Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XIX - Office of Conservation-General Operations › Subpart 1 - Statewide Order No. 29-B › Chapter 5 - Off-Site Storage, Treatment and/or Disposal of Exploration and Production Waste Generated from Drilling and Production of Oil and Gas Wells › Section XIX-501 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
Application Phase
- an identifiable period
					 of time during which E and P Waste receipts are applied to a land treatment
					 cell.
Cell
- an earthen area constructed with an
					 underdrain system within a land treatment facility used for the placement, land
					 treatment and degradation of E and P Waste at a commercial facility. (A
cell
as defined in this Section is not considered a
					 pit.)
Closed System
- a system in which E and P
					 Waste is stored and treated in an enclosed sump, tank, barge, or other
					 vessel/container or equipment prior to treatment and/or disposal. A closed
					 system does not include an open top sump or earthen pit.
Commercial Facility
- a legally permitted E
					 and P Waste storage, treatment and/or disposal facility which receives, treats,
					 reclaims, stores, and/or disposes of E and P Waste for a fee or other
					 consideration. For purposes of this definition, Department of Environmental
					 Quality (DEQ) permitted facilities, as defined by LAC 33:V and VII, which are
					 authorized to receive E and P Waste, are not covered by this definition.
					 However, such facilities must comply with the reporting requirements of
					 §545.
					 K herein if E and P Waste is accepted.
Commissioner
- the Commissioner of
					 Conservation of the State of Louisiana.
Community Saltwater Disposal Well or
					 System
- a saltwater disposal well within an oil or gas field which is
					 operated by one operator of record for disposal of E and P Waste fluids and
					 used by other operators of record in the same field or adjacent fields for
					 noncommercial disposal of their produced water. Such operators share in the
					 costs of operating the well/system. For purposes of this definition,
adjacent fields
means oil or gas fields or portions thereof
					 which are located within or partially encroach upon the same township as a
					 community saltwater disposal well or one or more townships all of which are
					 directly contiguous to the township in which the community saltwater disposal
					 well is located.
Container
-a sump, storage tank, process
					 vessel, truck, or other receptacle used to store or transport E and P Waste,
					 excluding barges and marine supply vessel permanent cargo tanks.
Drilling Waste
- oil-base and water-base
					 drilling mud or other drilling fluids and cuttings generated during the
					 drilling of wells. These wastes are a subset of E and P Waste.
Exploration and Production Waste (E and P
					 Waste)
-drilling wastes, salt water, and other wastes associated with
					 the exploration, development, or production of crude oil or natural gas wells
					 and which is not regulated by the provisions of, and, therefore, exempt from
					 the Louisiana Hazardous Waste Regulations and the Federal Resource Conservation
					 and Recovery Act, as amended. E and P Wastes include, but are not limited to
					 the following.
Waste Type
E and P Waste Description
01
Salt water (produced brine or produced water),
								except for salt water whose intended and actual use is in drilling, workover or
								completion fluids or in enhanced mineral recovery operations, process fluids
								generated by approved salvage oil operators who only receive oil (BS&W)
								from oil and gas leases, and nonhazardous natural gas plant processing waste
								fluid which is or may be commingled with produced formation water
02
Oil-base drilling wastes (mud, fluids and
								cuttings)
03
Water-base drilling wastes (mud, fluids and
								cuttings)
04
Completion workover and stimulation fluids
05
Production pit sludges
06
Storage tank sludge from production operations,
								onsite and commercial saltwater disposal facilities, DNR permitted salvage oil
								facilities (that only receive waste oil [B,S, & W] from oil and gas
								leases), and sludges generated by service company and commercial facility or
								transfer station wash water systems
07
Produced oily sands and solids
08
Produced formation fresh water
09
Rainwater from firewalls, ring levees and pits at
								drilling and production facilities
10
Washout water and residual solids generated from
								the cleaning of containers, barges and/or marine supply vessel permanent cargo
								tanks that transport E and P Waste and are not contaminated by hazardous waste
								or material; washout water and solids (E and P Waste Type 10) is or may be
								generated at a commercial facility or transfer station by the cleaning of a
								container, barge and/or marine supply vessel cargo tank holding a residual
								amount of E and P Waste
11
Washout pit water and residual solids from oilfield
								related carriers and service companies that are not permitted to haul hazardous
								waste or material.
12
Nonhazardous Natural gas plant processing waste
								solids.
13
(Reserved)
14
Pipeline test water which does not meet discharge
								limitations established by the appropriate state agency, or pipeline pigging
								waste, i.e. waste fluids/solids generated from the cleaning of a
								pipeline
15
E and P Wastes that are transported from permitted
								commercial facilities and transfer stations to permitted commercial treatment
								and disposal facilities, except those E and P Wastes defined as Waste Types 01
								and 06.
16
Crude oil spill clean-up waste
50
Salvageable hydrocarbons bound for permitted
								salvage oil operators
99
Other E and P Waste not described above (shipment
								to a commercial facility or transfer station must be pre-approved prior to
								transport).
Fracture Stimulation Reclamation Fluid (FSR
					 fluid)
- a material that would otherwise be classified as E and P
					 Waste, but which has been reclaimed for the sole use as media for Office of
					 Conservation permitted hydraulic fracture stimulation operations
Generator
- any person or entity who
					 generates or causes to be generated any E and P Waste.
Groundwater Aquifer
- as defined in
					 §301
Inactive Cell
- a land treatment cell which
					 is not used for E and P Waste receipts or has been taken out of service by a
					 land treatment facility. Such cell may be considered inactive only if it is a
					 new cell which has not yet received E and P Waste or an existing cell which is
					 in compliance with the applicable testing criteria of this Chapter.
Land Treatment
- a dynamic process
					 involving the controlled application of E and P Waste onto or into the aerobic
					 surface soil horizon in open cells by a commercial land treatment facility,
					 accompanied by continued monitoring and management, to alter the physical,
					 chemical, and biological state of the E and P Waste. Site, soil, climate, and
					 biological activity interact as a system to degrade and immobilize E and P
					 Waste constituents thereby rendering the area suitable for the support of
					 vegetative growth and providing for beneficial future land use or to meet the
					 reuse criteria of
					 §565
MPC
- maximum permissible
					 concentration.
Offsite
- for purposes of this Section,
					 outside the confines of a drilling unit for a specific well or group of wells,
					 or in the absence of such a unit, outside the boundaries of a lease or
					 contiguous property owned by the lessor upon which a well is drilled.
Oil-Based Drilling Muds
- any oil-based
					 drilling fluid composed of a water in oil (hydrocarbon or synthetic) emulsion,
					 organophillic clays, drilled solids and additives for down-hole rheology and
					 stability such as fluid loss control materials, thinners, weighting agents,
					 etc.
Pit
- an earthen surface impoundment
					 constructed to retain E and P Waste, often referred to as a pond or lagoon. The
					 term does not include lined sumps less than 660 gallons.
Residual
(for containers)-the de-minimis
					 quantity of E and P Waste (solids or liquids) remaining in a container after
					 offloading, using the practices commonly employed to remove materials from that
					 type of container (e.g., pouring, pumping, and aspirating) and amounting to no
					 more than one inch of residue remaining on the bottom, or no more than three
					 percent by weight of the total capacity of the container if the container is
					 less than or equal to 110 gallons in size, or no more than 0.3 percent by
					 weight of the total capacity of the container if the container is greater than
					 110 gallons in size.
Residual
(for barges and marine supply
					 vessel permanent cargo tanks)-shall be the de-minimis quantity of E and P Waste
					 (solids or liquids) remaining in a barge or marine supply vessel permanent
					 cargo tank using the practices commonly employed to remove materials (e.g.,
					 pumping and aspirating) and amounting to no more than the non-fluid,
					 non-pumpable/removable material remaining in a marine supply vessel permanent
					 cargo tank or barge after commonly employed removal practices are
					 complete.
Reclaimed Oilfield Waste Fluid
(ROW
					 fluid)-a material that would otherwise be classified as E and P Waste, but
					 which has been reclaimed for the sole use as media for Office of Conservation
					 permitted downhole well operations.
Reusable Material
-a material that would
					 otherwise be classified as E and P Waste, but which is capable of resource
					 conservation and recovery and has been processed in whole or in part for reuse.
					 To meet this definition, the material must have been treated physically,
					 chemically, or biologically or otherwise processed so that the material is
					 significantly changed (i.e., the new material is physically, chemically, or
					 biologically distinct from the original material), and meets the criteria
					 §565.F This term does
					 not include ROW Fluid
Salt Cavern Waste Disposal Facility
- any
					 public, private, or commercial property, including surface and subsurface lands
					 and appurtenances thereto, used for receiving, storing, and/or processing oil
					 and gas exploration and production waste for disposal into a solution-mined
					 salt cavern.
Salt Water
- water with a chloride content
					 greater than 500 ppm generated from a producing oil or gas well.
Sump
-a container constructed of steel,
					 fiberglass, sealed concrete, or some other impermeable material utilized for
					 temporary storage of E and P Waste, including, but not limited to, wash water
					 and solids (sludge) generated by the removal/cleaning of residual amounts of E
					 and P Waste from storage containers, barges and/or marine supply vessel
					 permanent cargo tanks.
Transfer Pipeline System
-an offsite
					 pipeline system by which only E and P waste is transferred to a permitted
					 instate or out-of-state transfer station or disposal facility.
Transfer Station
- an E and P Waste
					 receiving and storage facility, located offsite, but operated at an approved
					 location in conjunction with a permitted commercial facility, which is used for
					 temporary storage of manifested E and P Waste for a period of 30 days or
					 less.
Transporter
- a legally permitted carrier
					 of E and P Waste contained in trucks, barges, boats, or other transportation
					 vessels.
Treatment
- as applied to Type A Facilities
					 (defined herein), excluding Transfer Stations, treatment shall be defined as
					 any method, technique, or process capable of hanging the physical and/or
					 chemical characterization or composition of E and P Waste so as to reclaim
					 salvageable hydrocarbons, process reusable material, reduce waste volume
					 (volume reduction), neutralize waste, reduce
					 §549 criteria
					 concentration(s) or otherwise render the waste more suitable for handling,
					 storage, transportation, and/or disposal.
Treatment Phase
- the period of time during
					 which E and P Waste in a land treatment cell is physically manipulated and/or
					 chemically altered (through the addition of chemical amendments, etc.) to bring
					 the cell into compliance with the testing criteria or reuse criteria of LAC
					 43:XIX.549 and 565.
Treatment Zone
- the soil profile in a land
					 treatment cell that is located wholly above the saturated zone and within which
					 degradation, transformation, or immobilization of E and P Waste constituents
					 occurs. The treatment zone is subdivided as follows.
1.
Waste Treatment Zone
				  (WTZ)
- the active E and P Waste treatment area consisting solely of
				  the E and P Waste solids applied to a land treatment cell during the
				  application phase, exists entirely above grade (original cell bottom), and
				  whose actual depth depends on the solids content of the E and P Waste applied.
				  For monitoring purposes the WTZ represents the 0-24" depth increment.
2.
Upper Treatment Zone
				  (UTZ)
- the E and P Waste/native soil (original cell bottom) interface
				  in a land treatment cell where some disturbance occurs as a result of E and P
				  Waste treatment/manipulation. For monitoring purposes, the UTZ represents the
				  24-36" depth increment.
3.
Lower Treatment Zone (LTZ)
- the zone beneath the UTZ in a land
				  treatment cell from approximately 36-54" (or to the top of the subsurface
				  drainage system) which remains undisturbed throughout the life of a land
				  treatment cell.
Type A Facility
- a commercial E and P
					 Waste disposal facility within the state that utilizes technologies appropriate
					 for the receipt, storage, treatment, reclamation, or disposal of E and P Waste
					 solids and fluids (liquids) for a fee or other consideration.
Type B Facility
- a commercial E and P
					 Waste disposal facility within the state that utilizes underground injection
					 technology for the receipt, storage, treatment, and disposal of only saltwater
					 or other E and P Waste fluids (liquids) for a fee or other
					 consideration.
Waste Management and Operations Plan
- a
					 plan as identified and required in
					 §515
Water-Based Drilling Muds
- any water-based
					 fluid composed of fresh water, naturally occurring clays, drilled solids and
					 additives for fluid loss control, viscosity, thinning, pH control, weight
					 control, etc., for down-hole rheology and stability.
AUTHORITY
					 NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 30:4 et seq.