Monitoring and Reporting for Surface Waste Facilities

Most commercial surface waste disposal facilities, including stationary recycling facilities, waste separation facilities, disposal pits, and reclamation plants, require reporting to the RRC. Certain permitted pits may also require reporting of groundwater monitoring. See the Soil Boring and Groundwater Monitoring page for more information.

All reports must be mailed to:
Railroad Commission of Texas
Technical Permitting
P.O. Box 12967
Austin, Texas 78711-2967

All chemical laboratory analyses must be performed using appropriate Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) methods or Standard Methods by an independent, National Environmental Laboratory Accreditation Program (NELAP) certified laboratory neither owned nor operated by the permittee. Any sample collected for laboratory analysis must be collected and preserved in a manner appropriate for that analytical method as specified by 40 CFR, Part 136. All geotechnical testing is to be performed utilizing tests standardized by the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) and certified by a Texas licensed Professional Engineer.

Monthly Reporting

District-wide permits issued for recycling of domestic wastewater (DWW) and mobile drinking water treatment system (MDWTS) wastewater require monthly reporting. Templates are available for the Treatment Location Summary and Monthly Reporting Summary:

DWW Monthly Reporting Template ( Excel spreadsheet) – Updated 10/13/22
DWW Treatment Location Template Excel spreadsheet) – Updated 10/13/22

Domestic wastewater monthly reports must be submitted by email to Domestic.Wastewater@rrc.texas.gov, or mailed to Technical Permitting in Austin. Monthly reports must be received by the 15^th day of the month following the month covered by the report. If no treatment activities occurred for the month being reported, submit a letter stating there was no activity, and do NOT attach the spreadsheets.

All Reclamation Plants (Form R-9) require monthly reporting on a Form R-2. Per Statewide Rule 57(f)(4), the monthly Form R-2 must be received by the 15^th day of the month following the month covered by the report. The Form R-2 must be mailed to Technical Permitting in Austin and a copy must be filed in the appropriate District Office. If the facility is inactive or not yet constructed, the form must still be filled out and submitted.

Quarterly Reporting

A quarterly report template is available for download as an Excel spreadsheet. At this time, operators are not required to use this template, but it is encouraged in order to assure that all required information is being submitted.

Quarterly Report Template ( Excel spreadsheet) – Updated 9/1/21

Quarterly reporting periods are January 1 through March 31, April 1 through June 30, July 1 through September 30, and October 1 through December 31 of each year. Reports must be submitted no later than the 30th day of the month following each reporting period, or each April 30th, July 30th, October 30th, and January 30th, respectively. All quarterly reports must be mailed to Technical Permitting in Austin and a copy must be filed in the appropriate District Office. If the facility has not yet been constructed, submit a letter stating the facility is not constructed, and do not include attachments. If a constructed facility is temporarily inactive, submit a letter stating there was no activity. Note that for temporarily inactive facilities, there may still be ongoing monitoring requirements, such as groundwater monitoring and annual pit inspections.

Some non-commercial permits require quarterly reporting, including landfarming, land treatment, and land application permits. See the specific requirements in your permit. Reporting for typical non-commercial landspreading permits must include:

Total volumes of waste applied to each disposal cell;
A map drawn to scale with the location and coordinates of each soil sample (if composite samples are analyzed, include all areas where samples were collected and indicate which corresponding composite sample they were included in);
A table summarizing the results of the parameters sampled, the date sampled, and approximate depth of the soil sample below land surface;
Copies of the laboratory analytical reports and the corresponding chain of custody; and
For land application of produced water or gas plant effluent, a representative sample of the wastewater must also be collected and analyzed monthly.

For commercial landfarming or landtreatment facilities, the report may use the incoming waste template from the Quarterly Reports Template and include the maps and sampling results as required by the permit.

Annual Monitoring

Any permitted pit or cell not equipped with a Leak Detection System (LDS) must be emptied and visually inspected annually for deterioration and leaks. A record of each inspection and photographs of the interior of each pit must be maintained for the life of the pit and must be submitted to Technical Permitting in Austin. The appropriate District Office must be notified by phone or email at least 48 hours before emptying the pit for inspection.