Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 165 - Corporation Commission › Chapter 10 - Oil And Gas Conservation › Subchapter 7 - Pollution Abatement › Part 3 - STORAGE AND DISPOSAL OF FLUIDS › Section 165:10-7-16 - Use of noncommercial pits

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
(a)
Scope.
This Section shall
				  cover the permitting, construction, operation, and closure requirements for any
				  noncommercial pit. A noncommercial pit is an earthen pit which is located
				  either on-site or off-site and is used for the handling, storage, or disposal
				  of drilling fluids and/or other deleterious substances produced, obtained, or
				  used in connection with the drilling and/or operation of a well or wells, and
				  is operated by the generator of the waste. This does not cover disposal well
				  pits. (See
				  165:10-7-20 and
				  165:10-9-3.)
(b)
Liner requirements.
(1)
Reserve/circulation and/or
				  completion/fracture/workover pits.
(A)
				  To assist in determining the construction requirements for a particular
				  proposed reserve/circulation pit, either on-site or off-site, the operator of
				  the pit shall indicate on Form 1000 the type of mud system(s) to be used, the
				  maximum and average anticipated chloride concentration of the mud (based on
				  drilling records in the area), whether or not pit fluids will be segregated,
				  and shall furnish other information required by this Section or requested by
				  the Commission's Technical Services Department.
(B) The Commission's Technical Services
				  Department shall evaluate the site based upon Oklahoma Geological Survey maps
				  and other pertinent information and shall assign one of the following
				  categories to any proposed reserve/circulation pit, designating same on Form
				  1000 and indicating whether or not a liner is required:
(i)
Category 1A - Geomembrane
				  liner.
(I)
Water based drilling
				  fluid containment and/or water-based completion/fracture/workover fluid
				  containment located over a alluvial deposit or in a near surface static water
				  level environment.
Any pit used to contain water-based drilling fluids,
				  cuttings and/or completion/fracture/workover fluids located in alluvial deposit
				  area or an area where the static water table is within 10 feet of the surface
				  shall utilize a geomembrane liner for all drilling fluids and cuttings and/or
				  completion/fracture/workover fluids.
(II)
Water-based drilling fluid
				  containment and/or water-based completion/fracture/workover fluid containment
				  located within a wellhead protection area.
Any pit used to contain
				  water-based drilling fluids, cuttings and/or completion/fracture/workover
				  fluids located within a wellhead protection area (WPA) as identified by the
				  Wellhead Protection Program (
				  42 U.S.C.
				  Section 300h-7, Safe Drinking Water Act), or
				  within one mile of public water well for which the WPA has not been delineated,
				  shall be required to have a geomembrane liner.
(ii)
Category 1B - Soil liner or
				  geomembrane liner.
(I)
Water-based drilling fluid containment and/or water-based
				  completion/fracture/workover fluid containment located over a terrace
				  deposit.
Any pit used to contain water-based drilling fluids, cuttings
				  and/or completion/fracture/workover fluids located over a terrace deposit shall
				  be required to have either a soil liner or a geomembrane liner.
(II)
Water-based drilling fluid
				  containment and/or water-based completion/fracture/workover fluid containment
				  located over a bedrock aquifer or Hydrologically Sensitive Area (HSA).
Any pit used to contain water-based drilling fluids, cuttings and/or
				  completion/fracture/workover fluids located over any bedrock aquifer or HSA and
				  is used to contain water-based drilling fluids and/or cuttings and/or
				  completion/ fracture/workover fluids with chlorides in excess 5,000 mg/l shall
				  be required to have a soil liner or a geomembrane liner. A separate unlined pit
				  may be used to contain fluids and/or cuttings with a chloride content of less
				  than of 5,000 mg/l.
(iii)
Category 2 - Water-based/other situations.
Any pit which is used
				  to contain water-based drilling fluids, cuttings and/or
				  completion/fracture/workover fluids with a set of conditions different from
				  Categories 1A and 1B shall not be required to be lined.
(iv)
Category 3 - Oil-based.
Any
				  pit used to contain oil-based drilling fluids, cuttings and/or
				  completion/fracture/workover fluids shall be required to have a geomembrane
				  liner.
(v)
Category 4 -
				  Air-based.
Any pit used to contain the cuttings from an air-based system
				  shall not be required to be lined. The discharge of produced water into a
				  category 4 pit is prohibited.