 24). The RRC also modified
disposal well requirements under Statewide
Rules 9 and 46.
For its part, TIPRO worked closely
with the RRC on the injection and disposal
rules, says Lindsey Miller, the association's

director of government and regulatory
affairs. "We were very concerned about
this issue from the beginning," she relates.
"Disposal well permits should be reviewed
if an area has a history of seismic activity.
A few permits have been denied, but the
operator has the right to an appeal."
Although a clear link between wastewater disposal and seismic activity remains
elusive, "it is an issue that cannot be ignored," Miller adds.
The revised RRC rules require disposal
well permit applications to search U.S.
Geological Survey records for reports of
seismic activity within 9.08 kilometers
of the location, Miller notes. RRC staff
also have been authorized to modify a
permit's volumes or pressures-and even
shut in a well-if they determine the well
contributes to seismic activity. The revisions also allow the RRC to increase the
frequency by which operators must file

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American Oil and Gas Reporter - February 2017

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