Nebraska Administrative Code › Topic - OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION › Title 267 - NEBRASKA OIL AND GAS CONSERVATION COMMISSION › Chapter 3 - DRILLING, DEVELOPMENT, PRODUCING AND ABANDONMENT › Section 267-3-022 - POLLUTION AND SURFACE DRAINAGE

Current through June 17, 2024
Operators shall take all reasonable precaution to avoid
				  polluting streams, underground water and land surface and soils. No oil, salt
				  water, brackish water or other water unfit for domestic, livestock, irrigation
				  or other general use shall be allowed to flow over the surface or into any
				  stream or underground fresh water zone.
022.01 Spill Reporting Requirements
Any person operating any well, flow lines, receiving tanks,
				  storage tanks, or receiving and storage receptacles into which crude oil or
				  salt water is produced, received, or stored or through which oil or produced
				  water is piped or transported shall notify the Director within two (2) business
				  days of any oil and/or produced water spill, leak, or release in excess of
				  twenty (20) barrels. The notice shall be followed within seven (7) working days
				  by a written report. All such reports of breaks, leaks, and spills shall
				  identify the location of the well, tank, receptacle or flow line by section,
				  township, range, and property name so that the exact location may be readily
				  located. Such report shall specify what steps have been taken or are in
				  progress to remedy the situation reported and shall estimate the quantity of
				  oil and/or produced water lost, or permitted to escape.
The operator shall immediately notify the appropriate State
				  and Federal agencies of any oil or produced water spill, leak, or release which
				  enters any surface or ground water or flows off the lease or unit
				  lands.
022.02 Cleanup
				Standards for Crude Oil Spills
Cleanup standards set forth in this section apply to only
				  exempt E&P spills that do not: escape off the lease or enter any surface or
				  ground water. For all other spills operators shall notify all appropriate State
				  and Federal agencies.
022.03
				Requirements for Cleanup
Removal of Free Oil - To prevent waste and to minimize the
				  depth of oil penetration, all free oil must be removed immediately for
				  reclamation.
Excavation - All soil containing over one (1) percent by
				  weight total petroleum hydrocarbons must be remediated or disposed of at an
				  authorized disposal site.
Prevention of Stormwater Contamination - To prevent
				  stormwater contamination soil excavated from the spill site containing over
				  five (5) percent by weight total petroleum hydrocarbons must be:
* Mixed with clean soil to a mixture of less than five (5)
				  percent, or
* Removed to an authorized disposal site, or
* Contained on secure location for future remediation.
The operator may select any technically sound method for
				  remediation of soil.
022.04
				Final Cleanup Level
The Commission shall have final authority to determine if
				  remediation has achieved a cleanup level of less than one (1) percent by weight
				  total petroleum hydrocarbons. Cleanup shall be completed as soon as technically
				  feasible.
022.05 Remediation
				Reporting Requirements
For each spill exceeding twenty (20) barrels of crude oil,
				  the operator must submit on a Form 4 a report to the Commission which shall
				  give the following information:
* A detailed description of the disposal or remediation
				  method used.
* The estimated date of completion of the site
				  cleanup.
* Area, maximum depth and volume in cubic yards of soil
				  affected by crude oil.
* A statement signed by the operator stating that all
				  affected soils have been treated and the surface landowner has been
				  notified.
022.06 Crude Oil
				Spills of Twenty (20) Barrels or Less
Spills into the soil of twenty (20) barrels or less of crude
				  oil must be remediated to these standards, but are not required to be reported
				  to the Commission.
022.07
				Cleanup Standards for Produced Water Spills
Cleanup standards set forth in this section apply to only
				  exempt E&P spills that do not:
* escape off the lease, or
* enter any surface or groundwater.
For all other spills operators shall notify the appropriate
				  State and Federal agencies.
022.08 Standards set forth in this section do
				not include those produced waters released under the terms of a valid National
				Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permit.
022.09 Requirements for Cleanup
Removal of Free Water - To minimize the depth of produced
				  water penetration, all free water must be removed for disposal.
Establish Containment Systems - To minimize the extent of the
				  affected area, temporary dikes, pits, or tanks should be used.
The operator may select any technically sound method for
				  remediation of affected soil.
022.10 Final Cleanup Level
The Commission shall have final authority to determine if the
				  effected land has been restored to its prior beneficial use. Cleanup shall be
				  completed as soon as technically feasible.
022.11 Remediation Reporting Requirements
For each spill exceeding twenty (20) barrels of produced
				  water, in which the water spilled exceeds ten thousand (10,000) parts per
				  million total dissolved solids, or a spill exceeding two hundred (200) barrels
				  of produced water, in which the water spilled contains less than 10,000 parts
				  per million total dissolved solids, the operator must submit on a Form 4 a
				  report to the Commission which shall give the following information:
* A detailed description of the disposal or remediation
				  method used.
* The estimated date of completion of the site
				  cleanup.
* Area, maximum depth and volume in cubic yards of soil
				  affected by produced water.
* A statement signed by the operator stating that all
				  affected soils have been treated and the surface landowner has been
				  notified.
022.12 Produced
				Water Pits
No person shall construct or operate a pit or pond to retain
				  produced water without first filing an application for a permit on Form 15,
				  RETAINING PIT PERMIT, and obtaining approval from the Director. Permit numbers
				  shall be displayed on a weatherproof sign along with the name of the operator
				  and lease at the pit site. Pits or ponds used to evaporate or retain water
				  which were in existence prior to the effective date of this rule must be
				  re-permitted within one year after the effective date of this rule.
If inspection indicates that the facility no longer meets the
				  requirements of this rule, the use of the facility shall cease.
Upon application, an exception to the construction and
				  operational requirements of Section 022.12 may be granted by the Director upon
				  showing that the pit design, in consideration of geologic and hydrodynamic
				  conditions, will protect water, soils, wildlife, and migratory birds.
022.12A All pits or ponds used to retain
				produced water shall:
* Be constructed in cut material or at least fifty (50)
				  percent below original ground level.
* Be lined with a material compatible with the waste
				  contained.
* Not be located in a natural drainage and shall be
				  constructed above the seasonal high water table.
*Be bermed or diked and shall have at least two (2) feet of
				  freeboard between the normal operating level of the water in the pit and the
				  top of the banks, dikes or berms.
* Be fenced, screened, or netted to prevent access by
				  livestock, wildlife and migratory birds if free oil is likely to be discharged
				  to the pits.
* Not be used for the dumping of any wastes other than
				  produced water.
* Approved monitoring systems may be required if a pit is
				  located in an area that the Commission can reasonably define as environmentally
				  sensitive.
022.12B Unlined
				evaporation pits shall be allowed for produced waters containing less than ten
				thousand (10,000) milligrams per liter total dissolved solids. Unlined
				evaporation pits that receive less than five (5) barrels per day on a monthly
				average shall be allowed when it can be shown that the pit will not impact
				water, soils, wildlife and migratory birds.
022.12C Pit Lining Requirements
The application for a lined pit submitted on Form 15 shall
				  include the type and specifications of the liner to be used. All liners
				  constructed of manufactured materials must meet or exceed the specifications
				  set forth by the Commission.
Soil mixture liners, recompacted clay liners and manufactured
				  liners must be compatible with the waste contained. The operator must provide
				  evidence of the chemical resistance of the liner selected for use.
Manufactured liners must be installed over smooth fill
				  subgrade which is free of pockets, loose rocks, or other materials which could
				  damage the liner. Sand, sifted dirt, or bentonite are suggested as cushion
				  materials if needed. At no time shall any organic material, except synthetic
				  cushion fabric designed for that purpose, be used for a liner cushion.
Liner edges must be secured to prevent wind damage.
If a lined pit does not have an approved monitoring system,
				  then it shall be drained, cleaned and inspected for leaks or holes each
				  year.
The Director may grant an exception to this pit lining
				  requirement where, the operator shows that due to the surface or subsurface
				  geology, the uses of the known sources of groundwater, the permeability of the
				  surrounding soils, or similar consideration, the known sources of underlying
				  groundwater will not be adversely impacted.
022.12D All retaining pits shall be kept free
				of surface accumulations of oil and other hydrocarbon substances and shall be
				cleaned within ten (10) days after the discovery of the accumulation by the
				operator or notice from the Commission, unless weather conditions or other
				conditions, as approved by the Commission, do not allow such removal within the
				time frame specified. In the event such removal is delayed by weather or other
				factors, the operator will notify the Commission on Form 4 within ten (10)
				working days of the operator noticing said accumulation, or of Commission
				notification. The notification will include an estimated time table during
				which the problem can be practically corrected, in an approved
				manner.
022.12E This rule shall not
				apply to pits used in conjunction with drilling or reworking operations under a
				valid permit to drill unless such pit is used after the cessation of the
				drilling or reworking operations.
022.12F Produced water may be discharged into
				pits, onto land, or into other water sources if the operator has a valid
				discharge permit issued under the National Pollutant Discharge Elimination
				System (NPDES). The operator shall file a copy of the NPDES permit with the
				Commission. Temporary Emergency Pits and Flare Pits