# Waiver Procedure

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** 16 TAC § 8.125
- **title:** Waiver Procedure
- **source type:** regulation
- **agency:** Railroad Commission of Texas
- **status:** current
- **official:** true
- **published on:** Not available
- **effective on:** 2024-12-09
- **summary:** (a) Purpose and scope. The Commission considers waiver applications to be properly based on a technical inability to comply with the pipeline safety standards set forth in this chapter, related to the specific configuration, location, operating limitations, or available technology for a particular p
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/tx-tac-16-8-125
- **source url:** https://texas-sos.appianportalsgov.com/rules-and-meetings?chapter=8&interface=VIEW_TAC&part=1&title=16
**body:**

(a) Purpose and scope. The Commission considers waiver
applications to be properly based on a technical inability to
comply with the pipeline safety standards set forth in this
chapter, related to the specific configuration, location,
operating limitations, or available technology for a particular
pipeline. Generally, an application for waiver of a pipeline
safety rule is site-specific. Cost is generally not a proper
objection to compliance by the operator with the pipeline
safety standards set forth in this chapter, and a waiver filed
simply to avoid the expense of safety compliance is
generally not appropriate. An operator shall request a waiver
prior to performing any activities that would fall under the
waiver.
(b) Filing. Any person may apply for a waiver of a pipeline
safety rule or regulation by filing an application for waiver
with the Division. Upon the filing of an application for
waiver of a pipeline safety rule, the Division shall assign a
docket number to the application and shall forward it to the
director, and thereafter all documents relating to that
application shall include the assigned docket number. An
application for a waiver is not an acceptable response to a
notice of an alleged violation of a pipeline safety rule. The
Division shall not assign a docket number to or consider any
application filed in response to a notice of violation of a
pipeline safety rule.
(c) Form. The application shall be typewritten on paper not
to exceed 8 1/2 inches by 11 inches and shall have margins
of at least one inch. The contents of the application shall
appear on one side of the paper and shall be double or one
and one-half spaced, except that footnotes and lengthy
quotations may be single spaced. Exhibits attached to an
application shall be the same size as the application or folded
to that size.
(d) Content. The application shall contain the following:
(1) the name, business address, and telephone number,
and facsimile transmission number and electronic mail
address, if available, of the applicant and of the applicant's
authorized representative, if any;
(2) a description of the particular operation for which the
waiver is sought;
(3) a statement concerning the regulation from which the
waiver is sought and the reason for the exception;
(4) a description of the facility at which the operation is
conducted, including, if necessary, design and operation
specifications, monitoring and control devices, maps,
calculations, and test results;
(5) a description of the acreage and/or address upon
which the facility and/or operation that is the subject of the
waiver request is located. The description shall:

(A) include a plat drawing;
(B) identify the site sufficiently to permit determination
of property boundaries;
(C) identify environmental surroundings;
(D) identify placement of buildings and areas intended
for human occupancy that could be endangered by a failure
or malfunction of the facility or operation;
(E) state the ownership of the real property of the site;
and
(F) state under what legal authority the applicant, if not
the owner of the real property, is permitted occupancy;
(6) an identification of any increased risks the particular
operation would create if the waiver were granted, and the
additional safety measures that are proposed to compensate
for those risks;
(7) a statement of the reason the particular operation, if
the waiver were granted, would not be inconsistent with
pipeline safety.
(8) an original signature, in ink, by the applicant or the
applicant's authorized representative, if any; and
(9) a list of the names, addresses, and telephone numbers
of all affected persons, as defined in §8.5 of this title
(relating to Definitions).
(e) Notice.
(1) The applicant shall send a notice by certified mail,
return receipt requested, to all affected persons on the same
date of filing the application with the Division. The applicant
shall file all return receipts with the Division as proof of
notice. The notice shall include:
(A) a copy of the application;
(B) a description of the nature of the waiver sought;
(C) a statement that affected persons have 30 calendar
days from the date of the last publication to file written
objections or requests for a hearing with the Division;
(D) the case number of the application;
(E) the mailing address of the Division; and
(F) the Division's email address safety@rrc.texas.gov. .
(2) The applicant shall publish notice of its application for
waiver of a pipeline safety rule once a week for two
consecutive weeks in the state or local news section of a
newspaper of general circulation in the county or counties in
which the facility or operation for which the requested
waiver is located. The notice shall describe the nature of the
waiver sought; shall state that affected persons have 30
calendar days from the date of the last publication to file
written objections or requests for a hearing with the
Division; and shall include the case number of the
application and the mailing address of the Division. Within
ten calendar days of the date of last publication, the applicant
shall file with the Division a publisher's affidavit from each
newspaper in which notice was published as proof of
publication of notice. The affidavit shall state the dates on
which the notice was published and shall have attached to it
the tear sheets from each edition of the newspaper in which
the notice was published.
(3) The applicant shall give any other notice of the
application which the director may require.
(f) Protest or support of waiver application.
(1) Affected persons shall have standing to object to,
support, or request a hearing on an application.
(2) A person who objects to, who supports, or who
requests a hearing on the application shall file a written
objection, statement of support, or request for a hearing with
the Division no later than the 30th calendar day after the date
the notice of the application was postmarked or the last date

the notice was published in the newspaper in the county in
which the person owns or occupies property, whichever is
later.
(3) The objection, statement of support, or request for a
hearing shall:
(A) state the name, address, and telephone number of
the person filing the objection, statement of support, or
request for hearing and of every person on whose behalf the
objection, statement of support, or request for a hearing is
being filed;
(B) include a statement of the facts on which the
person filing the protest or statement of support relies to
conclude that each person on whose behalf the objection,
statement of support, or request for a hearing is being filed is
an affected person, as defined in §8.5 of this title;
(C) include a statement of the nature and basis for the
objection to or statement of support for the waiver request;
and
(D) be filed with the Commission by email to
safety@rrc.texas.gov.
(g) Division review.
(1) The director shall complete the review of the
application within 60 calendar days after the application is
complete. If an application remains incomplete 12 months
after the date the application was filed, such application shall
expire and the director shall dismiss without prejudice to
refiling.
(A) If the director does not receive any objections or
requests for a hearing from any affected person, the director
may recommend in writing that the Commission grant the
waiver if granting the waiver is not inconsistent with pipeline
safety. The director shall forward the file, along with the
written recommendation that the waiver be granted, to the
Hearings Division for the preparation of an order.
(B) The director shall not recommend that the
Commission grant the waiver if the application was filed to
correct an existing violation, to avoid the expense of safety
compliance, or filed after the applicant already engaged in
activities covered by the proposed waiver. The director shall
dismiss with prejudice to refiling an application filed in
response to a notice of violation of a pipeline safety rule.
(C) If the director declines to recommend that the
Commission grant the waiver, the director shall notify the
applicant in writing of the recommendation and the reason
for it, and shall inform the applicant of any specific
deficiencies in the application.
(2) If the director declines to recommend that the
Commission grant the waiver, and if the application was not
filed either to correct an existing violation or solely to avoid
the expense of safety compliance, the applicant may either:
(A) modify the application to correct the deficiencies
and resubmit the application; or
(B) file a written request for a hearing on the matter
within ten calendar days of receiving notice of the assistant
director's written decision not to recommend that the
Commission grant the application.
(h) Hearings and orders.
(1) Within three days of receiving either a timely-filed
objection or a request for a hearing, the director shall
forward the file to the Hearings Division, which shall set and
conduct the hearing in accordance with Chapter 1 of this title
(relating to Practice and Procedure).
(2) After a hearing, the Commission may grant a waiver
of a pipeline safety rule based on a finding or findings in the
order that the grant of the waiver is not inconsistent with

pipeline safety.
(i) Notice to United States Department of Transportation.
Upon a Commission order granting a waiver of a pipeline
safety rule, the director shall give written notice to the
Secretary of Transportation pursuant to the provisions of 49
United States Code Annotated, §60118(d). The
Commission's grant of a waiver becomes effective in
accordance with the provisions of 49 United States Code
Annotated, §60118(d).
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