A. Location: It shall be unlawful to drill a well, or to redrill, deepen, reenter, activate or convert any abandoned well, the center of which, at the surface of the ground, is located within five hundred feet (500') from any habitable structure, without first meeting all requirements of the administrative gas and oil well development permit, if any, including, but not limited to, hours of operation, noise, lighting and odors. This does not apply to habitable structures constructed after the initial development of a particular well. If neighboring landowners are in agreement that a well placement can be closer than the required five hundred feet (500'), that written agreement would supersede the requirements of this section. All distance shall be measured in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects.
B. Floodplain Drill Site: A floodplain development permit from the county is required for drilling oil and gas wells in a special flood hazard area (SFHA). A drill site or operation may be located in an SFHA with the approval of the Washington County floodplain administrator in accordance with federal, state and/or local codes and requirements, if applicable. (Please refer to title 7, "Flood Control", of this code.) (Ord. 76, 9-22-2014)
C. Driving Surfaces: The operator shall construct all driving surfaces used for parking, loading, unloading, driveways, and other vehicular access, to county private road standards (identified in section 6-4-2 of this code) or the standard necessary to provide year round operational and emergency access to the site. The operator shall maintain the surface for such facilities and drive approach in good condition and repair and meet the minimum requirements set forth in the fire code. Year round access (snowplowing, etc.) will be the responsibility of the operator. The pad site is not required to be constructed to the above listed standards. (Ord. 77, 12-29-2014)
D. Discharge Of Waste: No person shall place, deposit or discharge or cause or permit to be placed, deposited or discharged any oil, naphtha, petroleum, asphalt, tar, hydrocarbon substance, refuse, wastewater, brine or hazardous substance from any production operation or the contents of any container used in connection with any production operation in, into or upon any public right of way, storm drain, ditch, sewer, any body of water or any public and private property in the county.
E. Fire Suppression And Prevention Equipment: The operator shall provide and maintain in good working order all fire suppression and prevention equipment required by any applicable federal, state or local law, or the operator's emergency response plan, at the operator's cost. The operator shall keep adequate foam fire suppressant equipment and supplies at each drill site.
F. Blowout Prevention: In all cases, the operator shall install and utilize blowout prevention equipment on all wells being drilled, worked over or in which tubing is being changed. Protection shall be provided to prevent blowout during oil and/or gas operations as required by and in conformance with state code.
G. Chemical And Materials Storage: The operator shall store all chemicals and/or hazardous materials in such a manner as to prevent, contain and facilitate rapid remediation and cleanup of any accidental spill, leak or discharge of a hazardous material. The operator shall maintain all material safety data sheets (MSDS) for all hazardous material on site. The operator shall comply with all applicable federal and state regulatory requirements for the proper labeling of containers. The operator shall take all appropriate pollution prevention actions including, but not limited to, raising chemical and materials and bulk storage (e.g., placing such materials on wooden pallets), installing and maintaining secondary containment systems and providing adequate protection from stormwater and weather elements.
H. Closed Loop System: The operator shall be required to utilize closed loop systems in Washington County.
I. Dust, Vibrations, Odors: The operator, in cooperation with the county administrator, shall conduct all drilling and production operations in such a manner as to minimize dust, vibration or noxious odors. The operator shall maintain all aspects of the site and structures thereon in good operating condition and good appearance. The operator shall provide air monitoring equipment to ensure compliance with EPA oil and gas air pollution standards, administered by the Idaho department of environmental quality (DEQ), and provide associated reporting quarterly or upon request. Such monitoring shall be capable of detecting hydrogen sulfide, methane, benzene, n-hexane and other toxic emissions. No operator or employee shall permit any lights located on any drill site or operation site to be directed in such a manner so that they shine directly on, or toward a neighboring habitable structure.
J. Emergency Response Plan: Prior to the commencement of oil and/or gas drilling, or any other hydrocarbons production activities, the operator shall submit to the administrator an emergency response plan, and no drilling or other production activity shall commence until such plan has been approved by the county.
K. Fire Prevention; Fire Emergency Response: The operator shall provide training as to the proper and expected local response to a gas and/or oil well fire emergency. This training would be at the operator's expense.
L. Screening And Fencing: Security fencing may be required when hazardous materials are stored on site for a period in excess of fourteen (14) days. The county may use its discretion to determine whether fencing requirements shall be enforced for wellheads, storage tanks, and other mechanical and production equipment and structures on the gas and/or oil well site. Security fencing shall be at least six feet (6') in height, equipped with lockable gates at every access point and have an opening not less than twelve feet (12') wide. Additional lockable gates used to access gas and/or oil well sites by foot may be allowed, as necessary.
M. Freshwater Wells: As a condition of permit approval the operator must provide to the county, prior to any drilling activity, documentation of baseline water testing on a minimum of two (2) domestic wells, for the protection of public health and safety, except as provided below. The two (2) wells shall be located within a fixed radius of two thousand feet (2,000') of the well site. If only one well is available within a fixed radius of two thousand feet (2,000') of the well site, it shall be the only domestic well required for testing. If no domestic wells are available within such radius, no domestic well testing shall be required. The operator shall provide affected domestic well owners within such radius the opportunity to have their wells tested at the operator's expense. If a domestic well owner refuses such offer and declines to have the owner's domestic well tested, that well shall be considered unavailable for the purposes of this chapter. For any domestic well required to be tested by the operator under this section, the operator and any contractor hired by the operator to perform such testing will not be subject to liability to the domestic well owner for any claims or damages relating to the domestic well arising from or alleged to be caused by such testing. The operator shall send written notification to the county and all landowners and municipalities within two thousand feet (2,000') of the proposed drill site. Water testing shall be conducted by the U.S. geological survey or a third party certified testing laboratory and paid for by the operator. A copy of the baseline water test results shall be made public record and provided to the landowner, county and the operator. At this time the operator will disclose to the landowner(s) the exact location of the proposed drill site. If the landowner does not want the water test results to become public record, they have the option of paying for the sampling privately.
1. Water samples must be collected and analyzed utilizing proper sampling and laboratory protocol from the USGS or a certified testing laboratory.
2. Well samples shall be analyzed prior to any drilling activity to document baseline water quality data of the well. A postdrilling sample shall be analyzed within three (3), twelve (12) and twenty four (24) months after the drilling begins, as an option for or a request of the landowner. Any deviation or difference from the baseline test could trigger additional monitoring.
3. Tests shall be completed for all items listed below:
a. Field parameters:
(1) Water temperature.
(2) pH.
(3) Specific conductivity.
b. Specific conductivity and total dissolved solids.
c. E. Coli.
d. Major ions:
(1) Chloride.
(2) Fluoride.
(3) Sulfate.
(4) Nitrate.
(5) Alkalinity.
(6) Calcium.
(7) Sodium.
(8) Magnesium.
e. Trace elements:
(1) Arsenic.
(2) Barium.
(3) Iron.
(4) Manganese.
(5) Selenium.
(6) Uranium.
f. Organics:
(1) BTEX (benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene and xylene).
(2) Methane; carbon isotopic composition for samples with sufficient methane.
(3) Diesel range organics.
4. Copies of baseline water quality test results shall be provided by the operator free of charge to owners of the wells tested within thirty (30) days of receipt of written request of the well owner.
5. If it is found that the freshwater well is no longer in use and without possibility of future use or if the freshwater well owner objects to having the water well tested, the owner of the freshwater well may waive the right to have the operator test the water.
N. Flaring: The process of flaring is allowed in Washington County. In Washington County, no person shall allow, cause or permit raw gas emissions to be vented into the atmosphere to the fullest extent possible and must comply with all state air quality requirements.
O. Grass, Weeds, Trash: The operator shall keep the drill site and operation site clear of debris, pools of water or other liquids, contaminated soil, brush, high grass, weeds, combustible trash and other waste material within a radius of one hundred feet (100') of the site perimeter. The operator shall have a weed control plan for well pads, pipelines and other disturbed areas. The weed control plan must be approved by the Washington County weed supervisor.
P. Hazardous Materials Management Plan: The operator shall file with the fire chief, a hazardous materials management plan and shall update such plan by filing any additions, modifications, and/or amendments regarding all construction related activities and oil and natural gas operations and production. The operator shall file such updated plans with the fire chief within two (2) business days of any material change in the activities at the site from that approved in the well permit. The county commissioners will be notified of any such changes.
Q. Signs: The operator shall immediately install and continuously display a sign at the gate of the temporary and permanent site fencing erected pursuant to the requirements of this section. Such sign shall conform to the approved sign plan and shall contain the following:
1. Well name and number;
2. Name of operator;
3. Address of property;
4. The emergency 911 number;
5. Telephone number of two (2) persons responsible for the well who may be contacted twenty four (24) hours a day in case of an emergency;
6. The operator shall post and continually maintain permanent weatherproof signs reading "DANGER NO SMOKING ALLOWED" immediately upon completion of the drill site fencing at the entrance of each drill site and in any other location approved or designated by the fire chief. Such shall conform to the approved sign plan. Each such sign shall include the emergency notification numbers of the fire department and the operator;
7. The operator shall post a "NO TRESPASSING" sign prominently at the entrance to all drill sites and associated developments, located on private property.
R. Valves: The operator shall equip each well with a shutoff valve to terminate the well's production. The operator shall paint these valves red and post signs to show they are shutoff valves. Such signs shall conform to the approved sign plan.
S. Waste Disposal: Drilling mud, cuttings, liquid hydrocarbons and all other field waste derived or resulting from or connected with the drilling, reworking or deepening of any well shall be disposed of in accordance with the rules of all applicable local, state and federal agencies. Detailed disposal logs shall be maintained by the operator and provided to the county every six (6) months from the date of application of the individual administrative well permit.
T. Watchperson: The operator must keep a watchman or security personnel at all times on site during the drilling or reworking of a well, when other workmen are not on the premises.
U. Environmentally Sensitive Areas: The exploration and/or development of gas and oil wells, or other drilling or production activity of any kind, may be permitted within environmentally sensitive areas in Washington County only after special consideration has been given under the administrative gas and oil well development permitting process. Certain areas that contain critical wildlife habitat are protected from development in Washington County. Washington County strives to protect the essential habitat and buffer areas that support species of special concern such as the greater sage grouse.
V. Hydrogen Sulfide: The operator shall have a management/evacuation plan in place in the event of a hydrogen sulfide emergency. If a gas or oil field in the county is identified as a hydrogen sulfide (H2S) field or if a well is producing hydrogen sulfide gas, the operator shall immediately notify the administrator of the well or facility.
W. Surface Restoration: Please refer to IDAPA 20.07.02 (325).
X. Tank Battery Equipment: The operator shall equip any tank battery facility with a remote foam line arrestor system, and shall erect a sign clearly indicating the location of the foam line arrestor system, which sign shall conform to the approved sign plan. All connections for the remote foam line arrestor system shall meet industry specifications and be approved by the local fire chief.
Y. Utility Lines: In certain areas of the county, the operator may be required to bury utility lines to the operation site and/or drill site.
Z. Emergency Response Plan Testing: The operator shall conduct a thorough testing of its emergency response plan on an annual basis. The operator shall provide seven (7) days' notice of the time and date of each test to the fire chief. The fire chief may observe the test and may require the inclusion of his own local scenarios as a component of the test. (Ord. 76, 9-22-2014)