(A) 
It shall be unlawful and an offense for any person acting either for himself or herself or acting as agent, employee, independent contractor, or servant of any other person, to commence to drill, to actually drill, or to operate any well within the city limits, or to work upon or assist in any way in the prosecution of operation of any such well without a permit for the drilling and operation of such well having first been issued by the authority of the City Council in accordance with the terms of this chapter.
(B) 
Such permit shall be non-transferable. The permit shall contain the requirements and conditions specified in this chapter hereof and/or any special condition(s) imposed or granted by the City Council. A permit may be renewed at the election of the City Council under the procedures and requirements specified herein for the issuance of an initial permit.
Penalty, see sec. 111.99
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)
(A) 
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 same on his or her behalf, and it shall be filed with the City Secretary or his or her designee and be accompanied with a non-refundable filing fee of $1,000 in cash or cash equivalent.
(B) 
Each application shall request a permit to drill and operate one well only, and the said application shall include the following:
(1) 
Date and time of application;
(2) 
Name and address of the applicant;
(3) 
Copy of Railroad Commission permit;
(4) 
Proposed site of the well, including name of the fee owner, name of the lease owner, and brief description of the land;
(5) 
Designation as to type of derrick to be used;
(6) 
Statement of the proposed depth of the well;
(7) 
Drawing or plat showing location of the well and any structures within 1,000 feet;
(8) 
Written permission from owners if well is within 1,000 feet; and
(9) 
Method of operation of the proposed well (injection or production).
(C) 
The City Council, within 30 days after the filing of the application for a permit to drill and operate a well, shall determine whether or not said application complies in all respects with the provisions of this chapter, and if it does, the City Council shall then fix the amount of the principal of the bond and insurance as provided for herein.
(D) 
Said permit shall contain and specify that the term of such permit shall be for a period of one year 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 90 days, or if oil or gas is produced in commercial quantities from the well drilled pursuant to such permit.
(E) 
Each permit issued under this chapter shall contain the following language.
(1) 
Operator does hereby expressly release and discharge all claims, demands, actions, judgments, and executions which it ever had, or now has or may have, or its assigns may have, or claim to have, against the city and/or its departments, agents, officers, servants, successors, assigns, sponsors, volunteers, or employees created by, or arising out of, personal injuries known or unknown and injuries to property, real or personal, or in any way incidental to, or in connection with, the performance of the work performed by the operator under a permit.
(2) 
The operator shall fully defend, protect, indemnify, and hold harmless the city, its departments, agents, officers, servants, employees, successors, assigns, sponsors, or volunteers from and against each and every claim, demand, or cause of action and any and all liability, damages, obligations, judgments, losses, fines, penalties, costs, fees, and expenses incurred in defense of the city, its departments, agents, officers, servants, or employees including, without limitation, personal injuries and death in connection there with which may be made or asserted by operator, its agents, assigns, or any third parties on account of, arising out of, or in any way incidental to, or in connection with, the performance of the work performed by the operator under a permit.
(3) 
The operator agrees to indemnify and hold harmless the city, its departments, officers, agents, servants, employees, successors, assigns, sponsors, or volunteers from any liabilities or damages suffered as a result of claims, demands, costs, or judgments against the city, its departments, officers, agents, servants, employees, successors, assigns, sponsors, or volunteers created by, or arising out of, the acts or omissions of the city occurring on the drill site or operation site in the course and scope of inspecting and permitting said well including, but not limited to, claims and damages arising in whole or in part from the negligence of the city occurring on the drill site or operation site in the course and scope of inspecting and permitting the well.
(4) 
It is understood and agreed that the indemnity provided for in this section is an indemnity extended by the operator to indemnify and protect the city and/or its departments, officers, agents, servants, employees, successors, assigns, sponsors, or volunteers from the consequences of the negligence of the city and/or its departments, officers, agents, servants, employees, successors, assigns, sponsors, or volunteers whether that negligence is the sole or contributing cause of the resultant injury, death, and/or damage.
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)
A surety bond shall be filed with the city in an amount to be determined by the City Council, but not to be less than $600,000. Said bond to be executed by a reliable insurance company authorized to do business in the state, as surety, and with applicant as principal, running to the city for the benefit of the city with the city named beneficiary of said bond and all persons concerned, conditioned that the permittee will comply with the terms and conditions of this chapter in the drilling and operation of the well. Bond for additional wells by the same operator shall be at the discretion of the City Council.
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)
(A) 
In addition to the bond, the permittee shall carry a policy or policies of standard comprehensive public liability insurance, including contractual liability covering bodily injuries and property damage with an insurance company authorized to do business in the state, naming the permittee and the city as insureds. Such policy or policies shall provide for the following minimum coverages and must be filed with the city before any permit hereinafter granted shall become effective:
(1) 
Bodily injuries: $1,200,000 for one person and $1,200,000 for one accident; and
(2) 
Property damages: $1,200,000.
(B) 
The permittee shall file with the City Secretary or his or her designee certificates of such insurance as above stated, and shall obtain the written approval thereof by the City Secretary or his or her designee, who shall act thereon within ten days from the date of such filing. Such insurance policy or policies shall not be canceled without written notice to the City Secretary or his or her designee at least ten days prior to the effective date of such cancellation. In the event such insurance policy or policies are cancelled, the permit granted shall terminate and the permittee’s rights to operate under such permit shall cease until the permittee files additional insurance, as provided herein.
(C) 
It shall be unlawful for any person to operate any well for oil and gas within the city unless such person has entered into a contract agreeing to defend and hold harmless the city and its officers, agents, and employees from and against all damages, claims, losses, demands, suits, judgments, and costs, including reasonable attorney’s fees and expenses arising out of, or resulting from, the operator’s operations caused in whole or in part by any negligent act or omission of such person, his or her contractor or subcontractor, or anyone directly or indirectly employed by any one of them or anyone for whose acts any of them may be liable, regardless of whether or not it is caused in part by the party hereby indemnified.
Penalty, see sec. 111.99
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)
(A) 
Once an application has been filed with the City Secretary or his or her designee and has been determined to be complete within the provisions of this chapter, the Secretary shall give notice to the surface rights property owners adjacent to the proposed drilling site and location of the well not less than ten days prior to a hearing of the permit application. The hearing shall be before the City Council and shall be scheduled not less than ten days nor more than 45 days from the date the application is certified by the Secretary. At such hearing, the Council shall hear all evidence that it deems necessary in order to make an informed and equitable decision.
(B) 
At the conclusion of the hearing, and after making such investigations as the Council may deem proper or necessary under the circumstances, the permit application shall be either approved or denied. The decision of the Council shall be final and in making its decision it shall, in addition to other considerations, have the power and authority to refuse any permit to drill any well at any particular location within the city, where by reason of such particular location and the character and value of the permanent improvements already erected on or adjacent to the particular location in question, for lakes, school, hospital, park/playground, or civic purposes, where the drilling of such wells on such particular location might be injurious or be a disadvantage to the city or its inhabitants, as a whole or to a substantial number of its inhabitants, or would not promote orderly growth and development of the city.
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)
(A) 
If any permit is granted to drill or explore for oil and gas within the city’s jurisdictional limits, the drilling contractor shall proceed with the drilling operations with the highest degree of care so as not to injure adjoining property or persons in any manner and shall keep the premises suitably fenced or guarded 24 hours a day in such manner as to avoid trespassing on the part of anyone, particularly children, during the drilling and exploratory operations. Upon the completion of drilling operations, all drilling mud shall be removed outside the city limits and the grounds around the well and the slush pits shall be immediately cleared of all drilling mud and/or salt water or water, and shall be made to conform in appearance to the lands in the neighborhood wherein such drilling operations are conducted.
(B) 
All well locations shall bear a sign with a local emergency telephone number, which shall also be current and filed at the Fire Department. Permanent weatherproof signs reading “danger no smoking allowed” shall be posted at the entrance of each well site and tank battery. The sign shall also include the name of the current operator of the lease or well and the lease name. Any storage tanks, tank batteries, and related appurtenances not enclosed by the same fence as the well site, must also contain a separate sign with the above-mentioned information. All buried flow lines shall have identification signs.
(C) 
Any storage tank shall be in compliance with the NPFA-30 (tank storage) although no storage tank may be constructed within 100 feet of any building or street.
(D) 
Sound level measurement shall be made with a sound level meter conforming as a minimum to the requirement of American National Standards Institute, S1.4-1971 Type 2, or its successor publication and be set to an A-weighted response. No drilling, producing, or other operations shall produce a sound level greater than 60 dBA when measured at a distance of 300 feet from the boundary of the drill site or operation site, whichever is greater. The noise level shall be the average of sound level readings taken consecutively at any given time from four or more diametrically opposite positions, four feet above ground level, when measured at a distance of 300 feet from the production equipment.
(E) 
A drill site or operation site may only be allowed in a floodplain with the approval of the Flood Plan Administrator or City Secretary or his or her designee, where applicable, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, in order to prevent contamination of the watershed.
(F) 
No salt water or oil and gas waste disposal wells shall be located within the city’s extraterritorial jurisdiction.
Penalty, see sec. 111.99
(Ordinance 2015-2 adopted 5/14/15)