No oil or gas well owner or his agent shall fail to restore the land surface within the area disturbed in siting, drilling, completing and producing the well as required in this section.
(a) Within five months after the date upon which the surface drilling of a well is commenced, the owner or his or her agent shall fill all the pits for containing brine, other waste substances resulting, obtained or produced in connection with exploration, drilling or production of oil or gas, or oil that is not required by other state or federal law or regulation, and remove all concrete bases, drilling supplies and drilling equipment. Within nine months after the date upon which the surface drilling of a well is commenced, the owner or his or her agent shall grade or terrace and plant, seed or sod the area disturbed that is not required in production of the well, where necessary to bind the soil and prevent substantial erosion and sedimentation.
(b) Within three months after a well that has produced oil or gas is plugged, or after the plugging of a dry hole, the owner or his or her agent shall remove all production and storage structures, supplies and equipment, and any oil, salt water and debris, and fill any remaining excavations. Within such period, the owner or his or her agent shall grade or terrace and plant, seed or sod the area disturbed in such manner as to approximate, at a minimum, the original shape and condition of the drilling site as it existed prior to the initiation of drilling procedures and where necessary to bind the soil and prevent erosion and sedimentation.
(c) The City Engineer may, by written order, shorten the time periods provided under subsections (a) and (b) hereof if failure to shorten the periods would be likely to result in damage to public health or the waters or natural resources of the city. The City Engineer may, upon written application by an owner or his or her agent showing reasonable cause, extend the period within which restoration shall be completed under subsections (a) and (b) hereof, but not to exceed a further six-month period, except under extraordinarily adverse weather conditions or when essential equipment, fuel or labor is unavailable to the owner or his or her agent.
(Ord. 89-O-46, passed 12-18-1989)