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GENERAL PROVISIONS APPLYING TO ALL PERMIT APPLICATIONS
(A) Every application for a permit to drill and operate a well shall be in writing, signed by the applicant or by some person duly authorized to sign same on the applicant’s behalf, shall be filed with the City Secretary, and shall be accompanied with a filing fee paid in cash. A separate application shall be filed for each well.
(B) The filing fee shall consist of an application processing fee and an operations monitoring fee as set by City Council from time to time.
(C) If the applicant never begins substantive operations on the site, whether because the application is denied or withdrawn, the drilling is no longer feasible, and the permit is returned to the city, or other circumstances, the application processing fee will be retained by the city, and the operations monitoring fee will be returned to the applicant.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006; Ord. 2008-06, passed 9-18-2008) Penalty, see § 113.99
An application for a drilling permit shall include the following information:
(A) The exact location of the proposed well;
(B) A detailed site plan including all of the information required for a minimum site plan;
(C) Appropriate information dealing with projected dust, noise, temporary and permanent fencing, or other similar information dealing with the environmental and nuisance aspects of the application;
(D) A description of all proposed pits;
(E) The proposed total depth of the well;
(F) If the objective of the well is the penetration of a potential sour gas formation as defined by the Commission, the application must include specific details relating to the drilling formation the applicant seeks to penetrate, detailed safety methods to be used in the drilling and operation of the well to prevent release or escape of noxious fumes or dangerous gases, information to delineate anticipated impacted areas and the level of impact should an accident occur which would allow the escape of the sour gas, and an emergency response plan;
(G) If the applicant’s drilling site is located wholly or partially in a city park, the applicant must state the reasons why the park property is the only location available for the well, must delineate in detail efforts made to find alternative locations for the well, and why such efforts were unsuccessful, must include in the detailed site plan an overlay of park property to delineate those park facilities which would be specifically impacted by the drilling and production operations, and must describe in detail the impacts on the park property as a whole, including impacts on adjacent vegetation, the necessity for screening and the duration of any adverse impacts;
(H) If the applicant’s drilling site is located wholly or partially in a city park, the applicant must include a detailed site restoration plan delineating re-vegetation of the park property, screening, appropriate environmental controls, and other requirements as deemed appropriate by the oil and gas official; and
(I) Any other information required by the oil and gas official to assure compliance with the requirements of this subchapter.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006) Penalty, see § 113.99
(A) The applicant shall cooperate fully with the oil and gas official in providing all information necessary to complete the permit application. Upon submission of all material and information required by the oil and gas official, the application shall be declared complete. Subject to division (B) below , the oil and gas official shall grant or deny the application within 30 days after the application has been declared complete.
(B) If the application proposes a drilling site location located wholly or partially within a city park, the oil and gas official shall recommend to the City Council that the application be granted or denied. The City Council will conduct a public hearing to review the potential impact of the application on the city park property, soliciting information from the permit applicant and from those interested citizens or other parties which the City Council deems appropriate. The City Council shall review the application within a 30 day period following receipt of the recommendation of the oil and gas official, and shall then make a recommendation to the council within 30 days after the application has been declared complete. The City Council shall vote to grant or deny the application within 30 days of the oil and gas official’s recommendation. If no action is taken by the City Council within 30 days of the recommendation, the recommendation will become effective by operation of law.
(C) Any application, which has progressed, to the point of consideration by City Council must be accompanied by an additional non-refundable fee.
(D) At least 20 days and no more than 30 days prior to the public hearing required in division (B) above, the applicant at applicant’s expense shall publish notice of the hearing in a local newspaper acceptable to the city. The substance of the notice and the procedure for publishing same shall be approved by the oil and gas official prior to publication. The applicant shall obtain a certificate of publication from the newspaper following publication of the notice.
(E) The burden of proof of all matters considered in the public hearing shall be upon the applicant.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006; Ord. 2008-06, passed 9-18-2008)
(A) Except as otherwise provided herein, no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is within 1,000 feet of a school, church or public park, or within 500 feet of any habitable residence or commercial building, without the written permission of the owner or owners of said building. For the purposes of this subchapter, permission shall not be required from the owners of mobile homes unless the owner of said mobile home also owns the real property on which the mobile home is located. Waivers are not required from tenants in such residential or commercial buildings. After the permit is issued, any person building within 500 feet of the permitted well does so subject to the right of the permittee to operate the permitted well in accordance with the terms of his or her permit.
(B) In measuring said 1,000 feet or 500 feet distance, all measurements will be made from the proposed wellhead location to the closest load-bearing and supporting wall structure of each building. All measurements are to be made to those portions of said buildings which are intended to be habitable or occupied on a full-time basis; storage sheds, gazebos, covered patios and similar structures that are not enclosed are not to be considered in making such measurements. All measurements will be made to the actual wall surface and not to any overhanging roof eave or similar structure.
(C) If any property owner denies access for purposes of determining the distance measurement from the wellhead to the walls of the property owner’s structure, then distances will be determined using methodologies such as transit and angle measurements or other similar methodology.
(D) Any waiver form used to obtain written permission of the property owner of any building as required herein shall contain the name and address of the property owner. All waivers must be filed with the City Secretary and in the deed records of the county.
(E) If the applicant is successful in obtaining a waiver from the owner of every building for which permission is required under division (A) above, the applicant will be qualified to seek a permit as otherwise specified herein. Otherwise, the permit application must be denied.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006) Penalty, see § 113.99
(A) Generally. In the event a permit is approved for issuance by the city under the terms of this chapter for the drilling and operation of a well, no actual drilling operation shall be commenced until the permittee shall file with the City Secretary and maintain in current status sufficient security in the form of a bond or certificate of deposit approved for form by the city attorney, or cash in lieu of the full amount of the bond, in such principal sum of not less than $50,000. No less than 10% of such bond herein shall be a cash bond. The remaining amount may be in the form of a surety bond executed by a reliable insurance company authorized to do business in the state as surety, and with the permittee as principle, running to the city for the benefit of the city and all persons concerned. Any certificate of deposit filed as permitted herein in lieu of the surety portion of the bond shall be free of any prior claim or obligation and shall not be pledged as security for any other purposes save and except as specified herein. Any such bond or other security pledged as required herein shall be effective on or before the date it is filed with the City Secretary and remain in force and effect for a period of at least six months subsequent to the expiration of the term of the permit issued herein.
(B) Supplemental security. If the proceeds of the security required herein shall be applied to remedy noncompliance as provided in§ 113.090 of this chapter, the permittee shall be required to immediately provide additional security of a like kind to maintain at all times the level of security as required under this chapter. Failure to maintain security at all times as required under this chapter shall constitute cause for revocation of permit as provided in § 113.037.
(C) Additional security. If at any time the City Council shall reasonably deem any permittee’s bond or other security to be insufficient, the City Council may require the permittee to file a new bond or additional security.
(D) Conditions of security. Any security filed as required under the provisions of this section shall be conditioned, on penalty of forfeiture or partial forfeiture to the city without written notice, on the following:
(1) The permittee shall comply with all of the terms and conditions of this chapter;
(2) The permittee shall promptly pay all fines, penalties or other assessments imposed upon permittee by reason of permittee’s breach of any of the terms, provisions and conditions of this chapter;
(3) The permittee shall remedy any and all damage to streets, curbs, gutters, water lines, fire hydrants and other property of the city, occasioned in any manner by permittee in connection with the drilling, operation or abandonment of said well;
(4) The permittee shall promptly fulfill all obligations under this chapter, and shall conduct the drilling operations in full conformance with the requirements herein, including, but not limited to, abatement of dust and dirt, removal of mud from public streets and thoroughfares, watering of non-paved access roads, timely construction and erection of all fence structures as required herein, and other similar terms and provisions;
(5) The permittee shall promptly clear all premises of all litter, trash, waste and other substances used, allowed or occurring in the drilling or producing operations, and shall, after abandonment, grade, level and restore said property in conformance with the city’s drainage control ordinance; and
(6) The permittee shall in all things fulfill the requirements of the site plan, and if required, any reclamation or restoration of the site stated as a condition of the issuance of the permit.
(E) Reduction in principal amount. If after completion of a well, the permittee has complied with all the provisions of this chapter and the permit requirements set forth in § 113.035, the permittee may apply to the city to have the bond or other security reduced to a sum of not less than $10,000 for the remainder of the time the well produces. If the oil and gas official approves the reduction, the permittee shall submit a bond or certificate of deposit in the correct principal amount, or cash in lieu thereof, and otherwise in conformance with the provisions of this section as a substitute for any other security previously pledged under the provisions of § 113.032(A). The requirement that $5,000 of the security requirement be in the form of a cash bond applies to the reduced security amount.
(F) Blanket bond. A permittee holding more than one permit may provide security for more than one operating well in the form of a blanket bond or certificate of deposit in the approved form specified herein, or cash in lieu thereof, in the principal amount of not less than $10,000 per well covered by said security. The blanket security will secure all wells operated by the permittee within the city limits of the city provided said blanket security conforms to the requirements of this section.
(G) Return of security. For each completed well covered by security under this section that ceases to produce and is subsequently plugged and abandoned in accordance with the requirements of the Commission, the security for said well shall be returned to the principal or in the case of blanket security, said well shall no longer require such security. To qualify for release of security as set out herein, the permittee must provide copies of official Commission forms verifying the plugging and abandonment of the well and must remove all surface equipment used in the operation of the well including, but not limited to, pumps, compressors, storage tanks and separator tanks.
(H) Violation of conditions. It shall be unlawful for the principal of any bond filed in accordance with this section to violate any condition of such bond.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006) Penalty, see § 113.99
As a condition of permit approval, the oil and gas official may apply special restrictions regarding:
(A) Well safety;
(B) Noise;
(C) Access;
(D) Site configuration;
(E) Site screening;
(F) Well construction procedures and time of completion;
(G) Well maintenance;
(H) Site maintenance;
(I) Site safety and appearance;
(J) Additional security;
(K) Additional insurance;
(L) Use and disposal of drilling fluids;
(M) Site reclamation; or
(N) Abandonment.
(Ord. 2006-1019(2), passed 10-19-2006)
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