(a) Statement of Intent. The Oil and Gas District (OG) is intended to allow for the drilling and production of oil and gas in appropriate areas of the Municipality and to provide for the removal of such natural petroleum products in a manner that is compatible with adjacent uses. Land will be included in this District only as it is deemed appropriate by Council at the time the use is to commence.
(b) Location and Map Designation. Any Oil and Gas District (OG) may be formed for all lease districts where the location is deemed appropriate by Council. This District will be indicated on the Official Zoning District Map(s) as follows: OG-R-1, OG-AGR, OG-M, etc.
(c) Use Limitations and Standards.
(1) Spacing of wells. No permit shall be issued to drill, deepen, reopen or plug a well for the production of oil or gas unless the well is located:
A. Upon a tract or drilling unit containing not less than ten acres;
B. Not less than 460 feet from any well drilling to, producing from or capable of producing from the same pool; and
C. Not less than 230 feet from a boundary of the subject tract or drilling unit.
(2) Access. Prior to commencement of any drilling operations, all private roads used for access to the drill site and the drill site itself shall be surfaced by clean, crushed rock, gravel or sand, or oiled and maintained to prevent dust and mud.
(3) Derricks. All derricks and masts hereafter erected for drilling or redrilling shall be at least equivalent to the American Petroleum Institute Standards 4A, the 14th Edition, and 4D, the most recent edition.
(4) Signs and fencing. A sign having a surface area of not less than two square feet and not more than six square feet, bearing the current name and number of the well and the name or insignia of the operator, shall be displayed at all times from the commencement of drilling operations until the well is abandoned.
(5) Hazardous equipment. All oil well production equipment having external moving parts hazardous to life or limb shall be attended twenty-four hours per day or be enclosed by a steel chain-link fence not less than six feet in height and having not less than three strands of barbed wire sloping outward at approximately a forty-five degree angle and for eighteen inches from the top of the fence. There shall be no aperture below such fence greater than four inches. Fence gates shall be placed at nonhazardous locations and shall be locked at all times when unattended by a watchman or serviceman.
(6) Lighting. All lights shall be directed or shielded so as to confine direct rays to the drill site.
(7) Delivery of equipment. The delivery or removal of equipment or material from the drill site shall be limited to the hours between 7:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., except in an emergency.
(8) Power sources. All power sources shall be electric motors or muffled internal combustion engines.
(9) Storage equipment. There shall be no storage of any material, equipment, machinery or vehicle which is not for immediate use or servicing on an installation on the drill site. Storage tanks located on the drill site and storage tank capacity at the drill site shall not exceed a total aggregate of 2,000 barrels, exclusive of processing equipment.
(10) Flammable waste gases. Flammable waste gases or vapors escaping from a production drill site shall be controlled without burning to prevent hazardous concentration reaching sources of ignition or otherwise endangering the area.
(11) Drilling wastes. Drilling wastes shall be disposed of in compliance with the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
(d) Rehabilitation Requirements.
(1) Contents of rehabilitation plan. Drilling and production shall be permitted only from areas where there is a rehabilitation plan approved by Council. All such rehabilitation plans shall include the following:
A. A redevelopment plan showing existing and proposed sites and all facilities pertinent thereto. Such plans shall include the surrounding area within 500 feet of the property boundary line, drawn to an appropriate scale.
B. Details regarding revegetation of the site during and at the conclusion of the operation.
(2) Requirements of rehabilitation plan. The following requirements shall be met in the rehabilitation plan:
A. Upon cessation of drilling and beginning of production, the well shall be serviced only with a portable derrick when required.
B. All concrete, pipe, wood and other foreign materials shall be removed from the drill site to a depth of six feet below grade, unless they are part of a multiwell cellar being used in connection with any other well for which a permit has been issued.
C. All holes and depressions shall be filled and packed with native earth. All oil, waste oil, refuse or waste material shall be removed from the drill site.
D. Adequate landscaping shall be required of the drilling site with screen planting around visible equipment and tanks, ground cover on other portions of the site and maintenance of all equipment and premises in a good and painted condition.
E. All drilling equipment and the derrick shall be removed from the premises within sixty days following the completion or abandonment of any well.
(Ord. 2014-27. Passed 8-5-14.)