Any person who has a permit, issued by any Department of the State of Ohio, to drill for oil or gas within the Village of Moreland Hills ("Permit Holder") shall adhere to the following regulations:
(a) A copy of the state issued permit shall be filed by the Permit Holder with the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector not less than fourteen (14) days before the commencement of any operations preparatory to drilling in the Village. A copy of such permit shall also be delivered to all owners and/or occupants of all properties which adjoin the property where a well is to be drilled, with the proof and date of such delivery furnished to the Fire Chief and Building Inspector by the Permit Holder not less than fourteen (14) days before commencement of any operations preparatory to drilling in the Village. Prior to delivery of the permit to all owners and/or occupants of all adjoining properties, the Permit Holder shall check with the Building Inspector to obtain Village information as to the identity of the individuals to receive the notice and permit.
(b) With a copy of the permit, a letter will be filed with the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector that identifies the owner(s) of the subject property where the well is to be drilled by name and address, and identifies all persons, including but not limited to the Permit Holder, who are responsible for the drilling and operation of the well. The identification shall include, at a minimum, the following information: names, addresses and telephone numbers which shall be valid twenty-four (24) hours a day, seven (7) days a week.
(c) Plans for all wells, tank batteries (including tank dimensions and gas meter types), all excavation work (including but not limited to boring pits), fencing heights and type and site landscaping plans shall be presented to the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector not less than fourteen (14) day prior to the commencement of any drilling or other operations. These plans shall show the topography of the site and of all vehicular access to the site from any public right-of-way.
(d) Plans showing all buildings on the subject premises, and all buildings within five hundred (500) feet of the well and tank sites, shall be provided.
(e) No well may be drilled, or tank batteries located, in any location where emergency vehicles (e.g., fire trucks and ambulances) cannot obtain reasonable access to the site.
(f) No well is allowed to be drilled within any distance of any structure or facility (e.g., playground) which, based upon the specific facts and circumstances surrounding such structure or facility, creates a threat to the health, safety and welfare of said structure or facility or the occupants or users thereof.
(g) Proof of insurance shall be filed with the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector, prior to the commencement of drilling. The proof of insurance must establish that the Permit Holder is insured by a solvent insurer, licensed to do business in the State of Ohio, with minimum limits of Three Million Dollars ($3,000,000.00) per occurrence for personal injury and property damage.
(h) Emergency contact information for all persons engaged in drilling and operating the well shall be filed with the Fire Chief and the Building Inspector prior to the commencement of drilling. Such information shall be immediately updated upon any change of circumstance.
(i) Within thirty (30) days after drilling operations have been completed, the Permit Holder shall do all of the following:
(1) Fill all bore pits with clean fill dirt, and restore the grade of the site to its previous elevation;
(2) Seed all disturbed sites with grass or other vegetative ground cover, and ensure such ground cover becomes established; and
(3) Notify the Building Inspector that the site has been restored pursuant to the terms of this paragraph. The Building Inspector shall inspect the site within five (5) days of the notification.
(j) At all times relative to the drilling, operation and capping of the well, the well and all tank facilities shall be secured from public access by sufficient fencing, in a manner consistent with the Ohio Department of Natural Resources regulations.
(k) Within thirty (30) days after the drilling operations have been completed and the site restored, the Permit Holder shall plant sufficient vegetation which, in conjunction with any fencing and natural vegetation, shall effectively and permanently screen all above-ground facilities (including well head and tank locations) for both summer and winter conditions from all neighbors and from all public and private rights-of-way while such facilities are on the subject premises for the life of the well. The Building Inspector shall determine the sufficiency of the screening and may order the Permit Holder to plant more vegetation.
(l) The Permit Holder shall give the Fire Chief at least forty-eight (48) hours notice before commencing to drill.
(m) (1) A cash bond of five thousand ($5,000.00) per well shall be filed with the Building Inspector to ensure the installation and maintenance of sufficient fencing and screening of facilities, as provided herein, and also to secure the repair or replacement of any Village owned infrastructure (e.g. roads and culverts) that may be damaged by an activity related to oil and gas production, including but not limited to the transportation of equipment or materials used in any manner for oil and gas production, or for the plugging of a well.
(2) No Permit Holder shall be required to file more than four (4) cash bonds, totaling twenty thousand dollars ($20,000), which shall be deemed to be a "blanket bond" for all additional wells drilled in the Village.
(3) Fencing and screening shall be installed and maintained in a manner that accomplishes the intended goal of screening and securing the facilities.
(4) In the event the Village is required to utilize the bond to install, maintain or repair the facilities that are secured by said bond, the Permit Holder shall file with the Village sufficient funds to restore the bond to its original amount.
(5) Any bond filed with the Village shall be held until such time as all equipment has been removed from the site of the oil and gas production facilities, the well is plugged and the site has been appropriately restored, as required by state law. The Village shall return the bond upon the restoration of the site provided that the Building Inspector determines that the interests secured by the bond are no longer at risk.
(n) Notwithstanding Section 509.11 of the Codified Ordinances, drilling operations may occur twenty-four hours per day until the permitted depth is reached.
(o) It shall be a violation of this section for a Permit Holder to violate the terms and conditions of the state issued permit and/or any other applicable laws or regulations.
(p) The Fire Chief or his designee shall, within two (2) business days of receipt of the plans pursuant to subsection (c) hereof, review said plans and immediately advise the Permit Holder if anything shown on the plans does not comply with the regulations set forth herein. In the event that any Permit Holder fails to comply with the regulations herein promulgated, the administrative official responsible for the enforcement hereof (i.e., the Building Inspector or Fire Chief, as designated herein), shall provide written notice to the owner of the property and the Permit Holder within forty-eight (48) hours of the discovery of such failure to comply. Such service shall be made to the addresses identified in paragraph (b) hereof, and if no address has been provided, to any address identified on the permit issued by the State of Ohio. The notice shall advise the owner and the Permit Holder that if they wish to appeal the decision of the administrative official, the time for appeal is five (5) days after service of the notice.
(q) The Permit Holder shall report to the Fire Chief any incidents or emergencies, other than routine maintenance, relating to the wellhead, tank battery, and/or the site of drilling operations. The report shall be a detailed written report and filed with the Fire Chief no later than forty-eight (48) hours after an incident or emergency begins. For purposes of this subsection (q), an incident or emergency includes the following circumstances:
(1) Transportation spills of fracking fluid or produced water commonly referred to as "brine;"
(2) Well casing leaks of any magnitude;
(3) Any malfunction involving drilling site discharge of brine or natural gas; and
(4) Known methane contamination of any aquifer.
The above circumstances are provided as examples and are not an exhaustive list of all incidents or emergencies requiring a report.
(r) The Permit Holder shall be responsible for providing an employee/contractor ("Pumper") who will be responsible for the oil and gas well. The Pumper shall be qualified and responsible for maintaining the well and to take whatever action(s) necessary to mitigate any hazardous condition.
(s) Upon receiving notice that a safety issue has been detected at the Permit Holder's well, the Permit Holder or its Pumper shall respond at the well site. The maximum acceptable response time, established by the Fire Chief, is thirty (30) minutes. Response time is defined as the elapsed time between notification to the Permit Holder that a safety issue exists and the Permit Holder or Pumper's arrival at the well site. The Permit Holder emergency contact information required by subsection (h) of this section shall be utilized to provide notification. In the event a safety issue is detected, the Fire Department has authority to shut down the well.
(t) The Fire Chief, consistent with Ohio Revised Code Section 3737.80, in an emergency situation is responsible for primary coordination of on-scene activities.
(u) The Permit Holder shall install "hold-open" latches on all wellhead and tank battery enclosures.
(v) The Permit Holder, consistent with Ohio Revised Code Section 3737.14, shall grant a "Right of Entry" to the Fire Department, at all reasonable hours to enter into all buildings and upon all premises and vehicles used in connection with oil or gas well drilling for the purpose of examination.
(Ord. 2012-43. Passed 5-9-12.)