BEFORE THE OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

                                                             OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

 

IN THE MATTER OF CHANGES TO THE

RULES AND REGULATIONS OF THE OIL

AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

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CAUSE NO. 1R

 

TYPE: RULEMAKING

 

ORDER NO. 1R-60

(FORMERLY 1-174)

 

                                                             REPORT OF THE COMMISSION

 

                        Pursuant to a hearing before the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission on March 18, 1994, at 8:30 a.m. in Room 318, Centennial Building, 1313 Sherman Street, Denver, Colorado, after giving Notice of Hearing, as required by law, the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission revised its Rules and Regulations to adopt certain revisions.  Said rules should henceforth read as attached Exhibit A.

 

                        Attached, as Exhibit B, are statements giving the basis and purpose of the revisions and such statements are incorporated herein by reference.

 

                        DONE AND PERFORMED by the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission of the State of Colorado this 25th day of March, 1994.

 

 

                                                                        OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION

                                                                              OF THE STATE OF COLORADO

 

 

 

                                                                        By                                                              

                                                                                        Patricia C. Beaver, Secretary

 

Dated at Suite 380

1580 Logan Street

Denver, Colorado 80203

March 25, 1994

 

Find the Complete Signed Order in the Hearing Files

 


                                                                                   Exhibit A

 

            303.OGCC Form 2.  APPLICATION FOR PERMIT TO DRILL, DEEPEN, RE-ENTER, OR RECOMPLETE, AND OPERATE.

 

            i.          The Director may issue a permit notwithstanding  subparagraph g in the event that an operator files a sworn statement and demonstrating to the Director's satisfaction that on the date said application for drilling units was filed that:

 

            (1)        the operator had the right or obligation under the terms of an existing contract to drill said well; and

 

            (2)        the owner or operator has a leasehold estate or a right to acquire a leasehold estate under said contract which will be terminated unless the operator is permitted to commence the drilling of said well before the matter in subparagraph g can be fully heard and determined by the Commission.

 

            322A.POLLUTION

 

            d.  No injection shall be authorized pursuant to Rule 323 or Rule 401 unless the person applying for authorization to conduct the injection activities demonstrates that those activities will not result in the presence in an underground source of drinking water of any physical, chemical, biological or radiological substance or matter which may cause a violation of any primary drinking water regulation in effect as of July 12, 1982 and found at 40 C.F.R. Part 142, or may otherwise adversely affect the health of persons.  An underground source of drinking water is an aquifer or its portion:

 

                        (1)        (a)which supplies any public water system; or

                                    (b)which contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system; and

 

                        (i)currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or

                                                (ii)contains fewer than 10,000 milligrams per liter total dissolved solids; and

 

                        (2)  which is not an exempted aquifer.

 

            326.MEASUREMENT OF OIL

 

            b.  Temperature Correction.  The observed volume of oil corrected for impurities shall be further corrected to the standard volume of 60oF. in accordance with Atomic Standards and Testing Methods (A.S.T.M.) D‑1250 Table 7, or any revisions thereof and any supplements thereto or any close approximation thereof approved by the Director.

 

            c.  Gravity Determination.   The gravity of oil at 60o F. shall be determined in accordance with Atomic Standards and Testing Methods (A.S.T.M.) D‑1250 Table 5, or any revisions thereof and any supplements thereto or any close approximation thereof approved by the Director.

 

            EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION (E&P) WASTE MANAGEMENT

 

            904.      PRODUCTION PITS.

 

            a.  Permitting Requirements.

 

                        2.  The application for a production pit permit shall consist of a completed Application for Permit to Use Earthen Pit, Form 15, and the following additional information:

 

                                    e.A chemical analysis of the produced water to be disposed of in the pit(s).  The chemical analysis shall include all of the information specified by the American Petroleum Institute Water Analysis Report, recommended practice for analysis of oilfield wastes, Form RP 45, July, 1981, and a chemical analysis for benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene and xylene.  The operator can satisfy this chemical analysis requirement by submitting existing chemical analyses of water from well(s) producing from the same zone in a common producing area provided the well(s) are within one (1) mile of the well producing the water which the operator proposes for disposal in the pit.

 

            906.ON-SITE LAND TREATMENT OF E&P WASTE.

 

            b.  Prior to the on-site land treatment of any E&P waste, the operator must submit a Sundry Notice, Form 4, and submit a Sundry Notice, Form 4, every two (2) years thereafter until on-site land treatment ceases.  The following information is required on the Sundry Notice, Form 4:

 

                        5.A chemical analysis of the E&P waste streams to be land treated.  The analysis shall include the following parameters:

                                    benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene (b-tex)

                                    total petroleum hydrocarbons (tph)

                                                oil and grease

                                                RCRA metals, using Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure, or a Total Constituent Concentration Test, 40 C.F.R., Section 261, 1992 Edition, for metals total dissolved solids


            907.OFF-SITE LAND TREATMENT OF E&P WASTE.

 

            c.  The permit application for the off-site noncommercial land treatment of E&P waste shall consist of the following:

 

                        5.A chemical analysis of the E&P waste streams to be land treated, except for drilling fluids from operations using water-based bentonitic-type drilling mud.  The analysis shall include but not be limited to the following parameters:

                                    benzene, toluene, ethyl-benzene, and xylene (b-tex)

                                    total petroleum hydrocarbons (tph)

                                                oil and grease

                                                RCRA metals, using Toxicity Characteristic Leachate Procedure, or a Total Constituent Concentration Test, 40 C.F.R., Section 261, 1992 Edition, for metalstotal dissolved solids

 

                        6.A topographic, geologic and hydrologic description of the land treatment site.

 

                                    c.A description of the geology of the land treatment site, including, but not limited to, a description of the soils and the lithology from the surface to the top of the nearest source of groundwater, or, to a depth of fifty (50) feet, if groundwater is not present.  The description shall be based upon soil borings, well borings, excavations or other equivalent methods or sources approved by the Director.  If the description is based upon soil borings or well borings a copy of the boring logs with the driller's name, drilling date, drilling method, sampling intervals and field screening measurements shall be submitted with permit application.

 

                                                i.Description of the soil types according to the United States Department of Agriculture Soil Conservation Service Unified Soil Classification System at the 0-1',1-3', 3-5', and composite sample at the 5-6' intervals, and the estimated thickness of the unconsolidated soil materials to a depth of at least fifty (50) feet below the surface;


                                                                                    Exhibit B

 

                                                            STATEMENT OF BASIS AND PURPOSE

                                                                        Adopted March 18, 1994

 

 

 

 

                        The purpose for amending Rule Nos. 303.i., 322.A.d., 326.b., 326.c., 904.a.2.e., 906.b.5., and 907.c.6.c.i. is to clarify the intent of each rule and to clarify the incorporation by reference for each rule in accordance with requirements from the office of Legislative Legal Services.