A. The operator of any natural or artificially producing well shall file with the city a quarterly report accurately stating that the well produced more than twenty (20) barrels of crude oil or other hydrocarbon substances, or produced more than one hundred thousand (100,000) cubic feet of gas during the last quarter. The report shall be filed within thirty (30) days of the end of each calendar quarter. Failure to file such a report is an offense and is also an admission by the operator that the well did not operate that quarter.
B. Within ninety (90) days after any well is abandoned, the permittee and the operator of the well shall plug the well in a manner which meets or exceeds the requirements of the corporation commission and the environmental protection agency. No surface casing or conductor string may be pulled or removed from the well. Within six (6) months of ceasing operations voluntarily, or of abandonment, all lands upon which a drilling or production operation was conducted shall be restored as nearly as practicable to the previous topography by the permittee and the operator, unless the commission excuses restoration in this form. Upon the failure to comply with this section, the city, directly or under contract with others, may proceed to plug the well, restore the surface and recover its costs under the bonds.
C. In the event a rupture, break or opening occurs on the surface or production casing, the permittee, the operator and the drilling contractor shall each take action to repair it, and shall each report the incident to the city promptly. Actual repairs and actual reporting to the city by one shall be considered adequate; however, a mistaken belief held in good faith that others have performed as required does not relieve the permittee, the operator or the drilling contractor of their independent obligations, nor does it provide a defense to a prosecution for violation of this section.
D. Copies of all applications, notices, forms, records, logs, and like documents filed by either the permittee or the operator with the corporation commission or the environmental protection agency shall be filed with the city within one week of filing with the corporation commission or the environmental protection agency. All such items filed under this section shall be kept confidential to the same extent as the state and federal laws, and the rules of the corporation commission or the environmental protection agency, require the submitted material to be kept confidential. Actual notice of all hearings concerning the well or the lease shall be given the city, sufficient to allow proper preparation and attendance by the city attorney or his designated representative. (Ord. 1939 § 5, 2009)