North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 43 - Industrial Commission › Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development › Chapter 43-02-03 - Oil and Gas Conservation › Section 43-02-03-51.3 - Treating plant construction and operation requirements

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
1. Before construction of a treating plant,
				treating plant site, or access road begins, the operator shall file with the
				director a surety bond or cash bond conditioned upon compliance with all laws,
				rules and regulations, and orders of the commission. The bond amount must be
				specified in the commission order authorizing the treating plant and shall be
				based upon the location, type, and capacity of the plant, processing method,
				and plan of operation for all plant waste approved in the commission order and
				shall be payable to the industrial commission. In no case may the bond amount
				be set lower than fifty thousand dollars.
2. Treating plant sites and associated
				facilities or appropriate parts thereof must be fenced if required by the
				director. All fences installed within or around any facility must be
				constructed in a manner that promotes emergency ingress and egress.
3. All storage tanks must be kept free of
				leaks and in good condition. Storage tanks for saltwater must be constructed
				of, or lined with, materials resistant to the effects of saltwater. Open tanks
				are allowed if approved by the director.
4. All waste, recovered solids, and recovered
				fluids must be stored and handled in such a manner to prevent runoff or
				migration offsite.
5. Dikes of
				sufficient dimension to contain the total capacity of the maximum volume stored
				must be erected and maintained around all storage and processing tanks. Dikes
				as well as the base within the diked area must be lined with a synthetic
				impermeable liner to provide emergency containment unless waived by the
				director. All processing equipment shall be underlain by a synthetic
				impermeable material, unless waived by the director. The site must be sloped
				and diked to divert surface drainage away from the site. The operations of the
				treating plant shall be conducted in such a manner as to prevent leaks, spills,
				and fires. All discharged fluids and wastes shall be promptly and properly
				removed and shall not be allowed to remain standing within the diked area or on
				the treating plant premises. All such incidents must be properly cleaned up,
				subject to approval by the director. All such reportable incidents must be
				promptly reported to the director and a detailed account of any such incident
				must be filed with the director in accordance with section 43-02-03-30.
6. A perimeter berm,
				at least six inches [15.24 centimeters] in height, must be constructed of
				sufficiently impermeable material to provide emergency containment around the
				treating plant and to divert surface drainage away from the site if deemed
				necessary by the director.
7.
				Within thirty days following construction or modification of a treating plant,
				a sundry notice (form 4) must be submitted detailing the work and the dates
				commenced and completed. The sundry notice must be accompanied by a schematic
				drawing of the treating plant site drawn to scale, detailing all facilities and
				equipment, including the size, location, and purpose of all tanks; the height
				and location of all dikes as well as a calculated containment volume; all areas
				underlain by a synthetic liner; any leak detection system installed; the
				location of all flowlines; the stockpiled topsoil location and its volume; and
				the road access to the nearest existing public road.
8. Immediately upon the commencement of
				treatment operations, the operator shall notify the director in writing of such
				date.
9. The operator of a treating
				plant shall provide continuing surveillance and conduct such monitoring and
				sampling as the director may require.
10. Storage pits, waste pits, or other
				earthen storage areas must be prohibited unless authorized by an appropriate
				regulatory agency. A copy of said authorization must be filed with the
				director.
11. Burial of waste at
				any treating plant site shall be prohibited. All residual water and waste,
				fluid or solid, must be disposed of in an authorized facility.
12. The operator shall take steps to minimize
				the amount of residual waste generated and the amount of residual waste
				temporarily stored onsite. Solid waste shall not be stockpiled onsite unless
				authorized by an appropriate regulatory agency. A copy of said authorization
				shall be filed with the director.
13. If deemed necessary by the director, the
				operator shall cause to be analyzed any waste substance contained onsite. Such
				chemical analysis shall be performed by a certified laboratory and shall
				adequately determine if chemical constituents exist which would categorize the
				waste as hazardous by department of environmental quality standards.
14. Treating plants must be constructed and
				operated so as not to endanger surface or subsurface water supplies or cause
				degradation to surrounding lands and shall comply with section 43-02-03-28
				concerning fire hazards and proximity to occupied dwellings.
15. The beginning of month inventory, the
				amount of waste received and the source of such waste, the volume of oil sold,
				the amount and disposition of water, the amount and disposition of residue
				waste, fluid or solid, and the end of month inventory for each treating plant
				shall be reported monthly on form 5p with the director on or before the first
				day of the second succeeding month, regardless of the status of
				operations.
16. Records necessary
				to validate information submitted on form 5p must be maintained in North
				Dakota.
17. All proposed changes to
				any treating plant must have prior approval by the director.
18. The operator shall comply with all
				applicable rules and orders of the commission. All rules in this chapter
				governing oil well sites shall also apply to any treating plant site.
19. The operator shall immediately cease
				operations if so ordered by the director for failure to comply with the
				statutes of North Dakota, commission rules or orders, or directives of the
				director.
General Authority:
NDCC 38-08-04
Law Implemented:
NDCC
					 38-08-04