Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XIX - Office of Conservation-General Operations › Subpart 1 - Statewide Order No. 29-B › Chapter 3 - Pollution Control-Onsite Storage, Treatment and Disposal of Exploration and Production Waste (E and P Waste) Generated from the Drilling and Production of Oil and Gas Wells (Oilfield Pit Regulations) › Section XIX-301 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
Coastal Area
- that area comprising inland
					 tidal waters, lakes bounded by the Gulf of Mexico, and salt water marshes and
					 more particularly identified as the intermediate marshes, brackish marshes, and
					 saline marshes on the Vegetative Type Map of the Louisiana Coastal Marshes,
					 published by the Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, August,
					 1978.
Community Saltwater Disposal Well
or
System
- as defined in §501
Contamination
- the introduction of
					 substances or contaminants into a groundwater aquifer, a USDW or soil in such
					 quantities as to render them unusable for their intended purposes.
Elevated Wetland Area
- a wetland area
					 which is not normally inundated with water and where land mass and levee
					 material are available for mixing with waste fluids during closure of a
					 pit.
Exempt Pits
- compressor station pits,
					 natural gas processing plant pits, emergency pits, and salt dome cavern pits
					 located in the coastal area.
E and P Waste
- exploration and production
					 waste.
Exploration and Production Waste
- as
					 defined in §501
FSR Fluid
-
fracture stimulation
					 reclamation fluid
as defined in §501
Groundwater Aquifer
- water in the
					 saturated zone beneath the land surface that contains less than 10,000 mg/l
					 TDS.
Hydrocarbon Storage Brine
- well water,
					 potable water, rainwater, or brine (partially saturated to completely
					 saturated) used as a displacing fluid in hydrocarbon storage well
					 operations.
Manufactured Liner
- any man-made synthetic
					 material of sufficient size and qualities to sustain a hydraulic conductivity
					 no greater than 1 x 10-7 cm/sec after installation
					 and which is sufficiently reinforced to withstand normal wear and tear
					 associated with the installation and pit use without damage to the liner or
					 adverse affect on the quality thereof. For purposes of this Chapter and Chapter
					 5, a manufactured liner used in pit construction must meet or exceed the
					 following standards.
Parameter or Test Standard
Thickness (average)
> 10 mil (0.01 in)
Breaking Strength (Grab Method)*
90 lbs
Bursting Strength*
140 psi
Tearing Strength*
25 lbs
Seam Strength*
50 lbs
*Testing is to be performed according to ASTM method D-751,
					 latest revision.
Mining Water
- well water, potable water,
					 rainwater, or unsaturated brine which is injected into a brine solution mining
					 well for recovery as saturated brine.
Onsite
- for purposes of this Section, on
					 the same lease or contiguous property owned by the lessor, or within the
					 confines of a drilling unit established for a specific well or group of
					 wells.
Operation of Oil and Gas Facilities
- as
					 used in this Section, all oil and gas wells, disposal wells, enhanced recovery
					 injection wells and facilities, flowlines, field storage and separation
					 facilities, natural gas processing and/or gas sweetening plants, and compressor
					 stations.
Pit
- for purposes of this Chapter, a
					 natural topographic depression or man-made excavation used to hold produced
					 water or other exploration and production waste, hydrocarbon storage brine, or
					 mining water. The term does not include lined sumps less than 660 gallons or
					 containment dikes, ring levees or firewalls constructed around oil and gas
					 facilities.
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.
Production Pits
- either earthen or lined
					 storage pits for collecting E and P Waste sediment periodically cleaned from
					 tanks and other producing facilities, for storage of produced water or other
					 exploration and production wastes produced from the operation of oil and gas
					 facilities, or used in conjunction with hydrocarbon storage and solution mining
					 operations as follows.
1.
Burn
				  Pits
- earthen pits intended for use as a place to temporarily store
				  and periodically burn exploration and production waste (excluding produced
				  water) collected from tanks and facilities.
2.
Compressor Station Pits
-
				  lined or earthen pits intended for temporary storage or disposal of fresh water
				  condensed from natural gas at a gas pipeline drip or gas compressor
				  station.
3.
Natural Gas
				  Processing Plant Pits
- lined or earthen pits used for the storage of
				  process waters or stormwater runoff. No produced water may be stored in a
				  natural gas processing plant pit.
4.
Produced Water Pits
- lined or earthen pit used for storing
				  produced water and other exploration and production wastes, hydrocarbon storage
				  brine, or mining water.
5.
Washout Pits
- lined earthen pits used to collect wash water
				  generated by the cleaning of vacuum truck tanks and other vessels and equipment
				  only used to transport exploration and production waste. Any materials other
				  than E and P Waste are prohibited from being placed in such pits.
6.
Well Test Pits
- small
				  earthen pits intended for use to periodically test or clean up a
				  well.
7.
Emergency
				  Pits
- lined or earthen pits used to periodically collect produced
				  water and other E and P Waste fluids only during emergency incidents, rupture
				  or failure of other facilities.
8.
Onshore Terminal Pits
- lined or earthen pits located in the
				  coastal area used for storing produced water at terminals that receive crude
				  oil and entrained water by pipeline from offshore oil and gas production
				  facilities.
9.
Salt Dome
				  Cavern Pits
- lined or earthen pits located in the coastal area
				  associated with the storage of petroleum products and petroleum in salt dome
				  caverns.
Reserve Pits
- temporary earthen pits used
					 to store only those materials used or generated in drilling and workover
					 operations.
ROW Fluid
-reclaimed Oilfield Waste fluid
					 as defined in
					 §501
Staging Location
-a registered site used by
					 the operator for receiving and storing reclaimed oil field waste fluid for use
					 in that operator's onsite or nearby downhole well operations.
Submerged Wetland Area
- a wetland area
					 which is normally inundated with water and where only levee material is
					 available for mixing with waste fluids during closure of a pit.
Underground Source of Drinking Water
					 (USDW)
- for the purpose of administering these rules and regulations
					 is defined in §403 B
Upland Area
- an area which is not
					 identified as a wetland and includes farm land, pasture land, recreational
					 land, and residential land.
AUTHORITY
					 NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with
					 R.S.
					 30:4 et seq.