Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XVII - Office of Conservation-Injection and Mining › Subpart 4 - Statewide Order No. 29-M-2 › Chapter 31 - Disposal of Exploration and Production Waste in Solution-Mined Salt Caverns › Section XVII-3101 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
Application
- the filing on the appropriate
					 Office of Conservation form(s), including any additions, revisions,
					 modifications, or required attachments to the form(s), for a permit to operate
					 a salt cavern waste disposal facility or parts thereof.
Aquifer
- a geologic formation, groups of
					 formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a significant
					 amount of water to a well or spring.
Blanket Material
- sometimes referred to as
					 a "pad." The blanket material is a fluid placed within a salt cavern that is
					 lighter than the water in the cavern and will not dissolve the salt or any
					 mineral impurities that may be contained within the salt. The function of the
					 blanket is to prevent unwanted leaching of the salt cavern roof, prevent
					 leaching of salt from around the cemented casing, and to protect the cemented
					 casing from internal corrosion. Blanket material typically consists of crude
					 oil, diesel, mineral oil, or some fluid possessing similar noncorrosive,
					 nonsoluble, low density properties. The blanket material is placed between the
					 salt cavern's outermost hanging string and innermost cemented casing.
Brine
- water within a salt cavern that is
					 completely or partially saturated with salt.
Cap Rock
- the porous and permeable strata
					 immediately overlying all or part of the salt stock of some salt structures
					 typically composed of anhydrite, gypsum, limestone, and occasionally
					 sulfur.
Casing
- metallic pipe placed and cemented
					 in the wellbore for the purpose of supporting the sides of the wellbore and to
					 act as a barrier preventing subsurface migration of fluids out of or into the
					 wellbore.
Catastrophic Collapse
- the sudden or utter
					 failure of the overlying strata caused by the removal or otherwise weakening of
					 underlying sediments.
Cementing
- the operation (either primary,
					 secondary, or squeeze) whereby a cement slurry is pumped into a drilled hole
					 and/or forced behind the casing.
Circulate to the Surface
-the observing of
					 actual cement returns to the surface during the primary cementing
					 operation.
Commercial Salt Cavern Facility
- a legally
					 permitted salt cavern waste disposal facility that disposes of exploration and
					 production waste off the site where produced by others for a fee or other
					 consideration.
Commissioner
- the Commissioner of
					 Conservation for the State of Louisiana.
Contamination
- the introduction of
					 substances or contaminants into a groundwater aquifer, a USDW or soil in such
					 quantities as to render them unusable of their intended purposes.
Discharge
- the placing, releasing,
					 spilling, percolating, draining, pumping, leaking, mixing, migrating, seeping,
					 emitting, disposing, by-passing, or other escaping of pollutants on or into the
					 air, ground, or waters of the state. A discharge shall not include that which
					 is allowed through a federal or state permit.
E&P Waste
- exploration and production
					 waste.
Effective Date
- the date of final
					 promulgation of these rules and regulations.
Emergency Shutdown Valve
- a valve that
					 automatically closes to isolate a salt cavern well from surface piping in the
					 event of a specified condition that, if uncontrolled, may cause an
					 emergency.
Exempted Aquifer
-an aquifer or its portion
					 that meets the criteria of the definition of underground source of drinking
					 water but which has been exempted according to the procedures set forth in
					 §3103. E 2
Existing Salt Cavern
- a salt cavern
					 originally permitted by the Office of Conservation for use other than E&P
					 waste disposal.
Existing Well
- a wellbore originally
					 permitted by the Office of Conservation for use other than to facilitate
					 E&P waste disposal into a salt cavern.
Exploration and Production Waste (E&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& P Wastes include, but are not limited to,
					 those wastes listed in the definition for E& P Waste located in LAC
					 43:XIX.501 (Definitions).
Fluid
- any material or substance which
					 flows or moves whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas or any other form or
					 state.
Generator
- a person or corporate entity
					 who creates or causes to be created any E& P waste.
Ground Subsidence
- the downward settling
					 of the Earth's surface with little or no horizontal motion in response to
					 natural or manmade subsurface actions.
Groundwater Aquifer
- water in the
					 saturated zone beneath the land surface that contains less than 10,000 mg/l
					 total dissolved solids.
Groundwater Contamination
- the degradation
					 of naturally occurring groundwater quality either directly or indirectly as a
					 result of human activities.
Hanging String
- casing whose weight is
					 supported at the wellhead and hangs vertically in a larger cemented casing or
					 another larger hanging string.
Injection and Mining Division
- the
					 Injection and Mining Division of the Louisiana Office of Conservation within
					 the Department of Natural Resources.
Leaching
- the process whereby an
					 undersaturated fluid is introduced into a salt cavern thereby dissolving
					 additional salt and increasing the volume of the salt cavern.
Migrating
- any movement of fluids by
					 leaching, spilling, discharging, or any other uncontained or uncontrolled
					 manner, except as allowed by law, regulation, or permit.
New Well
- a wellbore permitted by the
					 Office of Conservation after the effective date of these rules and regulations
					 to be completed into an existing salt cavern to facilitate E& P waste
					 disposal.
Non-Commercial Salt Cavern Facility
- a
					 legally permitted salt cavern waste disposal facility that disposes of only
					 E& P waste generated by the owner of the facility during oil and gas
					 exploration and production activities.
Office of Conservation
- the Louisiana
					 Office of Conservation within the Department of Natural Resources.
Oil-Based Drilling Muds
-any oil-based
					 drilling fluid composed of a water in oil emulsion, organophillic clays,
					 drilled solids and additives for down-hole rheology and stability such as fluid
					 loss control materials, thinners, weighting agents, etc.
Operator
- the person recognized by the
					 Office of Conservation as being responsible for the physical operation of the
					 facility or activity subject to regulatory authority under these rules and
					 regulations.
Owner
- the person recognized by the Office
					 of Conservation as owning the facility or activity subject to regulatory
					 authority under these rules and regulations.
Person
- an individual, association,
					 partnership, public or private corporation, firm, municipality, state or
					 federal agency and any agent or employee thereof, or any other juridical
					 person.
Produced Water
- liquids and suspended
					 particulate matter that is obtained by processing fluids brought to the surface
					 in conjunction with the recovery of oil and gas from underground geologic
					 formations, with underground storage of hydrocarbons, or with solution mining
					 for brine.
Public Water System
- a system for the
					 provision to the public of piped water for human consumption, if such system
					 has at least 15 service connections or regularly serves at least 25
					 individuals. Such term includes:
1. any collection, treatment, storage, and distribution
					 facilities under control of the operator of such system and used primarily in
					 connection with such system; and
2. any collection or pretreatment storage facilities not
					 under such control which are used primarily in connection with such
					 system.
Release
- the accidental or intentional
					 spilling, pumping, leaking, pouring, emitting, leaching, escaping, or dumping
					 of pollutants into or on any air, land, groundwater, or waters of the state. A
					 release shall not include that which is allowed through a federal or state
					 permit.
Salt Cavern
- see
solution-mined
					 salt cavern
Salt Cavern Roof
-the uppermost part of a
					 salt cavern being just below the neck of the wellbore. The shape of the salt
					 cavern roof may be flat or domed.
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
					 E& P waste for disposal into a solution-mined salt cavern.
Salt Cavern Well
- a well extending into
					 the salt stock to facilitate the disposal of waste or other fluids into a salt
					 cavern.
Salt Dome
- a diapiric, typically circular
					 structure that penetrates, uplifts, and deforms overlying sediments as a result
					 of the upward movement of a salt stock in the subsurface. Collectively, the
					 salt dome includes the salt stock and any overlying uplifted sediments.
Salt Stock
- a typically cylindrical
					 formation composed chiefly of an evaporite mineral that forms the core of a
					 salt dome. The most common form of the evaporite mineral is halite known
					 chemically as sodium chloride (NaCl). Cap rock shall not be considered a part
					 of the salt stock.
Solution-Mined Salt Cavern
- a cavity
					 created within the salt stock by dissolution with water.
State
- the state of Louisiana.
Subsidence
- see
ground
					 subsidence
.
Surface Casing
- the first string of casing
					 installed in a well, excluding conductor casing.
Transport Vehicle
- a motor vehicle, rail
					 freight car, freight container, cargo tank, portable tank, or vessel used for
					 the transportation of E& P wastes or other materials for use or disposal at
					 a salt cavern waste disposal facility.
Transportation
- the movement of wastes or
					 other materials from the point of generation or storage to the salt cavern
					 waste disposal facility by means of commercial or private transport
					 vehicle.
Unauthorized Discharge
- a continuous,
					 intermittent, or one-time discharge, whether intentional or unintentional,
					 anticipated or unanticipated, from any permitted or unpermitted source which is
					 in contravention of any provision of the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act
					 (R.S. 30:2001 et seq.)
					 or of any permit or license terms and conditions, or of any applicable
					 regulation, compliance schedule, variance, or exception of the Commissioner of
					 Conservation.
Underground Source of Drinking Water
- an
					 aquifer or its portion:
1. which supplies any public water system; or
2. which contains a sufficient quantity of groundwater to
					 supply a public water system; and
a. currently supplies drinking water for human consumption;
					 or
b. contains fewer than 10,000 mg/1 total dissolved solids;
					 and which is not an exempted aquifer.
Waters of the State
- both surface and
					 underground waters within the state of Louisiana including all rivers, streams,
					 lakes, groundwaters, and all other water courses and waters within the confines
					 of the state, and all bordering waters, and the Gulf of
					 Mexico.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
					 Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 30:4 et
					 seq.