A. Drilling Permit Required: Subsequent to May 4, 1981, it shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to drill or to maintain and operate any oil, gas or disposal well within the corporate limits, without first having secured a permit to do so as hereinafter provided.
B. Drilling Permit Application; Transfer; Permittee To Assume Risks: Every person desiring to drill or to maintain and operate any oil, gas or disposal well within the city shall file an application therefor, in writing, upon the form required by the city and signed by the applicant, or his agent authorized to sign the same. Such application shall specify the well location with reference to a known bench mark and the quarter section, section, township and range. A copy of the well survey, as prepared by a land surveyor registered in the state and registered with the state oil and gas commission, will be submitted with the application.
1. Should a change in ownership of the oil, gas or disposal well occur after a drilling permit has been issued, the drilling permit as issued shall be considered to be transferable to the person purchasing and taking over operation of the oil, gas or disposal well; provided, that such person meets and complies with the provisions of this chapter, to include, but not be limited to, those provisions relating to bonds and insurance required in section 3-7-7 of this chapter.
2. The city is not a guarantor of the competence of the permittee as to drilling operations. Such permit is not an expression by the city that such proposed oil operation can be done with safety to the operator or other persons or property, all of which such risks are assumed by the permittee.
C. Drill Site Development Plans: In the interest of protecting the health, safety and welfare of the inhabitants of the city, and in order to protect the quality of residential life within the city, the city shall not issue a "drilling permit", as defined by this section, until the city council has reviewed and approved the drill site development plan in accordance with the following regulations:
1. The person making application shall prepare and submit to the city two (2) drill site development plans, the first of which shall be a drill site development plan covering and including that phase of the oil well operation, including drilling operations, and the second of which shall cover the completed or producing well phase and which site development plans shall contain the following information:
a. Written legal description.
b. Scale drawing of the property and appropriate dimensions.
c. Scale, north arrow, date and legend.
d. Name, address and telephone number of property owner and applicant.
e. Location and size of existing easements, utilities and rights of way.
f. Location and dimension of all vehicular entrances, exits and drives.
g. General drainage system.
h. Size of site.
i. Location of all physical facilities, to include proposed wells, structures, portable toilets and relationship to all buildings within a six hundred sixty foot (660') radius.
j. A statement describing all pollution prevention equipment to be utilized. It shall be the policy of the city to require blowout prevention devices on every drilling operation covered hereunder.
k. Location of all drilling mud pits.
2. The city council shall hold an official public hearing, giving at least seven (7) days' notice of such public hearing, the purpose of which public hearing shall be for review and consideration of approving or denying the drill site development plan as submitted. At the time of such public hearing, the city council shall have the authority, when in the interests of the public peace, health and safety, to amend the plan as originally submitted. The drill site plan shall then be considered to be approved as amended or denied, and containing those additional restrictions and regulations as placed on the plan by the city council.
3. The land within the area covered by the drill site development plan shall be developed only in accordance with the drill site development plan as finally approved by the city council. Any change, erasure, modification, revision or deviation from that plan shall be considered invalid and a violation of the provisions of this chapter, unless such change, erasure, modification, revision or deviation shall have first been submitted to the city and approved according to the above procedure. It is further provided that should a change in property ownership occur after approval of the drill site development plan, the drill site development plan as approved by the city council shall be honored and maintained in its entirety.
4. Prior to operation and maintenance thereof, the person having made application shall prepare and submit to the city a second drill site development plan, which shall cover the completed or producing well phase of the well operation, and which drill site development plan may be the original drill site development plan as submitted to the city, with amendments made thereto, or may be a new and original drill site development plan; however, in either case, such drill site development plan shall contain the following information:
a. Location of flow line and pipeline rights of way to be used.
b. Specifications and location of pipe to be used for oil, gas or water lines.
c. Location of ingress and egress to be utilized by the applicant, and to include all vehicular entrances, exits and drives.
d. Type of screening device or construction that will be utilized to minimize, as is reasonable, the visual impact of aboveground devices. The proposed fencing, gates and security to be installed or used to discourage access to the site.
e. The location and size, which shall be no more than twenty four inches by thirty inches (24" x 30"), of a sign which shall contain the name, address and emergency phone number of the oil producing company, the responsible person or organization, and which sign shall be posted at the drilling site for use in any emergency notice which might arise.
5. The planning and zoning commission shall, within seven (7) days of receipt, review and consider the second drill site development plan as considered. The planning and zoning commission shall, upon receipt of the second drill site development plan, inform all adjacent property owners of the filing of the second drill site development plan. At the time of such consideration, the planning and zoning commission shall have the authority, when in the interests of the public peace, health and safety, to amend the plan as originally submitted prior to granting their approval. The site development plan shall then be considered to be approved as amended, and containing those additional restrictions and regulations as placed on the plan by the planning and zoning commission. The site development plan shall then be considered to be approved as amended, unless a protest is filed with the building inspector within seven (7) days of the decision complained of, in which case the protestant shall have the right to appeal to the city council.
6. The filing of the second drill site development plan shall not be required of wells in operation prior to May 4, 1981.
7. If both the first drill site development plan and the second drill site development plan are submitted at the same time, both plans shall be considered by the city council at the same public hearing. (Ord. 81-10, 5-4-1981)