In each case of drilling or redrilling, the distance from any well hole to any occupied structure shall be a minimum of three hundred feet (300'), unless the permittee obtains written consent from the owners and tenants of said occupied structure and furnishes said written consent to the building official prior to issuance of said permit. All applicants for drilling or redrilling permits with a well hole distance between three hundred feet (300') to five hundred feet (500') to any occupied structure shall be reviewed in accordance with section 6.09.042 herein.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-10; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-10; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 10, adopted 4/17/07; Ordinance 09-014, sec. 3, adopted 3/31/09)
In each case the distance from any storage tank or tanks in conjunction with any well to any occupied structure shall be a minimum of three hundred feet (300'). Tanks located at a distance between three hundred feet (300') to five hundred feet (500') to any occupied structure shall be reviewed in accordance with section 6.09.042 herein.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-11; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-11; Ordinance 09-014, sec. 4, adopted 3/31/09)
In each case the distance from the center of a well hole drilled
under a permit issued under this article and from all storage tanks
installed after the effective date of Ordinance 76-38 (from which
this article is derived) to the nearest traveled public or private
street right-of-way shall be a minimum of one hundred fifty (150)
feet.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-12; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-12)
A vehicular access route to the site may be established at the
discretion of the building official after consideration of all of
the circumstances including but not limited to the existing width,
load-bearing capability, and composition of all streets proposed to
be included in the access route; residential densities; potential
interference with pedestrian and bicycle traffic; the presence of
effective traffic control; and the general character of the areas
through which the proposed access route would pass.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-13; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-13; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 11, adopted 4/17/07)
(a)
The
oil or gas well drilled pursuant to any drilling permit shall be drilled
only within the properties which the permittee set forth in its application
as the properties through which such well was proposed to pass unless
the permittee secures approval of the building official to cause such
well to pass through other properties.
(b)
No
permittee shall drill, operate, or maintain any oil or gas well except
in conformity with the terms and conditions of a permit issued under
this article.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-14; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-14; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 12, adopted 4/17/07)
The applicant or permittee shall designate a competent representative
who shall be responsible for the supervision of drilling operations
and the carrying out of the conditions of any permit. Such representative
shall be available at all times during drilling operations and shall
be the responsible contact agent of the applicant or the permittee
whom the building official may require to carry out the provisions
of the permit.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-15; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-15; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 13, adopted 4/17/07)
(a)
The
well location shall be clearly marked by staking or other suitable
means and identified as the “drill site.”
(b)
Prior
to commencement of any drilling operations, all private roads used
for access to the drill site and the drill site itself shall be surfaced
so as to prevent excessive dust and mud and in a manner adequate to
support the weight of mobile firefighting equipment. Surfacing may
be by boards, rock, gravel, shell, or any other material that is oiled
and maintained so as to prevent excessive dust and mud.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-16; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-16)
(a)
No
equipment shall be stored on the site which is not essential to the
everyday operation of the oil well located thereon.
(b)
Lumber,
pipes, and casing shall not be left on the site, except when drilling
operations are being conducted on the site.
(c)
No
equipment shall be stored except within the fenced areas of the site.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-22; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-22)
The slush pit or pits at each drilling site shall at all times
be in compliance with all state and federal requirements.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-23; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-23)
(a)
Within
thirty (30) days after production has been established, the permittee
shall enclose the well, together with its surface facilities and storage
tanks, by a substantial, smooth eleven (11) gauge or heavier galvanized
steel net wire fence a minimum of six (6) feet in height and provided
with barbed wired supporting arms and a minimum of three (3) strands
of barbed wire installed at the top of each post and properly built
so as ordinarily to prevent the entry of unauthorized persons into
the enclosure, with all gates thereto to be kept locked when the permittee
or his employees are not within the enclosure. This applies also to
each existing producing drill site in the city together with its surface
facilities and storage tanks.
(b)
Wells
which when in operation have no externally moving parts are excepted
from the fencing requirements of this section; however, all storage
tanks and surface facilities must be fenced as required herein.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-24; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-24)
(a)
Within
ninety (90) days after production has been established on an urbanized
drill site containing a well which when in operation has externally
moving parts, the permittee shall have completed either adequate landscaping
or screening composed of shrubbery a minimum of six (6) feet in height,
but in any event tall and thick enough to shield the drilling site
from public view, or physical fencing and screening which effectively
shields the drilling site from public view. Such required landscaping
or screening is subject to the approval of the enforcement administrator
concerning its adequacy in meeting the requirements of this section.
Said landscaping or screening must be maintained so as to shield the
drill site from public view so long as production continues on the
drill site. This applies also to each existing producing urbanized
drill site in the city containing a well which when in operation has
externally moving parts.
(b)
Wells
which when in operation have no externally moving parts are excepted
from the fencing requirements of this section; however, all storage
tanks and surface facilities must be fenced as required herein.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-25; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-25)
(a)
All
drilling and production equipment installed or operated upon any drill
site shall be so constructed, operated, and maintained that no noise,
vibration, odor, or other harmful or annoying substances or effects
therefrom which can be eliminated or diminished by the use of modern
and approved types of equipment, silencers, or greater care shall
ever be permitted to result from operations on any drill site to the
injury or annoyance of persons in the vicinity of such drill site.
Proven technological and mechanical improvements in methods of drilling
and production and in the type of equipment used therefor shall be
adopted from time to time, as the same become available, if the use
of such equipment, improvements, and methods will reduce noise, vibration,
odors, or the harmful effects of annoying substances.
(b)
The
engines used in connection with the drilling of any oil well or any
production equipment shall be equipped with an exhaust muffler or
mufflers, or an exhaust muffler box, sufficient to suppress noise
and to prevent the escape of obnoxious gases, fumes, sparks, ignited
carbon, or soot. The type and design of any muffler or muffler box
shall be approved by the building official and by the fire chief or
his authorized representative.
(c)
At
an urbanized drilling site, the operation of oil field production
equipment shall not increase the ambient noise level at any given
time by more than three (3) decibels in any octave band, when measured
at a distance of one hundred fifty (150) feet from the oil field production
equipment in question. The ambient noise level, for the purpose of
this section, shall be the average of sound level meter readings taken
consecutively at any given time from four (4) or more diametrically
opposite positions within an area of not more than five hundred (500)
feet nor less than two hundred (200) feet from the oil field production
equipment in question, all such readings to be taken at a distance
and in such a manner so as to obtain the surrounding noise level as
distinguished from the noise level produced by the oil field production
equipment. However, if the ambient noise level is less than seventy
(70) decibels, the production equipment shall not generate a noise
level in excess of seventy (70) decibels measured at a distance of
one hundred fifty (150) feet from such equipment.
(d)
At
a nonurbanized drilling site, the operation of oil field production
equipment shall not generate a noise level in excess of eighty (80)
decibels at a distance of one hundred fifty (150) feet from said production
equipment.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-26; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-26; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 18, adopted 4/17/07)
(a)
All
of the operations at the drill site shall be conducted in a careful
and orderly manner, and the premises shall at all times be maintained
in a neat, clean, and orderly manner.
(b)
All
firefighting equipment as required and approved by federal statutes
shall be installed and maintained on the drill site at all times during
drilling operations. In addition, each drill site shall, during drilling
operations, be equipped with two (2) one hundred fifty (150) pound
dry chemical fire extinguishers equipped with wheels and also equipped
with fifty (50) feet of hose on each unit.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-27; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-27)
At all times during the drilling process until the well is abandoned
and plugged or completed as a producer and enclosed with a fence as
herein provided, the permittee shall keep a watchman on duty on the
premises; provided, however, it shall not be necessary to keep a watchman
on duty on the premises when other workmen of the permittee are on
such premises.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-28; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-28)
(a)
All
casing, including surface protection and production strings, shall
be either seamless steel or equivalent quality oil well casing. Each
production string of casing must meet or exceed the minimum internal
pressure yield strength established under American Petroleum Institute
standards.
(b)
Each
joint and length of each particular casing string shall have prior
to setting unconditionally passed a complete cold water test and the
building official shall be furnished a copy of said test results.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-29; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-29; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 19, adopted 4/17/07)
No well shall be drilled within the city limits without properly
setting surface casing to a minimum depth of eight hundred (800) feet.
No well shall be drilled within the city limits without cementing
the surface casing by the pump and plug method with sufficient cement
to completely fill all of the annular space behind such casing to
the surface of the ground, and without cementing the production string
by the pump and plug method with sufficient cement to completely fill
all of the annular space behind the production string to at least
five hundred (500) feet above the highest oil and/or gas bearing horizon.
In the event a protection string of casing be required under the terms
of this article, said protection string shall not be installed without
cementing the protection string by the pump and plug method with sufficient
cement to completely fill all the annular space behind the protection
string to at least five hundred (500) feet above the highest oil and/or
gas bearing horizon.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-30; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-30)
No well shall be drilled within the city limits without properly
equipping the surface casing when set with at least one master valve,
and without property equipping the protection casing when set with
at least one master valve and one fluid-operated ram type blow-out
preventer, and without properly equipping the production casing during
completion operations and workover operations with at least one master
valve and at least one fluid-operated ram type blow-out preventer.
On each well drilled, a valve cock or kelly cock shall be installed
on the kelly used. Each blow-out preventer shall test a minimum of
three thousand (3,000) pounds and its mechanical operation shall be
tested at least once every twenty-four (24) hour period. All control
equipment shall be in good working condition and order at all times.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-31; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-31)
No well shall be drilled within the city limits without using mud as the drilling fluid after the setting of surface casing as provided in section 6.09.096 hereof. Prior to the time the well reaches a total depth of five thousand (5,000) feet or the depth of the first known or encountered oil or gas bearing horizon, whichever is the lesser depth, the weight of the mud-laden drilling fluid shall be at all times maintained at a weight sufficient to contain the formation pressure. After the well reaches a total depth of five thousand (5,000) feet or the depth of the first known or encountered oil or gas bearing horizon, whichever is the lesser depth, the weight of the drilling fluid shall be maintained to provide a hydrostatic head necessary to contain the formation pressure. In reworking a well the drilling fluid shall be at all times maintained at a weight that will provide a hydrostatic head necessary to contain the formation pressure.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-32; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-32)
It shall be unlawful for any person in connection with the drilling
or reworking operations of any well within the city limits to complete
any drill stem test or tests except during daylight hours and then
only if the well effluent during the test is produced through an adequate
oil and gas separator to storage tanks, and the effluent remaining
in the drill pipe at the time the tool is closed is flushed to the
surface by circulating drilling fluid down the annulus and up the
drill pipe.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-33; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-33)
All tubing used in any well within the city limits shall be
seamless steel tubing meeting American Petroleum Institute standards
for minimum internal pressure yield strength.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-34; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-34)
Each well drilled within the city limits shall be equipped with
a casinghead with a working pressure sufficient to contain the formation
pressure. Casingheads shall not be welded. The casinghead pressure
shall be checked at two (2) or more times each calendar year and,
if pressure is found to exist, proper remedial measures shall be immediately
taken to eliminate the source and the existence of the pressure.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-35; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-35; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 20, adopted 4/17/07)
The Christmas tree and all well head connections on each well
existing within the city limits and on each well drilled pursuant
to a permit under this article shall be maintained so as to operate
safely. If a Christmas tree or a well connection is found to be leaking
or otherwise defective, the building official may immediately revoke
the permit. In the event the surface shut-in pressure of any well
in the city limits exceeds two thousand (2,000) pounds per square
inch, the flow wing of the Christmas tree shall be equipped with an
automatic closing safety valve in addition to the regular control
valves.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-36; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-36; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 21, adopted 4/17/07)
The compressor station on each well existing within the city
limits and on each well drilled pursuant to a permit under this section
shall be equipped with an automatic shutdown device which shall be
clearly marked and visible at all times. The compressor station and
all pipes and valves connected thereto must meet or exceed the minimum
internal pressure yield strength established under American Petroleum
Institute standards and shall have prior to installation unconditionally
passed a complete cold water test. All compressor stations shall be
checked a minimum of once each three (3) months and the result of
said check shall be sent to the building official upon request. Failure
to comply with this section shall result in immediate cancellation
of the drilling permit issued hereunder.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-37; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-37; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 22, adopted 4/17/07)
Except as provided in section 6.09.082 herein, within one thousand (1,000) feet of any occupied structure a maximum of two (2) five hundred (500) barrel tanks for crude oil storage may be constructed in connection with any one producing well within the city limits. There shall be no limitation on the size or number of storage tanks that may be constructed in the area more than one thousand (1,000) feet from any occupied structure. Each tank shall be equipped with flame arrestors and shall be so constructed and maintained as to be vaportight. Each tank or tank battery shall also be surrounded with an earthen fire wall which shall at all times be free of vegetation and which shall be at such distance from the tank as will under any circumstances hold and retain at least one and one-half (1-1/2) times the maximum capacity of such tank. The area outside each tank but contained within the earthen fire wall shall be properly drained at all times. A permittee may use, construct, and operate a steel conventional separator, and such other steel tanks and appurtenances as are necessary for treating oil, with each of such facilities to be so constructed and maintained as to be vaportight. Each oil gas separator shall be equipped with both a regulation pressure relief safety valve and a bursting head.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-38; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-38)
When a well is abandoned it shall be the obligation of the permittee
and the operator of the well to plug said well in accordance with
the requirements of the state railroad commission.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-39; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-39)
The permittee shall make adequate provision for the disposal
of all salt water or other impurities which he may bring to the surface.
Disposal shall be made in a manner that will not contaminate the water
supply, present or prospective, or injure surface vegetation.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-40; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-40)
Whenever practicable on an urbanized drilling site all delivery
of equipment and supplies to the drill site shall be made only on
Monday through Saturday between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m.
This requirement shall not apply to drilling operations being conducted
in a nonurbanized area.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-42; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-42)
When production has been established in any new well, the construction
of a pipeline shall be started as soon as practical and economically
feasible and thereon diligently prosecuted until such pipeline is
completed in order to eliminate the trucking of oil. All oil and gas
shall be shipped and transported through pipelines after those pipelines
have been completed, except in cases in which such a method of transportation
is found by the building official to be unfeasible. In such cases
the shipping and transportation of oil by truck may be permitted at
the discretion of the building official after consideration of all
the circumstances, including but not limited to the proximity of the
well to existing and available pipelines, the availability of acceptable
access routes to the drill site, and the frequency and size of transportation
vehicles required to serve the well. In the instance of an oil spill,
the permittee may bring in a vacuum truck to clean said spill without
the necessity of obtaining permission from the building official.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-43; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-43; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 24, adopted 4/17/07)
If a well is placed in production, it shall be inspected periodically
by the building official in accordance with the requirements of this
article. A notification of status change from producing well to abandoned
well shall become necessary for any well which has not produced or
which has not been used for subsurface injection into the earth of
oil, gas, salt water, or oil field waste for a period of nine (9)
months, unless permission to hold said well for a longer period of
time is obtained from the state railroad commission. The operator
shall upon request of the building official furnish verification of
production for the purposes of this section.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-44; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-44; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 25, adopted 4/17/07)
If a well is to be abandoned, the following requirements are
applicable:
(1)
Within
ninety (90) days after the completion of drilling operations or abandonment
of further drilling, the derrick and all drilling equipment, including
temporary tanks, shall be removed from the drill site. Well abandonment
shall be in accordance with the requirements of all applicable laws
and ordinances. Upon such well abandonment, the permittee shall restore
the property as nearly as possible to its original condition and shall
remove all concrete foundations, oil-soaked soil, and debris. All
holes or depressions shall be filled to the natural surface.
(2)
Drilling
operations shall be prosecuted in a workmanlike manner until the well
is completed or abandoned. Once a well is a producing well, it shall
not be serviced with a permanent derrick.
(3)
The
building official shall determine that the drill site and all facilities
pertinent thereto have been restored to their original condition as
nearly as practicable and that all requirements of this section have
been satisfied.
(4)
After
abandonment of a well by the operator, the drilling permit will be
terminated if, to the satisfaction of the building official, all the
conditions stated in this article have been fulfilled.
(1958 Code, sec. 24-45; Ordinance 76-38, sec. 1, adopted 3/23/76; 1978 Code, sec. 19-45; Ordinance 07-049, sec. 26, adopted 4/17/07)
