(A) Permits required. No person shall reenter any well or drill an original well or convert an existing producing well to be used for enhanced recovery or disposal of saltwater or other deleterious substances without first obtaining the necessary permit therefor. Such permit shall consist of two separate parts:
(1) Permit to drill or reenter and construct; and
(2) Permit to operate.
(B) Drilling or reentry permit; application information. An application for the permit to drill or reenter a well for enhanced recovery or substance disposal shall be in the original well, and shall contain complete information required by the oil and gas inspector, including the following:
(1) A block map of the well site, showing all equipment to be used thereat, location of pipelines, access road and distances from the well to any and all fences, public roadways, and buildings within a radius of 330 feet;
(2) A block map of the project, showing the location of:
(a) All water supply wells within a one-fourth mile radius of each injection or disposal well;
(b) All public water supply wells, disposal wells, injection wells, producing wells, and plugged and abandoned wells, within the project area and those sections immediately adjacent;
(c) All conduits; and
(d) Tank battery, pumping station and appurtenant equipment.
(3) All wells within the project area and those sections immediately adjacent shall be indicated by status (e.g., plugged and abandoned, injection, saltwater, oil and the like), and show the following additional information:
(a) Footage location (surface casing);
(b) Derrick floor and ground level elevation;
(c) Drilled total depth;
(d) Packer body total depth;
(e) Size, depth and quality of surface and production casing, including zones from which casing has been removed;
(f) Location of all plugs, packers, cement plugs, tubing anchors and the like, with the well bore;
(g) Depth and nature of all cement squeeze jobs;
(h) Formation name and depth of all open perforations in a producing open hole;
(i) Volume and type of cement used on surface and production strings; and
(j) Top of cement.
1. One copy of all electric, mechanical, sample and driller’s logs, if available;
2. Fee and operation name for each well;
3. One copy of all cement bond logs and production logs;
4. One copy of all work performed on the well;
5. Copies of all information supplied to the Corporation Commission, and the Commission’s approval of the project; and
6. Evidence that all wells in the area of the project and the adjacent sections are adequately plugged.
(C) Recommendations. Upon the completion of the application required hereunder, the oil and gas inspector shall have 30 business days to review same and make a recommendation of approval or disapproval to the Mayor and Board of Trustees.
(D) Operation permit; application information. Prior to placing any enhanced recovery or substance disposal well into service, a permit to operate such well shall be obtained from the oil and gas inspector. Every application for a permit to operate such well shall contain the following information:
(1) Depth to static water level (hydrostatic head). Such data shall be obtained by means of a method approved by the oil and gas inspector. Such data shall be obtained not less than 48 hours after openings have been made through the casing into the injection disposal zone or zones.
(2) Based on the static water level identified in division (D)(1) of this section, maximum operating pressures and rates of injection shall be established and maintained so as to prevent the hydraulic pressure level at a radius of ten feet from the injection or disposal wells from rising above the base elevation of treatable water. Such maximum operating pressures and injection rates shall be noted on the permit. No injection or disposal well will be permitted to operate if the well’s zone of influence will exceed the above referenced limits.
(E) Application fee. A fee as set by the Town Board of Trustees by resolution. This fee shall be submitted along with every application for a permit to operate an injection or substance disposal well.
(F) Proof of pressure testing. Copies of Corporation Commission Form No. 1015, indicating successful pressure testing of each injection well at a pressure greater than the maximum proposed for the project, or if no such form No. 1015 has been filed and approved, then sufficient evidence of the successful pressure testing of each injection well shall be filed with the oil and gas inspector.
(G) Sealing of injection zone. Every such injection or disposal well shall be constructed so as to seal the injection zone from the upper portion of the casing. The annulus between the injection tubing and the casing shall be filled with a noncorrosive fluid, then sealed and a one-fourth inch female fitting with cutoff valve shall be attached so that the pressure in the annulus may be measured by the oil and gas inspector by attaching a gauge having a one-fourth inch male fitting. A pressure shall be maintained in the annulus sufficient to monitor the fluids in the annulus. Any significant deviation from the established pressure shall be cause to shut down the well, and may result in cancellation of the operating permit, until such time as the established pressure can once again be maintained.
(H) Injection lines. Injection lines shall be buried in a trench of a depth no less than four feet and shall be pressure tested (static) annually at a minimum of 150% of the pressure normally encountered at the injection pump discharge for a period of hours to be fixed by the oil and gas inspector. The oil and gas inspector shall be notified five days in advance of such test and may supervise same. Test results shall be filed with the town upon completion.
(I) Testing for deleterious substances. Domestic and public water supply wells located within a radius of one-fourth mile of any enhanced recovery or disposal well shall be tested prior to beginning injection or disposal and thereafter semiannually for the presence of deleterious substances, such as chlorides, sulfates and dissolved solids. Such testing is the responsibility of the permittee and at permittee’s expense, to be conducted by a person approved by the oil and gas inspector. The oil and gas inspector shall be notified five days in advance of such testing and may be present therefor. Test results shall be filed with the town upon completion.
(J) Access road requirements. Access road requirements are as follows:
(1) The applicant shall construct, as necessary, concrete drive approach to town standards, including radius as specified by the oil and gas inspector, with proper curbs and gate;
(2) The operator will ensure that the road and well location has adequate rock or other road materials to ensure that mud and debris are not carried onto the public street; and
(3) The applicant shall not modify the access road to the well site unless agreed to by the town oil and gas inspector.
(K) Repair street damage. The oil and gas inspector shall inspect the town streets to determine what, if any, damage has been caused by the applicant’s activity, and if in the opinion of the Town Engineer such damage has occurred, the applicant shall repair such damages at his or her expense.
(L) Notice to oil and gas inspector. The applicant shall notify the office of oil and gas inspector of the following:
(1) For coordinating a meeting five working days prior to moving onto site location;
(2) Provide oil and gas inspector with copies of cement bond logs; and
(3) The oil and gas inspector shall be notified so that he or she may inspect and be present to witness the running and cementing of pipe, the BOP equipment and the placement and verification of cement.
(M) Lighting at well site. The operator will ensure any lighting installed in conjunction with the well or its facilities will be directed in such a manner that will not endanger any traffic or will not interrupt the privacy of other property owners in the area.
(N) Costs of utility line moving or equipment repairs. The applicant shall pay for any “up or down” charges of electrical and telephone lines that must be moved for the well site. The applicant shall repair any underground services (water, sewer or electric) that would be damaged by the equipment and work on the well at his or her expense.
(O) Coated tubing. The operator will install only new internally lined or coated tubing in an injection well.
(P) Location. The applicant shall ensure that the well or any aperture will be set a minimum of 200 from any existing or proposed building line and 300 feet from any existing or proposed water wells in the area. Any existing water wells within 300 feet must be plugged prior to conversion of well.
(Q) Disposal of mud, deleterious substances. The applicant or his or her agent shall not dispose of mud by pumping it into the well bore or any annulus of the well. In addition, the following will be complied with:
(1) A written plan for disposal of deleterious substances produced during the drilling operations, and any deleterious substances produced as a result of production from the well will be submitted to the oil and gas inspector prior to commencing any operations in case the injection wells are not operating. This plan shall include:
(a) The method of transportation;
(b) The name of the transporter or transport contractor for the deleterious substances; and
(c) The name and location of the permitted disposal site.
(2) The permittee shall have available monthly reports for town inspectors, upon request, of the amount of saltwater and other deleterious substances produced, along with receipts for disposal of the same, provided further that receipts are not applicable when injection wells are operating.
(R) Down hole log. Copies of down hole log shall be submitted to the town for the well.
(S) Fence requirements. The applicant shall provide at all well sites included in the water flood:
(1) Sight proof fencing not less than eight feet high with three strands of barbed wire above for the security of the well site to include the pumping unit and appurtenant facilities;
(2) The sight-proof fencing may be ornamental fencing or a wall fence and must meet the requirements in division (S)(1) of this section; and
(3) The fence shall be constructed and maintained in good condition at all times during the life of the well.
(T) Dikes. The well site and all storage tank areas will be diked to the following requirements:
(1) Dikes erected to hold 150% of the capacity of all storage vessels and the wellhead for leaks;
(2) Lines will be buried a minimum of 48 inches from the surface and be inspected by the oil and gas inspector prior to being covered;
(3) A dike will be placed to separate the tanks from the separator and heater treater where feasible; and
(4) The wellhead will be diked to contain minimal spillage.
(U) Site plan. The applicant shall provide the office of oil and gas inspector a scale site plan of all equipment and lines, diking and fencing prior to any one construction on tank batteries or well site for approval by the town.
(V) Flow injection and pipeline specifications. The flow injection lines and pipeline for the well shall meet the following specifications:
(1) Will be pressure tested a minimum of 150% of the pressure normally encountered on the line for a period of 12 hours. The pressure test of the injection lines to be repeated on an annual basis and be witnessed by the oil and gas inspector; and
(2) The oil and gas inspector will be notified five days in advance of such test.
(W) Well plugging plan. If the operator elects to plug this well or any well in the water flood, he or she will submit in writing to the oil and gas inspector three days prior to plugging the well, a plugging plan complete with diagram showing casing, casing stubs, cement plugs, cement specifications and well logs for approval by the town, to include:
(1) A 200-foot plug at bottom of casing 100 feet in/100 feet out; and
(2) A 50-foot plug in top of casing.
(X) Water samples. All of the freshwater wells located within one-fourth mile of any of the proposed injection wells should be sampled prior to commencement of injection. The water samples should be subjected to a complete ion analysis. Water samples should be collected and transported to the lab by the town’s oil and gas inspector. The applicant should bear the cost of the analysis. These freshwater wells should be resampled at six-month intervals, and each sample shall be analyzed.
(Y) Tubing-casing annulus testing. The tubing-casing annulus of each injection well shall be pressure tested to 1,000 psi prior to the commencement of injection and this test be repeated at 12-month intervals. The oil and gas consulting engineer shall witness and approve these tests.
(Z) Noncorrosive fluid required. A nontoxic, noncorrosive fluid should be placed in the tubing-casing annulus of each injection well during recompletion of the well.
(Ord. 381, passed 8-12-2021)