| Excerpts from the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission "Rules" (as of Nov 30, 2006) |
| Note: The following excerpts are verbatim from the Colorado
Oil and Gas Conservation Commission [COGCC] website on 12-14-07; they are
provided for educational purposes only; they may be in error, incomplete;
and, they are, of course subject to change without notice. They may not even
be current. (I can hardly keep up with my own stuff, let alone watch over
the COGCC's every rule adjustment!) But, the latest official state docs can can be easily found online by going to the COGCC homepage http://www.oil-gas.state.co.us/ and clicking "Rules". Unfortunately, there isn't a search feature, per se. But, if you look in the upper right hand corner of the PDF reader menu, you will see a "find" option (blank box). If you type in a keyword and click the little doodad to the right, this nifty little engine will search the document for your keyword. That's helpful to those of us who couldn't possibly surmise how in the world certain industrial activities might be categorized! Good luck with your search. P.S. If you're a landowner in proximity to heavy development, it's not a bad idea to familiarize yourself with these rules. That way, you're a lot more likely to spot and report a potential violation on or around your property with some confidence. |
| EXPLORATION & PRODUCTION (E&P) WASTE
MANAGEMENT
906. SPILLS AND RELEASES a. General. Spills/releases of E&P waste, including produced fluids shall be controlled and contained immediately upon discovery. Impacts resulting from spills/releases shall be investigated and cleaned up as soon as practicable. The Director may require additional activities to prevent or mitigate threatened or actual significant adverse environmental impacts on any air, water, soil or biological resource, or to the extent necessary to ensure compliance with the allowable concentrations and levels in Table 910-1, with consideration to WQCC ground water standards and classifications.(1) Spills/releases of E&P waste or produced fluid exceeding five (5) barrels, including those contained within unlined berms, shall be reported on COGCC Spill/Release Report Form, 19. Such report shall include information relating to initial mitigation, site investigation and remediation, and shall be submitted to the Director within ten (10) days of discovery of the spill/release. (2) In addition, spills/releases which exceed twenty (20) barrels of an E&P waste shall be verbally reported to the Director within twenty-four (24) hours of discovery. (3) In addition, spill/releases of any size which impact or threaten to impact any waters of the state, residence or occupied structure, livestock or public byway, shall be verbally reported to the Director as soon as practicable after discovery. c. Surface owner notification and consultation. The operator shall make good faith efforts to notify and consult with the surface owner prior to commencing operations to remediate E&P waste from a spill/release in an area not being utilized for oil and gas operations. d. Remediation of spills/releases. (1) Remediation workplan. When threatened or actual significant adverse environmental impacts on any air, water, soil or biological resource from a spill/release exists or when necessary to ensure compliance with the allowable concentrations and levels in Table 910-1, with consideration to WQCC ground water standards and classifications, the Director may require operators to submit a Site Investigation and Remediation Workplan, Form 27. (2) Remediation requirements. Spills/releases shall be remediated to meet the allowable concentrations in Table 910-1. Spills/releases exceeding twenty (20) barrels net loss of E&P waste shall be remediated in accordance with Rules 909. and 910. e. Spill/release prevention. (1) Secondary containment. Secondary containment shall be constructed or installed around tanks containing crude oil, condensate or produced water with greater than 10,000 milligrams per liter (mg/l) total dissolved solids (TDS). Operators are also subject to crude oil tank and containment requirements under Rules 603. and 604. This requirement shall not apply to water tanks with a capacity of one hundred (100) barrels or less. (2) Spill/release evaluation. Operators shall determine the cause of a spill/release, and to the extent practicable, shall implement measures to prevent spills/releases due to similar causes in the future. For reportable spills, operators shall submit this information to the Director on the Spill/Release Report, Form 19 within ten (10) days after discovery of the spill/release. 910. ALLOWABLE CONCENTRATIONS AND SAMPLING FOR SOIL AND GROUND WATER a. Soil and ground water allowable concentrations. The allowable concentrations for soil and ground water are in Table 910-1. Ground water standards and analytical methods are derived from the ground water standards and classifications established by WQCC.b. Sampling and analysis.(1) Existing workplans. Sampling and analysis for sites subject to an approved workplan shall be conducted in accordance with the workplan and the sampling and analysis requirements described in this rule.(2) Methods for sampling and analysis. Sampling and analysis for site investigation or confirmation of successful remediation shall be conducted to determine the nature and extent of impact and confirm compliance with appropriate allowable concentrations.A. Field analysis. Field measurements and field tests shall be conducted using appropriate equipment, calibrated and operated according to manufacturer specifications, by personnel trained and familiar with the equipment.B. Sample collection. Samples shall be collected, preserved, documented, and shipped using standard environmental sampling procedures in a manner to ensure accurate representation of site conditions.C. Laboratory analytical methods. Laboratories shall analyze samples using standard methods (such as EPA SW-846 or API RP-45) appropriate for detecting the target analyte. The method selected shall have detection limits less than or equal to the allowable concentrations in Table 910-1.D. Background sampling. Samples of comparable, nearby, non-impacted, native soil, ground water or other medium may be required by the Director for establishing background conditions. (3) Soil sampling and analysis. A. Applicability. If soil contamination is suspected or known to exist as a result of spills/releases or E&P waste management, representative samples of soil shall be collected and analyzed in accordance with this rule. B. Sample collection. Samples shall be collected from areas most likely to have been impacted, and the horizontal and vertical extent of contamination shall be determined. The number and location of samples shall be appropriate to the impact. C. Sample analysis. Soil samples shall be analyzed for contaminants listed in Table 910-1 as appropriate to assess the impact or confirm remediation. D. Reporting. Soil Analysis Report, Form 24 shall be used when the Director requires results of soil analyses. E. Soil impacted by produced water. For impacts to soil due to produced water, samples from comparable, nearby non-impacted, native soil shall be collected and analyzed for purposes of establishing background soil conditions including pH and electrical conductivity (EC). Where EC of the impacted soil exceeds the allowable level in Table 910-1, the sodium adsorption ratio (SAR) shall also be determined. F. Soil impacted by hydrocarbons. For impacts to soil due to hydrocarbons, samples shall be analyzed for TPH. (4) Ground water sampling and analysis. A. Applicability. Operators shall collect and analyze representative samples of ground water in accordance with these rules under the following circumstances: i. Where ground water contamination is suspected or known to exceed the allowable concentrations in Table 910-1; ii. Where impacted soils are in contact with ground water; or iii. Where impacts to soils extend down to the high water table. B. Sample collection. Samples shall be collected from areas most likely to have been impacted, downgradient or in the middle of excavated areas. The number and location of samples shall be appropriate to determine the horizontal and vertical extent of the impact. If the concentrations in Table 910-1 are exceeded, the direction of flow and a ground water gradient shall be established, unless the extent of the contamination and migration can otherwise be adequately determined. C. Sample analysis. Ground water samples shall be analyzed for benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, xylene, and API RP-45 constituents, or other parameters appropriate for evaluating the impact. D. Reporting. Water Analysis Report, Form 25 shall be used when the Director requires results of water analyses. E. Impacted ground water. Where ground water contaminants exceed the allowable concentrations listed in Table 910-1, operators shall notify the Director, and submit to the Director for prior approval a Site Investigation and Remediation Workplan, Form 27, for the investigation, remediation, or monitoring of ground water to meet the required allowable concentrations. 912. VENTING OR FLARING NATURAL GAS a. The unnecessary or excessive venting or flaring of natural gas produced from a well is prohibited. b. Except for gas flared or vented during an upset condition, well maintenance, well stimulation flowback, purging operations, or a productivity test, gas from a well shall be flared or vented only after notice has been given and approval obtained from the Director on a Sundry Notice, Form 4, stating the estimated volume and content of the gas. The notice shall indicate whether the gas contains more than one (1) ppm of hydrogen sulfide. If necessary to protect the public health, safety or welfare, the Director may require the flaring of gas. C Gas flared, vented or used on the lease shall be estimated based on a gas-oil ratio test or other equivalent test approved by the Director, and reported on Operator's Monthly Production Report, Form 7. d. Prior to flaring of any gas, operators shall construct a special purpose pit in compliance with Rule 903. e. Operators shall notify the local emergency dispatch or the local governmental designee of any natural gas flaring. Notice shall be given prior to flaring when flaring can be reasonably anticipated, or as soon as possible but in no event more than two (2) hours after the flaring occurs. 900-13 as of November 30, 2006Table 910-1
1Concentrations taken from CDPHE-WQCC 2Concentrations taken from API Metals Guidance: Maximum Soil Concentrations 3Concentrations are dependent on site-specific conditions 4Consideration shall be given to background levels in native soils 5For this range of standards, the first number in the range is a strictly health-based value, based on the WQCC’s established methodology for human health-based standards. The second number in the range is a maximum contaminant level (MCL), established under the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act which has been determined to be an acceptable level of this chemical in public water supplies, taking treatability and laboratory detection limits into account. The WQCC intends that control requirements for this chemical be implemented to attain a level of ambient water quality that is at least equal to the first number in the range except as follows: 1) where ground water quality exceeds the first number in the range due to a release of contaminants that occurred prior to September 14, 2004 (regardless of the date of discovery or subsequent migration of such contaminants) clean-up levels for the entire contaminant plume shall be no more restrictive than the second number in the range or the ground water quality resulting from such release, whichever is more protective, and 2) whenever the WQCC has adopted alternative, site-specific standards for the chemical, the site-specific standards shall apply instead of these statewide standards. as of Nov 30, 2006 |
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