This article as herein established has been written for the purpose of promoting and protecting the public health, safety, and general welfare of the community and in the furtherance of conserving the value of property and establishing a community desirable to reside therein.
(Ordinance 426, sec. I, adopted 9/18/08)
As pertaining to this article, the following words shall have meanings respectively ascribed to them. Generally, all technical or oil and gas industry words or phrases used herein and not specifically defined herein shall have that meaning customarily attributed to them by the oil and gas industry.
Drill or drilling.
Digging or boring a new well or redrilling an existing well to a deeper depth for the purpose of exploring for, developing or producing oil, gas or hydrocarbons, or for the purpose of injecting gas, water or any other fluid or substances into the earth.
Drilling unit.
One contiguous body or block of land composed of one or more tracts complying with the spacing regulations promulgated by the state railroad commission or its successor.
Fire zone.
Any area within the corporate limits of the city designated as a fire zone by a provision of this article or in any ordinance duly passed and approved by the city council.
Permittee.
The person to whom the city issues a permit to drill and operate a well under the provisions of this article, and his or its administrators, executors, heirs, successors and assigns.
Well.
Any holes, bore or bores which is, or are, drilled, bored, dug, sunk or put down to any depth, strata, sand or formation for the purpose of exploring for or ascertaining the existence of any oil, gas or liquid hydrocarbon or for the purpose of producing and recovering any oil, gas or liquid hydrocarbon, or for the purpose of injecting gas or any fluid or substances into the earth.
(Ordinance 426, sec. II, adopted 9/18/08)
Any person who violates any provision of this article shall, upon conviction, be subjected to a fine of not more than two thousand dollars ($2,000.00) for each offense. Each day that such violation is permitted to continue shall constitute a separate offense. The term “person” as used in this section shall include the owner, occupant, mortgagee or vendor in possession, assignee of rents, executor, trustee, or lessee, agent or another person, firm or corporation directly or indirectly in control of a building or tract of land.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXXXI, adopted 9/18/08)
In the event of any conflicts between this article which governs city-wide drilling permits and the zoning ordinance in effect now or in the future in this city, then this article shall govern.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXXXIII, adopted 9/18/08)
Neither the city nor any authorized agent acting under the terms of this article shall be liable or have any liability by reason of orders issued, or not issued, or work done, or not done, in compliance with the terms of this article.
(Ordinance 426, sec. III, adopted 9/18/08)
Every person, firm, corporation, association or other legal entity desiring to drill and/or operate any gas or oil well of any kind in the city limits must obtain the proper permit from the city administrator before proceeding. To obtain said permit, the person, firm, corporation, association or other legal entity shall submit to the city administrator proof of valid state certification and compliance with the rules and regulations as promulgated by the state railroad commission or its successor. In addition, a permit fee as provided for in the fee schedule found in appendix A to this code shall be required before any such permit may be issued.
(Ordinance 426, sec. IV, adopted 9/18/08)
Any violation of the state laws or any rules, regulations or requirement of any state or federal regulatory body having jurisdiction in reference to drilling, completing, equipping, operating, producing, maintaining or abandoning an oil or gas well, or related appurtenances, equipment or facilities, fire protection, blow-out protection, safety protection or convenience of persons or property shall also be a violation of this article and shall be punishable in accordance with the provisions hereof.
(Ordinance 426, sec. V, adopted 9/18/08)
The premises of each well shall be kept clean and sanitary, free from rubbish of every character, to the satisfaction of the city health officer, at all times during drilling operations or reworking operations are being conducted and as long thereafter as oil or gas is being produced from the well or fluids or other substances are being injected into any disposal well.
(Ordinance 426, sec. VI, adopted 9/18/08)
At all times from the start of erection of a derrick, a mast, or a gin pole until any well is completed as a producer and enclosed with a fence or until the well is abandoned and plugged, the permittee shall keep a watchman on duty on the premises.
(Ordinance 426, sec. VII, adopted 9/18/08)
Any operator desiring to rework a well shall give the city council written notice of this intent prior to the commencement of reworking operations; provided, however, in the event of an emergency an operator may proceed with such reworking without notice.
(Ordinance 426, sec. VIII, adopted 9/18/08)
No well shall be drilled and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is nearer than five hundred feet (500') to any residence, building or structure without the applicant for a permit having first secured the written permission of the owner or owners thereof, except that the city council may permit a well where the applicant secures written permission from seventy percent (70%) of the owners of all residences or business structures within five hundred feet (500') of the location of any well if the council determines that the well will not endanger the safety, health or welfare of the citizens of the city.
(Ordinance 426, sec. IX, adopted 9/18/08)
(a) 
It shall be unlawful to drill any well and no permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled at any location which is within fifty feet (50') of the boundary line of any of the streets, alleys, public ways and water wells of the city. No street, alley or public way shall be blocked, encumbered or closed in any drilling or production operation, except on a temporary basis and then only by special permit issued by the city council.
(b) 
Every oil or gas well drilled within fifteen hundred feet (1500') of the site of any existing or designated Sand formation; and similar casing shall be set and cemented on wells located at greater distances from such water wells when requested by the city council [sic]. Such requirement may be waived by the city council for good cause shown after due hearing, but if not waived by the city council may be enforced by injunction or any other available remedy. No drilling permit shall ever be issued to any person for the drilling or operation of any well when such person is in default hereunder, and any such permit inadvertently issued shall be deemed wholly void from the beginning future municipal water well of the city shall have casing set and cemented down to the first impervious stratum below the Trinity [sic].
(Ordinance 426, sec. X, adopted 9/18/08)
Whenever a well is abandoned, it shall be the obligation of the permittee and the operator of the well to set a cement plug in the casing from the base of the Wilcox formation to the specifications as set forth by the state railroad commission or its successor.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XI, adopted 9/18/08)
The productive string shall have a mill test of eighteen hundred (1,800) pounds for wells six thousand feet (6,000') or less in depth. The surface casing shall be a new pipe and shall have a mill test of eleven hundred (1,100) pounds.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XII, adopted 9/18/08)
No well shall be drilled within the city without properly setting the surface casing. No well shall be drilled within the city 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 the annular space behind the production string to the surface of the ground. The production string shall be centralized from one thousand feet (1,000') to the surface with the use of five (5) centralizers to be placed at depths of one hundred feet (100'), three hundred feet (300'), five hundred feet (500'), seven hundred feet (700') and nine hundred fifty feet (950'). Sufficient cement shall be used so as to insure the circulation of cement from the bottom of the oil string to the surface.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XIII, adopted 9/18/08)
The Christmas tree and all well head connections on each well shall be as follows: On all wells completed at a depth above four thousand feet (4,000'), the Christmas tree and well head connections shall be at least a minimum test pressure of one thousand (1,000) psi; and on all wells completed to a depth of from four thousand one feet (4,001') to seven thousand feet (7,000'), the Christmas tree and well connections shall have at least a minimum working pressure of three thousand (3,000) psi and a minimum test pressure of at least six thousand (6,000) psi; and on all well head connections there shall be at least a minimum working pressure of five thousand (5,000) psi and a minimum test pressure of at least ten thousand (10,000) psi. In the event the surface shut-in pressure of any well exceeds two thousand (2,000) psi, the flow string of the Christmas tree shall be equipped with an automatic closing safety valve in addition to the regular control valves.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XIV, adopted 9/18/08)
It shall be unlawful for any person to use or operate any wooden derrick or any steam-powered rig in connection with the drilling or reworking of any well, or to permit any derrick or derricks to remain on the premises or drilling site for a period longer than thirty (30) days after completion of abandonment of the well.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XV, adopted 9/18/08)
The permittee shall make adequate provisions for the disposal of all salt water or other impurities which may be brought to the surface from the depth of the well. No salt water pits, vats or other open storage of salt water shall be permitted within the city. All movement of salt water in the city shall be by enclosed lines with no leakage, except by special permit from the city council, which may impose necessary restrictions on the use of transport vehicles during certain times or the prohibition of transporting disposal fluids or substances for more than a specified period, require a special bond, and impose reasonable inspection fees.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XVI, adopted 9/18/08)
All operators shall be required to drill all wells with mud through the process commonly referred to as mud drilling. Drilling with air and/or gas shall be prohibited.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XVII, adopted 9/18/08)
It shall be unlawful for any person to take or 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 effluent remaining in the drill pipe at the time the tool is closed and flushed to the surface by circulating drilling fluid down the annulus and up the pipe.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XVIII, adopted 9/18/08)
Any person who completes a well as a producer shall have the obligation to enclose said well, tank battery and any other surface facilities by a substantially smooth net wire fence or other material sufficiently high and properly built so as to ordinarily keep persons and animals out of the enclosure, as approved by the council. All gates thereto shall be kept locked when the permittee or employees are not within the enclosure. Tank batteries shall be enclosed by earthen firewalls arranged so that the capacity of the enclosure will be sufficient to contain the full volume of fluids in the tanks. The well permit may require tree preservation and landscaping. Landscaping shall consist of native plants. Retention of twenty-five percent (25%) of the existing trees will be required through either retention or replanting.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XIX, adopted 9/18/08)
No water, gas, air or chemicals shall be injected into any well for the purpose of forcing oil out of the producing formation or for any other purpose without applying for a special permit. In applying for such approval, the permittee shall include in the application a detailed statement of the method to be used in injecting said water, gas, chemicals or other fluids and its plan for inspections and protection of the groundwater from contamination.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XX, adopted 9/18/08)
(a) 
No well shall be drilled or redrilled or any equipment operated at any location within the city in such a manner so as to create any noise which causes the exterior noise level when measured at the nearest protected use receiver’s/receptor’s property line or one hundred feet (100') from the nearest protected use structure (as measured to the closest exterior point of the building), whichever is closer to the receiver/receptor, that exceeds the ambient noise level by more than five (5) decibels during daytime hours and more than three (3) decibels during nighttime hours. Fracing operations may not exceed the ambient noise level by more than ten (10) decibels. Backflow operations may not exceed the ambient noise level by more than five (5) decibels during nighttime hours.
(b) 
The operator shall be responsible for establishing and reporting to the city the pre-drilling ambient noise level prior to the issuance of a gas well permit. Once the drilling is complete, the operator shall be required to establish a new ambient noise level prior to the installation of any new noise generation equipment.
(c) 
Adjustments to the noise standards as set forth above in subsection (a) of this section may be permitted in accordance with the following:
Permitted dBA
Duration of Increase
(minutes)*
5
15
10
5
15
1
20
Less than 1
*Cumulative minutes during any one (1) hour.
(d) 
All workover operations shall be restricted to daytime hours. “Workover operations” shall mean work performed in a well after its completion in an effort to secure production where there has been none, restore production that has ceased or increase production.
(e) 
Acoustical blankets, sound walls, mufflers or other alternative methods may be used to ensure compliance. All soundproofing shall comply with accepted industry standards and is subject to approval by the city.
(f) 
The sound level meter used in conducting noise evaluations shall meet the American National Standard Institute’s standard for sound meters or an instrument and the associated recording and analyzing equipment which will provide equivalent data.
(g) 
A citation shall be issued for the failure to correct the violation within twenty-four (24) hours of the notice of violation by the city.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXI, adopted 9/18/08)
All slush pits or other means of storing mud or water for use in drilling or reworking operations shall be constructed, dug, or placed at the location and in the manner specified by the state railroad commission or its successor.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXII, adopted 9/18/08)
Printed signs reading “Dangerous, No Smoking Allowed” shall be posted in conspicuous places on each producing unit.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXIII, adopted 9/18/08)
All storage tanks shall be located at the place designated by and in the manner recommended by the state railroad commission or its successor. No oil, gas, salt water or other pipelines shall be installed in the streets, alleys, public ways or on property owned by the city without prior consent of the city council. Use of such streets, alleys, public ways or municipally owned property for such purpose shall be subject to the terms and conditions imposed by the city council. The depth and location at which such lines shall be laid shall be specified by the city council or its duly designated representative.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXIV, adopted 9/18/08)
All tubing used in any well drilled to a depth of six thousand feet (6,000') or less shall be J-55 mill tested to three thousand (3,000) psi.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXV, adopted 9/18/08)
No person engaged in drilling or operating any well shall permit gas to escape or be vented into the air within the city. Flaring of gas within the city is prohibited.
(Ordinance 426, sec. XXVII, adopted 9/18/08)