(A) A person wanting to engage and operate in oil or gas production activities shall apply for and obtain a permit under this chapter, indicating in the application the type of permit being requested. It shall be unlawful for any person acting either for him- or herself, or as an agent, employee, independent contractor, or servant for any person, to drill any well, assist in any way in the site preparation, re-working, fracturing or operation of any such well, or to conduct any activity related to the production of oil or gas, without first obtaining a permit issued by the city in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
(B) The operator must apply for and obtain a permit for the drilling, re-drilling, deepening, re-entering, activating or converting of each well.
(C) A permit shall not constitute authority for the re-entering and drilling of an abandoned well. In accordance with the provisions of this chapter, an operator shall obtain a new permit if the operator is re-entering and drilling an abandoned well.
(D) When a permit has been issued to the operator for the drilling, re-drilling, deepening, re-entering, activating or converting of a well, such permit shall constitute sufficient authority for drilling, operation, production gathering or production maintenance, repair, re-working, testing, plugging and abandonment of the well, and/or any other activity associated with mineral exploration at the site of such well; provided, however, that a new or supplemental permit shall be obtained before such well may be reworked for purposes of re-drilling, deepening or converting it to a depth or use other than that set forth in the then current permit for such well.
(E) Any person who intends to re-work a permitted well using a drilling rig, to fracture stimulate a permitted well after initial completion, or to conduct seismic surveys or other exploration activities, shall give written notice to the City Manager no less than ten days before the activities begin. The notice must identify where the activities will be conducted, and must describe the activities in detail, including whether explosive charges will be used, the duration of the activities, and the time the activities will be conducted. The notice must also provide the address and 24-hour phone number of the person conducting the activities. If requested by the City Manager, the person conducting the activities will post a sign on the property giving the public notice of the activities, including the name, address and 24-hour phone number of the person conducting the activities.
(F) A permit shall automatically terminate, unless extended, if drilling is not commenced within 180 days from the date of the issuance of the permit. A permit may be extended by the City Manager for an additional 180 days, upon request by the operator and proof that the classification of the requested permit for such location has not changed. Permit extension must be requested prior to the expiration of the original permit. A permit extension fee of $2,500 must accompany the extension request.
(G) The permits required by this chapter are in addition to, and are not in lieu of, any permit which may be required by any other provision of this code or by any other governmental agency.
(H) No additional permit or filing fees shall be required for:
(1) Any wells, existing, previously permitted or approved by the city, within the corporate limits of the city on the effective date of this section; or
(2) Any wells on which drilling has commenced on the effective date of this section; or
(3) Any wells in existence or any wells on which drilling has commenced on land annexed into the city after the effective date of this section; or
(4) Any well that was planned for the land before the 90th day before the effective date of its annexation, and one or more licenses, certificates, permits, approvals, or other forms of authorization by a governmental entity were required by law for such well, and the completed application for the initial authorization was filed before the date the annexation proceedings were instituted.
A person shall have 45 days after the effective date of this section or annexation into the city to designate a gas operation as a preexisting operation, by filing with the City Manager a site plan drawn to scale, showing the proposed location of the well with respect to survey lines, and the proposed associated production facilities, if any.
(I) No permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled within any floodway.
(J) By acceptance of any permit issued pursuant to this chapter, the operator expressly stipulates and agrees to be bound by and comply with the provisions of this chapter. The terms of this chapter shall be deemed to be incorporated in any permit issued pursuant to it, with the same force and effect as if this chapter was set forth verbatim in such permit.
('68 Code, § 19½-2) (Ord. 10-1987-55, passed 10-20-87; Am. Ord. 8-2002-58, passed 8-27-02; Am. Ord. 01-2007-07, passed 1-23-07; Am. Ord. 06-2011-32, passed 6-28-11) Penalty, see § 118.99