As used in this chapter:
(a) "Abandoned well" shall mean any natural production well in which production casing has been run but which has not been operated for six months; and shall also mean any artificial production well in which production casing has been run but which has not been operated for a period of nine months; and shall also mean any well in which no production casing has been run, and for which drilling operations have ceased for thirty consecutive days, or which has otherwise not been developed or operated with due diligence.
(b) "City" shall mean the City of Sidney, Nebraska.
(c) "Commission" shall mean the State of Nebraska Oil and Gas Commission.
(d) "Deleterious substance" shall mean any chemical, salt water, oil field brine, waste oil, waste emulsified oil, basic sediment, mud, or injurious substances produced or used in the drilling, development, production, transportation, refining or processing of oil, gas or condensate.
(e) "Disposal well" shall mean any well drilled or actually used for injection of salt water or any other substances into the earth at a point different than the point of extraction or production thereof from the earth.
(f) "Enhanced production" shall mean any operation by which fluid or energy is introduced into a source of supply for the purpose of stimulating recovery therefrom.
(g) "Inspector" shall mean the City Inspector or other person or persons designated by the City Manager to make inspections provided for in this chapter.
(h) "Lease" shall mean any tract of land subject to an oil, gas or mineral lease or other oil and gas development contract, or any unit composed of several tracts and leases but operated as a single lease; and any tract of land in which the minerals are owned by an operator or someone holding under him or her, which due to the royalty ownership, is developed as a separate tract.
(i) "Oil and gas" shall not only refer to oil and gas as such in combination one with the other, but shall have reference to oil, gas, casinghead gas, casinghead gasoline, distillate or other hydrocarbons, or any combination thereof, or any one thereof.
(j) "Permittee" shall mean the person to whom is issued a permit or permits under the terms of this chapter.
(k) "Person" shall include both the singular and plural; and shall also mean and include any individual, firm, partnership, association, corporation, club, society, cooperative, trust, municipal corporation or political subdivision, regardless of form. When and after activity or omission is forbidden to a person, that activity or omission is forbidden whether the person is acting for himself or herself or another, and whether the activity or omission is performed directly or through an agent, servant, employee, subcontractor or independent contractor.
(l) "Pollution" shall mean the contamination or other alteration of the physical, chemical or biological properties of any natural waters of the City or lands within the City, or such discharge of any liquid, gaseous or solid substance into any water of the City or upon any lands within the City or discharge of hydrocarbon or chemical used in production of hydrocarbon or gas which is detrimental to public health, safety or welfare.
(m) "Production" means and includes all oil and gas produced from such wells drilled in the City.
(n) "Water or water of the City" shall mean all surface and ground water including accumulations of water, whether on the surface or underground, whether natural or artificial, whether public or privately owned or maintained, and which are either contained within, flow through, or border upon the City or any portion thereof and including stormwater.
(o) "Well" shall include and mean any hole or holes, bore or bores, to any sand, formation, strata or depth for the purpose of producing and recovering any petroleum, oil, gaseous liquid hydrocarbon, or for the injection or disposal of any of them or any other liquified matter or gaseous matter.
(Ord. 907. Passed 9-26-77; Ord. 1589. Passed 6-12-07.)