Borough of Sharpsburg, PA Part 3 Injection Wells

[Adopted 7-26-2018 by Ord. No. 18-10]

§ 9-301 Definitions.

As used in this part, the following terms shall have the meanings indicated:

FRESH WATER

Water obtained from a portable water source of the Commonwealth such as a hydrant, stream, lake, water well, river, spring or other source that has not been treated or utilized in commercial or industrial operations.

GROUNDWATER

Water in that portion of the generally recognized hydrologic cycle which occupies the pore spaces and fractures of saturated subsurface materials. Groundwater often supplies wells and springs and is often withdrawn for domestic, agricultural, municipal, industrial and other beneficial uses.

INJECTION WELL

An injection well is a device which helps in placing fluids and hazardous materials including but not limited to petroleum or petroleum like products and brine underground in porous rock formations like limestone and sandstone, or below in the shallow soil layer. The fluids could be wastewater, brine, water, or water mixed with chemicals.

WATER IMPOUNDMENT FRESH

A lined depression excavation pit or facility situated in or upon the ground whether natural or artificial used to store fresh water.

WATER IMPOUNDMENT WASTE

A lined depression excavation pit or facility situated in or upon the ground, whether natural or artificial, used to store waste water fluid including, but not limited to brine, fracturing fluid, produced water, recycled water, impaired water, flowback water, or any other fluid that does not satisfy the definition of "fresh water."

§ 9-302 Conditional uses.

1. The minimum site required shall be 10 acres.

2. Recognizing that the specific location of equipment and facilities is an important and integral part of oil and gas development, as part of the planning process, the operator shall locate the temporary and permanent operations so as to minimize interference with Borough residents, and future Borough development activities as authorized by the Borough's Council. Reference is made to the table below which list the minimum offset distance from the well to the protected structure;

Setback Distances (Minimum) From Protected Structures (Feet) Residential and Nonresidential Uses
Use	Setback Distance (feet)
R-1	1,700
R-2	1,500
R-3	2,800
R-4	1,500
C-1	1,000
C-2	500
School	2,500
Hospital	2,500
Wetland	2,000
Gas station	1,500
Nursing home	1,500
Day care	1,500

3. The site shall have frontage on and direct vehicular access to an arterial or collector street.

4. As part of the conditional use application, the applicant shall have submitted all necessary applications for permits and plan approvals to the PA DEP. Prior to beginning the drilling site construction, the applicant shall submit to the Borough a copy of all permits (general permits, well permits, joint permits, earth disturbance permit, ESCGP-1, etc) issued by the PA DEP. In addition, the Borough shall be provided copies of all plans (erosion and sedimentation control, grading, water management plan, water withdrawal plan, pollution prevention contingency, alternate waste disposal, etc.) required and approved by the PA DEP. The Borough Engineer shall be provided with a timeline and activity schedule and all required permits shall be maintained, commencing at site construction and continuing throughout the duration of drilling and production testing (hydraulic fracturing) operation. Any suspension, or revocation of permits or other penalties by PA DEP shall be reported to the Borough and shall constitute a violation of Borough zoning approval and may result in the suspension of zoning approval.

5. Adjacent public streets shall be adequate to accommodate traffic volumes and weight limits associated with truck traffic to and from the site.

6. The storage, handling, transportation and disposal of hazardous or potentially hazardous materials Including but not limited to petroleum or petroleum like products and brine shall be in accordance with all applicable permits and requirements of the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (PA DEP) and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

7. No permanent component of the injection well site shall be closer than 100 feet from the property line in which the well is located.

8. A risk assessment report. A report prepared by a professional expert in that field, that identifies the potential hazards stemming from the injection well at the proposed site and determines the quantitative and qualitative risk associated with the identified hazards. The quantitative risk assessment shall include calculations of two components of risk, the magnitude of the potential loss, and the probability that the loss will occur. The report shall include a public health risk assessment including potential impacts to water supply. This assessment is the process of characterizing the nature and likelihood of harmful effects to individuals or populations within one linear mile from the well site. The report shall also include an assessment of potential seismic impacts created by the operations of the injection well.

9. Predrilling, Post-hydraulic fracturing, and baseline water survey requirements. Prior to drilling and post-hydraulic fracturing, the operator shall be responsible for testing all existing water supplies (surface and groundwater) within 1,000 feet of the surface location of the well. The purpose of testing is to determine the baseline quality of quantity of the surface water and groundwater in the immediate vicinity of the proposed well site and to evaluate resultant changes that may occur or have an impact on the water supply of the site and surrounding area. If a landowner refuses to allow the operator access to conduct a survey, the operator shall show evidence of such refusal in accordance with Pa. Code Title 25, Chapter 78, § 78.52 (f). In addition, prior to drilling, the operator is be required to drill a test well outside of the limits of the well pad, but no more than 750 feet from the well location to a depth that intersects all known or viable aquifers for the purposes of obtaining a baseline assessment of water quality in the vicinity of the site. The test well shall be located such that it is park of the hydrologic system of the drill site. All testing shall adhere to the following:

A. Predrilling testing results, both from existing water supplies and from the operator-drilled test well, shall be submitted as part of the conditional use application.

B. Post-hydraulic fracturing testing shall be completed no sooner that one month after hydraulic fracturing activities have ceased and no later that two months after hydraulic fracturing activities have ceased.

C. The post-hydraulic fracturing test results, both from existing water supplies and from the operator-drilled test well, shall be submitted to the Borough, PA DEP, and residents within 1,000 feet of the surface location of the well in accordance with Pa. Code Title 25, Chapter 78, § 78.52 "Predrilling or prealteration survey" within 10 days of their receipt.

D. The operator shall be responsible for all costs associated with drilling and testing and testing shall be done by an independent state-certified water testing laboratory agreed upon by the Borough.

E. Water quantity test. The operator shall hire a consultant (hydrogeologist) agreed upon by the Borough to conduct water quality testing. The consultant shall submit a pretesting and a predrilling plan to be approved by the Borough. The consultant shall test for gallons per minute (gpm) flow rates, yield, groundwater levels, and other pertinent information for all viable aquifer zones via drawdown test or other suitable means. The consultant shall measure and record flow rates in gallons per minute (gpm) for all surface water sources. Groundwater levels and other pertinent information via drawdown test or other suitable means shall be measured from all available wells. Also, GPS coordinate information shall be recorded for all surface water and groundwater sites. The results shall be certified by the hydrologist.

F. Water quality test. Operators shall test for the following list of parameters for all surface water and groundwater. The list is not exhaustive and the Borough reserves the right to add additional parameters;

INORGANIC
Alkalinity	Chloride	Conductivity	Hardness	Oil/grease/bromide
Ph	Sulfate	Total dissolved solids reside - filterable turbidity
Ethylene glycol	Acetone
TRACE METAL
Barium	Calcium	Iron	Magnesium	Manganese
Potassium	Sodium	Stontium	Aluminum	Lithium
Selenium	Boron
ORGANIC
Ethane	Methane	Propane	Total petroleum hydrocarbons
MICRO-BIOLOGY
Total Coliform/E. Coli
OTHER
Volatile organic compounds
Detergent (MBAs)
Total organic carbon
Nitrate
Radionuclides gross alpha, radium
Radon
Lead
Total coliform
Bacteria

10. Predrilling and post-hydraulic fracturing soil survey requirements. Prior to drilling and post-hydraulic fracturing, the operator shall be responsible for testing soil conditions within the area of the drill site, but no greater than 500 feet from the surface location of the well. The purpose of testing is to determine the baseline soil conditions in the immediate vicinity of the proposed well site and evaluate resultant changes that may occur or have an impact on the soils of the site and surrounding area.

A. Predrilling testing results shall be submitted as part of the conditional use application.

B. Post-hydraulic fracturing testing shall be completed no sooner that one month after hydraulic fracturing activities have ceased and no later than two months after hydraulic fracturing activities have ceased.

C. The results shall be submitted to the Borough and PA DEP within 10 days of their receipt.

D. The operator shall be responsible for all costs associated with sample collection and testing and testing shall be done by an independent state-certified testing laboratory agreed upon by the Borough.

E. Operators shall test for the following list of parameters for soils. The list is not exhaustive and the Borough reserves the right to add additional parameters;

INORGANIC
Alkalinity	Chloride	Hardness		Oil/Grease/bromide	Ph
Sulfate	Total dissolved solids	Reside filterable		Bromide
TRACE METAL
Barium	Calcium	Iron	Magnesium	Manganese	Potassium
Sodium	Stontium	Aluminum		Lithium	Selenium
Boron	Arsenic	Zinc
MICRO-BIOLOGY
Total Coliform/E. Coli
OTHER
Volatile organic compounds
Nitrate
Radio-nuclides gross alpha
Radium
Lead

11. Drip pans must be placed in any location, under equipment, that has the potential to leak.

12. All condensate tanks shall be equipped with vapor recovery and/or vapor destruction units.

13. All structures including, but not limited to pumping units, storage tanks, buildings and structures shall be painted a neutral color, compatible with the surrounding uses. Neutral colors shall include sand, gray, green and unobtrusive shades of brown, or other neutral colors, as approved by the Borough Engineer/Zoning Officer.

14. Processing plants shall be inspected by the fire department prior to operation. During the active operation at the processing plant, Borough staff or consultants designated by the Borough Manager shall have access to the site to determine continuing compliance with the conditional use approval.

15. The applicant will reimburse the Borough for all reasonable and direct professional consultant fees incurred by the Borough related to site inspection, approval process, or for specialized work called for in the permit.

16. The Borough of Sharpsburg reserves the right to impose any other additional conditions necessary to protect the public health, safety and general welfare of its residents in order to address any unique characteristics of a particular processing plant site which are not otherwise within the jurisdiction of federal and state regulations in accordance with the Pennsylvania Municipalities Planning Code[1] (PAMPC).

[1] Editor's Note: See 53 P.S. § 10101 et seq.

17. Indemnification and express negligence provisions. The operator shall fully defend, protect and hold harmless Sharpsburg Borough, its departments, officials, officers, agents, employees and contractors from and against each and every claim, demand, or cause of action and any and all liability, damages, obligations, judgments, losses, fines, penalties, costs, legal and expert fees and expenses incurred in defense of Sharpsburg Borough, including, without limitation, personal injuries and death in connection therewith which may be made or asserted by any third parties on account of, arising out of, or in any way incidental to or in connection with the performance by the operator.

18. The facility and/or its operation shall comply with all applicable permits and requirements of the PA DEP, the United States Environmental Protections Agency and any other governmental authority having jurisdiction over its operations and with all federal, state and local laws, ordinances and regulations promulgated to protect the environment or otherwise relating to environmental matters. The applicant shall demonstrate that the compressor stations will not violate the citizens of Sharpsburg Borough's right to clean air and pure water as set forth in Article 1, Section 27 of the Pennsylvania Constitution (The Environmental Rights Amendment). The applicant will have the initial burden to demonstrate that it operation will not affect the health, safety or welfare of the citizens of Sharpsburg Borough or any other potentially affected landowner. The application submittal shall include report from qualified Environmental individuals attesting that the proposed location will not negatively impact the Borough residents' Environmental Rights and will include air modeling and hydrogeological studies as potential pathways that a spill or release of fluid may follow.

19. Impoundments (being either a water impoundment fresh or a water impoundment, waste), are subject to:

A. Impoundments shall be allowed only on the parcel/property where drilling is occurring as an accessory use.

B. No off-site impoundments, drill cutting pits/reserve pits shall be permitted.

C. Impoundments shall not use surface aerators.

D. All drill site impoundments shall be secured with a temporary fence with a secured gate as follows:

(1) The fence shall be a minimum of six feet in heights and chain link.

(2) The fencing shall be in place throughout the drill operation and until the impoundment is removed.

(3) The chain link fence shall have a minimum thickness of 11 gauges.

(4) Impoundments must comply with all state and federal laws in regard to leak detection and monitoring and must comply with EPA 9090 or any regulation that supersedes it.

(5) Upon review of the application, Council may, in its discretion, require air modeling and monitoring of emissions coming off of impoundments.

E. An impoundment shall not contain any liquid substance generated from any oil well (s) located on another property. Trucking in of outside liquid substance for storage in an impoundment is prohibited.

F. Size limitation. Impoundments are permitted to house up to 1,000,000 gallons of liquid substance.

G. An impoundment must be completely enclosed within a structure with solid walls and a roof.

H. An applicant shall provide to the Borough a preparedness, prevention and contingency (PPC) plan as defined in the PA DEP document Guidelines for the Development and Implementation of Environmental Emergency Response Plans or the most recent applicable guidance document.

I. An applicant shall provide to the Borough a baseline hydrogeological study to document background conditions including, but not limited, to initial water quality testing, water level measurements, available secondary source information leading to an understanding of groundwater flow beneath the site and adjacent areas.

§ 9-303 When effective.

This part shall take effect immediately upon passage.