§ 64-13. Technical regulations.

(a)

On-site requirements. It shall be unlawful for the operator to fail to meet any of the following requirements:

(1)

Abandoned wells. All wells shall be abandoned in accordance with the rules of the commission; however, all well casings shall be cut and removed to a depth of at least ten (10) feet below the surface unless the surface owner submits deed restrictions otherwise, in which case three (3) feet shall be the minimum depth. No structures shall be built over an abandoned well.

(2)

Blowout prevention. In all cases, blowout prevention equipment shall be used on all wells being drilled, worked-over, or in which tubing is being changed. Protection shall be provided to prevent blowout during gas operations as required by and in conformance with the requirements of the commission and the recommendations of the American Petroleum Institute. The operator must equip all drilling wells with adequate blowout preventers, flow lines, and valves commensurate with the working pressures involved as required by the commission.

(3)

Compliance. Operator shall comply at all times with all applicable federal, state, and city requirements.

(4)

Discharge. No person shall place, deposit, discharge, or cause or permit to be placed, deposited or discharged, any oil, naphtha, petroleum, asphalt, tar, hydrocarbon substances, or any refuse including wastewater or brine from any gas operation or the contents of any container used in connection with any gas operation in, into, or upon any public right-of-way, alley, street, lot, storm drain, ditch or sewer, sanitary drain or any body of water or any private property in the city.

(5)

Drill stem testing. All open hole formation or drill stem testing shall be done during daylight hours. Drill stem tests may be conducted only if the well effluent during the test is produced through an adequate gas separator to storage tanks and the effluent remaining in the drill pipe at the time the tool is closed is flushed to the surface by circulating drilling fluid down the annulus and up the drill pipe.

(6)

Dust, vibration, odors. All drilling and production operations shall be conducted in such a manner as to minimize, so far as practicable, dust, vibration, or noxious odors, and shall be in accordance with the best accepted practices incident to drilling for the production of gas and other hydrocarbon substances in urban areas. All equipment used shall be so constructed and operated so that, vibrations, dust, odor, or other harmful or annoying substances or effect will be minimized by the operations carried on at any drilling or production site or from anything incident thereto, to the injury or annoyance of persons living in the vicinity; nor shall the site or structures thereon be permitted to become dilapidated, unsightly, or unsafe. Proven technological improvements in industry standards of drilling and production in this area shall be adopted as they become available if capable of reducing factors of dust, vibration, and odor.

(7)

Electric lines. All electric lines to production facilities shall be located in a manner compatible to those already installed in the surrounding area or subdivision.

(8)

Electric motors. Only electric prime movers or motors shall be permitted for the purpose of pumping wells. As little electric power shall be generated on location at high impact gas well sites as possible. Electric power for pumping shall be supplied by a retail electric provider at both high impact and urban gas well sites. All electrical installations and equipment shall conform to the city ordinances and the appropriate national codes.

(9)

Emergency response plan. Prior to the commencement of any gas or other hydrocarbons production activities, operator shall submit to the gas inspector an emergency response plan establishing written procedures to minimize any hazard resulting from drilling, completion, or producing of gas wells. Said plan shall use existing guidelines established by the commission, Texas Natural Resource Conservation Commission, Texas Department of Transportation and/or the Environmental Protection Agency. Among other things, such plan will include emergency response access routes and evacuation routes.

(10)

Equipment painted. All production equipment on the site shall be painted and maintained at all times, including pumping units, storage tanks, buildings, and structures.

(11)

Fire prevention; sources of ignition. Firefighting apparatus and supplies as approved by the fire department and required by any applicable federal, state, or local law shall be provided by the operator, at the operator's cost, and shall be maintained on the drilling site at all times during drilling and production operations. The operator shall be responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of such equipment. Each well shall be equipped with an automated valve that closes the well in the event of an abnormal change in operating pressure. All well heads shall contain an emergency shut off valve to the well distribution line.

(12)

Fresh water wells. It shall be unlawful to drill any well, the center of which, at the surface of the ground, is located within two hundred (200) feet to any fresh water well. The measurement shall be in a direct line from the closest well bore to the fresh water well bore. The operator of a gas well shall provide the gas inspector with a "pre-drilling" and "post-drilling" water analysis from any fresh water well within five hundred (500) feet of the gas well. Within one hundred eighty (180) days of its completion date, each gas well shall be equipped with a cathodic protection system to protect the production casing from external corrosion. The gas inspector may approve an alternative method of protecting the production casing from external corrosion.

(13)

Gas emission or burning restricted. No person shall allow, cause, or permit gases to be vented into the atmosphere or to be burned by open flame except as provided by law or as permitted by the commission. If the venting of gases into the atmosphere or the burning of gases by open flame is authorized as provided by law or as permitted by the commission, then such vent or open flame shall not be located closer than three hundred (300) feet from any building not used in operations on the drilling site and such vent or open flame shall be screened in such a way as to minimize detrimental effects to adjacent property owners.

(14)

Grass, weeds, trash. All drill and operation sites shall be kept clear of high grass, weeds, and combustible trash within a radius of one hundred (100) feet around any gas tank or tanks or producing wells.

(15)

Hazardous plan. Hazardous materials management plan shall be on file with the fire marshal and the gas inspector.

(16)

Lights. No person shall permit any lights located on any drill or operation site to be directed in such a manner so that they shine directly on public roads, adjacent property, or property in the general vicinity of the operation site. To the extent practicable, and taking into account safety considerations, site lighting shall be directed downward and internally so as to avoid glare on public roads and adjacent dwellings and buildings within three hundred (300) feet.

(17)

Muffling exhaust. Exhaust from any internal combustion engine, stationary or mounted on wheels, used in connection with the drilling of any well or for use on any production equipment shall not be discharged into the open air unless it is equipped with an exhaust muffler, or mufflers or an exhaust muffler box constructed of noncombustible materials sufficient to suppress noise and prevent the escape of obnoxious gases, fumes, or ignited carbon or soot.

All formation fracturing operations shall be conducted during daylight hours unless the operator has notified the gas inspector that such facturing will occur before or after daylight hours to meet safety requirements.

(18)

Pits. Lined earthen mud or circulating pits shall be used. Such pits and contents shall be removed from the premises and the drilling site within sixty (60) days after completion of the well.

(19)

Private roads and drill sites. Prior to the commencement of any drilling operations, all private roads used for access to the drill site and the operation site itself shall be at least twenty-four (24) feet wide, have an overhead clearance of fourteen (14) feet, be either looped or terminate in a fifty-foot radius turnaround, and shall be paved according to city specifications or surfaced with crushed rock, gravel, or ore, and maintained to prevent dust and mud and to support the heaviest equipment of the Irving Fire Department. In particular cases these requirements governing surfacing of private roads may be altered at the discretion of the gas inspector and the city director of public works and transportation after consideration of all circumstances including, but not limited to, the following: distances from public streets and highways; distances from adjoining and nearby property owners whose surface rights are not leased by the operation; the purpose for which the property of such owners is or may be used; topographical features; nature of the soil; and exposure to wind.

(20)

Salt water wells. No salt water disposal wells shall be located within the City of Irving.

(21)

Signs.

a.

A sign shall be immediately and prominently displayed at the gate on the temporary and permanent site fencing erected pursuant to this section. Such sign shall be durable material, maintained in good condition and, unless otherwise required by the commission, shall have a surface area of not less than two (2) square feet nor more than four (4) square feet and shall be lettered with the following:

1.

Well name and number;

2.

Name of operator;

3.

The emergency 911 number; and

4.

Telephone numbers of two (2) persons responsible for the well who may be contacted in case of emergency.

b.

Permanent weatherproof signs reading "DANGER NO SMOKING ALLOWED" shall be posted immediately upon completion of the well site fencing at the entrance of each well site and tank battery or in any other location approved or designated by the fire chief of the city. Sign lettering shall be four (4) inches in height and shall be red on a white background or white on a red background. Each sign shall include the emergency notification numbers of the fire department and the operator, well and lease designations required by the commission.

(22)

Storage of equipment. Onsite storage is prohibited on the operation site. No equipment shall be stored on the drilling or production operation site, unless it is necessary to the everyday operation of the well. Lumber, pipes, tubing, and casing shall not be left on the operation site except when drilling or well servicing operations are being conducted on the site.

No vehicle or item of machinery shall be parked or stored on any street, right-of-way or in any driveway, alley or upon any operation site which constitutes a fire hazard or an obstruction to or interference with fighting or controlling fires except that equipment which is necessary for drilling or production operations on the site. The fire department shall be the entity that determines whether equipment on the site shall constitute a fire hazard. No refinery, processing, treating, dehydrating, or absorption plant of any kind shall be constructed, established, or maintained on the premises. This shall not be deemed to exclude a conventional gas separator or dehydrator.

(23)

Storage tanks. All tanks and permanent structures shall conform to the American Petroleum Institute (A.P.I.) specifications unless other specifications are approved by the fire chief. All storage tanks shall be equipped with a secondary containment system including lining with an impervious material. The secondary containment system shall be a minimum of three (3) feet in height and one and one-half (1½) times the contents of the largest tank in accordance with the fire code, and buried at least one (1) foot below the surface. Drip pots shall be provided at the pump out connection to contain the liquids from the storage tank.

All tanks shall be set back pursuant to the standards of the commission and the National Fire Protection Association, but in all cases, shall be at least twenty-five (25) feet from any public right-of-way or property line. Each storage tank shall be equipped with a level control device that will automatically activate a valve to close the well in the event of excess liquid accumulation in the tank.

No meters, storage tanks, separation facilities, or other aboveground facilities, other than the well head and flow lines, shall be placed in a floodway or the one hundred-year floodplain.

Tanks must be at least one hundred (100) feet from any residence, religious institution, public building, hospital building, school, or combustible structure.

(24)

Tank battery facilities. Tank battery facilities shall be equipped with a remote foam line and a lightning arrestor system.

(25)

Tree mitigation. All trees of six (6) inches caliper or larger which are to be removed in development of the site for drilling or production operations shall be done after obtaining a tree removal permit as specified in section 52-35a of Zoning Ordinance No. 1144. For purposes of section 52-35a, issuance of a gas well permit shall be considered the same as a building permit, but requirements relating to a landscape plan shall be as specified in this chapter and not in section 52-35a. Such replacement must take place within four (4) months of removal and must be watered and maintained in living condition for at least one year after replacement or during the entire time of drilling and production, whichever is longer. The total number of caliper inches of trees, six (6) inches or larger of any species which are removed, shall be replaced by an equal number of caliper inches of replacement trees, with the minimum size of each replacement tree being set at three (3) inches. Trees not to be removed shall be protected according to the following standards:

a.

The operator shall clearly mark all trees to be preserved.

b.

The operator shall erect barriers or take other protective measures to prevent equipment from colliding with or damaging any tree to be preserved.

c.

The operator shall not allow the movement of equipment under more than forty (40) percent of the canopy of any tree to be preserved. Movement of equipment throughout the remainder of the site should be minimized to the extent possible.

d.

The operator shall not allow the storage of equipment, materials, or debris or fill to be placed within the canopy of any tree to be preserved.

e.

The operator shall not allow the cleaning of equipment or material under the canopy of any tree or group of trees to be preserved.

f.

The operator shall not allow the disposal of any waste material such as, but not limited to, drilling mud, paint, oil, solvents, asphalt, concrete, mortar, etc. under the canopy of any tree or group of trees to be preserved. The operator shall not allow any liquid waste to drain under the canopy of any trees to be preserved.

g.

The operator shall not attach any wires, ropes, lights, or any other such attachment other than those of a protective nature to any tree to be preserved.

If the gas inspector shall determine that trees were removed in violation of section 52-35a of Zoning Ordinance No. 1144 from a tract within one (1) year of the application for a gas well permit, then, upon completion of the permit procedure, the gas inspector shall suspend the gas well permit for a period of one (1) year and shall not bring the permit out of suspension until one hundred ten (110) percent of the trees estimated to be unlawfully removed have been restored as if required by in the manner specified by section 52-35a of Zoning Ordinance No. 1144.

(26)

Surface casing. Surface casing shall be run and set in full compliance with the applicable rules and regulations of the commission.

(27)

Valves. Each well must have a shutoff valve to terminate the well's production. The fire department shall have access to the well site to enable it to close the shut-off valve in an emergency.

(28)

Waste disposal. Unless otherwise directed by the commission, all tanks used for storage shall conform to the following:

Operator must use portable closed steel storage tanks for storing liquid hydrocarbons. Tanks must meet the American Petroleum Institute standards. All tanks must have a vent line, flame arrester and pressure relief valve. All tanks must be enclosed by a fence applicable to the issued permit classification. No tank battery shall be within one hundred (100) feet of any dwelling or other combustible structure.

Drilling mud, cuttings, liquid hydrocarbons, and all other field waste derived or resulting from or connected with the drilling, reworking, or deepening of any well shall be discharged into a lined earthen pit. All disposals must be in accordance with the rules of the commission and any other appropriate local, state, or federal agency.

Unless otherwise directed by the commission, waste materials shall be removed from the site and transported to an off-site disposal facility not less often than every thirty (30) days. Water stored in on-site tanks shall be removed as necessary.

All waste shall be disposed of in such a manner as to comply with the air and water pollution control regulations of the state, this chapter, and any other applicable ordinance of the city.

(29)

Watchman. The operator must keep a watchman or security personnel on-site during the drilling or reworking of a well when other workmen are not on the premises.

(b)

Well setbacks. It shall be unlawful to drill any well, the center of which, at the surface of the ground, is located:

(1)

Within twenty-five (25) feet from any outer boundary line; or

(2)

Within twenty-five (25) feet from any storage tank, or source of ignition; or

(3)

Within seventy-five (75) feet of any public street, road, highway or future street, right-of-way, or property line; or

(4)

Within three hundred (300) feet from any building used, or designed and intended to be used, for human occupancy or

(5)

Within one hundred (100) feet of any building accessory to, but not necessary to the operation of the well; or

(6)

Within two hundred (200) feet to any fresh water well. The measurement shall be in a direct line from the closest well bore to the fresh water well bore.

The distance shall be calculated from the well bore, in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects, to the closest exterior point of any object listed in subsections (1) through (6) above.

The distances set out in subsection (1), (3), (4), or (6) above may be reduced at the discretion of the city council, but never less than two hundred (200) feet from any dwelling or any other building used, or designed and intended to be used, for human occupancy without the unanimous consent of the property owners within a two hundred-foot radius around said well and the affirmative vote of not less than three-fourths (¾) of all the members of the city council. For protection of the public health, safety, and welfare, the city council may impose additional requirements for a reduction of such distance. The reduction of the distance requirement for fresh water wells is subject to the commission regulations and any other state or federal requirements.

(c)

Installation of pipelines on, under, or across public property. The operator shall apply to the city for a franchise agreement on, over, under, along, or across the city streets, sidewalks, alleys, and other city property for the purpose of constructing, laying, maintaining, operating, repairing, replacing, and removing pipelines so long as production or operations may be continued under any gas well permit issued pursuant to this chapter. Operator shall:

(1)

Not interfere with or damage existing water, sewer, or gas lines or the facilities of public utilities located on, under, or across the course of such rights-of way.

(2)

Furnish to the gas inspector of the city a plat showing the location of such pipelines.

(3)

Construct such lines out of pipe in accordance with the city codes and regulations properly cased and vented if under a street;

(4)

Grade, level, and restore such property to the same surface condition, as nearly as practicable, as existed when operations for the drilling of the well were first commenced.

No gas well permit shall be issued for any well to be drilled within any of the streets or alleys of the city and/or projected streets or alleys shown by the current comprehensive plan of the city, and no street or alley shall be blocked or encumbered or closed due to any exploration, drilling, or production operations unless prior consent is obtained from the gas inspector. Any consent from the gas inspector shall be temporary in nature and state the number of hours and/or days that any street or alley may be blocked, encumbered or closed.

(d)

Well head easement. For drilling operations occurring on property that is situated within or adjoins a residentially zoned district, a well head easement shall be submitted by the operator for approval by the city. Once approved, the easement shall be filed and recorded with the appropriate agency of the county government in which the well is located within thirty (30) days after the installation of the well head structure subject to the following provisions:

(1)

Such easement shall have a radius of two hundred (200) feet as calculated from the well bore, in a straight line, without regard to intervening structures or objects.

(2)

Such easement may be filed as a separate instrument dedication, or be dedicated on a land subdivision plat approved by the city.

(3)

No future residential lots shall be platted within the drill site easement until the well is abandoned pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, and the drill site easement has been vacated by the city.

(4)

If such easement is not produced within thirty (30) days after the installation of the well head structure, the gas inspector, at his discretion, may suspend or revoke the gas well permit pursuant to the provisions of this chapter, or extend the time period for filing, until the easement is filed and recorded with the county government.

(5)

The city council may approve or amend an easement proposed with an alternative shape and size. In making such a determination, the city council shall review concept plans and plats for future development proposed around the drill site to ensure that the safety and welfare of future residents is not compromised.

(Ord. No. 8580, § 1, 12-1-05; Ord. No. 8591, § 1, 1-12-06)