General
Overview
Owners or operators of hazardous and nonhazardous underground
injection control wells should refer to
Subchapter Q of Chapter 37 
which establishes requirements and
mechanisms for demonstrating financial assurance for plugging and
abandonment, post closure and third party liability coverage. The
amount of financial assurance required is determined by the
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Permits Team and is discussed
in further detail under Cost Estimates below. An owner or operator
of a hazardous waste injection well must also provide financial
assurance for bodily injury and property damage to third parties
caused by sudden and nonsudden accidental occurrences arising from
the operations of the facility.
Our Rules allow the term "plugging and abandonment" to mean the
same as "closure" in order to promote consistency among the various
financial assurance mechanisms that are used among different
programs.
Financial assurance mechanisms must be submitted at least 60 days
prior to commencement of drilling operations for new wells.
Questions? We
Can Help
If you have questions about financial assurance for UIC permits,
please contact us.
Cost
Estimates
Closure and post-closure costs estimates for permitted UIC
facilities are reviewed by the UIC Permits Team during the
application review process. The required financial assurance amount
is included as a provision in the permit. Any cost estimate
revisions to the permit must be coordinated through the UIC Permits
Team. For more information please contact our Waste Permits
Division at 512/239-2334 and ask to speak to a permit
project manager in the UIC Permits Team.
Types of Financial
Assurance Mechanisms
Closure, post-closure and corrective action coverages: A
description of how various financial assurance mechanisms work and
their specific criteria are set out in
Subchapter C of Chapter 37. The required wording of the mechanisms can
be reviewed and downloaded from
Subchapter D of Chapter 37.
Third party liability coverage: A description of how various
financial assurance mechanisms work and their specific criteria are
set out in
Subchapter F of Chapter 37. The required wording of the mechanisms can
be reviewed and downloaded from
Subchapter G of Chapter 37.
Annual
Inflation Adjustments
Annual inflation adjustments are required during the active life
of the facility.
Wording of
Mechanisms
The financial assurance mechanism you submit to us must be
worded exactly as set out in our Rules except that the instructions
in parenthesis are to be replaced with the relevant information and
the parenthesis deleted. One way to ensure that your mechanism is
worded correctly is to download the document from our web site and
inform your financial institution not to add or delete language.
Please be advised that our agency cannot accept the financial
assurance mechanism if it does not incorporate the exact language
as set out in our Rules.
Universal
Financial Assurance Mechanism
If you are also required to post a financial assurance
demonstration for an Industrial and Hazardous Waste Facility (IHW),
you may combine both programs (UIC and IHW) closure demonstration
on one mechanism. Please ensure that each program area is
identified separately. This same methodology can also be applied to
the third party liability demonstration.
