"...and the new regulations aren't even out yet".
Also, one of the candidates at the Dryden Forum last week repeated that error:
The regulations were released on Sept 30,
with a comment period simultaneous with the SGEIS.
So you all should be reading the regs along with the SGEIS.
This goes to show how bad this SGEIS process is going,
as even people who are generally well-informed
are getting the facts wrong.
Please mention that this confusion exists in your comments to the DEC.
So, here are the regulations, all in one page.
I combined 3 pages linked to from here: http://www.dec.ny.gov/regulations/77353.html
Use this document to do word searches like "drill cuttings"
or "radiation" etc....
Proposed Express Terms 6 NYCRR Parts 52 and 190
Use of State Lands Administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources and Use of State Lands
Part 52
A new Part 52 of 6 NYCRR is adopted to read as follows:
Part 52: Use of State Lands Administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources
(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, sections 1-0101, 3-0301, 11-0303, 11-0305, 11-2101, 45-0117)
52.1 Applicability
The provisions of this Part shall apply to all State lands under the Department's jurisdiction that are administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources, including but not limited to such lands designated as wildlife management areas, multiple use areas, unique areas, natural resources management areas, fishing access sites, boat launch sites, hatcheries, game farms and tidal wetlands.
52.2 Definitions
(a) Definitions. As used in this Part, the following words shall have the indicated meanings:
(1) 'Department' means the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation.
(2) 'State lands' shall mean all real property interests owned by the State of New York under the Department's jurisdiction that are administered by the Division of Fish, Wildlife and Marine Resources, including but not limited to such lands designated as wildlife management areas, multiple use areas, unique areas, natural resources management areas, fishing access sites, boat launch sites, hatcheries, game farms and tidal wetlands.
(3) 'Surface disturbance' shall mean any actions taken to alter the existing vegetation or soil of a site, such as clearing, grading, filling, and excavating.
52.3 Prohibitions
Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, surface disturbance associated with the drilling of a natural gas well subject to Part 560 of this Title on State lands is prohibited and no permit shall be issued authorizing such activity. This prohibition shall apply to any pre-existing leases and any new leases issued for oil and gas development on State lands. This prohibition, however, does not include subsurface access to subsurface resources located under State lands from adjacent private areas.
52.4 Severability
If any provision of this Part or its application is held to be invalid, the remainder of this Part and the application of that provision will not be affected.
Part 190
Paragraphs (14) and (15) of subdivision 190.1(b) of 6 NYCRR are renumbered as (15) and (16) and a new paragraph (14) is added to subdivision 190.1(b) of 6 NYCRR to read as follows:
(14) 'Surface disturbance' shall mean any actions taken to alter the existing vegetation or soil of a site, such as clearing, grading, filling, and excavating.
A new subdivision (ag) is added to section 190.8 of 6 NYCRR to read as follows:
(ag) Notwithstanding any other provision of this title, surface disturbance associated with the drilling of a natural gas well subject to Part 560 of this Title on State owned lands is prohibited and no permit shall be issued authorizing such activity. This prohibition shall apply to any pre-existing and new leases issued for oil and gas development on State owned lands. This prohibition shall not apply to subsurface access to subsurface resources located under State owned lands from adjacent private areas.
Proposed Express Terms 6 NYCRR Parts 550 through 556 and 560
Subchapter B: Mineral Resources
Please note: underlines contained in the text of the express terms denote new material. Brackets [ ] indicate material to be deleted.
6 NYCRR Part 550 [Promulgation and Enforcement of Rules and Regulations] General
Section 550.1 is unchanged.
Section 550.2 is revised to read:
(a) To carry out the functions outlined in section 550.1 of this Part, the Department of Environmental Conservation has created a [Bureau] Division of Mineral Resources.
(b) The [Bureau] Division of Mineral Resources is headed by a [chief] director who is responsible for the administration and enforcement of all rules, regulations, orders and amendments thereof of the Department of Environmental Conservation relating to the exploration and drilling for, and production, transportation, purchase, processing and storage of oil and gas and the prevention of any pollution resulting therefrom.
(c) The [chief] director of the Division of Mineral Resources shall be responsible for the directing, supervising and proper performance of the Division of Mineral Resources.
(d) The [chief] director of the Division of Mineral Resources is aided by an assistant [chief] director who acts in the former's absence. At those times, the assistant [chief] director bears both the responsibilities and authorities of the [chief] director .
(e) To carry out field responsibilities, the [Bureau] Division of Mineral Resources is organized into several regions, each headed by a regional supervisor, who acts as the [chief's] director's deputy in all relevant matters.
Subdivisions (a) through (g) of Section 550.3 are unchanged. Existing subdivision (h) is deleted and subdivisions (i) through (o) are relettered (h) through (n), accordingly.
A new subdivision (o) is added to read:
(o) 'Director' shall mean the director of the Division of Mineral Resources of the Department of Environmental Conservation.
Subdivisions (p) through (r) are unchanged and a new subdivision (s) is added to read:
(s) 'Hydraulic Fracturing' or 'Fracturing' shall mean the pumping of a fluid with proppant to create and maintain fractures as a stimulation method to increase productivity, but shall not include workover operations.
Subdivisions (s) through (av) are re-lettered (t) through (aw) and new subdivisions (ax) and (ay) are added to Section 550.3 to read:
(ax) 'True measured depth' shall mean the total distance from a depth in a planned or existing wellbore or well to a point at the surface measured along the existing or planned wellbore or well.
(ay) 'True vertical depth' shall mean the vertical distance from a depth in a planned or existing wellbore or well to a point at the surface.
Existing subdivisions (aw) to (az) are re-lettered to (az) to (bc), accordingly, and a new (bd) is added to read:
(bd) 'Well spud' shall mean commencement of driving, drilling or other installation method to set the requisite amount of conductor or surface casing.
Subdivision (ba) is re-lettered (be), and a new (bf) is added to read:
(bf) 'Workover' shall mean any downhole operation in an existing well that is designed to sustain, restore or increase efficiency, make the well safer, or correct a known or potential environmental hazard.
6 NYCRR Part 551, Reports and Financial Security
Subdivision 551.1(a) is revised to read:
(a) Each person who is a principal or acts as an agent for another in any of the following activities within the State must file with the department an organizational report on a form the department prescribes:
(1) solution mining;
(2) drilling, deepening, plugging back or converting oil, gas, [or] solution mining, or[and] storage wells, or drilling, deepening, plugging back or converting stratigraphic, geothermal and/or disposal wells greater than a true vertical depth of 500 feet;
(3) the production in the State of oil and gas;
(4) the first purchase of oil and gas produced in the State;
(5) the storage in the State of gas;
(6) the practice of well abandonment[s] and salvage of oil and gas subsurface equipment; or
(7) the first transportation of oil and gas produced in the State.
Subdivision 551.1(b) through Section 551.5 are unchanged.
Section 551.6 is revised to read:
The owner of an oil , [ and] gas or solution mining , storage, stratigraphic, geothermal or disposal well that exceeds or that is expected to exceed 6,000 feet in true measured depth must file financial security for that well in an amount based upon the anticipated costs of plugging and abandoning that well to the satisfaction of the department in accordance with Part 555 of this Title[, up to $250,000. However, the owner is not required to file financial security under this section exceeding $2,000,000, regardless of the number of wells described in this section that the owner may have].
Section 551.7 is unchanged.
6 NYCRR Part 552, Permits to Drill, Deepen, Plug Back or Convert Wells
Subdivision (a) and (b) of Section 552.1 is revised and a new subdivision (c) is added to read:
(a) It shall be unlawful for any owner or operator to commence operations to construct the well pad or access road, drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well to any depth for exploration, production, input, storage or disposal or for geothermal or stratigraphic purposes to any depth greater than a true vertical depth of 500 feet until [he] the owner or operator has filed an application with the department and has received a permit as specified below. This application shall not be required for deepening or plug back operations to be conducted exclusively within the producing horizon of a pool.
(b) Each copy of the application must be accompanied by a neat, legible plat which has been certified as to correctness by a licensed land surveyor or licensed civil engineer. The plat must be drawn to scale and show the boundaries of the lease or unit containing the well, the distance in feet from the well to the two nearest boundaries, the distance in feet from the well to the nearest plugged and abandoned well [completed in the objective pool] subject to Part 552 (if same is within one mile) and the distance in feet from the well to the nearest producing well (if same is within one mile). Information on nearby wells must include the department- assigned API number or information pertaining to the well's status if abandoned. Both of the latter two distances may be obtained by scaling from a map, stadia measurements, pacing, odometer or other reasonably accurate means. However, if the distance between the well and the nearest well completed in the objective pool is such that there is a possibility of violation of the spacing requirements of sections 553.1 or 553.3, the distance between the well and the nearest well completed in the objective pool shall be measured accurately on the ground. The plat also must have indicated thereon the decimal latitude and decimal longitude of the well in North American Datum 83. [and the scaled distances in feet in east-west and north-south directions from the nearest corner of the United States Geological Survey topographical map upon which the well location is situated, with the topographical map being identified by title, date and as to whether seven and one-half minute or 15 minute coverage.]
(c) Any owner or operator who intends to re-fracture a well after initial completion or a subsequent re-fracturing operation shall apply for and obtain approval to re-fracture prior to commencing hydraulic re-fracturing operations. An application for approval to re-fracture a permitted well shall be made on the department's Sundry Well Notice and Report form or other form prescribed by the department and submitted at least 15 days before such refracturing operations are requested to begin.
Subdivisions (c) and (d) of Section 552.2 is revised and a new subdivision (e) and (g) are added to read:
(c) If the operations for which the permit is granted have not commenced and been pursued in a diligent manner within [180 days] two calendar years from the date of issuance of the permit, said permit shall expire.
(d) If prior to the commencement of operations, a request to modify the spacing unit [are applied for or are] is pending, the department may suspend the permit. After a decision related to the spacing unit[s], the suspended permit either will be cancelled by the department and the fee refunded, or will be reinstated with the time while in suspension not charged against the [180-day] two calendar year permit [period] term .
(e) Prior to the commencement of operations, the department may on its own motion or at the request of the operator for good cause may suspend the term of a permit. If such permit is reinstated by the department the time during which such permit was suspended will not be charged against the two calendar year permit term specified in subdivision (c) of this section.
[(e)] (f) Under unusual or emergency circumstances, or for other good cause, the department may permit the commencement of operations by verbal authority of the director prior to the issuance of a formal permit.
(g) Notwithstanding subdivision (c) of this section, when an owner or operator commences operations pursuant to a permit issued pursuant to this Part, the conditions specified under such permit shall continue in full force and effect until the well is plugged and abandoned consistent with Part 555 of this Title and the department has approved final reclamation.
Subdivision (a) of Section 552.3 is revised to read:
(a) A permit shall not be transferable but may be reissued [as a new permit for any other location] to a new owner or operator for the same location if prior to the commencement of operations the owner or operator to whom the permit originally was issued submits [all in triplicate, a letter advising of the location change, another application completely filled out, and the appropriate plat showing the new location] a letter requesting reissuance of the permit which identifies the name and address of the new owner or operator, and includes an application to reissue on a form prescribed by the department. Said application shall be signed by the original owner or operator and the new owner or operator . Reissuance of the permit, without additional fee, shall be made by the department after determination that: the new owner or operator has filed an organizational report with the department; the application is in order; and [that]the appropriate plugging bond is in force or proof of financial responsibility has been established as provided in section 551.3 of this Title. Upon reissuance of any permit by the department, the original permit shall be canceled .
Sections 552.4 and 552.5 are unchanged.
6 NYCRR Part 553, Well Spacing
(Statutory authority: Conservation Law, §§ 70, 73, 75, 77 , ECL§§ 23-0501, 23-0503 )
Section 553.1 is revised to read:
(a) 'Statewide spacing' means spacing units for gas or oil wells that are within ten percent of the following sizes, as applicable, unless another percentage is specifically stated:
(1) For Medina gas pools at any depth, 40 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;
(2) For Onondaga reef or Oriskany gas pools at any depth, 160 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 660 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;
(3) For fault-bounded Trenton and/or Black River hydrothermal dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is between 4,000 and 8,000 feet deep, 320 acres with the proposed productive section of the wellbore within the target formation no less than one-half mile from any other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;
(4) For fault-bounded Trenton and/or Black River hydrothermal dolomite gas pools where the majority of the pool is below 8,000 feet, within five percent of 640 acres with the proposed productive section of the wellbore within the target formation no less than one mile from any other well in another unit in the same pool and no less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary that is not defined by a field-bounding fault but in no event less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;
(5) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a vertical well outside any existing spacing unit for the same formation, 40 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;
(6) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside any existing spacing unit for the same formation and with a written commitment from the well operator to drill infill wells pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of this title, with all horizontal infill wells in the unit to be drilled from a common well pad within three years of the date the first well in the unit commences drilling, notwithstanding the ten percent tolerance specified in this subparagraph, up to 640 acres with the initial horizontal wellbore or wellbores within the target formation approximately centered in the spacing unit and no wellbore in the target formation less than 330 feet from any unit boundary;
(7) For shale gas pools at any depth, for a horizontal well outside any existing spacing unit for the same formation and in the absence of a written commitment from the well operator to drill infill wells pursuant to subdivision 4 of section 23-0503 of this title, 40 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 330 feet from any unit boundary plus the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that the wellbore within the target formation is not less than 330 feet from any unit boundary;
(8) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is above the depth of 4,000 feet, 80 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary;
(9) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 4,000 to 6,000 feet deep, 160 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 660 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 660 feet from any unit boundary;
(10) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is 6,000 to 8,000 feet deep, 320 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 1,000 feet from any unit boundary;
(11) For all other gas pools where the majority of the pool is below 8,000 feet, within five percent of 640 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 1,500 feet from any unit boundary;
(12) For oil pools in the Bass Island, Trenton, Black River, Onondaga reef or other oil-bearing reefs at any depth, 40 acres with the wellbore within the target formation no less than 460 feet from any unit boundary, plus, if applicable, the number of additional acres necessary and sufficient to ensure that any horizontal wellbore within the target formation is not less than 460 feet from any unit boundary; and
(13) For all other oil pools at any depth, the wellbore within the target formation shall be no less than 165 feet from any lease boundary.
(b) Wells completed under a well permit issued pursuant to paragraph (12) or (13) of this subdivision (a) of this section that do not produce oil may not commence production of natural gas prior to modification of the spacing unit pursuant to section 553.3 of this Title .
(c) The department may issue permits to drill infill wells on a reasonably uniform pattern within the spacing unit after an integration order has been issued, if required, and only if it determines that drilling infill wells is necessary to satisfy the policy objectives of Part 550 of this Title. The distances from the unit boundaries set forth in this section shall apply to any infill wells. For purposes of this section, new lateral wellbores drilled from the original wellbore in the unit are not considered infill wells if they are drilled prior to the first product sales from the original surface location. In a spacing unit established pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (e) of this section, infill wells shall be deemed necessary, and the number of infill wells required to satisfy the policy objectives of Part 550 of this Title must be drilled within three years of the date the first well in the unit commences drilling.
[(a)](d) Except as provided in subdivisions [(b) and (c)](a) and (e),of this section and absent a department order establishing spacing units, a well drilled, deepened, plugged back, or converted for the production of oil and gas cannot be located less than 660 feet from any boundary line of the lease, integrated leases or unit and cannot be closer than 1,320 feet from any other oil and gas well in the same pool.
[(b)] (e) Absent a department order establishing spacing units, a well which is on a lease, integrated leases, or unit having as one of its boundary lines the New York[] - Pennsylvania border may not be drilled, deepened, plugged back, or converted for the production of oil and gas within 330 feet of that border.
[(c)](f) Oil wells located in oil fields or pools that were discovered, developed, and operated before January 1, 1981, are not subject to the provisions of this section.
(g) Gas wells drilled, deepened, plugged back or converted in natural gas fields or pools, which were discovered, developed and operated prior to January 1, 1995 and which are not being extended, are not subject to the provisions of subdivision (a) of this section.
Section 553.2 is unchanged.
Section 553.3 is revised to read:
(a) The department shall issue a permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well, if all applicable requirements are met and the proposed spacing unit conforms to statewide spacing provided in section 553.1 of this Title.
( b) For wells which meet statewide spacing requirements, issuance of a permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert by the department shall establish the spacing unit for the permitted well.
[(a)] (c) For wells exempt from statewide spacing requirements or wells that do not meet such requirements as provided in Section 553.1 of this Title, an order establishing well spacing may be promulgated by the department to[ To] promote effective development, use or conservation of the natural resources of oil and gas[, an order establishing well spacing may be promulgated by the department].
[(b)] (d) Prior to promulgation of any spacing order, a public hearing on the matter will be conducted by the department acting either on its own motion or upon receipt of an application therefor from any interested owner or operator.
[(c)] (e) Any application for a spacing order, shall be made in writing and should include any information the applying owner or operator deems relevant to the following factors which the department will consider in deciding upon a spacing order:
(1) the lease and unit boundaries of the lands underlain by the pool;
(2) the plan of well spacing currently being employed and that proposed for the pool;
(3) the depth at which production from said pool has been found;
(4) the nature and character of the stratum containing the pool and the fluids contained by one well;
(5) an estimate of the maximum area which may be drained efficiently and economically by one well;
(6) any other available information pertaining to said pool which may be of probative value to the department in determining the proper spacing therefor, with due and relative allowance for protection of correlative rights and prevention of waste.
Existing subdivisions (d) and (e) are deleted and a new subdivision (e) is added to read:
(e) Upon good cause shown, an order establishing a spacing unit or a spacing unit which conforms to statewide spacing may be modified by the department without conducting a hearing if a finding has been made that no facts are in dispute after all affected persons have been provided a reasonable opportunity to comment. Modification of an existing spacing unit may be made upon the application of the owner or operator, or the department may act upon its own motion. For spacing units established pursuant to paragraph (6) of subdivision (a) of Section 553.1 of this Title, failure to drill infill wells pursuant to subdivision (g) of Section 553.1 of this Title shall constitute good cause for the department to initiate a modification of the spacing unit.
Section 553.4 is revised to read:
§553.4 [Exceptions] Variances
(a) [Where in its opinion there exists good and sufficient reason to permit an exception to the well spacing provision of section[s] 553.1, 553.2 and 553.3 of this Part, t] T he department may permit reasonable well location [exception] variances to the well spacing provisions of subdivisions (d) and (e) of section 553.1, and sections 553.2 and 553.3 of this Part, in order to [which will] protect correlative rights and prevent waste. Any application for such a[n exception] variance shall be made [in writing in triplicate] on a form prescribed by the department, as a separate attachment to the application for permit as outlined in section 552.1 of this Title and shall set forth in ample detail the reason or reasons for such [exception] variance request. Upon receipt of this [exception] variance request, the department shall [promptly schedule a public hearing to facilitate a decision on the application] publish a notice of intent to issue a permit and spacing variance in the environmental notice bulletin and provide for a public comment period of at least 15 days . The owner or operator shall also, in advance of the 15-day public comment period prescribed by this subdivision, provide notice by publication of the request for a variance, in a form prescribed by the department. When a location exception is granted, the department may adjust the production from such well or take such other action as it may deem necessary for the protection of correlative rights or to prevent waste.
(b) Following the public comment period required by subdivision (a) of this section, the department shall determine whether substantive and significant issues have been raised. If the department receives no comments or if the comments do not raise a substantive and significant issue, the department shall issue the variance. If the department determines that substantive and significant issues have been raised in a timely manner, the department shall schedule a hearing to facilitate a decision on the variance application.
The remaining text in Section 553.4 is unchanged.
Part 554, Drilling Practices and Reports
Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 554.1 are unchanged.
Subdivision (c) of Section 554.1 is revised to read:
(c)(1) Prior to the issuance of a [well-drilling] permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well for any operation in which the probability exists that brine, salt water or other polluting fluids will be produced or obtained during such drilling operations or used to conduct such operations in sufficient quantities to be deleterious to the surrounding environment, the operator must submit and receive approval for a plan for the environmentally safe and proper ultimate disposal of such fluids. [For purposes of this subdivision, drilling muds are not considered to be polluting fluids.] Before [requesting] approving a plan for disposal of such fluids, the department will take into consideration the known geology of the area, the sensitivity of the surrounding environment to the polluting fluids and the history of any other drilling operations in the area. Depending on the method of disposal chosen by the [applicant] operator , a permit for discharge and/or disposal may be required by the department in addition to the [well-drilling] permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert . An applicant may also be required at the department's discretion to submit an acceptable contingency plan, the use of which shall be required if the primary plan is not approved, unsafe or impracticable at the time of disposal.
Paragraphs (2) and (3) remain unchanged, and a new paragraph (4) is added to read:
Subdivisions (d) through (f) of Section 554.1 remain unchanged.
Sections 554.2 to 554.4 are unchanged.
Section 554.5 is revised to read:
(a) Except for wells intentionally drilled directionally, including those drilled horizontally, t[ T]he maximum point at which a well penetrates a producing formation shall not vary unreasonably from the vertical drawn from the center of the hole at the surface. Minor deviations will be permitted, however, without special permission for short distances, to straighten the hole, to sidetrack junk, or to correct other mechanical difficulties. For wells intentionally drilled directionally, including those drilled horizontally, the well path from the top of the target interval to the bottom of the target interval and the bottomhole location itself shall not vary unreasonably from the locations specified on the application to drill, deepen, plug back or convert, unless department approval is granted to modify the well's path and/or bottomhole location.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) remain unchanged.
(d) Controlled directional drilling also shall be permitted upon the approval of the department. Any operator desiring to intentionally deviate a well from the vertical shall first [ make written application to] notify the department of such proposed deviation on the application to drill, deepen, plug back or convert . The [application] notice , which shall be [in addition to] made on the permit application as provided in section 552.1 of this Title, must [contain] include the following information:
(1) names of the county, field or area, pool and lease and well number; and
(2) description of the surface location and of the target bottomhole location in feet from the two nearest lease boundaries[;] .
[(3) reason for the proposed intentional deviation;
(4) names and addresses of the offsetting operators and a statement that each has been sent a copy of the application by registered mail, and the date of such mailing.
(e) The application must be accompanied by a neat, legible plat drawn to scale which shows the well, all offsetting leases and the wells located thereon, the pool in which they are completed, and the names of the offsetting operators.]
(e) The notice must be accompanied by a neat, legible plan view and vertical section of the wellbore drawn to scale which shows the surface location, kickoff point, top of target interval, bottom of target interval and bottomhole location.
[(f) Concurrently with the filing with the department of the application to intentionally deviate the well, the applicant must send a copy of said application and accompanying plat or plats by registered mail to the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit on which the well is to be drilled.
(g) Upon receipt of the application to intentionally deviate the well, the department will hold same for 10 days. If within said 10-day period any offset operator reciting reasonable cause, shall file in writing with the department a protest to such intentional deviation, or if the department is not in accord with the proposed deviation, the application shall be schedule for public hearing. If no objection from either an offset operators or the department is interposed within the 10-day period, and all other things being in order, the application shall be approved and written permission for the intentional deviation shall be issued by the department. The compulsory 10-day waiting period shall not be required if the application for permission to intentionally deviate the well is accompanied by the written consent of the operators of all leases or units offsetting the lease or unit containing the well proposed for deviation.]
[(h)] (f) Within 30 days after the completion of an intentionally deviated well , or at the request of the department for good cause , a complete angular deviation and directional survey of the well obtained by an approved well surveying company and certified as to correctness shall be filed [with] in a manner prescribed by the department.
Section 554.6 is unchanged.
Subdivision (a) of Section 554.7 is revised to read:
(a) Within 30 days after the completion of any well, a Well Drilling and [ c] C ompletion report utilizing [form OG10] a form prescribed by the department shall be filed [in triplicate] by the owner or operator with the department summarizing thereon the completion details. An interim completion report shall be filed upon request of the department at any time or within ninety days of any discontinuance in operations on a well lasting longer than thirty days, with the ninety day timeframe measured from the first day following discontinuance in operations.
The remaining subdivisions in Section 554.7 are unchanged.
Part 555, Plugging and Abandonment
Section 555.1 is unchanged.
Subdivision (a) of Section 555.2 is revised to read:
(a) It shall be unlawful for the owner or operator thereof to shut in a well [capable of being produced on a commercial basis] for more than one year without specific permission from the department for an extension of the time period during which shut-in is permitted.
Subdivisions (b) and (c) remain unchanged.
Section 555.4 is unchanged.
Section 555.5 is revised to read:
(a) The plugging of a well shall be conducted in accordance with the following sequence of operations[:] . The Division at its discretion may require the tagging of all plugs and require casing and/or cement evaluation logs to be run to determine proper plugging procedures. The following are minimum requirements for plugging and the department may impose additional requirements :
(1) The well bore, whether to remain cased or uncased, shall be filled with cement from total depth to at least [15] 50 feet above the top of the shallowest formation from which the production of oil or gas has ever been obtained in the vicinity. Alternatively, a bridge topped with at least [15] 50 feet of cement shall be placed immediately above each formation from which the production of oil or gas has ever been obtained in the vicinity.
(2) [ If] For any casing [is to be ]left in the ground, a cement plug of at least [15] 100 feet in length shall be placed [at the bottom of such section of casing] 50 feet inside and 50 feet outside of the casing shoe . Uncemented casing must be pulled as deep as practical with a 50-foot plug placed in and above the stub of the casing. If the uncemented casing is unable to be pulled the casing must be ripped or perforated 50 feet below the shoe of the next outer casing and a 100-foot plug placed across that shoe. A [similar] 50 foot plug shall be placed at [the top of such section of casing unless it shall extend to]the surface. [In the latter event, the casing shall be capped in any such manner as will prevent the migration of fluids and not interfere with normal soil cultivation.]
(3) If casing extending below the deepest potable fresh water level shall not remain in the ground, a cement plug of at least [15] 50 feet in length shall be placed in the open hole at a position approximately 50 feet below the deepest potable fresh water level.
(4) If the conductor casing or surface casing is drawn, a cement plug of at least [15] 50 feet in length shall be placed immediately below the point where the lower end of the conductor or surface casing shall previously have rested. The hole thereabove shall be filled with cement, sand or rock sediment or other suitable material in such a manner as well prevent erosion of the well bore area and not interfere with normal soil cultivation.
(5) The interval between all plugs mentioned in paragraphs (1) through (4) of this subdivision shall be filled with [a heavy mud-laden] gelled fluid with a minimum density equal to 8.65 pounds per gallon with a 10 minute gel-shear strength of 15.3 to 23.5 pounds per hundred square feet or other department approved fluid.
Paragraph 555.5(a)(6) and subdivision 555.5(b) are unchanged, subdivision 555.5(c) is revised to read:
(c) As a part of the plugging and abandonment operation, the owner or operator shall fill with earth any pit or other excavation, [including] and fill below plow depth any rat hole or mouse hole with cement or other grouting material approved by the department , which has been created to facilitate the drilling or production of the well. In addition, a reasonable effort to smooth the surface adjacent to the well and filled pit or excavation so as to place the surface in a condition similar to the adjacent terrain and without undue elevation shall be made. If it can be demonstrated to the satisfaction of the department that no hazard will result and the landowner has signed an appropriate release, these surface restoration requirements will be waived.
Subdivision 555.5(d) is unchanged.
Part 556, Operating Practices
Section 556.1 is unchanged.
Subdivision (a) of Section 556.2 is revised and a new subdivision (f) is added to read:
(a) The operating practice requirements of subdivisions (b) through [(d)] (g) of this section shall be applicable only to gas wells.
(b) No gas from any gas well, except such as is produced in a clean up period not to exceed 48 hours after any completion or stimulation operation or workovers , plus that use for the controlled testing of the well's potential in a period not to exceed 24 hours, plus that used in any operational requirements, shall be permitted to escape into the air. [Extensions of these time periods shall be granted administratively by the department upon application therefor by the owner or operator and the demonstration of sufficient good cause.]
(c) The release or flaring of gas, to the extent permitted by subdivision (b) of this section, shall be done in accordance with a flare permit issued by the division. Application to the division for a flare permit or for an extension of the time periods specified in subdivision (b) of this section shall be made on the Sundry Well Notice and Report form.
Subdivisions (c) through (e) are renumbered as subdivisions (d) through (f) accordingly and a new subdivision (g) is added to read:
(g) Sundry Notice and Report on Wells.
(1) Any permanent change in well bore configuration which does not otherwise require a permit pursuant to Part 552 of this Title shall be reported to the division on the Sundry Well Notice and Report form.
(2) A request from the operator for approval to change previously approved plans shall be submitted on the Sundry Well Notice and Report form, and approval of the request must be obtained before the work related to the request is commenced. In the case of an emergency, the operator may obtain verbal approval from the division to commence work; however, within five days of receiving verbal approval, the operator shall submit the Sundry Well Notice and Report form describing the work completed, for which verbal approval was sought.
(3) The Sundry Well Notice and Report form must be used by the operator to notify the division of repairs, pressure tests, and any other notifications required by Parts 550-560 of this Title which do not otherwise require a permit pursuant to Part 552 of this Title.
A new Part 560 is adopted to read as follows:
Part 560 ,Operations Associated with High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing
(Statutory Authority: Environmental Conservation Law, §§ 3-0301, 23-0305)
Sec.
560.1 Applicability
560.2 Definitions
560.3 Application Requirements
560.4 Setbacks
560.5 Testing, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements
560.6 Well Construction and Operation
560.7 Reclamation
§560.1 Applicability
(a) This Part applies to all vertical and directionally drilled wells, including horizontal wells, where high volume hydraulic fracturing is planned.
(b) This Part supersedes any conflicting provision in Parts 550 through 558 of this Title and each person who intends to drill, drills, or operates a well subject to this Part shall comply with this Part's requirements and with all requirements contained in Parts 550 through 558, inclusive, of this Title that have not been specifically superseded by provisions of this Part.
§560.2 Definitions
(a) For the purpose of this Part, the general definitions in Section 550.3 of this Title apply to the extent not superseded by this Part.
(b) For the purpose of this Part, the following definitions also apply:
(1) 'best management practices' shall mean measures or methods used to prevent or minimize impacts on air quality, biological resources, land and water quality, caused by drilling, deepening, plugging back and converting a well subject to this Part.
(2) 'chemical additives' shall mean a product composed of one or more chemical constituents that is added to a primary carrier fluid to modify its properties in order to form hydraulic fracturing fluid.
(3) 'chemical constituent' shall mean a discrete chemical with its own specific name or identity, such as a CAS Number, which is contained within an additive product.
(4) 'completion' shall mean the preparation of a well for production after it has been drilled to the objective formation and in the case of a dry hole, preparation of a well for plugging and abandonment.
(5) 'final reclamation' shall mean the reclamation of a well site following the end of production . This includes the regrading of lands, alleviating compaction, replacement of top soil, and revegetation, to restore and stabilize the site.
(6) 'flowback' shall mean liquids and solids produced during initial completion and clean-up of the well or clean-up of a well following a re-fracture or workover.
(7) 'flowback fluids' shall mean liquids produced following drilling and initial completion and clean-up of the well or clean-up of a well following a re-fracture of workover.
(8) 'high-volume hydraulic fracturing' shall mean the stimulation of a well using 300,000 gallons or more of water as the primary carrier fluid in the hydraulic fracturing fluid.
(9) 'hydraulic fracturing fluid' shall mean fluid used to perform hydraulic fracturing and includes the primary carrier fluid and all applicable additives.
(10) 'intermittent stream' shall mean a stream channel that contains flowing water for only a portion of the year.
(11) 'material safety data sheet, or MSDS' shall mean a written or printed document which is prepared in accordance with 29 CFR 1910.1200(g).
(12) 'partial reclamation' means the reclamation of a well site following completion of a well, and in the case of a multi-well pad, completion of the last well on the multi-well pad. This includes the reclamation of pits, regrading of lands and the revegetation of lands outside the well pad.
( 13) 'perennial stream' shall mean a stream channel that has continuous flow in parts of its bed all year round during years of normal rainfall.
(14) 'primary aquifer' shall mean a highly productive aquifer presently being utilized as a source of water supply by a major municipal supply system.
(15) 'primary carrier fluid' shall mean the base fluid, such as water, into which additives are mixed to form the hydraulic fracturing fluid which transport proppant.
(16) 'principal aquifer' shall mean an aquifer known to be highly productive or whose geology suggests abundant potential water supply, but which is not intensively used as a source of water supply by a major municipal system.
(17) 'product' shall mean a hydraulic fracturing fluid additive that is manufactured using precise amounts of specific chemical constituents and is assigned a commercial name under which the substance is sold or utilized.
(18) 'production brine or produced waters' shall mean liquids co-produced during oil and gas production.
(19) 'public water supply' shall means either a community or non-community well system which provides piped water to the public for human consumption if the system has a minimum of five (5) service connections, or regularly serves a minimum average of 25 individuals per day at least 60 days per year.
(20) 'reservoir' shall mean a waterbody designated for use as a dedicated public water supply and is classified as A or AA in its entirety pursuant to Parts 800 to 941 of this Title.
(21) 'stage' shall mean the isolation of a specific interval of the wellbore and the associated interval of the formation for the purpose of maintaining sufficient fracturing pressure.
(22) ' stage plug' shall mean a device used to mechanically isolate a specific interval of the wellbore and the target formation for the purpose of maintaining sufficient fracturing pressure.
(23) 'water well' shall mean any residential well used to supply potable water.
(24) 'well pad' shall mean the area directly disturbed during drilling and operation of a gas well.
(25) 'well site' shall mean the well pad and access roads, equipment storage and staging areas, vehicle turnarounds, and any other areas directly or indirectly impacted by activities involving a well subject to this Part.
(26) 'wetland' shall mean any area regulated pursuant to Article 24 of the Environmental Conservation Law.
§ 560.3 Application Requirements.
(a) In addition to the requirements found in Part 552 of this Title, an application for a permit to drill a well subject to this Part shall contain at a minimum:
(1) the minimum depth and elevation to top of fracture zone for the entire length of the wellbore;
(2) the estimated maximum depth and elevation of bottom of potential fresh water, and the basis for such estimate (water well information, other well information, previous drilling on the well pad, published or private reports, or other department-approved source);
(3) the proposed volume of water to be used in hydraulic fracturing;
(4) the proposed source of water for hydraulic fracturing and the status of approvals needed to withdraw such water;
(5) scaled distance from the proposed surface location of the well and the closest edge of the proposed well pad to any water supply reservoir, water well or domestic-supply spring within 2,640 feet, including any public or private wells, community or non-community systems;
(6) scaled distance from the proposed surface location of the well and the closest edge of proposed well pad to any primary or principal aquifer boundary, perennial or intermittent stream, wetland, storm drain, lake or pond within 660 feet, and any surface water body within 660 feet that is a tributary to a public drinking water supply;
(7) the capacity of the rig fueling tanks and their proposed distance to any public or private water
well, domestic-supply spring, reservoir, perennial or intermittent stream, storm drain, wetland, lake or pond within 500 feet;
(8) identification of water wells and domestic supply springs within 2,640 feet of proposed surface location;
(9) identification of any abandoned wells subject to Parts 550 through 559 of this Title within the proposed spacing unit and within one mile of the proposed surface location;
(10) a description of the planned construction and capacity of any reserve pit;
(11) where applicable, a description of the closed-loop tank system;
(12) the number and total capacity of receiving tanks for flowback water;
(13) a description of the drilling and hydraulic fracturing engines to be used, the type of fuel needed for such engines and a description of planned air emission control measures;
(14) the status of the sales line and interconnecting gathering line to the well or multi-well pad;
(15) a drill cuttings disposal plan, as required by paragraph 554.1(c)(4) of this Title.
(16) the proposed blowout preventer use and test plan for all drilling and completion operations specifying:
(i) the pressure rating of any annular preventer, rams (including a description of type and number of rams), choke manifold and connecting line from the blowout preventer to the choke
manifold;
(ii) timing, duration, pressure and frequency of testing and/or visual inspection of the
blowout preventer and related equipment including any scheduled retesting of equipment;
(iii) test pressure(s) and timing for any internal pressure testing of surface, intermediate and production casing strings, and duration of tests including an explanation as to how the test pressure was determined;
(iv) test pressure(s) and anticipated depth(s) of any surface and/or intermediate casing seat integrity tests. If a casing seat integrity test will not be conducted on a casing string with a blowout preventer installed on it, an explanation must be provided why such a test is not required and how any flow will be managed;
(v) distance from well for remote actuator which is powered by a source other than rig hydraulics;
(vi) a system for recording, documenting and retaining the results of all pressure tests and inspections conducted during drilling and/or completion operations;
(vii) copy of the operator's well control barrier policy that identifies acceptable barriers to be used during identified operations; and
(viii) any other related information or data required by the department that is necessary to ensure environmental protection and public safety.
(17) a list of invasive species found at the well site and description of best management practices for preventing the spread of these invasive species;
(18) a description of best management practices for restoration of native plant cover;
(19) a description of how partial reclamation of the well site will be accomplished following well completion, and;
(20) a transportation plan indicating the planned route for delivery of raw materials and chemical additives to the site, the proposed route for transport of waste materials and an estimated number of truck trips associated with same.
(b) Mapping requirements. With each application for a permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well subject to this Part, the owner or operator shall provide:
(1) a plan view of the wellbore including surface and bottomhole locations and a vertical section of the wellbore showing the land surface elevation and wellbore elevation with an indication of the minimum true vertical depth of the wellbore within the objective formation or zone.
(2) a topographic map of the area within at least 2,640 feet of the proposed surface location showing the location and orientation of the proposed well pad; and a close-up map of the well pad showing the placement of fueling tanks, reserve pit and receiving tanks for flowback water, the location of the access road, type and extent of vegetative cover and the location of any flowback water pipelines or conveyances.
(3) a map at 1:24,000 scale showing the location and identity of all occurrences of invasive species within the proposed well site,
(4) a plan view drawing of the well site illustrating where partial reclamation will be accomplished following completion of all wells on the well pad.
(c) Hydraulic Fracturing Fluid Disclosure.
(1) With each application for a permit to drill, deepen, plug back or convert a well subject to this Part, the owner or operator shall provide the following information:
(i) proposed volume of each additive product to be used in hydraulic fracturing
(ii) identification of each additive product proposed for use;
(iii) copies of Material Safety Data Sheets for each product to be used if the Material Safety Data Sheet is not already on file with the Division;
(iv) proposed percent by weight of water, proppants and each additive product;
(v) documentation that proposed chemical additives exhibit reduced aquatic toxicity and pose a lower potential risk to water resources and the environment than available alternatives; or documentation that available alternative products are not equally effective or feasible; and
(vi) the identification of the proposed fracturing service company.
(2) The department will disclose to the public the information submitted pursuant to paragraph (1) of this subdivision except that operators or other persons who supply information subject to paragraph (1) of this subdivision may request such records to be exempt from disclosure as provided by Part 616 of this Title. Records determined by the department to be exempt from disclosure shall not be considered a well record for purposes of disclosure.
§560.4 Setbacks.
(a) No well pad or portion of a well pad may be located:
(1) closer than 500 feet from a private water well unless waived by the water well owner;
(2) within a primary aquifer and a 500-foot buffer from the boundary of a primary aquifer;
(3) within a 100-year floodplain; and
(4) within 2,000 feet of any public water supply (municipal or otherwise) well, reservoir, natural lake or man-made impoundment (except engineered impoundments constructed for fresh water storage associated with fracturing operations), and river or stream intake.
§ 560.5 Testing, Recordkeeping and Reporting Requirements.
(a) An emergency response plan must be prepared by the operator and kept on-site during any well operation from well spud through well completion. A list of emergency contact numbers for the area in which the well site is located must be included in the emergency response plan and the list must be prominently displayed at the well site during operations covered by the department-issued permit to drill. A copy of the emergency response plan must be provided to the department at least three days prior to well spud.
(b) The relevant county emergency management office must be notified by the operator of the well's location, including latitude and longitude, prior to spudding the well, the first occurrence of flaring while drilling, prior to high-volume hydraulic fracturing and prior to flaring for well clean-up, treatment or testing.
(1) A record of the type, date and time of any notification provided to the county emergency management office must be maintained by the operator and made available to the department upon request.
(2) In counties without an emergency management office, the local fire department must be notified in the manner provided in subdivision (b) of this section.
(c) Any non-routine incident of potential environmental and/or public safety significance must be verbally reported to the department within two hours of the incident's known occurrence or discovery, with a written report detailing the non-routine incident to follow within twenty-four hours of the incident's known occurrence or discovery. Non-routine incidents may include, but are not limited to: casing, drill pipe or hydraulic fracturing equipment failures, cement failures, fishing jobs, fires, seepages, blowouts, surface chemical spills, observed leaks in surface equipment, observed pit liner failure, surface effects at previously plugged or other wells, observed effects at water wells or at the surface, complaints of water well contamination, anomalous pressure and/or flow conditions indicated or occurring during hydraulic fracturing operations, or other potentially polluting non-routine incident or incident that may affect the health, safety, welfare, or property of any person. Provided the environment and public safety would not be further endangered, any action and/or condition known or suspected of causing and/or contributing to a non-routine incident must cease immediately upon known occurrence or discovery of the incident, and appropriate initial remedial actions commenced. The required written non-routine incident report noted above must provide details of the incident and include, as necessary, a proposed remedial plan for department review and approval. In the case of suspended hydraulic fracturing pumping operations and non-routine incident reporting of such, the operator must receive department approval prior to recommencing hydraulic fracturing activities in the same well. The department may issue an order to take appropriate actions consistent with this subdivision, including an order to cease all activities.
(d) Water well testing:
(1) prior to well spud, the operator must make all reasonable attempts to sample and test residential water wells within 1,000 feet of the well pad for the parameters specified by the department. If no wells are available for sampling within 1,000 feet of the well pad, either because there are none of record or because any property owners within 1,000 feet of the well pad deny the operator permission to sample their wells, then the operator must make all reasonable attempts to sample and test water wells within 2,000 feet for the parameters specified by the department. The owner of any water well tested must be provided with a copy of the test results within 30 days of the operator's receipt of the results.
(2) water well test results and documentation of efforts to provide such results to the owner(s) of residential water wells must be maintained by the operator and made available to the department upon request.
(3) the operator must sample and test residential water wells in the same manner as provided in paragraph (1) of subdivision (d) of this section, at other intervals specified by the department after the well reaches total measured depth specified on an application for permit to drill.
(4) copies of test results and documentation related to delivery of test results to owners of water wells must be made available to the department and local health department, upon department request, and such records must be maintained for a period up to and including five years after the well, subject to Part 552 of this Title, is permanently plugged and abandoned pursuant to a plugging permit issued by the department. For multi-well pads, the five-year term specified in this paragraph shall begin after the last well subject to Part 552 of this Title is permanently plugged and abandoned pursuant to a plugging permit issued by the department.
(e) The results of blowout preventer testing required by paragraph 560.3(a)(17) of this Title must be available to the department at the well site during the corresponding operation, and to the department upon request at any time during the period up to and including five years after the well is permanently plugged and abandoned consistent with Part 555 of this Title. If the well is located on a multi-well pad, all pressure testing records must be maintained and made available during the period up to and including five years after the last well on the pad is permanently plugged and abandoned pursuant to a plugging permit issued by the department.
(f) The Drilling and Production Waste Tracking Form must be completed and such completed forms shall be retained for three years by the operator, transporter and destination facility for any waste removed from the well site and be made available to the department upon request during this period. If requested, the operator shall be responsible for obtaining for the department a copy of any completed Drilling and Production Waste with the original signatures of the transporter and destination facility for any waste removed from a well site covered by a permit to drill issued to the operator pursuant to Part 552 of this Title.
(g) If any fluid or other waste material is moved off site by pipeline or other piping, the operator must maintain a record of the date and time the fluid or other material left the site, the quantity of fluid or other material, and its intended destination.
§560.6 Well Construction and Operation.
(a) Site Preparation.
(1) Unless otherwise required by private lease agreement and in consideration of avoiding bisection of agricultural fields, the access road must be located as far as practical from occupied structures, places of assembly, and unleased property.
(2) Unless otherwise approved or directed by the department, all topsoil stripped to facilitate the construction of the well pad and access road(s) must be stockpiled, stabilized and remain on site for use in either partial or final reclamation.
(3) Piping, conveyances, valves and tanks in contact with flowback water must be constructed of materials compatible with flowback water composition.
(4) Any reserve pit, drilling pit or mud pit on the well pad which will be used for more than one well must be constructed as follows:
(i) surface water and stormwater runoff must be diverted away from the pit;
(ii) total pit volume may not exceed 250,000 gallons, or 500,000 gallons for multiple pits on one tract or related tract of land;
(iii) pit sidewalls and bottoms must be adequately cushioned and free of objects capable of puncturing and ripping the liner;
(iv) pits constructed in unconsolidated sediments must have beveled walls (45 degrees or less);
(v) the pit liner must be sized and placed with sufficient slack to accommodate stretching;
(vi) liner thickness must be at least 30 mils;
(vii) seams must be factory installed or field seamed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications; and
(viii) for pits used to hold other than fresh water, at least two feet of freeboard must be maintained at all times.
(b) Site Maintenance.
(1) For any well:
(i) secondary containment is required for all fueling tanks;
(ii) to the extent practical, fueling tanks must not be placed within 500 feet of a perennial or intermittent stream, storm drain, wetland, lake or pond;
(iii) fueling tank filling operations must be supervised at the fueling truck and at the tank if the tank is not visible to the fueling operator from the truck; and
(iv) troughs, drip pads or drip pans are required beneath the fill port of a fueling tank during filling operations if the fill port is not within the secondary containment required by subparagraph (i) of this subdivision.
(2) Except for freshwater storage, fluids must be removed from any on-site pit prior to any 45-day gap in use and the pit must be inspected by the department prior to resuming use.
(c) Drilling, Hydraulic Fracturing and Flowback.
(1) The operator must provide the drilling company with a well prognosis indicating anticipated formation top depths with appropriate warning comments prior to well spud. The prognosis must be reviewed by all crew members and posted in a prominent location in the doghouse. The operator must revise the prognosis and inform the drilling company in a timely manner if drilling reveals significant variation between the anticipated and actual geology and/or formation pressures.
(2) Individual crew member responsibilities for blowout control must be posted in the doghouse or other appropriate location and each crew member must be made aware of such responsibilities prior to spud of any well being drilled or when another rig is moved on a previously spudded well and prior to the commencement of completion work by any rig, snubbing unit or coiled tubing unit.
(i) During all drilling and completion operations when a blowout preventer is installed, tested or in use, the operator or operator's designated representative must be present at the well site and such person or personnel must have a current well control certification from an accredited training program that is acceptable to the department. Such certification must be available at the well site and provided to the department upon request.
(ii) Appropriate pressure control procedures and equipment in proper working order must be properly installed and employed while conducting drilling and completion operations including tripping, logging, running casing into the well, and drilling out solid-core stage plugs. Unless otherwise approved by the department, a snubbing unit or coiled tubing unit with a blowout preventer must be used to enter any well with pressure or to drill out one or more solid-core stage plugs.
(3) Pressure testing of the blowout preventer and related equipment for any drilling or completion operation must be performed in accordance with the approved blowout preventer use and test plan required by Section 560.3 of this Title, and any deviation from the approved plan must be approved by the department. Testing must be conducted in accordance with industry standards or other procedures approved by the department. Unless otherwise approved by the department, the blowout preventer use and test plan must meet the following requirements:
(i) A well control barrier policy shall be developed by the operator that identifies acceptable barriers to be used during identified operations. Such policy must employ, at a minimum, two mechanical barriers capable of being tested when conducting any drilling or completion operation below the surface casing. In no event shall a stripper rubber or a stripper head be considered an acceptable barrier.
(ii) Testing of the blowout preventer shall include testing after the blowout preventer is installed on the well but prior to drilling below the last cemented casing seat. Pressure control equipment, including the blowout preventer, that fails any pressure test must not be used until it is repaired and passes the pressure test.
(iii) A remote blowout preventer actuator, which is powered by a source other than rig hydraulics, shall be located at least 50 feet from the wellhead. All lines, valves and fittings between the blowout preventer and the remote actuator and any other actuator must be flame resistant and have an appropriate rated working pressure.
(4) The operator must detect, if practical, and document all naturally occurring methane in the conductor hole, if drilled, and the surface hole. In accordance with subdivision (b) of Section 554.7 of this Title, all freshwater, brine, oil and gas shows must be documented on the department's Well Drilling and Completion Report. In the event hydrogen sulfide is encountered in any portion of the well, all activities must be conducted by the operator in conformance with industry standards for drilling of wells where hydrogen sulfide is present.
(5) Annular disposal of drill cuttings or fluid is prohibited.
(6) All fluids must be contained on the site until properly removed in compliance with the fluid disposal plan approved in accordance with Section 554.1 of this Title.
(7) A closed-loop tank system must be used instead of a reserve pit to manage drilling fluids and cuttings for any of the following:
(i) horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale unless an acid rock drainage mitigation plan for on-site burial of such cuttings is approved by the department; and
(ii) any drilling requiring cuttings to be disposed of off-site, as provided in Part 360 of this Title, including at a landfill.
(8) Cuttings may be removed from the site in the primary capture container (e.g., tank or bin) or transferred on-site via a transfer area to a secondary container or truck for off-site disposal or disposition. If a cuttings transfer area is employed, it must be lined with a material acceptable to the department. Transfer of cuttings to an on-site stock pile is prohibited, regardless of any liner under the stock pile. Offsite transport of all cuttings must be undertaken by a waste transporter pursuant to a permit issued pursuant to Part 364 of this Title.
(9) Only biocides registered for use in New York may be used for any operation at the well site. Products must be properly labeled, and the label must be kept on-site during application and storage.
(10) With respect to all surface, intermediate and production casing run in the well, and in addition to the department's casing and cementing requirements and any approved centralizer plan for intermediate casing, the following shall apply:
(i) all casings must be new and conform to industry standards specified in the permit to drill;
(ii) welded connections are prohibited;
(iii) casing thread compound and its use must conform to industry standards specified in the permit to drill;
( iv) in addition to centralizers otherwise required by the department, at least two centralizers, one in the middle and one at the top of the first joint of casing, must be installed (except production casing) and all bow-spring style centralizers must conform to the industry standards specified in the permit to drill;
(v) cement must conform to industry standards specified in the permit to drill and the cement slurry must be prepared to minimize its free water content in accordance with the industry standards and specifications, and contain a gas-block additive;
(vi) prior to cementing any casing string, the borehole must be circulated and conditioned to ensure an adequate cement bond;
(vii) a spacer of adequate volume, makeup and consistency must be pumped ahead of the cement;
(viii) the cement must be pumped at a rate and in a flow regime that inhibits channeling of the cement in the annulus;
(ix) after the cement is pumped, the operator must wait on cement (WOC) until the cement achieves a calculated (e.g., performance chart) compressive strength of at least 500 psig, and a minimum WOC time of 8 hours before the casing is disturbed in any way, including installation of a blowout preventer. The operator may request a waiver from the department from the required WOC time if the operator has bench tested the actual cement batch and blend using mix water from the actual source for the job, and determined that 8 hours is not required to reach a compressive strength of 500 pounds per square inch gage; and
(x) a copy of the cement job log for any cemented casing string in the well must be available to the department at the well site during drilling operations, and thereafter available to the department upon request. The operator must provide such log to the department upon request at any time during the period up to and including five years after the well is permanently plugged and abandoned under a department permit issued pursuant to Part 550 of this Title. If the well is located on a multi-well pad, all cementing job logs must be maintained and made available during the period up to and including five years after the last well on the pad is permanently plugged and abandoned under a department permit issued pursuant to Part 550 of this Title.
(11) The surface casing must be run and cemented as soon as practicable after the hole has been adequately circulated and conditioned.
(12) As specified on a permit to drill, deepen, plug back and convert, the department must be notified prior to surface casing cementing operations. Surface casing must be fully cemented to surface with excess cement. Cementing must be by the pump and plug method with a minimum of 25 percent excess cement with appropriate lost circulation material, unless another amount of excess cement is approved by the department.
(13) Intermediate casing must be installed in the well. The setting depth and design of the casing must be determined by taking into account all applicable drilling, geologic and well control factors. Additionally, the setting depth must consider the cementing requirements for the intermediate casing and the production casing as noted below. Any request to waive the intermediate casing requirement must be made in writing with supporting documentation and is subject to the department's approval. Information gathered from operations conducted on any single well or the first well drilled on a multi-well pad may be considered by the department upon a request for a waiver of the intermediate casing requirement on subsequent wells in the vicinity of the single well or subsequent wells on the same multi-well pad.
(14) As specified on a permit to drill, deepen, plug back and convert, the department must be notified prior to intermediate casing cementing operations. Intermediate casing must be fully cemented to surface with excess cement. Cementing must be by the pump and plug method with a minimum of 25 percent excess cement unless caliper logs are run, in which case 10 percent excess will suffice.
(15) The operator must run a radial cement bond evaluation log or other evaluation approved by the department to verify the cement bond on the intermediate casing. Remedial cementing is required if the cement bond is not adequate for drilling ahead (i.e., diversion or shut-in for well control).
(16) Production casing must be run to the surface. If installation of the intermediate casing is waived by the department, then production casing must be fully cemented to surface. If intermediate casing is installed, the production casing cement must be tied into the intermediate casing string with at least 300 feet of cement measured using True Vertical Depth. Any request to waive any of the cementing requirements of this paragraph must be made in writing with supporting documentation and must be approved by the department. The department will only consider a request for a waiver if the open-hole wireline logs including a narrative analysis of such and all other information collected during drilling from the same well pad or offsetting wells verify that migration of oil, gas or other fluids from one pool or stratum to another will otherwise be prevented.
(17) The operator must run a radial cement bond evaluation log or other evaluation approved by the department to verify the cement bond on the production casing. Remedial cementing is required if the cement bond is not adequate to effectively isolate hydraulic fracturing operations.
(18) The installation of an additional cemented casing string or strings in the well, as deemed necessary by the department for environmental and/or public safety reasons, may be required at any time.
(19) Under no circumstances should the annulus between the surface casing and the next casing string be shut-in, except during a pressure test.
(20) If hydraulic fracturing operations are performed down casing, prior to introducing hydraulic fracturing fluid into the well, the casing extending from the surface of the well to the top of the treatment interval must be tested with fresh water, mud or brine to at least the maximum anticipated treatment pressure for at least 30 minutes with less than a 5 percent pressure loss. This pressure test may not commence for at least 7 days after the primary cementing operations are completed on this casing string. A record of the pressure test must be maintained by the operator and made available to the department upon request. The actual hydraulic fracturing treatment pressure must not exceed the test pressure at any time during hydraulic fracturing operations.
(21) Prior to commencing hydraulic fracturing and pumping of hydraulic fracturing fluid, the injection lines and manifold, associated valves, fracture head or tree and any other wellhead component or connection not previously tested must be tested with fresh water, mud or brine to at least the maximum anticipated treatment pressure for at least 30 minutes with less than a 5 percent pressure loss. A record of the pressure test must be maintained by the operator and made available to the department upon request. The actual hydraulic fracturing treatment pressure must not exceed the test pressure at any time during hydraulic fracturing operations.
(22) The operator must record the depths and estimated flow rates where fresh water, brine, oil and/or gas were encountered or circulation was lost during drilling operations. This information and the department's Pre-Frac Checklist and Certification form including a treatment plan, must be submitted to and received by the department at least 3 days prior to commencement of high-volume hydraulic fracturing operations. The treatment plan must include a profile showing anticipated pressures and volumes of fluid for pumping the first stage. It must also include a description of the planned treatment interval for the well (i.e., top and bottom of perforations expressed in both True Vertical Depth and True Measured Depth).
(23) Hydraulic fracturing products other than those identified in the well permit application materials may not be used without specific approval from the department.
(24) Diesel fuel may not be used as the primary carrier fluid for hydraulic fracturing operations.
(25) The operator may conduct hydraulic fracturing operations provided: all items on the Pre-Frac Checklist and Certification are affirmed by a response of "Yes,"; the Pre-Frac Checklist and Certification and treatment plan are received by the department at least 3 days prior to hydraulic fracturing; and all other pre-frac notification requirements are met. The operator is prohibited from conducting hydraulic fracturing operations on the well without additional department review and approval if a response of "No" is provided to any of the items in the Pre-Frac Checklist and Certification.
(26) Hydraulic fracturing operations must be conducted as follows:
(i) secondary containment for fracturing additive containers and additive staging areas, and flowback tanks is required. Secondary containment measures may include, as deemed appropriate by the department, one or a combination of the following: dikes, liners, pads, impoundments, curbs, sumps or other structures or equipment capable of containing the substance. Any such secondary containment must be sufficient to contain 110 percent of the total capacity of the single largest container or tank within a common containment area. No more than one hour before initiating any hydraulic fracturing stage, all secondary containment must be visually inspected to ensure all structures and equipment are in place and in proper working order. The results of this inspection must be recorded and documented by the operator, and available to the department upon request;
(ii) at least two vacuum trucks must be on standby at the well site during the pumping of hydraulic fracturing fluid and during flowback;
(iii) hydraulic fracturing additives must be removed from the site if the site will be unattended;
(iv) any hydraulic fracturing string, if used, must be either stung into a production liner or run with a packer set at least 100 feet below the deepest cement top. An adequately sized, function-tested relief valve and an adequately sized diversion line must be installed and used to divert flow from the hydraulic fracturing string-casing annulus to a covered watertight steel tank or covered watertight tank made of another material approved by the department in case of hydraulic fracturing string failure. The relief valve must be set to limit the annular pressure to no more than 95 percent of the working pressure rating of the casings forming the annulus. The annulus between the hydraulic fracturing string and casing must be pressurized to at least 250 psig and monitored;
(v) the pressure exerted on treating equipment including valves, lines, manifolds, hydraulic fracturing head or tree, casing and hydraulic fracturing string, if used, must not exceed 95% of the working pressure rating of the weakest component;
(vi) the hydraulic fracturing treatment pressure must not exceed the test pressure of any given component at any time during hydraulic fracturing operations;
(vi) all annuli available at the surface must be continuously monitored in order to detect pressure or flow, and the records of such monitoring maintained by the operator and made available to the department upon request; and
(vii) hydraulic fracturing pumping operations must be immediately suspended if any anomalous pressure and/or flow condition is indicated or occurring which is a significant deviation from either the treatment plan (i.e., profile showing anticipated pressures and volume of fluid for pumping the first stage) provided to the department with the Pre-Frac Checklist and Certification or any other anticipated pressure and/or flow condition. Suspension of operations due to an anomalous pressure and/or flow condition is considered a non-routine incident which must be reported to the department. In the case of suspended hydraulic fracturing pumping operations and non-routine incident reporting of such, the operator must receive department approval prior to recommencing hydraulic fracturing activities in the same well.
(viii) The operator must make and maintain a complete record of its hydraulic fracturing operation including the flowback phase, and provide such record to the department upon request at any time during the period up to and including five years after the well is permanently plugged and abandoned under a department permit. If the well is located on a multi-well pad, all hydraulic fracturing records must be maintained and made available during the period up to and including five years after the last well on the pad is permanently plugged and abandoned under a department permit. The record for each well must include all types and volumes of materials, including additives, pumped into the well, flowback rates, and the daily and total volumes of fluid recovered during the first thirty days of flow from the well. The record must also include a complete description of pressures exhibited throughout the hydraulic fracturing operation and associated pressure recordings, charts and/or pressure profile. A synopsis of the hydraulic fracturing operation must be provided in the appropriate section of the department's Well Drilling and Completion Report, which must be provided to the department within 30 days after completing the well in accordance with section 554.7 of this Title.
(27) Flowback water is prohibited from being directed to or stored in any on-site pit. Covered watertight steel tanks or covered watertight tanks constructed of another material approved by the department are required for flowback handling and containment on the well pad. Flowback water tanks, piping and conveyances, including valves, must be constructed of suitable materials, be of sufficient pressure rating and be maintained in a leak-free condition. Fluid transfer operations from tanks to tanker trucks must be supervised at the truck and at the tank if the tank is not visible to the truck operator from the truck. Additionally, during transfer operations, all interconnecting piping must be supervised if not visible to transfer personnel at the truck and tank.
(28) The venting of any gas originating from the target formation during the flowback phase must be through a flare stack at least 30 feet in height, unless the absence of H2S has been demonstrated at a previous well on the same pad. Gas vented through the flare stack must be ignited whenever possible. The stack must be equipped with a self-ignition device.
(29) A reduced emissions completion, with minimal flaring (if any), must be performed whenever gas is capable of being transported or marketed by connection of a sales line and interconnecting gathering line.
(30) Any high-volume re-fracturing operations are subject to the department's approval after:
(i) review of the planned fracturing procedures and products, water source, proposed site disturbance and layout, and fluid disposal plans;
(ii) a site inspection by department staff; and
(iii) a determination of whether any other department permits are required.
Section 560.7 Waste Management & Reclamation
(a) Fluids must be removed from any on-site pit and the pit reclaimed no later than 45 days after completion of drilling and stimulation operations at the last well on the pad, unless the department grants an extension pursuant to paragraph 554.1(c)(3) of this Title. Flowback water must be removed from on-site tanks within the same time frame.
(b) Removed pit fluids must be disposed, recycled or reused as described in the approved fluid disposal plan submitted pursuant to paragraph 554.1(c)(1) of this Title. Transport of all waste fluids by vehicle must be undertaken by a waste transporter pursuant to an approved permit pursuant to Part 364 of this Title.
(c) Cuttings contaminated with oil-based mud or polymer-based mud must be contained and managed in a closed-loop tank system and not be buried on site, and must be removed from the site for disposal in a solid waste disposal facility. Consultation with the department's Division of Materials Management (DMM) is required prior to disposal of any cuttings associated with water-based mud-drilling and pit liner associated with water-based mud-drilling where the water-based mud contains chemical additives. Any sampling and analysis directed by DMM must be by an ELAP-certified laboratory. Disposal must conform to all applicable department regulations. The pit liner must be ripped and perforated prior to any permitted burial on-site and to the extent practical, excess pit liner material must be removed and disposed of properly. Permission of the surface owner is required for any on-site burial of cuttings and pit liner, regardless of type of drilling and fluids used. Burial of any other solid waste on-site is specifically prohibited and all such waste must be removed from the site and properly disposed. Transport of all cuttings and pit liner off-site, if required by the department or otherwise performed, must be undertaken by a waste transporter pursuant to an approved permit issued pursuant to Part 364 of this Title.
(d) A site-specific acid rock drainage mitigation plan must be prepared by the operator, approved by the department and followed for on-site burial of cuttings from any horizontal drilling in the Marcellus if the operator elects to bury these cuttings. The plan must be available on-site to a department inspector while activities addressed by the plan are taking place.
(e) Unless otherwise approved by the department, well pads and access roads constructed for drilling and production operations must be scarified or ripped to alleviate compaction prior to replacement of topsoil. Reclaimed areas must be seeded and mulched after topsoil replacement. Any proposal by the operator to waive these reclamation requirements must be accompanied by documentation of the landowner's written request to keep the access road or well pad.
(f) Flowback water recovered after high-volume hydraulic fracturing operations must be tested for naturally occurring radioactive material prior to removal from the site. Fluids recovered during the production phase (i.e., production brine) must be tested for naturally occurring radioactive material prior to removal, and the ground adjacent to the tanks must be measured for radioactivity, in accordance with a department-prescribed schedule.
(g) Production brine is prohibited from being directed to or stored in any on-site pit. Covered watertight steel, fiberglass or plastic tanks, or covered watertight tanks constructed of another material approved by the department, are required for production brine handling and containment on the well pad. Production brine tanks, piping and conveyances, including valves, must be constructed of suitable materials, be of sufficient pressure rating and be maintained in a leak-free condition.
(h) Partial reclamation and final reclamation of any well pad and access road must be approved by the department.
Proposed Express Terms 6 NYCRR Parts 750.1 and 750.3
Obtaining A SPDES Permit and High-Volume Hydro Fracturing (HVHF)
Please note: underlines contained in the text of the express terms denote new material. Brackets [ ] indicate material to be deleted.
Subdivisions (a) and (b) of Section 750-1.1 are revised and a new subdivision (g) is added to read as follows:
(a) New York State has a State program that has been approved by the United States Environmental Protection Agency for the control of wastewater and stormwater discharges in accordance with the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1251 et seq.) (Clean Water Act or act). Under New York State law the program is known as the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) and is broader in scope than that required by the act in that it controls point source discharges to groundwaters as well as surface waters. New York law also authorizes other broad protections for ground and surface waters beyond those authorized by the act.
(b) The regulations in this Part prescribe procedures and substantive rules concerning the SPDES program as well as non-SPDES water quality protections as set forth in the statutory authority for this Part. The SPDES program does not apply to:
(1) Indian activities on Indian lands under the jurisdiction of the United States, or
(2) those discharges that are deemed prohibited by section 17-0807 of the ECL, or sections 750-1.4 and 750-3.4 of this Subpart.
(g) High-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) operations, as defined in Section 750-3.2, require a SPDES permit in accordance with Subparts 750-1, 750-2, as well as additional provisions in Subpart 750-3. Provisions applicable to issued HVHF activities are set forth in Subpart 750-1, 750-2 as well as Sub-Part 750-3.
Subparagraph (iv) of Section 750-1.5(a)(6) is amended to read as follows:
(iv) injection into the well is approved by the EPA, if applicable, in accordance with 40 CFR Parts 124.10, 144 and 146 (see section 750-1.24 of this Part).
A new Subpart 750-3 of 6 NYCRR is adopted to read as follows
Subpart 750-3: High-Volume Hydro Fracturing (HVHF)
(Statutory authority: Environmental Conservation Law, art. 3, titles 1, 3; art. 15, titles 3, 31; art. 17, titles 3, 5, 7, 8; arts. 21, 70, title 1; art. 71, title 19; New York State Penal Code, arts. 175, 210; Public Health Law, section 502; Federal Water Pollution Control Act, 33 USC 1251, et seq.)
750-3.1 Scope and purpose
This Subpart shall have the same purpose as set forth in section 750-1.1. This Subpart applies to all activities and discharges associated with all phases of high-volume hydraulic fracturing (HVHF) operations.
750-3.2 Definitions
(a) The definitions in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.2. Terms not defined herein shall be as defined by the context in which they are used.
(b) Whenever used in this Part, the following terms will have the meanings set forth below:
(1) Access road means a road constructed to the wellsite that provides access during the drilling and operation of the well.
(2) Chemical Additive means a product composed of one or more chemical constituents that are added to a primary carrier fluid to modify its properties in order to form hydraulic fracturing fluid.
(3) Aquifer means a zone of permeable, water-saturated material below the surface of the earth capable of producing usable quantities of water.
(4) Berm means a structure meant to contain fluids within a defined area.
(5) BTEX is the term used for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene-volatile aromatic compounds typically found in petroleum product, such as gasoline and diesel fuel.
(6) BUD means a Beneficial Use Determination issued by NYSDEC's Division of Materials Management in accordance with 6 NYCRR 360-1.15.
(7) CAS Number means the Chemicals Abstract Service number, assigned by Chemical Abstracts Service, which is part of the American Chemical Society.
(8) Casing means steel pipe placed in a well.
(9) Chemical constituent means a discrete chemical with its own specific name or identity, such as a CAS Number, which is contained within an additive product.
(10) Closed loop drilling system means a pitless drilling system where all drilling fluids and cuttings are contained at the surface within piping, separation equipment and tanks.
(11) Comprehensive Stormwater Pollution Prevention Plan (SWPPP) means the combined Construction SWPPP and HVHF SWPPP.
(12) Construction phase means the construction of access roads, wellpad, and other appurtenances.
(13) Construction SWPPP means the stand alone stormwater pollution prevention plan that includes best management practices and other requirements to control the pollution of stormwater during construction and post-construction.
(14) Cuttings or samples means chips of rock cut by the drill bit and brought to the surface by the drilling fluid. They indicate to the wellsite workers what kind of rocks are being penetrated and can also indicate the presence of oil or gas.
(15) Drilling fluid means mud, water, or air pumped down the drill string which acts as a lubricant for the bit and is used to carry rock cuttings back up the wellbore. It is also used for pressure control in the wellbore.
(16) Final stabilization means all soil disturbance activities have ceased and a uniform, perennial vegetative cover with a density of eighty (80) percent has been established or other equivalent stabilization measures.
(17) Floodplain means the 100-year floodplain as defined by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA).
(18) Flowback means liquids and solids produced during initial completion and clean up of the well or clean up of a well following re-fracture or work over of a well.
(19) Formation fluids means fluids in a liquid or gaseous physical state, present within the pore spaces, fractures, faults, caverns, or any other spaces of formations, whether or not naturally occurring or injected therein.
(20) Freeboard means the height above the recorded high-water mark of a structure designed to hold water. In the case of pits, freeboard is the extra depth left unused to prevent any chance of overflow.
(21) Geomembrane means the polymeric membrane (flexible membrane) that is manufactured to be essentially impermeable and is used to build containment pits.
(22) High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing (HVHF) means hydraulic fracturing using greater than 300,000 gallons of water cumulatively in the HVHF Phase.
(23) High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Phase (HVHF Phase) means 1) the phase between the construction project completion and the Production Phase; and 2) any subsequent restimulation event. This includes well drilling, high-volume hydraulic fracturing, well stimulation and on-site handling and treatment of return flow.
(24) High-Volume Hydraulic Fracturing Operations (HVHF Operations) means: (i) Construction Phase; (ii) HVHF Phase; and (iii) the Production Phase.
(25) HVHF general permit means a SPDES permit issued pursuant to section 750-3.21 of this Part.
(26) HVHF SPDES permit means an individual or general SPDES permit for HVHF activities.
(27) HVHF SWPPP means the stormwater pollution prevention plan required by a SPDES permit that includes structural and non-structural best management practices and other requirements to control the pollution of stormwater during the HVHF Phase and the Production Phase.
(28) High-density polyethylene (HDPE) means a polyethylene plastic that is resistant to most chemicals, insoluble in organic solvents, and has high impact and tensile strength.
(29) Horizontal drilling means the deviation of the borehole from vertical so that the borehole penetrates a productive formation in a manner parallel to the formation.
(30) Hydraulic fracturing means the pumping of a fluid with proppant to create and maintain fractures as a stimulation method to increase productivity but shall not include work over operations.
(31) Hydrocarbon development means the activity associated with the siting, drilling, casing, cementing, stimulation and completion of wells, including but not limited to unconventional natural gas development wells, undertaken for the purpose of extraction of liquid or gaseous hydrocarbon from geologic formations.
(32) Naturally Occurring Radioactive Materials (NORM) means the radioactivity that can exist naturally in native materials, like some shales, and may be present in certain wastes from a well.
(33) Operational control means authorization to make management decisions governing the HVHF operations.
(34) Owner/Operator means the person, persons or legal entity which owns or leases the property on which the HVHF operations are occurring; and/or an entity that has operational control over the HVHF operations, including the ability to make modifications to the operations and authorization to make management decisions to assure long-term environmental compliance with environmental laws and regulations.
(35) Partial site reclamation has occurred after all planned wells at the well pad have been completed and a Department inspector verifies that the drilling/fracturing equipment has been removed; pits used for those operations have been reclaimed and surface disturbances not associated with production activities have been scarified or ripped to alleviate compaction prior to replacement of topsoil. Reclaimed areas must be seeded and mulched after topsoil replacement and vegetative cover reestablished that will ultimately return the site to pre-construction conditions.
(36) Plugged and abandoned (plug and abandon) means to permanently close a well with cement plugs.
(37) Primary/Principal aquifers -
(i) Primary aquifers are highly productive aquifers presently being utilized as sources of water supply by major municipal water supply systems.
(ii)Principal aquifers are aquifers known to be highly productive or whose geology suggests abundant potential water supply, but which are not intensively used as sources of water supply by major municipal systems at the present time.
(38) Product means a material a hydraulic fracturing fluid that is manufactured using precise amounts of specific chemical constituents and is assigned a commercial name under which the material is sold or utilized.
(39) Production brine or produced water means liquids co-produced during oil and gas production.
(40) Production casing means casing set above or through the producing zone through which the well produces.
(41) Production phase means the phase after the HVHF Phase through termination of coverage under the HVHF general permit. This phase begins when the HVHF phase has been completed for all wells planned for that well pad and partial site reclamation has been completed.
(42) Proppant means a granular substance (sand grains, aluminum pellets, or other materials) that is carried in suspension by the fracturing fluid and that serves to keep the cracks open when fracturing fluid is withdrawn after a fracture treatment.
(43) Reclaimed/Reclamation means the rehabilitation of a disturbed area to make it acceptable for designated uses. This normally involves regrading, replacement of topsoil, re-vegetation, and other work necessary to restore the site to pre-construction conditions.
(44) Reserve pit means a mud pit in which a supply of drilling fluid has been stored, or a waste pit, usually an excavated pit. It may be lined to prevent soil contamination.
(45) Reservoir means a waterbody designated for use as a dedicated public water supply and is classified as A or AA in its entirety, per 6 NYCRR Parts 800-941.
(46) Stimulation means the act of increasing a well's productivity by artificial means such as hydraulic fracturing, acidizing, and shooting.
(47) Storage means the holding of a material, container or equipment at a site, not including the amount of material brought to the site for immediate use.
(48) TDS means Total Dissolved Solids.
(49) Unfiltered surface water supplies means those public water supplies that the USEPA and New York State Department of Health have determined meet the requirements of the "Interim Enhanced Surface Water Treatment Rule" (IESWT Rule) for unfiltered water supply systems. The IESWT Rule is a December 16, 1998 amendment to the Surface Water Treatment Rule that was originally promulgated by EPA on June 29, 1989. In New York State, this includes the New York City Drinking Water Supply Watershed and the Skaneateles Drinking Water Supply Watershed.
(50) Watershed means an area of land that drains into a body of water, such as a river, lake, reservoir, estuary, sea or ocean.
(51) Well pad means the area directly disturbed during drilling and operation of a gas well.
(52) Well Site means the well pad and access roads, equipment storage and staging areas, vehicle turnarounds, and any other areas directly or indirectly impacted by activities involving a well.
(53) Wellbore means a borehole; the hole drilled by the bit. A wellbore may have casing in it or it may be open (uncased); or part of it may be cased, and part of it may be open.
(54) Wellhead means the equipment installed on the wellbore at the ground surface. A wellhead includes such equipment as the casing head and tubing head.
(55) Work Over means any down hole operation in an existing well that is designed to sustain, restore or increase efficiency, make the well safer, or correct a known or potential environmental hazard.
750-3.3 Prohibited Activities and Discharges
(a) The prohibitions in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.3. The following HVHF activities and discharges are hereby prohibited, and no SPDES permit shall be issued authorizing any such activity or discharge. All distances noted below are measured from the closest edge of the HVHF well pad to provide a margin of safety.
(b) HVHF operations on the ground surface are prohibited in the following areas:
(1) within 4,000 feet of, and including the, unfiltered surface water supply watersheds;
(2) within 500 feet of, and including, a primary aquifer;
(3) within 100-year floodplains; and
(4) within 2,000 feet of any public (municipal or otherwise) water supply, including wells, reservoirs, natural lakes or man-made impoundments, and river or stream intakes.
750-3.4 Requirement to obtain a permit
(a) The requirements in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.4.
(b) The owner or operator of an HVHF well shall submit an approvable application for an HVHF SPDES permit or a notification to obtain coverage under a general SPDES permit for HVHF operations to the Department. To be approvable, the application must include the following certifications, documentation, or where noted an alternative plan approvable by the Department that is equally protective of water resources:
(1) Documentation from a legally permissible disposal facility that available capacity exists for the disposal of the projected amount of flowback fluid and production brine over the life of the well, and/or identification and certification of available capacity for alternative disposal locations;
(2) Certification that closed loop drilling will be used or an approvable alternative plan that will ensure there will be no significant adverse water quality impacts related to the disposal of pyrite-rich Marcellus Shale cuttings if an on-site pit is approved by the Department;
(3) Certification that HVHF flowback fluids will not be directed to or stored in a pit or impoundment;
(4) Certification that with respect to on-site pits:
(i) such pits will be used solely for fresh water and cuttings that result from drilling conducted with air or fresh water,
(ii) for single pits a volume of 250,000 gallons will not be exceeded and for multiple pits on one tract or related tracts of land a total volume of all pits will not exceed 500,000 gallons,
(iii) to the extent pits are constructed in unconsolidated materials, beveled walls (45 degrees or less) must be utilized,
(iv) the sidewalls and bottoms of pits are free of objects capable of puncturing or ripping the liner,
(v) there is sufficient slack in the liner used in such pits to accommodate stretching,
(vi) such pit liners have a minimum 30-mil thickness,
(vii) such pit liners are installed and seamed in accordance with the manufacturer's specifications, and
(viii) pits are constructed, coated, or lined with materials that are chemically compatible with the substance stored and the environment;
(5) Certification that all waste fluids will be removed from the wellpad and associated storage areas adjacent to the wellpad no more than 45 days after stimulation of each well unless otherwise approved by the Department as part of a recycling plan;
(6) Unless an alternative plan is approved by the Department, certification that HVHF operations will be conducted only where the top of the fracture zone at all points along the proposed length of the wellbore is greater than both 2,000 feet below the surface and 1,000 feet below the base of fresh groundwater;
(7) Appropriate documentation showing that an evaluation of available alternative chemical additive products has been conducted.The evaluation must be written and provided to the Department. At minimum, the evaluation must be in conformance with 750-3.11(e)(1)(i); and
(8) Certification that the applicant will utilize chemical additive products that are efficacious exhibit reduced aquatic toxicity, and pose less risk to water resources and the environment or, as an alternative, documentation to the Department's satisfaction that the available alternative products are not equally effective or feasible.
750-3.5 Exceptions
(a) The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.5.
(b) The Department's determination under Section 750-1.5(a)(6)(ii) that groundwater or surface water quality will not be degraded shall be based in part upon the certifications submitted in compliance with and pursuant to section 750-3.4. The Department may change any previously-issued determination in the event that the permittee fails to implement any measure described in the certifications submitted in compliance with 750-3.5.
750-3.6 Applications to obtain individual HVHF SPDES permits
The requirements in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.6.
(a) Prior to obtaining an HVHF SPDES permit, an owner or operator must first develop a Comprehensive SWPPP, which includes both the Construction SWPPP and HVHF SWPPP.
(b) All of the following criteria must be satisfied in order for an owner or operator to obtain an HVHF SPDES permit:
(1) Project review pursuant to SEQRA has been satisfied, where applicable;
(2) Where required, all necessary Department permits subject to the Uniform Procedures Act (UPA) have been obtained, unless otherwise notified by the Department pursuant to Part 621 of this Title; and
(3) A complete Notice of Intent, which contains the well permit American Petroleum Institute (API) number, has been submitted to the Department by the owner or operator.
(c) An owner or operator shall not commence the Construction Phase until its authorization to discharge under the HVHF SPDES permit is effective.
(d) An owner or operator cannot begin the HVHF Phase until a certification is submitted to the Department providing notification that the Construction Phase is complete.
(e) An owner or operator cannot begin the Production Phase until a certification is submitted to the Department providing notification that the HVHF Phase is complete.
750-3.7 Individual HVHF SPDES permit application requirements
The requirements in section 750-1.7 apply.
750-3.8 Signature of SPDES forms
The requirements in section 750-1.8 apply.
750-3.9 Draft Permits and Fact Sheets for New HVHF SPDES permits
The requirements in section 750-1.9 apply.
750-3.10 Effluent Limitations in Issued HVHF SPDES permits
The requirements in section 750-1.10 apply.
750-3.11 Applications of standards, limitations and other requirements
The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.11.
(a) The Construction SWPPP shall include erosion and sediment control practices designed in conformance with the Department's technical standards (750-3.24 of this Part) or the equivalent.
(b) The owner or operator must ensure that all erosion and sediment control practices and all post-construction stormwater management practices identified in the Construction SWPPP are maintained in effective operating condition at all times.
(c) The owner or operator must ensure that, where post-construction stormwater management practices are required, such practices are operated and maintained until the Notice of Termination is submitted to the Department.
(d) For construction activities that require post-construction stormwater management practices, prior to submitting the final Notice of Termination to the Department, the owner or operator must ensure one of the following:
(1) the post-construction stormwater management practice(s) and any right-of-way(s) needed to maintain such practice(s) have been deeded to the municipality in which the practice(s) is located;
(2) an executed maintenance agreement is in place with the municipality that will maintain the post-construction stormwater management practice(s);
(3) for post-construction stormwater management practices that are privately owned, the owner or operator has modified, or caused to be the modified, the deed of record to include a deed covenant that requires operation and maintenance of the practice(s) in accordance with the operation and maintenance plan; or
(4) for post-construction stormwater management practices that are owned by a public or private institution (e.g. school, college, university), or government agency or authority, the owner or operator has policy and procedures in place that ensure operation and maintenance of the practices in accordance with the operation and maintenance plan.
(e) The HVHF SWPPP must, at a minimum, include the HVHF SWPPP General Requirements listed in subparagraph (1) below, Structural Best Management Practices (BMPs), Non-structural BMPs, and Activity-Specific SWPPP Requirements.
(i) HVHF Operation Fluid Chemical Additives - To reduce the potential for HVHF chemical additives to impact water resources, the owner or operator shall develop and evaluate alternatives for the proposed HVHF additives that are efficacious but which exhibit reduced aquatic toxicity and pose less risk to water resources and the environment. In evaluating the alternative additives, the owner or operator shall consider the following criteria: (a) the impact to the environment caused by the available alternative additive if it remains in the environment; (b) the toxicity, mobility and volume of available alternatives; (c) the persistence in the environment of the available alternative; (d) the effectiveness of the available alternative to achieve desired results in the engineered fluid system; and (e) the economic and technical feasibility of implementing the available alternative.
(ii) HVHF Chemical Additives Used on Site - The owner or operator must maintain a list of the HVHF additives (volumes/amounts of all chemicals/additives used for each HVHF event).
(iii) Proper Transport and Disposal of Wastewater-To ensure proper transport and disposal of wastewater associated with the HVHF Phase and the Production Phase, the owner or operator shall operate in accordance with the approved Fluid Disposal Plan required by the Department.
(iv) Construction Project Completion - The owner or operator shall, prior to commencing the HVHF Phase, (a) develop and implement measures to ensure all construction activities identified in the Construction SWPPP have been completed, (b) ensure that all areas of disturbance have achieved final stabilization, (c) ensure that all temporary, structural erosion and sediment control measures have been removed, and (d) ensure that all post-construction stormwater management practices have been constructed in conformance with the Construction SWPPP and are operational.
(v) Secondary Containment - To prevent the discharge of hazardous substances, the owner or operator shall provide, implement, and operate secondary containment measures. Such secondary containment shall be: (a) designed and constructed in accordance with good engineering practices, (b) constructed, coated or lined with materials that are chemically compatible with the environment and the substances to be contained, (c) provide adequate freeboard, (d) protected from heavy vehicle or equipment traffic; and have a volume of at least 110 percent of the largest storage tank within the containment area.
(vi) Partial Site Reclamation - The owner or operator shall develop and implement measures to ensure proper and adequate completion of the HVHF Phase. Partial Site Reclamation will be completed only upon verification by the Department that the equipment and materials associated with drilling/fracturing have been removed and pits used for those operations have been reclaimed in accordance with the HVHF SWPPP requirements.
(vii) Plug and Abandon - To ensure adequate closure of gas wells, and to address pollutants related to the plugging of the gas wells, the owner or operator must plug and abandon the gas wells pursuant to 6 NYCRR Part 555, prior to submitting a final Notice of Termination. The owner or operator shall include such closure requirements in the HVHF SWPPP and make modifications to the HVHF SWPPP as necessary.
(f) The owner or operator shall ensure that all flowback and production fluids are re-used or disposed of in accordance with applicable state and federal laws.
(g) The owner or operator must have a Spill Prevention Control and Countermeasure Plan (SPCC) on-site through all phases of the HVHF operation (Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and Production Phase). The SPCC plan must include an explanation of existing or planned material handling procedures, storage requirements, secondary containment, and equipment (e.g., diversion valves), that are intended to minimize spills or leaks at the site. Measures for cleaning up spills or leaks must be consistent with the procedures for petroleum bulk storage, chemical bulk storage or hazardous waste management in the Environmental Conservation Law and implementing regulations. Quantities and types of equipment specified in the SPCC shall be present on site at all times.
(h) A closed-loop tank system must be used instead of a reserve pit to manage drilling fluids and cuttings for any of the following: (i) horizontal drilling in the Marcellus Shale unless an acid rock drainage mitigation plan for on-site burial of such cuttings is approved by the Department; and (ii) any drilling requiring cuttings to be disposed of off-site, as provided in Part 360 of this Title, including at a landfill.
(i) Flowback water is prohibited from being directed to or stored in any pit or impoundment. Covered watertight steel tanks or covered watertight tanks constructed of another material approved by the Department are required for flowback handling and containment on the well pad. Flowback water tanks, piping and conveyances, including valves, must be of sufficient pressure rating and be maintained in a leak-free condition. Flowback water recovered after high-volume hydraulic fracturing operations must be tested for NORM prior to removal from the site. Fluids recovered during the Production Phase (i.e., production brine) must be tested for NORM prior to removal, and the ground adjacent to the tanks must be measured for radioactivity. All testing must be in accordance with protocols satisfactory to the New York State Department of Health.
(j) Flowback water and production brine must be disposed, recycled or reused in a manner approved by the Department. Transport of all waste fluids must be undertaken by a waste transporter with an approved permit pursuant to Part 364 of this Title.
(k) Flowback water and production brine shall not be discharged on the ground surface.
750-3.12 Disposal of HVHF flowback and production water
(a) The HVHF permittee must demonstrate that all flowback water and production brine generated by the facility will be treated, recycled, or otherwise properly disposed of over the projected life of the well. 'The projected life of the well' is defined as the period of time starting with the initial drilling of the well bore and ending with the proper sealing and abandonment of the well in accordance with the closure requirements. Once active HVHF operations at the site have ceased and the gas well(s) are in the production phase, the permittee must continue to properly collect and dispose of all production brine generated at the site.
(b) All HVHF permit applications must include a Fluid Disposal Plan, subject to Departmental review and approval, for disposal of flowback water and production brine. The Fluid Disposal Plan shall assure compliance with the narrative requirements in 750-3.5(a) over the life of the well, and shall include:
(1) a certification by a proper disposal facility that available capacity exists at that facility for the disposal of the projected amount of flowback and production brine over the life of the well,
(2) identification and certification by the HVHF permittee of alternative or contingent disposal location(s) with sufficient capacity to accept the generated wastewater over the life of the well;
(3) projected concentrations of chemical constituents of the flowback and production brine over the life of the well, based upon additives used, well sampling, and data from similar wells.
(4) identification of all chemical additive products to be used, by product name, purpose, and type, proposed percent by weight of water, proppants and each chemical, and the anticipated volume of each additive product proposed for use;
(5) Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS) for every additive product proposed for use, unless the MSDS for a particular product is already on file with the Department as a result of prior development or was transmitted to the Department during the application process for a previous well permit; and
(6) Exact chemical composition of any additional additives which have not yet been proposed for use before the Department.
(c) Permit applications which do not include the information listed in (b) will be deemed incomplete.
(d) The disposal options for production brine and flowback are listed below.
(1) The provisions listed below apply to offsite disposal at publicly owned treatment works:
(i) SPDES permits are issued to wastewater dischargers, including treatment facilities such as Publically Owned Treatment Works (POTWs) operated by municipalities, in accordance with Sections 750-1 and 750-2 of this Part.
(ii) The Department shares pretreatment program oversight with the EPA. Indirect discharges to POTWs are regulated by 6 NYCRR §750-2.9(b), National Pretreatment Standards, which incorporates by reference the requirements set forth under 40 CFR Part 403, "General Pretreatment Regulations for Existing and New Sources of Pollution."
(iii) In accordance with 6 NYCRR §750-2.9, 40 CFR Part 403, and 40 CFR 122.42, New York State POTW permittees with industrial pretreatment or mini-pretreatment programs are required to notify the Department and USEPA of new discharges or substantial changes in the volume or character of pollutants discharged to the permitted POTW.
(iv) A POTW must have an approved pretreatment program, or mini-pretreatment program, developed in accordance with the above-referenced regulations in order to accept industrial wastewater from non-domestic sources covered by Pretreatment Standards which are indirectly discharged into or transported by truck or rail or otherwise introduced into POTWs. The Department must, prior to indirect discharge, determine if the SPDES permit needs to be modified to account for the proposed discharge, change or increase.
(v) Flowback water and production brine from wells permitted pursuant to this Part may be accepted by POTWs only where such POTWs have approved pretreatment or mini-pretreatment programs in subparagraphs (iii) and (iv) of this paragraph.
(vi) Prior to being allowed to accept production brine and flowback, the POTW must perform a headworks analysis for this wastewater source and submit such analysis to the Department and EPA for approval. Such wastewater may only be accepted by the POTW if the headwords analysis meets the requirements of 40 CFR Part 403 and the State Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (SPDES) permit for such POTW. The headworks analysis must demonstrate, among other things, that the POTW is capable of removing the contaminants expected to be present in the flowback water and production brine, including but not limited to Total Dissolved Solids, NORM, barium, bromides, BTEX, and chemicals present in the additives used in the development of the wells. The headworks analysis process includes the following steps:
(a) upon submittal and approval of the headworks analysis, the Department may modify the POTW's SPDES permit to include appropriate monitoring and effluent limits for this wastewater source. The SPDES permit for the POTW shall include specific discharge limitations and monitoring requirements, including routine reporting of monitoring results;
(b) The Department's procedures for POTW acceptance of HVHF wastewater discharges are detailed in Division of Water Guidance Document 1.3.8.1, Guidance for Acceptance of HVHF Wastewater by POTWs;
(c) The permittee may discharge flowback water and production brine to the headworks of a POTW only if such POTW has undertaken an approved headworks analysis and modified its SPDES permit in accordance with subparagraphs (i) - (viii) of this paragraph. Each discharge of flowback water and production brine to the headworks of the POTW shall include the following documentation:
1. The manifest stating the source well of the wastewater, the identity of the HVHF permittee, and all chemicals used in additives in the hydrofracturing of the well;
2. The volume of wastewater to be discharged; and
3. An assay of the concentrations of HVHF chemicals present, including TDS, NORM, and BTEX.
(vii) Should the POTW meet all requirements of this subpart, any flowback water and production brine treated by such POTW must be introduced to the headworks of the POTW and receive full treatment unless otherwise expressly approved by the Department.
(viii) The POTW, at its sole discretion, may refuse to accept any source of HVHF wastewater and may consider the characterization of the HVHF wastewater, lack of required HVHF wastewater source documentation, inspection of the HVHF wastewater, or other verifiable evidence that the HVHF wastewater may cause or contribute to a violation of the permittee's SPDES permit conditions. Should such refusal occur, the HVHF wastewater shall be sent to the contingent disposal location identified in the HVHF permittee's Fluid Disposal Plan.
(ix) The POTW must demonstrate that it has an approved method of residuals disposal in compliance with Parts 360 and 364 of this Title.
(2) The provisions below apply to offsite disposal at privately owned industrial treatment facilities:
(i) Application and permit development requirements for privately owned offsite HVHF treatment facilities are similar to those required for other individual SPDES permittees as listed in Sections 750-1.6 through 750-1.20 of this Part. Operation of these Facilities shall be in compliance with section750-2, Operating In Accordance with a SPDES Permit.
(ii) Each discharge of flowback water and production brine to these treatment facilities shall include the following documentation:
(a) The manifest stating the source well of the HVHF wastewater, identity of the HVHF permittee, and the HVHF chemicals used in the hydrofracturing of the well, as well as any other information required under 6 NYCRR Part 560;
(b) The volume of HVHF wastewater to be discharged, both per unit time and total volume from that source; and
(c) An assay of the concentrations of HVHF chemicals present, including TDS, NORM, and BTEX.
(iii) Additional SPDES application requirements specific to HVHF wastewater treatment facilities include:
(a) Treatability analysis for all HVHF additives expected to be discharged to the facility;
(1) Treatability analysis for NORM and TDS;
(2) Expected effluent concentrations of all HVHF specific parameters.
This information must be submitted along with Application Form NY-2C. Applications submitted without the information listed above will be deemed incomplete.
(b) Privately owned offsite HVHF wastewater treatment facilities constructed specifically for the treatment and disposal of wastewater, which treat flowback water and production brine for reuse may or may not have an associated discharge of wastewater to the waters of the State.
(iv) HVHF wastewater treatment facilities which generate water for reuse in permitted HVHF operations that do not include a discharge to the waters of the State as a result of treatment system effluent or other discharge do not require a SPDES permit, unless other ancillary discharges are generated as part of the treatment system.
(v) The HVHF wastewater treatment facility must provide a demonstration such facility has an approved method of residuals disposal in compliance with Parts 360 and 364 of this Title.
(3) The provisions below apply to onsite treatment and recycling with no associated discharge to ground or surface waters. On-site facilities constructed specifically for the treatment and reuse of HVHF wastewater where the treated water is 100 percent reused for purposes of HVHF do not require a SPDES permit.
(i) The facility must provide a demonstration that the wastewater treatment facility has an approved method of residuals disposal in compliance with Parts 360 and 364 of this Title.
(ii) No residuals may remain at the HVHF site following completion of well development in accordance with 554.1(c)(3) of this Title.
(a) No discharge of wastewater to the ground or surface waters of the State is permitted for onsite treatment and recycling.
(b) The onsite facility shall be maintained and construction and stormwater managed in compliance with the onsite equipment requirements contained in the HVHF General Permit and the regulations listed under section 750-3.4 above.
(4) The provisions below apply to deep well injection pursuant to a SPDES permit.
(i) The owner/operator of the disposal well must have USEPA approval and a SPDES permit for deep well injection. The owner/operator shall apply for and receive coverage under the EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program for Type II disposal wells prior to applying for a SPDES permit in accordance with section 750-1 above.
(ii) The characterization and SPDES permit application process for disposal wells is similar to that for Private Offsite Wastewater Treatment Facilities as described in Section 750-3.12.2(2) above. In addition to the requirements listed therein, the following information shall also be presented as part of the application:
(a) Full characterization of disposal strata water quality for HVHF flowback parameters;
(b) Geotechnical information regarding the ability of the disposal strata to accept and retain the injected fluid, including an estimate of available capacity; and
(c) A water quality analysis of the receiving stratum for TDS, chloride, sulfate and metals.
(iii) The Department may propose monitoring requirements and/or discharge limits in the SPDES permit in addition to any requirements included in the required USEPA Underground Injection Control permit. The monitoring requirements and discharge limits will be determined during the site-specific permitting process required by the Uniform Procedures Act and the 1992 Findings Statement, and shall include:
(a) Effluent limits for BTEX and other HVHF specific parameters with Class GSA standards and guidance values as listed in 6 NYCRR Part 703;
(b) Any other effluent limits necessary to be protective of the overlying potable water aquifer systems and waters of the State, based upon distance to drinking water supplies or sources, surface water bodies and wetlands, topography, geology, and hydrogeology;
(c) The proposed well construction and operation program; and
(d) Potential requirement for upgradient and downgradient monitoring wells installed in the deepest identified GA or GSA potable water aquifer.
(5) The provisions below apply to injection of production brine into the strata from which it was produced pursuant to a SPDES permit. Notwithstanding the requirements listed in 6 NYCRR 556.5, the injection of production brine described in 6 NYCRR 556.5 is regulated pursuant to this Subpart and requires a SPDES permit. The following information is required as part of the SPDES permit application:
i. The disposal strata water quality shall be fully characterized for background water quality and HVHF chemicals;
ii. Geotechnical information regarding the ability of the disposal strata to accept and retain the injected fluid, including an estimate of available capacity;
iii. A water quality analysis of the flowback water or production brine for HVHF chemicals;
iv. Injection well construction and operational control information showing that the well meets the applicable USEPA UIC Class II injection well standards as promulgated under Parts 144-148 of the Federal UIC Regulations and Sections 1423 and 1425 of the Safe Drinking Water Act; and
v. A long-term monitoring program consisting of a minimum of one (1) monitoring well screened at the deepest identified fresh drinking water stratum, with periodic monitoring for TDS, NORM, and other identified HVHF parameters.
(6) The provisions below apply to disposal of production brine in accordance with the terms of a Department-approved Beneficial Use Determination. Production brine may be disposed in accordance with the terms and conditions of a Department-approved Beneficial Use Determination (BUD). In addition to the requirements listed in 6 NYCRR Parts 360 and 364, the following information shall also be presented as part of the application for the BUD: radiologic limits; contaminant limits; and operational requirements such as maximum brine application frequency and maximum brine application rate.
(7) Other disposal options that may be proposed by the permittee subject to Departmental review and approval. The Department will provide guidance concerning the submittal of other disposal options.
750-3.13 Monitoring requirements in HVHF SPDES permits
(a) The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.13.
(b) For the Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and the Production Phase, all stormwater discharges must be monitored, recorded and reported in accordance with the terms and conditions of applicable individual or general permits to ensure effective operation.
(c) The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions for monitoring and recording the volume of all water delivered to the well pad site from each source. Records must be maintained of each truck/pipeline delivery of water and the source of such water. The reports shall be kept on site and furnished to the Department upon request.
(d) The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions to meter the volume of water used at each well each time there is high-volume hydraulic fracturing event during the HVHF Phase. The volume must be metered with an automatic continuous recording device (or its equivalent) that measures to within five percent (5%) of actual flow. The reports shall be kept on site and furnished to the Department upon request.
(e) The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions to maintain a record of the amounts of all chemicals/additives associated with each time there is a high-volume hydraulic fracturing stage during the HVHF Phase. This list may exclude any information that has been determined to be confidential business information. The record shall include a list of the individual chemicals/additives with Chemical Abstract Services (CAS) registry number and Material Safety Data Sheets (MSDS).
(f) The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions to meter the volume of all flowback water and production brine with an automatic continuous recording device or equivalent that measures to within five percent (5%) of actual flow. The reports shall be kept on site and furnished to the Department upon request.
(g) The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions to record the volume of all sanitary and non-domestic wastewater produced onsite on a daily frequency. The HVHF SWPPP must also include a transportation record of all sanitary and non-domestic wastewater leaving the well pad. The transportation record must include the volume of all sanitary and non-domestic wastewater shipped offsite by individual trucks and/or pipeline, and the name, permit and destination of the receiving reuse and/or treatment and disposal facilities. The HVHF operation must also obtain confirmation that the transferred wastewater was received by the intended wastewater treatment and disposal facility and keep records associated with such transfers. The HVHF SWPPP must include provisions for separately compiling monthly and daily total volumes of flowback water, production brine and sanitary wastewater collected and transported off-site from the well pad and analytical results for any flowback water samples that are taken. The reports shall be furnished to the Department upon request.
(h) Prior to site disturbance (for a new well pad) or spud (for an existing pad), the well operator must sample and test all residential water wells within 1,000 feet of the well pad for which the water well owner has granted permission, and provide results to the water well owner. If no water wells are available for sampling within 1,000 feet, either because there are none of record or because the water well owner denies permission, then all residential water wells within 2,000 feet of the well pad for which the water well owner has granted permission must be sampled and tested. Ongoing water well monitoring and testing must continue at other intervals specified by the Department.
(i) Water well analysis must be by an ELAP-certified laboratory. Analyses and documentation that all test results were provided to the water well owner must be maintained by the operator and made available to the Department upon request.
750-3.14 Schedules of compliance and other requirements in issued HVHF SPDES permits
(a) The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.14.
(b) If stormwater discharges to a CWA §303(d) listed impaired water, when an HVHF SPDES permit is obtained, the owner or operator must by application of its Comprehensive SWPPP ensure no increase in the discharged mass loading of the listed pollutant of concern to the 303(d) listed water. The 303(d) list is updated approximately every two years.
(c) If a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) has already been approved by USEPA pursuant to CWA section 303(d) for any waterbody or watershed into which the HVHF operation discharges stormwater, at the time the HVHF SPDES permit is obtained, the owner or operator must, within two (2) calendar months of authorization, meet the TMDL stormwater allocations for the pollutant of concern. Additionally, the owner or operator must, through modification of the Construction and/or HVHF SWPPPs ensure that reduction of the pollutant of concern specified in the TMDL is achieved.
750-3.15 Duration of HVHF SPDES permits
The regulations listed in section750-1.15 apply. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.16 Renewal of Existing HVHF SPDES permits
The regulations listed in section 750-1.16 apply. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.17 Transfer of HVHF SPDES permits
The regulations listed in section750-1.17 apply. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.18 Modification of HVHF SPDES permits
The regulations listed in section 750-1.18 apply. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.19 Modification Priority Ranking System
The regulations listed in section 750-1.19 apply. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.20 Denial, Suspension or Revocation of HVHF SPDES permits
The regulations listed in section 750-1.20 apply to this section.
In addition to the criteria set forth in Section 621-13 and Section 750-1.20, the Department may deny, suspend, or revoke a HVHF SPDES permit if the Department determines that the permittee has failed to implement any measures certified pursuant to Section 750-3.4, or otherwise violated any provision of this sub-part.
750-3.21 HVHF SPDES general permits
(a) The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in section 750-1.21.
(b) Discharges from HVHF operations (the Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and the Production Phase), may be authorized in accordance with a SPDES HVHF general permit.
(c) The HVHF general permit does not authorize the discharge of hazardous substances (as listed in 6 NYCRR Part 597) or petroleum.
(d) The following discharges are ineligible for coverage under the HVHF general permit:
(1) discharges of sanitary wastewater;
(2) vehicle and equipment washwater, including tank cleaning operations or substances (hazardous, non-hazardous, etc.) resulting from an on-site spill and materials collected in drip pans;
(3) washwaters from material handling and processing areas; or
(4) washwaters from drum, tank, or container rinsing and cleaning. Alternatively, sanitary wastewater and washwater discharges must be authorized under a separate SPDES permit, or be discharged to a sanitary sewer in accordance with applicable industrial pretreatment requirements, or be transported off-site for proper disposal.
(e) The following non-stormwater discharges may be authorized by the HVHF general permit provided that the non-stormwater component of the discharge is in compliance with the HVHF general permit:
(1) Potable water sources including waterline flushings;
(2) Discharges from fire-fighting activities;
(3) Fire hydrant flushings;
(4) Uncontaminated air conditioning or compressor condensate, and other uncontaminated condensate such as condensate from the surface of pressurized gas cylinders stored outside;
(5) Irrigation drainage;
(6) Landscape watering provided that all pesticides and fertilizers have been applied in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions;
(7) Routine external building washdown which does not use detergents;
(8) Pavement wash waters where detergents are not used and where spills or leaks of toxic or hazardous materials have not occurred (unless all spilled material has been removed);
(9) Uncontaminated ground water or spring water;
(10) Discharges from foundation or footing drains where flows are not contaminated with process materials such as solvents; and
(11) Uncontaminated discharges from construction site dewatering operations.
(f) The following are not authorized by the HVHF SPDES general permit:
(1) Construction of a centralized flowback impoundment;
(2) Construction activities related to HVHF operations that:
(i) are tributary to waters of the state classified as AA or AA-s; and
(ii) which disturb land with no existing impervious cover; and
(iii) which are undertaken on land with a Soil Slope Phase that is identified as an E or F, or the map unit name is inclusive of 25% or greater slope, on the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Soil Survey for the surface area where the disturbance will occur.
(3) HVHF operations where the top of the target fracture zone at any point along the entire proposed length of the wellbore is shallower than 2,000 feet below surface; and where the top of the target fracture zone at any point along the entire proposed length of the wellbore is less than 1,000 feet below the base of a known fresh water supply
(4) HVHF operations sited within the following buffers (calculated from the closest edge of the gas well pad):
| Principal Aquifer | 500 feet |
| Private Water Wells | 500 feet[1] |
| Wetland | 100 feet |
| Storm drains, lakes, or ponds, and perennial or intermittent streams, as described in 6 NYCRR Parts 800-910 P | 150 feet |
| Perennial or intermittent streams, as described in 6 NYCRR Parts 800-910, and that are tributary to surface public drinking water supplies. | 500 feet |
(5) Contaminated stormwater discharges from drilling operations that are subject to nationally established Best Available Technology Economically Achievable (BAT) or Best Practicable Control Technology Currently Available (BPT) guidelines found at 40 CFR Part 435. Note: Most contaminated discharges from drilling facilities are subject to these effluent guidelines and are not eligible for coverage under this permit;
(6) Discharges from HVHF operations that are mixed with sources of non-stormwater other than those expressly authorized under either the HVHF general permit or a different SPDES permit;
(7) Discharges from HVHF operations that are subject to an existing SPDES individual or general permit located at the HVHF operation site where a SPDES permit has been terminated or denied, or which are issued an individual or alternative general permit;
(8) Discharges from HVHF operations, which either cause or contribute to a violation of water quality standards adopted pursuant to the ECL and its accompanying regulations;
(9) Discharges from HVHF operations that adversely affect a listed or proposed to be listed endangered or threatened species or its critical habitat; and
(10) Discharges from HVHF operations that adversely affect a property that is listed or is eligible for listing on the State or National Register of Historic Places (Note: includes Archeological sites), unless there are written agreements in place with the NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation (OPRHP) or other governmental agencies to mitigate the effects, or there are local land use approvals evidencing the same.
(g) Obtaining coverage under the HVHF general permit:
(1) Prior to obtaining coverage under the HVHF general permit, an owner or operator must first develop a Comprehensive SWPPP, which includes both the Construction SWPPP and HVHF SWPPP.
(2) All of the following criteria must be satisfied in order for an owner or operator to be authorized to discharge under the HVHF general permit:
(i) Project review pursuant to the State Environmental Quality Review Act has been satisfied, where applicable;
(ii) Where required, all necessary Department permits subject to the Uniform Procedures Act have been obtained, unless otherwise notified by the Department pursuant to Part 621 of this Title;
(iii) The final Comprehensive SWPPP has been prepared; and
(iv) A complete Notice of Intent has been submitted to the Department.
(3) An owner or operator shall not commence any construction activities related to HVHF operations until its authorization to discharge under the HVHF general permit is effective.
(4) An owner or operator shall not begin the HVHF Phase until the Department is notified that the Construction Phase is complete.
(5) An owner or operator shall not begin the Production Phase until the Department is notified that the HVHF Phase is complete.
(6) Coverage under the HVHF general permit authorizes stormwater discharges from construction activities only from those areas of disturbance that are identified in the Notice of Intent. If an owner or operator wishes to have stormwater discharges from future or additional areas of disturbance authorized, they must submit an amendment to the Notice of Intent that addresses the future or additional areas of disturbance, unless otherwise notified by the Department.
(h) The owner or operator shall ensure that the provisions of the Construction SWPPP are implemented from the commencement of the Construction Phase through the HVHF Phase. This includes any changes made to the Construction SWPPP.
(i) The owner or operator shall ensure that the provisions of the HVHF SWPPP are implemented from the commencement of the HVHF Phase through the Production Phase, until the Notice of Termination has been submitted to the Department. This includes any changes made to the HVHF SWPPP.
(j) The HVHF general permit may include such provisions as are applicable, as set forth in sections: 750-1.21, 750-3.1, 750-3.2, 750-3.3, 750-3.4, 750-3.5, 750-3.8, 750-3.9, 750-3.10, 750-3.11, 750-3.13, 750-3.14, 750-3.18, 750-3,21,750-3.22, 750-3-23, 750-3.24, and 750-3.25.
(k) As set forth in subdivision 750-1.21(e) of this Title, the Department may require any discharger authorized to discharge in accordance with the HVHF general permit to apply for and obtain an individual SPDES permit or apply for authorization to discharge in accordance with another general permit.
(l) Duration of the HVHF general permit:
(1) The HVHF general permit shall expire five (5) years from its effective date.
(2) In the event a new HVHF general permit is not issued prior to termination of the current HVHF general permit, then the owner or operator may continue to operate and discharge in accordance with the terms and conditions of the current HVHF general permit until such time as a new HVHF general permit is issued. Unless otherwise notified by the Department in writing, an owner or operator with coverage under the current HVHF general permit that seeks authorization under the new HVHF general permit must submit a new Notice of Intent in accordance with the terms of such new HVHF general permit.
(3) Coverage for new owners or operators will not be accepted under any continued HVHF general permit.
(m) Transfer of coverage under the HVHF general permit:
(1) If ownership of the site of the HVHF operations changes or there is a change in operational control over the HVHF operations, the original owner or operator must notify the new owner or operator, in writing, of the requirement to obtain general permit coverage by submitting a Notice of Intent to the Department. Once the new owner or operator obtains general permit coverage, the original owner or operator shall then submit a completed Notice of Termination with the name and permit identification number of the new owner or operator to the Department.
(2) General permit coverage for the new owner or operator will be effective as of the date the Department receives a completed Notice of Intent, provided the original owner or operator had coverage under the HVHF general permit as of the date the Department receives the Notice of Intent from the new owner or operator.
(3) If the original owner or operator maintains ownership of a portion of the HVHF operation and will disturb soil, the owner or operator must maintain its coverage under the HVHF general permit.
(n) Denial, suspension or revocation of coverage under the HVHF general permit:
(1) The Department may suspend, terminate, or deny an owner's or operator's coverage under the HVHF general permit if the Department determines that the Comprehensive SWPPP, Construction SWPPP, and/or HVHF SWPPP do not meet the HVHF general permit requirements.
(2) Upon a finding of significant non-compliance with a practice described in the Construction SWPPP, the Department may order an immediate stop to all activity at the site associated with the Construction Phase until the non-compliance is remedied. The stop work order shall be in writing, describe the non-compliance in detail, and be sent to the owner or operator. A permittee must comply with all terms of a stop work order issued pursuant to this paragraph.
(3) Upon a finding of significant non-compliance with the practice described in the HVHF SWPPP, the Department may order an immediate stop to all activity associated with HVHF Phase or the Production Phase until the non-compliance is remedied. The stop work order shall be in writing, shall describe the non-compliance in detail, and shall be sent to the owner or operator. A permittee must comply with all terms of a stop work order issued pursuant to this paragraph (3).
(o) Unless and until a fee is promulgated specifically for the HVHF general permit, HVHF operations are considered a SPDES permit for stormwater discharges from construction activity for purposes of assessing SPDES general permit fees.
(p) Coverage under the HVHF general permit may be terminated upon:
(1) completion of the Production Phase resulting from HVHF operations and plugging and abandonment of all wells used during the Production Phase;
(2) transfer of coverage under the HVHF general permit where all other conditions in this general permit for the transfer of coverage have been met; or
(3) authorization for the discharge under an alternative SPDES permit or an individual SPDES permit is obtained.
750-3.22 Confidentiality of information
The regulations listed in section 750-1.22 apply to this section. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.23 Severability
The regulations listed in section 750-1.23 apply to this section. There are no additional regulations for this section.
750-3.24 References
(a) The regulations listed in section 750-1.24 apply to this section.
(b) Department's technical standards - 2005 New York State Erosion and Sediment Controls and the 2010 New York State Stormwater Management Design Manual.
750-3.25 Operation in Accordance with an HVHF SPDES permit
(a) The regulations in this section are in addition to those listed in Subpart 750-2.
(b) The owner or operator must keep the Construction SWPPP current so that it at all times accurately documents the erosion and sediment control practices that are being used or will be used during construction, and all post-construction stormwater management practices that will be constructed on the site.
(c) The owner or operator must keep the HVHF SWPPP current so that at all times it accurately documents the applicable BMPs.
(d) For the Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and the Production Phase, all stormwater discharges must be monitored and recorded to ensure effective operation.
(e) For the Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and the Production Phase, all stormwater discharges must be reported to ensure compliance with applicable statutes, regulations and HVHF general permit conditions.
For the Construction Phase, HVHF Phase, and the Production Phase, all BMPs must be maintained in an effective operating condition. All BMPs much be inspected to ensure that they are in effective operating condition. Records must be kept of all inspections. As determined by the Department, records of inspections must be reported to the Department on a frequency adequate to prove effective operating condition of all BMPs.
[1] This setback applies unless waived in writing by well owner.
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