(a) Application. An application for a drilling permit must be completed concurrently with Planning Commission review.
(b) Bond.
(l) The applicant shall post a ten thousand dollar ($10,000) cash bond or a five thousand dollar ($5,000) cash bond upon payment of a non-refundable permit fee, with the application. This cash bond shall cover the cost incurred by the City in the review of the application by the Engineer or, if necessary, other engineering or legal professionals which may be required. The bond shall be for the further purposes of meeting the expense to the City of providing on-site inspectors during the drilling phase of the operation, and any expenses incurred by the City in the restoration or clean-up provided herein.
(2) If at any time this bond should be reduced by disbursements to the sum of four thousand dollars ($4,000), or two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) if a five thousand dollar ($5,000) bond is posted, the applicant shall be notified to post an additional six thousand dollars ($6,000) or two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500) if the bond posted is five thousand dollars ($5,000), to bring the total cash bond back up to ten thousand dollars ($10,000), or to five thousand dollars ($5,000). lf, upon the City having sent notice of the posting of the additional funds, the additional bond is not posted, the City may withdraw its permits.
(3) Upon completion of the drilling phase, if the applicant elects not to make it a producing well, the applicant shall continue the bond until the City is satisfied that the abandonment process is satisfactorily completed.
(4) Upon completion of the drilling process, if the applicant elects to make the well a producing well, it will be the responsibility of the applicant to complete the clean-up process and upon completion of the clean-up process to the satisfaction of the City, the applicant need only maintain a five thousand dollars ($5,000), or one thousand dollar ($1,000) if the original bond amount was five thousand dollars ($5,000), bond during the production phase until final abandonment.
(5) Upon completion of the requirements for the continuation of the bond, the balance of any bond funds shall be refundable to the applicant.
(c) Insurance. As to all phases of the drilling, development and production operations of a well, the applicant shall maintain liability insurance, primary and umbrella insurance, in the amount of ten million dollars ($10,000,000) per occurrence. Through such policy of insurance, the applicant shall hold the City harmless from any liabilities arising as a result of such well-related operations; and shall specifically provide that such coverage shall apply to any damages to public streets and roadways caused by or resulting from any such operations. The Certificate of Insurance shall be submitted by an insurance company licensed to do business in the State, and shall be approved by the Law Director and the Administration.
(d) Water Well Protection Bond. The applicant shall post a five hundred thousand dollar ($500,000) bond with the application, which bond, by its terms, must indicate that it applies in full to the well under consideration, and also to any other wells of the applicant subject to this provision. The proceeds of this bond shall be specified to be solely for the protection of, and to meet any liabilities of the applicant, to any resident or business or governmental entity of the City with water wells who establish to the satisfaction of the applicant, or to a court, that such well was contaminated or otherwise damaged by the drilling operation of the applicant. This bond shall have a term extending from the commencement of the drilling operations to three years after completion of such drilling.
(e) Reclamation Plan. A copy of the reclamation plan required to be submitted by the applicant to the State Division of Natural Resources, shall be presented to the City along with the application of the operator to drill within the City.
(f) Brine Disposal Plan.
(1) The City must be assured that all salt brine will be transported and disposed of in an environmentally correct and legal manner upon roadways approved by the City. The applicant must submit to the City, along with his application for a permit, evidence identifying the brine haulers who will transport the contaminated water and the State permit number verifying the deep brine injection well into which the water will be disposed.
(2) Spreading salt brine on roadways, parking lots, lease roads and other means of disposal other than the above may result in the withdrawal of the permits by the City.
(g) Map of Drilling Unit and Surrounding Area. The applicant shall submit to the City a detailed map of the drilling unit, which includes all property lines, roads, and/or drives, tank battery, the wellhead, all dwellings and property lines within and surrounding the unit and any other appurtenances necessary to install and operate such well. In addition, upon completion of the drilling process, the applicant shall submit to the City, for emergency purposes, a schematic of all pipelines, connections and shut-off valves. This schematic shall be modified and resubmitted to the City immediately upon any changes in equipment or facilities.
(h) Planning Commission Review Fee. The applicant shall pay a nonrefundable Planning Commission review fee of one hundred dollars ($100.00) per drilling unit.
(i) Permit Fee. There shall be a nonrefundable permit fee of five hundred dollars ($500.00) or two thousand dollars ($2,000) if the applicant chooses to post the reduced bond referred to in subsection (b)(l) hereof, per wellhead.
(Ord. 78-1984. Passed 10-23-84; Ord. 49-1987. Passed 6-23-87.)