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-549 - Land Treatment Facility Requirements

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Land treatment facilities shall be
				  isolated from contact with public, private, or livestock water supplies, both
				  surface and underground.
B. The
				  siting, design, construction, operation, testing and closure of land treatment
				  facilities shall be approved only after an application is submitted to and
				  approved by the commissioner pursuant to the requirements of §519,
				  §527, and
				  §531
C. General Requirements
1. The soil shall contain a slowly permeable
				  horizon no less than 12 inches thick containing enough fine grained material
				  within 3 feet of the surface to classify it as CL, OL, MH, CH, or OH under the
				  Unified Soil Classification System.
2. The seasonal high water table shall be
				  maintained throughout the facility's operational life at least 36" below the
				  soil surface, either as a result of natural or artificial drainage.
3. Throughout the operational life of a land
				  treatment cell, in order to end the treatment phase and re-enter the
				  application phase, a cell must be shown to comply with the following criteria.
Parameter
Limitation
PH
6.5 - 9
EC
10 mmhos/cm
SAR
12
ESP
15 percent
TPH
3 percent (by weight)
Metals (ppm)
Arsenic
40
Cadmium
10
Chromium
1,000
Copper
1,500
Lead
300
Molybdenum
18
Nickel
420
Mercury
10
Selenium
10
Silver
200
Zinc
2,300
Leachate Testing*
Barium
10.0 mg/l
*The Leachate testing method for Barium is included in the
Laboratory Manual for the Analysis of E and P Waste
(Department of Natural Resources, August 9, 1988, or latest version).
4. The concentration of measured
				  constituents in any groundwater aquifer shall at no time significantly exceed
				  background water quality data.
5.
				  Fluids collected in a land treatment cell underdrain system shall be monitored
				  to provide early warning of possible migration of mobile E and P Waste
				  constituents. The monitoring program shall be defined in the permit application
				  or the facility E and P Waste management and operations plan.
6. An independent professional consultant and
				  laboratory shall perform the necessary monitoring to assure adherence to the
				  requirements of this Section.
7. E
				  and P Waste Pretreatment and Treatment
a.
				  Waste Type 12 which contains a concentration of total benzene equal to or less
				  than 3198 mg/kg total benzene (MPC) may be placed on land treatment cells
				  without pretreatment. However, in treating such E and P Waste, the commercial
				  land treatment facility must meet the location criteria of
				  §507.
				  A 3
b. Land treatment facilities which have been
				  approved to receive Waste Type 12 which contain more than 3198 mg/kg total
				  benzene must pretreat the E and P Waste to a concentration less than or equal
				  to 3198 mg/kg total benzene (MPC) before placing the E and P Waste on a land
				  treatment cell (see
				  §505 B)
c. Waste Type 06 which has been tested and
				  found to contain a total benzene concentration less than or equal to 113 mg/kg
				  (MPC) may be land treated no closer than 1,000' from a residential or public
				  building, church, school, or hospital.
d. Waste Type 06 which has not been tested or
				  tested and found to contain a total benzene concentration greater than 113
				  mg/kg (MPC) must be land treated no closer than 2,000' from a residential or
				  public building, church, school, or hospital.
e. Free/visible oil must be removed from all
				  E and P Waste prior to loading on a land treatment cell.
f. Produced saltwater and gas plant waste
				  fluids, must not be disposed of by land treatment. If pretreated prior to
				  disposal (e.g., filtered or otherwise phase separated) fluids must be injected
				  into a Class II well.
8.
				  Application Phase
a. E and P Waste may be
				  applied to active land treatment cells during the application phase only. An
				  application phase begins only under the following conditions:
i. a new constructed and approved cell begins
				  receipt of E and P Waste;
ii. a
				  cell containing treated E and P Waste has been shown to meet the testing
				  criteria of §549. C and is utilized for the application of new E and P
				  Waste receipts;
iii. a cell from
				  which treated E and P Waste has been removed (after meeting the reuse testing
				  criteria of §565) is utilized for the application of new E and P Waste
				  receipts.
b. An
				  application phase ends when either one of the following occurs:
i. three months have elapsed since the date
				  application first began, unless an exception is granted upon proof of good
				  cause under the provisions of §569; or
ii. 15,000 bbls/acre of E and P Waste has
				  been applied to a cell.
c. In order to document the amount of E and P
				  Waste applied to each land treatment cell, commercial facilities are required
				  to:
i. indicate on each manifest (E and P
				  Waste shipping control ticket) the number of the cell onto which each load of E
				  and P Waste is applied;
ii.
				  maintain a daily or weekly log of type and volume of E and P Wastes applied to
				  each land treatment cell and the activities undertaken to bring each cell into
				  compliance; and
iii. include in the
				  quarterly report the amount of each type of E and P Waste applied to each cell
				  and the activities undertaken to bring each cell into compliance during the
				  quarter.
9.
				  Treatment Phase. Upon completion of the application phase, land treatment cells
				  enter the treatment phase. Remedial action (treatment) must be actively
				  performed in order to bring a cell into compliance with this Section. Cells
				  must reach compliance status within 24 months of the end of the application
				  phase.
10. Land treatment cell
				  levees must be constructed of soils which are placed and compacted in such a
				  manner as to produce a barrier to horizontal movement of fluids. Levee
				  construction material shall be compacted in a maximum of 8" lifts to > 90
				  percent standard proctor test. The levees must be properly tied into the
				  barrier along the bottom and sides of the cells. Actual construction of the
				  levees must be monitored and documented by professional engineering or
				  geotechnical soil testing company. All levees must be provided with a means to
				  prevent erosion and other degradation.
11. Rainwater and other E and P Waste fluids
				  are not to be stored on land treatment cells. Such fluids are to be removed
				  from cells in a timely manner and stored in appropriate facilities. Such fluids
				  may only be used for removal of salts during the treatment phase. Otherwise,
				  cells must remain free of excessive fluids.
12. Storm water retention (sediment) ponds
				  constructed after January 1, 2002 must be constructed in compliance with the
				  liner requirements for produced water pits in LAC 43:XIX.307.A and the land
				  treatment levee requirements of §549. C 10 above. Such ponds must not have
				  an accumulation of oil at any surface location.