# Presentation: 631687

## Surface Use Plan of Operations (SUPO)

- Before

- After

**Notes:**
[Topic Slide]

## Onshore Order 1 III. Application for Permit to Drill 

-  A Complete Form 3160-3
-  Well Plat
-  Drilling Plan
** ****Surface Use Plan of Operations**
-  Bonding
-  Operator Certification
-  Onsite Inspection

**Notes:**
[Onshore Order 1 III. Seven requirements - Application for Permit to Drill] 
The Surface Use Plan of Operations or SUPO is the forth component of a complete APD.

The SUPO has changed from a 13 point plan in the Old Order, to a 12 point plan in the Revised Order.  The Operator Certification was taken out and is now a stand alone requirement. I will be discussing it, in detail, further in the program.

As we cover the 12 items in the SUPO keep in mind, the last component of an APD package, the Onsite Inspection. The Onsite Inspection is used to go out to the project, and look at all these items, staked on the ground.

I will cover the onsite and staking for the onsite, later in the program.

## Surface Use Plan of Operations

**Goal:  **
- Inform Operators Planning and Detail
- Results:
- BLM gets a better proposal
- Operators get faster approvals
- Surface Owners are Satisfied

**Notes:**
[Goal]
The Goal of this portion of the program is to inform you of some of the planning and details that help drive the efficiency of the permitting process.

When Operators know up front the detail required for their type of project, BLM gets a better proposal, Operators get faster approvals, and Surface Owners are Satisfied with the results 

## Surface Use Plan of Operations

**Overview:**
- General Information Onshore Order No 1
- 12 points required in the SUPO

**Notes:**
[Overview]
As an overview, First, I’m going to cover some general information as it listed in this portion of Onshore Order No 1.

Then, I’m going to go over the 12 points required in the SUPO

## Surface Use Plan of Operations

**Purpose of the SUPO**
**Narrative describes proposal**
**Includes maps, of appropriate detail **
**Engineered diagrams, where necessary**
**Best Management Practices (BMP)**
**Access Agreements on Split Estate Lands**
**Detail depends on complexity of project**

**Notes:**
[Purpose of the SUPO]
In general, the purpose of SUPO is to adequately describe the proposed project in a narrative, as well as on maps and diagrams.

The maps and the narrative define the entire project, provide directions to the well, details of well pad construction and roads, methods of safe operations and waste disposal, and details surface protection and reclamation. 

Maps illustrate all the information listed SUPO.  Information can be shown on single map or may need to be on separate maps, depending on the complexity of the project.  

Diagrams are submitted for constructed well pads and engineered roads
The SUPO describes Best Management Practices .

And includes certification of Surface Access Agreement or provides an adequate bond, if the surface is on split estate.

The 12 points lined out in the SUPO are required for all APDs.  

The detail of information that is necessary depends on the complexity of the proposal.  

## Complex Project Work Map 

**Notes:**
[Complex Project Work Map]
Bryce Barlan will talk later in the program about Master Development Plans.

Yet, this is good time to compare the difference in complexity of a SUPO for an application to drill one exploratory oil well, to a Master SUPO that would be necessary to describe a project that contained multiple wells; such as  coalbed methane well projects with multiple leases, a number of different surface owners, multiple coal zones, gas and water and electric line corridors, overhead power, compressor stations, water discharge points, stock watering tanks, on-channel and off-channel impoundments, land application disposal of water, water treatment facilities, and all the different types of roads that would be needed, depending on average daily traffic as required in the Gold Book.

## Surface Use Plan of Operations

- 	**The Gold Book**
- 		*Surface Operating Standards for Oil and Gas Exploration and Development*
- Improved practices for expediting APDs
- Includes drawings, photographs, policy
- Typical Road Diagrams
- 			www.blm.gov/bmp/goldbook.htm

**Notes:**
[The Gold Book]
The forth edition of the Gold Book, the Surface Operating Standards for Oil and Gas Exploration and Development, introduces improved practices for expediting the APD process 

The Gold Book, defines road types by average daily traffic and includes drawings, photographs, and road diagrams.

## Surface Use Plan of Operations 

- 12 Points of the SUPO
- Items a, b, and c.
- a. *Existing Roads*
- b. *New or Reconstructed Access Roads*
- c. *Location of Existing Wells*

**Notes:**
[Items a, b, and c].
There are 12 points in the SUPO.  They are listed a-l, for those of us who can’t get past the letter d without using our fingers and toes to count... the letter (l) is 10 fingers and 2 toes....
It doesn’t matter if you use letters, numbers, fingers or toes, if you follow the 12 points, there shouldn’t be anything missing from your SUPO. 

We’ll continue to compare and contrast the differences between single exploratory wells and multiple well projects throughout each of the following 12 points.

In the first point of the SUPO Existing Roads - the Operator is to include a map that shows the access route from the proposed well site to a locatable public access point, such as a County road.

In this section the operator describes what type of existing roads are planned, such as crowned and ditched roads or primitive two-track roads, and states how they plan to maintain existing the roads.

In point 2 – New and Reconstructed Access Roads -  The Operator defines all temporary and permanent access roads, and proposed structures such as culverts and water crossings. 

The Operator is required to design new and upgraded roads to applicable road standards.  Which is often a difficult balance of safety, traffic volumes, and environmental concerns. 

I’d like refer back to the example with multiple wells, the average daily traffic during the construction phase will differ greatly from the future traffic, which consists of only well maintenance after all the construction is complete.  Yet, the construction phase, when people are working with time constraints, is when safety is of the utmost concern.

Roads standards such as Road width, maximum grade, turnouts, and crown and ditch design, are all listed in the Gold Book and in Manual 9113 Road Standards for BLM. 
Please note, roads should not be built to standards greater then necessary to accommodate the traffic load of their intended use. 

Item 3 – c.  Location of Existing Wells – can be submitted either on a map, or a table, and should include all existing wells within a one mile radius of the proposed location; that means production wells, water wells, and plugged and abandoned wells. 
In our Master SUPO example, a map would work better than a table for multiple proposed well locations.

## Surface Use Plan of Operations 

- The 12 Points of the SUPO
- Items d, e, and f.
*d. Location of Existing and/or Proposed Production Facilities*
*e. Location and Types of Water Supply*
*f. Construction Materials*

**Notes:**
[Items d, e, and f.]
In the fourth item, d. Location of Existing and Proposed Production Facilities -  It is apparent the detail required for a single well would be extremely different than what would be required for a multiple well project.
With a single well, if the proposal was detailed enough, it could be used as site facility diagram.  Or it may just state that a Sundry Notice Form 3160-5 will follow for the production facilities, if the well becomes a producer. 
Compare this to the detail mentioned earlier in the Master SUPO with the complex web of facilities that are needed to accommodate multiple well production.

In the fifth item, item - e.  Location and Types of Water Supply  -  The Operator identifies the source of the water used for drilling (such as a pond, lake or a Municipal water source) and the route it will be brought in on (will it be trucked in or piped in). The Operator may attach a map and/or provide specific details as long as the route can be analyzed.

Item f. Construction Materials – (for those you using the finger-toe method this is the first finger on the second hand). The sixth item speaks to, what is to hauled in or taken off lease during construction of the roads, pads and facilities. 

## The 12 Points of the SUPO
Items g, h, and i.
g. Methods for Handling Waste

h. Ancillary Facilities

i. Well Site Layout

- Items g, h, and i.
*g. Methods for Handling Waste*
*h. Ancillary Facilities*
*i. Well Site Layout*

- Surface Use Plan of Operations

**Notes:**
[Items g, h, and i.]
Item –  g. Methods for Handling Waste, this seventh item is where the methods for safe containment and disposal of waste material are described.  This is also the place to describe the construction and lining of reserve pits.

Number 8, the Ancillary Facilities, provides an area in the SUPO to describe additional or supporting facilities; such as staging areas. Information on staging areas should describe the construction size and materials to be stored on location. Ancillary Facilities are to be identified on the map and staked for the onsite.

The ninth item is the Well Site Layout.   It is also called the pad diagram, or constructed pad diagram.  Well site layouts requiring cut and fills are designed on a site specific bases, by a licensed professional engineer. This schematic diagram of the well site illustrates the orientation of the drilling rig, bore hole, reserve pit, blooie line, and flare pit.  All of this is laid out on the drill pad with pad dimensions, cut and fill depths, topographic features, topsoil and spoil piles, and the access onto the pad is shown with any necessary ditches or culverts. 
In H2S areas the well site layout will identify an emergency escape route.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, would be some of those coalbed methane wells in flat topography. These shallow wells may use smaller rigs and therefore require no constructed pad.  In cases like this, all that is needed is a general pad diagram with; dimensions of surface disturbance, orientation of the reserve pit, blooie line, and the drilling rig layout in reference to the bore hole location. 

## Surface Use Plan of Operations 

- The 12 Points of the SUPO
- 				Items j, k, and l.
*	**	**j. Plans for Surface Reclamation*
*	**k. Surface Ownership*
*l. Other Information*

**Notes:**
[Items j, k, and l.]
The tenth item j. is the plan for reclamation. Plans for Surface Reclamation are often the most in depth portion of the APD package. The Operator states a plan of how they are going to reclaim and stabilize all areas of disturbance.  Each reclamation plan is site specific and addresses interim as well as final reclamation. (Interim and final reclamation are covered by Bryce Barlan further in the program).

(Finger and toe counters take off your shoes) item k. Surface Ownership, is the eleventh item. The Operator provides contact information for each of the private surface owners, not only those at the well location, but also the contact information for all lands crossed by proposed roads that the operator plans to construct or upgrade. 

This where the new requirement comes in: The operator needs to certify they have provided a copy of the SUPO to the private surface owner of the land, at the well site location.  Due to some SUPOs being complex documents, there is high probability of changes being made to the SUPO during the permitting process.  Therefore, BLM leaves the timing of delivery of the SUPO up the Field Office, Operator, and the Private surface owner.  

The Onshore Order requires the operator to certify they have made a good faith effort to provide a SUPO to the private surface owner of the land at the well site, before an APD will be approved.

The final item provides a place for Other Information, such as an Integrated Pest Management Plan or as in our Master SUPO example; A Water Management Plan and any additional maps that would be necessary to describe the proposal.

## Surface Use Plan of Operations 12 Point Summary 

- a. *Existing Roads*
- b. *New or Reconstructed Access Roads*
- c. *Location of Existing Wells*
*d. Location of Existing and/or Proposed Production Facilities*
*e. Location and Types of Water Supply*
*f. Construction Materials*
*g. Methods for Handling Waste*
*h. Ancillary Facilities*
*Well Site Layout*
*j. Plans for Surface Reclamation*
*k. Surface Ownership*
*l. Other Information*

**Notes:**
[12 Point Summary]
In summary, if you follow the 12 points that we just covered, there shouldn’t be anything missing from your SUPO . 

All of us working together to pre-plan an approvable project is 
What Drives the Efficiency of the Permitting Process.
Operators get faster approvals, 
the BLM gets clear-cut proposals, 
and Private Surface Owners end up with something that they can live with.