Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 33 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part IX - Water Quality › Subpart 1 - Water Pollution Control › Chapter 7 - Effluent Standards › Section IX-708 - Exploration for and Production of Oil and Natural Gas

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Applicability. The provisions of this
				  Section are applicable to discharges of wastewater associated with oil and
				  natural gas exploration and production activities.
B. Definitions. The following definitions
				  apply to terms used in this Section. Definitions of other terms and meanings of
				  abbreviations are set forth in LAC 33:IX.107 and 1105.
Average Monthly Discharge Limitation
- the
					 highest allowable average of daily discharges over a calendar month, calculated
					 as the sum of all daily discharges measured during a calendar month divided by
					 the number of daily discharges measured during that month.
Ballast Water
- uncontaminated surface
					 water used to maintain proper draft or to stabilize drilling or workover
					 vessels.
Bilge Water-
water that accumulates in the
					 bilge areas of drilling or workover vessels.
Blow-Out Preventer (BOP) Control Fluid
-
					 fluid used to actuate the hydraulic equipment on the blow-out preventer.
Boiler Blowdown
- discharge from boilers
					 necessary to minimize solids build-up in the boilers, including vents from
					 boilers and other heating systems.
Brackish Marshes
- those areas that are
					 inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater of moderate salinity at
					 a frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal
					 circumstances do support, emergent vegetation characterized by a prevalence of
					 species typically adapted for life in these soil and contiguous surface water
					 conditions. Typical vegetation includes wiregrass (
Spartina
					 patens
), three-cornered grass (
Scirpus olneyi
), coco
					 (
Scirpus robustus
), and widgeongrass (
Ruppia
					 maritima
). Interstitial water salinity normally ranges between 7 and
					 15 parts per thousand.
Cement
- portland cement, either dry or in
					 slurry form, including additives. Additives include such materials as
					 accelerators (e.g., calcium chloride), retarders (e.g., lignosulfonates),
					 weighting materials (e.g., barium sulfate), extenders (e.g., bentonite), and
					 lost circulation materials (e.g., walnut shells).
Composite Sample
- a sample consisting of
					 a minimum of eight grab samples of effluent collected at regular intervals over
					 a normal operating day and combined in proportion to flow, or a sample
					 continuously collected in proportion to flow over a 24-hour period.
Daily Discharge
- the discharge of a
					 pollutant measured during a calendar day or within any specified 24-hour period
					 that reasonably represents the calendar day for the purposes of sampling. For
					 pollutants with limitations expressed in units of mass, the "daily discharge"
					 is calculated as the total mass of the pollutant discharged over the day. For
					 pollutants with limitations expressed in other units of measurement, the "daily
					 discharge" is calculated as the average measurement of the pollutant over the
					 day.
Daily Maximum Concentration
- the daily
					 determination of concentration for any calendar day or specified 24-hour period
					 that reasonably represents the calendar day for purposes of sampling.
Deck Drainage
- all waste resulting from
					 platform washing, deck washing, equipment washing, rainwater and runoff from
					 curbs, gutters, and drains, including drip pans and wash areas.
Desalinization Unit Discharge
- wastewater
					 associated with the process of creating fresh water from salt water.
Domestic Wastes
- wastewater generated
					 from galleys, sinks, showers, and laundries.
Drill Cuttings
- particles generated by
					 drilling into subsurface geological formations.
Drilling Fluids
- any fluid sent down the
					 hole, including drilling muds and any specialty products, from the time a well
					 is begun until final cessation of drilling in that hole.
Drilling Mud
- a heavy suspension used in
					 drilling a well, introduced down the drill pipe and through the drill
					 bit.
Effluent Limitation
- any applicable state
					 or federal quality or quantity limitation that imposes any restriction or
					 prohibition on quantities, discharge rates, and concentrations of pollutants
					 discharged into the waters of the state.
Facility
- a pollution source or any
					 public or private property or site and all contiguous land and structures, and
					 other appurtenances and improvements, where any activity is conducted that
					 discharges or may result in the discharge of pollutants into waters of the
					 state.
Fire Control System Test Water
- surface
					 water and fire fighting agents discharged during periodic testing of fire
					 control systems.
Freshwater Swamps and Marshes
- those
					 areas that are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater of
					 negligible to very low salinity at a frequency and duration sufficient to
					 support, and that under normal circumstances do support, emergent vegetation
					 characterized by a prevalence of species typically adapted for life in these
					 soil and contiguous surface water conditions. Typical vegetation includes
					 maiden cane (
Panicum hemitomon
), Hydrocotyl sp., water
					 hyacinth (
Eichhornia crassipes
), pickerelweed
					 (
Pontederia cordata
), alligatorweed (
Alternanthera
					 philoxeroides
), and bulltongue (
Sagittaria sp.
).
					 Interstitial water salinity is normally less than two parts per thousand.
Intermediate Marshes
- those areas that
					 are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater of low salinity at a
					 frequency and duration sufficient to support, and that under normal
					 circumstances do support, emergent vegetation characterized by a prevalence of
					 species typically adapted for life in these soil and contiguous surface water
					 conditions. Typical vegetation includes wiregrass (
Spartina
					 patens
), deer pea (
Vigna repens
), bulltongue
					 (
Sagittaria sp.
), wild millet (
Echinochloa
					 walteri
), bullwhip (
Scirpus californicus
), and
					 sawgrass (
Cladium jamaicense
). Interstitial water salinity
					 normally ranges between three and six parts per thousand.
Native Mud Drilling Fluids
- those
					 drilling fluids that do not contain heavy-metal-based additives such as chrome
					 lignosulfonate or weighting agents such as barite or hematite.
Noncontact Cooling Water
- water that is
					 used to remove heat and which does not come into direct contact with any raw
					 material, intermediate, or finished product.
Pollutant
- any substance introduced into
					 the waters of the state by any means that would tend to degrade the chemical,
					 physical, biological, or radiological integrity of the environment.
Pollution Source
- the immediate site or
					 location of a discharge or potential discharge, including such surrounding
					 property as is necessary to secure or quarantine the area from access by the
					 general public.
Produced Sand
- sand and other solids
					 removed from produced water, oil, or gas.
Produced Water
- liquid and suspended
					 particulate waste material generated by the processing of fluids brought to the
					 surface in conjunction with recovery of oil or natural gas from underground
					 geologic formations or with underground storage of hydrocarbons.
Saline Marshes
- those wetland areas that
					 are inundated or saturated by surface water or groundwater of salinity
					 characteristic of near Gulf of Mexico ambient water at a frequency and duration
					 sufficient to support, and that under normal circumstances do support, emergent
					 vegetation characterized by a prevalence of species typically adapted for life
					 in these soil and contiguous surface water conditions. Typical vegetation
					 includes oystergrass (
Spartina alterniflora
), glasswort
					 (
Salicornia sp.
), black rush (
Juncus
					 roemerianus
), Batis maritima, black mangrove (
Avicennia
					 nitida
), and saltgrass (
Distichlis spicata
).
					 Interstitial water salinity normally exceeds 16 parts per thousand.
Sanitary Waste
- treated or untreated
					 wastewaters that contain human metabolic wastes.
Source Water and Sand
- water, including
					 the entrained solids, from non-hydrocarbon-bearing formations used for the
					 purpose of pressure maintenance or secondary recovery.
Stormwater Runoff
- aqueous surface runoff
					 including any soluble or suspended material mobilized by naturally occurring
					 precipitation events.
Territorial Seas
- the belt of the seas
					 measured from the line of ordinary low water along that portion of the coast in
					 direct contact with the open sea and the line marking the seaward limit of
					 inland waters, and extending seaward a distance of 3 miles (as defined at  33
					 U.S.C. 1362.8 ).
Toxicity Unit (TU)
- a numerical value
					 defined as the quotient of the discharged effluent concentration divided by the
					 effluent concentration producing lethality (TUa Toxicity Units, acute toxicity)
					 or the effluent concentration producing no observable effect (TUc Toxicity
					 Units, chronic toxicity).
Upland
- any land area that is not
					 normally inundated with water and that would not, under normal circumstances,
					 be characterized as swamp or fresh, intermediate, brackish, or saline marsh.
					 The term shall have both a regional and site-specific connotation; for example,
					 naturally occurring and man-made topographic highs that are partially or
					 totally surrounded by swamp, marsh, or open water will be considered upland on
					 a local basis, but will not necessitate characterization of the surrounding
					 area as upland. The land and water bottoms of all parishes north of the nine
					 parishes contiguous with the Gulf of Mexico will be considered in toto as
					 upland regions. The designation of upland in those parishes bordering the Gulf
					 of Mexico shall be determined on a case-by-case basis with reference to the
					 presence of a regional expanse of emergent aquatic vegetation or open
					 water.
Visible Sheen
- a silvery or metallic
					 sheen, gloss, or increased reflectivity; visual color; or iridescence on the
					 water surface.
Well Completion Fluid
- salt solutions,
					 sometimes containing various additives, which are used to prevent damage to the
					 wellbore during operations which prepare the drilled well for hydrocarbon
					 production. Drilling fluids remaining in the wellbore during logging, casing
					 and cementing operations or during temporary abandonment of the well are not
					 considered completion fluids.
Well Treatment Fluid
- fluids used to
					 restore or improve productivity by chemically or physically altering
					 hydrocarbon-bearing strata after a well has been drilled. These fluids include
					 substances such as acids, solvents, and propping agents.
Workover Fluid
- salt solutions, sometimes
					 containing specialty additives, which are used in a producing well to allow
					 safe repair and maintenance procedures. High solids drilling fluids used during
					 workover operations are not considered workover fluids by definition and
					 therefore must meet drilling fluid effluent limitations before discharge may
					 occur. Packer fluids, low solid fluids between the packer, production string
					 and well casing, are considered to be workover fluids.
C. Effluent Guidelines. The following
				  effluent guidelines establish general and discharge-specific guidelines for
				  discharges associated with oil and natural gas exploration and production
				  activities.
1. General Guidelines
a. There shall be no unpermitted discharge of
				  waste oil, produced water, drilling fluids, drill cuttings, or other wastes,
				  nor any uncontrolled discharges of wastewater, including stormwater runoff,
				  from exploration and production sites.
b. A Spill Prevention and Control Plan shall
				  be prepared and implemented in accordance with the provisions specified in LAC
				  33:IX.901-907. This plan shall establish a program for regular inspection of
				  all storage tanks, separators, and related production and transfer equipment.
				  The plan shall also include provisions for, at a minimum, annual monitoring of
				  flow line integrity through a combination of visual inspection and pressure
				  testing or through the use of an approved alternate methodology. Inspection and
				  test records shall be maintained for a minimum of three years. The plan shall
				  also establish provisions for ready access to, and rapid deployment of,
				  containment booms and ancillary spill containment and cleanup equipment.
				  Discharges shall be controlled through the following measures.
i. All workover and drilling barges, and
				  production facilities shall be equipped with pollution containment devices that
				  under normal operating conditions prevent unauthorized discharges.
ii. All storage tanks, separators, and
				  related production and transfer equipment to be located in open water or
				  wetland areas, where building dikes is impossible or impracticable, shall be
				  installed on impervious decking provided with a system of curbs, gutters,
				  and/or sumps capable of retaining spills of oil, produced water, or any other
				  product or waste material. Storage and processing facilities located in open
				  water or wetland areas that lack appropriate spill prevention and control
				  appurtenances shall be modified to achieve compliance within four years after
				  promulgation of these regulations.
iii. All drains from diked areas shall be
				  equipped with valves that are kept in the closed position except during periods
				  of supervised discharge.
iv. In the
				  event of an unauthorized discharge of oil, produced water, or any other product
				  or waste material, a remedial response must be immediately initiated and the
				  Office of Environmental Compliance shall be notified in accordance with LAC
				  33:I.3901 et seq. The remedial response shall include immediate removal of
				  discharged materials and, to the extent practicable, decontamination of any
				  water, soil, sediment, or vegetation adversely impacted by the unauthorized
				  discharge. If immediate cleanup is not considered to be an appropriate remedial
				  measure, the responsible party shall notify the Office of Environmental
				  Compliance of the alternative remedial plan and shall promptly implement said
				  plan upon approval by the department. Submission of an alternate plan shall in
				  no way relieve the responsible party of its duty to contain and mitigate the
				  effects of the discharge.
v. Use of
				  detergents, emulsifiers, or dispersants to clean up spilled oil is prohibited
				  unless the use has been specifically approved by the department or is necessary
				  to maintain a safe work environment (i.e., minimization of the potential for
				  personnel injury due to slipping hazards). In all such cases, initial cleanup
				  shall be done by physical removal. Detergents, emulsifiers, or dispersants
				  shall not be employed to sink, obscure, or camouflage spilled materials or to
				  in any way hinder observation of a spill event.
vi. At least 2 feet of freeboard shall be
				  maintained in all earthen pits at any time. Any discharge of wastewater from
				  earthen pits directed to waters of the state must be conducted in accordance
				  with the provisions of a valid Louisiana Water Discharge Permit System (LWDPS)
				  permit.