(a)
It
shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to prepare any site,
to commence to drill, or to operate any oil and/or gas well within
the city limits prior to the city council consideration and without
a permit issued by the city manager for the site preparation, drilling,
and the operation of such well-being approved by the authority of
the city council in accordance with the terms of this article.
(b)
It
shall be unlawful to drill or rework a well for disposal or injection
of salt water or other impurities brought to the surface during the
operation of an oil and/or gas well or for secondary and/or tertiary
recovery operations within the corporate limits of the city without
first obtaining a permit in accordance with state law.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-141; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-3), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 8632, sec. 2, adopted 7/12/1984; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
(a)
In
all cases where the applicant for a permit under this division has
fifty (50) percent or more of the acreage in the proposed production
unit under lease which lease or leases were executed on or before
May 13, 1982, and the application is filed with the city manager on
or before May 14, 1984, the following standard shall apply:
No well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any
well to be drilled at any location which is nearer than one hundred
fifty (150) feet of any residence or commercial building without the
applicant having first secured the written permission of the owner
or owners thereof and no crude oil storage tank or tanks shall be
erected or maintained within one hundred fifty (150) feet of any residence
or commercial building without the applicant having first secured
written permission of the owner or owners thereof.
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The burden of proving that leases were executed on or before
May 13, 1982, shall be upon the applicant. The applicant may discharge
this burden in the following manner:
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(1)
Submit a sworn affidavit with the application listing the leases
that are filed of record in the office of the county clerk making
reference to the volume and page number where said leases are on file.
(2)
A true and correct copy of a lease showing the date of execution
and acknowledgement shall be filed with the application for leases
that have not been filed of record in the office of the county clerk.
(b)
All drill sites that do not meet the requirement in subsection (a) above shall be subject to the following conditions and standards:
(1)
No oil or gas well shall be located closer than six hundred (600)
feet of an existing residential structure, or an existing commercial
structure, or an existing church, public or private school, hospital,
nursing home, college or university, daycare center, or public athletic
field, or an existing domestic fresh water well, or property zoned
or proposed by the city comprehensive plan as residential or commercial,
without the applicant first having secured the written permission
of the owner/owners thereof;
(2)
No facility for the purpose of storing hydrocarbons shall be located
closer than one thousand (1,000) feet of an existing residential structure,
or an existing commercial structure, or an existing church, public
or private school, hospital, nursing home, college or university,
daycare center, or public athletic field; and
(3)
If the written consent of all of the real property owners cannot
be secured, the city council may approve a permit in accordance with
this article.
(c)
Continuing
maintenance of all landscape materials required by this article or
the city council shall be the responsibility of the permittee.
(d)
Any
written permission required herein shall be provided as part of the
permit application.
(e)
An
oil and gas well permit does not create a property interest or a vested
right in the permittee. This article creates no property interest
or right of entitlement of any kind.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-142; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-4), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 9170, sec. 3, adopted 2/15/1988; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
Each application shall be presented in the format most recently approved by the city council. 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 on his behalf, and it shall be filed with the city manager and be accompanied with a filing fee. The filing fee for the application shall be two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), until such time as the city council adjusts the fee in accordance with the provisions of section 1.03.004 of this code. A separate application must be filed by each applicant for each well to be drilled and operated. Each application shall include the following information in full:
(1)
The
date of the application;
(2)
Name
of the applicant;
(3)
Address
of the applicant;
(4)
For
the parcel of property where the well is drilled:
(5)
Type
and height of the pump jack or pump equipment proposed for producing
the well;
(6)
Proposed
depth of the well and name of the geologic formation as used by the
RRC;
(7)
A
legal description of the production unit. Any property recorded by
plat should reference subdivision, block and lot numbers;
(8)
A
true and correct copy of the plat survey filed with the RRC as part
of the drilling permit application for the subject well;
(9)
An
accurate map or drawing at a scale of 1/300 or greater to indicate
the exact location of the proposed flow line(s) to storage facilities
and shall indicate the exact location of such storage facilities on
the map;
(10)
The following, including exact acreage and if within a plat approved
by the planning and zoning commission, provide the subdivision name,
block and lot number, and:
(A)
Ownership of surface acreage for each parcel in the production unit;
(B)
Ownership of mineral rights for each parcel in the production unit;
(C)
Ownership of surface acreage for each parcel abutting the production
unit;
(D)
Ownership of mineral rights for each parcel abutting the production
unit;
(E)
Name and address of each owner of any parcel of property within three
hundred (300) feet of the proposed wellhead; and
(F)
Name and address of each owner of any parcel of property within one
thousand (1,000) feet of the proposed storage facility.
(11)
Alternate location of the well due to adjacent land uses;
(12)
Air-pollution and odor-control devices;
(13)
Noise-control devices;
(14)
Type of engine for the pump equipment;
(15)
Height of the pump equipment during production;
(16)
Fire-control measures at the drill and pump site;
(17)
Fence or visual screening on the site of pump equipment and storage
facilities;
(18)
Landscaping on the site of pump equipment and storage facilities;
(19)
Proof of contractual responsibilities of pump site and storage site
maintenance;
(20)
Blowout prevention control;
(21)
Specific description of safety procedures required at the drill/pump
site and the storage site;
(22)
Special handling/storage of sludge/waste from the drill site;
(23)
Special disposal of sludge/waste from the drill site;
(24)
Location of storage facilities;
(25)
Ingress/egress of vehicular traffic to the drill site and production
site;
(26)
Specific precautions proposed to prevent contamination of the water
aquifer at the drill site;
(27)
Specific proposal for source of water to be used during drilling
operation;
(28)
Specific requirements for route and location of (buried or aboveground)
flow lines between the wellhead and storage facilities; and
(29)
An emergency response plan establishing written procedures to minimize
any hazard resulting from the drilling, completion, or producing of
a well. Said plan shall use existing guidelines established by the
RRC, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Department
of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and/or the city fire code. This plan shall include
a system of alarms to detect the loss of the well or any loss of containment
integrity, access routes, and emergency contact information. A copy
of the emergency response plan shall be kept on file with the city
manager and on site. Said emergency response plan shall be updated
annually.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-143; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-5), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
(a)
Upon
receipt of the completed application, the city manager shall make
a reasonable attempt within ten (10) business days to arrange a conference
between the city staff and the applicant. The city manager shall instruct
his representative, the city attorney, planning director, or their
representatives, along with any others he so chooses, to meet in conference
with the applicant to review the content of proposed staff comments
related to the application. Each item to which the staff directs comment
shall be presented to the applicant, and the application amended if
the applicant so chooses.
(b)
The
city manager shall submit a written report to the city council on
all permit applications under this article. The report shall include
the staff concerns and any unresolved issues. The city manager shall
submit a recommendation to the city council on all permit applications,
including any additional permit conditions as determined necessary
by the city staff. The results and recommendations of the city manager
shall be sent to the applicant within ten (10) business days following
the meeting with city staff.
(c)
The
city council shall hold a public hearing on all applications for permits
to drill oil or gas wells. Written notice of all such hearings shall
be sent by the city manager, at the applicant’s expense, on
forms prepared by the city attorney’s office to the applicant
and all other persons deemed by the oil and gas inspector to be affected
thereby, and all owners of real property lying within six hundred
(600) feet of the proposed location of the oil or gas well and the
storage facility. Such notice is to be given not less than ten (10)
business days before the date set for hearing to all such owners who
have rendered their said property for city taxes as the ownership
appears on the last approved city tax roll. Such notice may be served
by depositing the same properly addressed and postage paid, in the
city post office. Notice shall also be given by publishing the same
in a newspaper of general circulation in the city at least fifteen
(15) business days prior to the date set for hearing, which notice
shall state the time and place of such hearing; provided, however,
all provisions contained herein with respect to the mailing and publishing
of notices of hearing shall be deemed sufficient upon substantial
compliance with this section. The city council may approve a permit
for the drilling and operation of the well described in the application.
The city council may designate such additional conditions concerning
installation, operation, and maintenance of the proposed well site
and/or storage facility, including but not limited to the following:
(1)
Alternate location of the well due to adjacent land uses;
(2)
Air-pollution control devices, air-pollution monitoring devices,
and/or odor-control devices;
(3)
Noise-control devices;
(4)
Type of engine for the pump equipment;
(5)
Height of the pump equipment during production;
(6)
Fire-control measures at the drill and pump site;
(7)
Fence or visual screening on the site of pump equipment and storage
facilities;
(8)
Landscaping on the site of pump equipment and storage facilities;
(9)
Proof of contractual responsibilities of pump site and storage site
maintenance;
(10)
Blowout prevention control;
(11)
Specific description of safety procedures required at the drill/pump
site and the storage site;
(12)
Special handling/storage of sludge/waste from the drill site;
(13)
Special disposal of sludge/waste from the drill site;
(14)
Location of storage facilities;
(15)
Ingress/egress of vehicular traffic to the drill site and production
site;
(16)
Specific precautions proposed to prevent contamination of the water
aquifer at the drill site;
(17)
Specific proposal for source of water to be used during drilling
operation;
(18)
Specific requirements for route and location of (buried or aboveground)
flow lines between the wellhead and storage facilities; or
(19)
An emergency response plan establishing written procedures to minimize
any hazard resulting from the drilling, completion, or producing of
a well. Said plan shall use existing guidelines established by the
RRC, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the Texas Department
of Transportation, the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Environmental
Protection Agency, and/or the city fire code. This plan shall include
a system of alarms to detect the loss of the well or any loss of containment
integrity, access routes, and emergency contact information. A copy
of the emergency response plan shall be kept on file with the city
manager and on site. Said emergency response plan shall be updated
annually.
(d)
Each
permit issued under this article shall:
(1)
By reference have incorporated therein all the provisions of this
article with the same force and effect as if this article were copied
verbatim in such permit;
(2)
Specify the well location with lot number, block number, name of
addition or subdivision, or other available correct legal description;
(3)
Contain and specify that the term of such permit shall be for a period
of one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of the permit and as
long thereafter as the permittee is engaged in drilling operations
with no cessations of such operations for more than ninety (90) days,
or oil or gas is produced in commercial quantities from the well drilled
pursuant to such permit. If at any time after discovery of oil or
gas the production thereof in commercial quantities shall cease, the
permit shall not expire if the permittee commences additional reworking
operations within one hundred eighty (180) days thereafter, and if
they result in the production of oil or gas, so long thereafter as
oil or gas is produced in commercial quantities from such well;
(4)
Contain and specify such conditions as are by this article authorized
and such conditions that the city council may designate in accordance
with this section; and
(5)
Specify the total measured depth and the true vertical depth to which the well may be drilled. The true vertical depth may not exceed the projected depth and may not exceed nine thousand six hundred eighty (9,680) feet. A greater depth shall require an additional permit and permit fee. The filing fee for the application shall be two thousand five hundred dollars ($2,500.00), until such time as the city council adjusts the fee in accordance with the provisions of section 1.03.004 of this code.
(e)
Such
permit, in triplicate originals, shall be signed by the city manager,
and prior to delivery to the permittee shall be signed by the permittee
(with one original to be retained by the city manager, one filed with
the city secretary, and one retained by the permittee); and when so
signed shall constitute the permittee’s drilling and operating
license, and contractual obligation of the permittee to comply with
the terms of such permit and the requirements of this article. The
director of planning shall keep a map that designates the location
of all permitted wells and production units and the number of the
permit for each well and production unit.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-144; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-6), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 8632, sec. 3, adopted 7/12/1984; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015; Ordinance
2016-O0169 adopted 12/1/2016)
When a permit shall have been issued, the same shall terminate
and become inoperative without any action on the part of the city,
unless within one hundred eighty (180) days from the date of issuance
actual drilling of the well shall have commenced. The cessation for
a like period of the drilling operations or the cessation of the production
of oil or gas from the well after production shall have commenced
shall operate to terminate and cancel the permit, and the well shall
be considered as abandoned for all purposes of this article, and it
shall be unlawful thereafter to continue the operation or drilling
of such well without the issuance of another permit.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-145; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-7), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
(a)
Once
any well has either been completed as a producer or abandoned as a
dry hole, it shall be unlawful and an offense for any person to drill
such well to a deeper depth than that reached in the prior drilling
operations without the permittee as to such well obtaining a supplemental
permit after filing a current supplemental application with the city
manager specifying:
(1)
The then condition of the well and the casing therein;
(2)
The depth to which it is proposed such well be deepened;
(3)
The proposed casing program to be used in the connection with proposed
deepening operations; and
(4)
Evidence of adequate current tests showing that the casing strings
in such well currently pass the same tests as are in this article
provided for in case of the drilling of the original well.
(b)
In the event the city council is satisfied that such well may be deepened with the same degree of safety as existed in the original well, a supplemental permit may be issued authorizing the deepening and operation of the well to such specified depth as applied for upon payment of a supplemental permit fee. The filing fee for the application shall be two hundred fifty dollars ($250.00), until such time as the city council adjusts the fee in accordance with the provisions of section 1.03.004 of this code. In any deeper drilling or any deeper completion of any deeper production operations, the permittee shall comply with all other provisions contained in this article and applicable to the drilling, completion and operation of a well or wells.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-146; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-8), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
No well shall be drilled in any public park established or maintained
by the city unless authorized in accordance with state law. No well
shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be
drilled at any location which is within any of the streets or alleys
of the city, or in a projected highway and street or alley, and no
street or alley shall be blocked or encumbered or closed in any drilling
or production operation.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-147; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-11), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
No permittee shall make any excavations or construct any lines
for the conveyance of fuel, water or minerals, on, under or through
the streets and alleys of the city, without express permission of
the city council, in writing, and then only in strict compliance with
the ordinances of the city.
(1983 Code, sec. 14-148; Ordinance 8327, sec. 2 (19A-9), adopted 5/28/1982; Ordinance 2015-O0021 adopted 3/12/2015)
