(a) The following oil and gas well drilling regulations shall apply as minimum standards for the permittee when applying for conditional zoning applications to insure that all locations and the appearance of wells and storage tanks shall be in compliance with the intent of Section 1153.03(c).
(b) Pooling of land of not more than five property owners is permitted. There shall be no more than one well per forty acres
(c) Within thirty days after completion of drilling, a staking plat showing as built location of the wells, all permanent storage facilities, all pipelines, fences, property boundaries and service roads shall be presented to the Service Director. The plat shall show the as built location of the above structures, boundary lines, and City inspection access route, and shall be prepared by a registered surveyor of the State.
(d) Well sites shall not be less than 500 feet from the right-of-way line of any public road or boundary of any adjacent property outside the drilling unit and no wells shall be located closer than 500 feet from any existing residence.
(e) Well site restoration following drilling may be completed within a time period agreed upon at the time of site plan approval, but in no case shall that time period be more than six months. Extension due to weather delay will be subject to Service Director approval. A surety bond of five thousand dollars ($5,000) per well shall be deposited with the Service Director prior to any construction or drilling to insure site restoration as required by Ohio R.C. Chapter 1509, and/or the Streetsboro Planning and Zoning Commission.
(f) If a pumping unit is required, it shall be enclosed by a six foot high chain link fence topped with three strands of barbed wire. The fence shall be erected prior to production of well. All pumping units shall be electrically driven when located less than 700 feet from the right-of-way line of any public road, or less than 1000 feet from any dwelling. Gates that are part of the enclosure of the pumping unit shall be kept locked. The pumping unit and fence enclosure shall be painted forest green color. Pumping unit installations shall be landscaped from the road if the location does not provide adequate natural foliage Landscaping shall consist of five to seven year heavy transplants spaced eight to ten feet apart and within five feet of the fence enclosure. Accepted species include one or several of the following: red, white or Scotch pines and blue spruce.
(g) Permanent or temporary waste holes, storage lagoons, service ponds or similar storage facilities shall be designed, constructed and maintained so as to prevent any drainage into ditches, natural watercourses or natural or man-made bodies of water. All storage lagoons, service ponds, etc., shall be pumped and contents hauled away as needed and backfilled, within ninety days after well drilling has been completed. Extension due to weather delay will be subject to Service Director approval. There shall be a protective lining of impermeable material installed in storage lagoons so as to prevent the percolation of harmful chemicals or residues into the soil.
(h) While drilling, all mud carried onto public roadways by trucks, drilling equipment, etc., shall be cleared by the driller from the public roadway as many times as necessary every day to keep the road clean and safe at all times.
Service roads shall be maintained by the applicant and/or his construction company and all heirs, assigns, agents, subcontractors and/or employees thereof for the life of the well.
(i) Prior to the drilling of any well, a service road to the storage tank site shall be constructed of suitable aggregate to be used by all vehicles and equipment moving to and from the drilling site before and during actual drilling of the well.
The Service Director shall prescribe the necessary density of aggregate to be used in the construction of the service road for each and every tank battery.
(Ord. 1984-32. Passed 3-26-84.)
(j) Storage tanks shall be located on a prepared site not less than 200 feet from the right-of-way line of any public street or road, not less than 100 feet from any boundary line of adjacent property outside the drilling unit, and not less than 500 feet from any existing dwelling. Storage tank installations shall be enclosed by a six-foot high chain link fence topped with three strands of barbed wire. The fence shall be erected prior to tank usage. Gates that are part of the enclosures of storage tanks shall be kept locked. All storage tanks, separator and fence enclosure shall be painted forest green color. Tank installations shall be landscaped when the location is less than 600 feet from the right-of-way line of the road, if the location does not provide adequate natural foliage. Landscaping shall consist of five to seven year heavy transplants spaced eight to ten feet apart and within five feet of the fence enclosure. Accepted species include one or several of the following: red, white or Scotch pines and blue spruce. Storage tanks shall be diked or otherwise designed, constructed and maintained so as to prevent any seepage or drainage beyond a five foot distance from each tank. Such seepage or drainage shall, under no circumstances, be allowed to enter upon adjacent property or any road drainage ditch, natural watercourse or man-made body of water. All oil or water lines with valves on tanks shall be locked and capped.
(Ord. 1986-47. Passed 6-23-86.)
(k) All wells and storage tanks shall be maintained in a neat, orderly condition so as to prevent injury to a single property, individual or the community in general. The well shall be identified at the right of way and entrance road by a street address sign with numbers twelve inches high and six inches wide, black on white background. The sign shall be on twelve gauge metal and/or .060 aluminum or better, and secured waist high on an approved metal post, and maintained so as to be readily visible by the passing public. A surety bond of one thousand dollars ($1,000) per well shall be required to insure that well site shall be maintained in this condition during the life of the well.
(l) Site review by Planning and Zoning Commission of all proposed locations of gas and oil wells and storage prior to approval.
(m) Inspection requirements for well, storage tanks and service roads shall be established by the Service Director prior to issuance of permits.
(n) All E.P.A. rules shall be followed relative to disposal of waste water.
(o) The operator shall provide a certificate of insurance showing that he carries a minimum of five hundred thousand dollars ($500,000) liability insurance to the Service Director prior to any construction or drilling.
(p) All well site operations shall conform to Ohio R.C. Chapter 1509 and to the Rules and Regulations of the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas, Chapter N.R.O., 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9, latest edition.
In the event there is any conflict between the regulations cited above, Ohio R.C. Chapter 1509 and the Zoning Ordinance, the more stringent regulations shall apply.
(q) (EDITOR'S NOTE: Former subsection (q) was repealed by Ordinance 1991-12, passed March 25, 1991.)
(r) It shall be the duty of the permittee to seal gas and oil wells to protect fresh wells from salt water or other pollution or contamination in such proper manner as is in accordance with good practice. The permittee shall establish contingency plans for the immediate furnishing of potable water to affected residents for such period as may be required to re-establish proper potability on any polluted or contaminated well or wells. Unless otherwise enumerated or delineated by the Service Director, the requirement to provide such immediate water supply shall be limited to residents within 1,000 feet of the well head. The permit holder shall be responsible for the obligation to provide potable water, without cost to the residents receiving the same provided liability is established by the Ohio Department of Natural Resources. The voluntary providing of water by the permittee shall not be construed as an admission of liability. (Ord. 1984-32. Passed 3-26-84.)
(s) Drilling operations shall be controlled, by double exhausts or otherwise, so that the noise level of actual drilling does not exceed the noise level of seventy-five decibels in a 500 foot radius during maximum noise production periods. Only fluid rotary-type drilling rigs sufficiently muffled against noise emissions shall be used in any drilling operation. Cable tool rigs may be used at the request of the Planning and Zoning Commission.
(Ord. 1986-47. Passed 6-23-86.)
(t) At a minimum of ten days prior to the start of well drilling operations, a map indicating any and all routes to be used in conjunction with the drilling operations shall be submitted to the Service Director. The Service Director shall then visually inspect such roads in the company of an agent of the permittee to determine their condition prior to any activity on the part of the applicant.
At a minimum of twelve hours prior to the movement of any drilling equipment into the City, notice shall be given to the Service Director and written consent from the Service Director shall be secured.
The correction of any damages to any road surfaces occurring as the direct or indirect result of the movement of heavy drilling equipment or heavy trucks any way associated with the drilling shall be the responsibility of the permit holder. The City assumes no liability for damage to the applicant's equipment or load being moved due to the failure of the City streets.The permit holder shall compensate the City for personal injury and/or property damages and shall further hold the City harmless of any and all claims, damages or proceedings of any kind and from all responsibility for personal injury or property damage, public or private, caused directly or indirectly as a result of the transportation of any and all equipment related to the drilling activities.
The applicant shall further post a cash bond with the City in an amount to be determined and set by the Service Director to cover the costs of repair of all affected roads and/or public improvements which may be damaged as a result of the transportation of well drilling equipment by the applicant.
(Ord. 1984-32. Passed 3-26-84.)
(u) Movement of any vehicles exceeding the legal weight limit set by law shall be prohibited on any and all City streets without prior written approval by the Service Director. The movement of such vehicles is further prohibited on Saturday, Sunday and/or legal holidays and at any other time other than the daylight hours. The Service Director shall have the right and discretion to revoke approval of transportation of well drilling equipment on twelve hours notice at any time that the conditions of the roads, the weather or the traffic conditions make travel unsafe or imminent threat of severe damage to the roads and/or public improvements along the proposed route of travel of such vehicles exists. No transportation of drilling rigs whatsoever shall be conducted when frost laws are posted by the Service Director.
(Ord. 1986-47. Passed 6-23-86.)
(v) Release of bonds and sureties shall be done at such time as deemed appropriate by the Service Director.
(w) Pursuant to Ohio R.C. 1509.39 and in order to insure continuing compliance with the health and safety standards as are set forth above during the life of all wells to be drilled with the City limits, there is hereby established an annual fee to be used for the regulation of such operations and to cover the cost of the inspection and enforcement of past, present and future regulations within the City. The amount of such fee shall be one hundred seventy-five dollars ($175.00) per well per year. The fee is due and payable in the first year of operation within ten days after a conditional zoning certificate has been granted. Thereafter, the fee is due and payable each and every anniversary date of the issuance of the conditional zoning certificate for such wells in successive years and during the life of the well and until such well is properly plugged in accordance with applicable State and local regulations. In the event the annual inspection reveal a problem with the well, there is hereby established a fee of seventy-five dollars ($75.00) per re-inspection to ensure that corrective measures have been taken, and the same shall be paid by the well owners. (Ord. 1999-138. Passed 10-25-99.)
(x) The failure to pay the fee as is set forth in subsection (w) hereof shall be grounds for revocation of the conditional zoning certificate for such well drilling operations in accordance with subsection (y) hereof.
(y) Failure to comply with any provisions of this chapter shall be grounds to refuse to issue a permit to drill or shall be grounds to revoke a permit already issued. Revocation of a permit shall remove all right of the permittee to drill oil and/or gas until such time as the permittee takes steps to be in compliance with this chapter. Drilling operations carried on by the permittee after revocation of this permit shall constitute a violation of this chapter and shall be punishable as provided in subsection (z) hereof.
(z) Whoever violates any of the provisions of this section, or any amendment hereafter adopted to this section, shall be guilty of a first degree misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not more than one thousand dollars ($1,000). Each day’s violation of any provision shall constitute a separate offense. The City Law Director is further authorized to seek injunctive relief against any violation of any provision of this section or of amendments hereto in any proper court.
(Ord. 1984-32. Passed 3-26-84.)