North Dakota Administrative Code › Title 43 - Industrial Commission › Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development › Chapter 43-02-03 - Oil and Gas Conservation › Section 43-02-03-19.5 - Reserve pit for drilling mud and drill cuttings from shallow wells

Current through Supplement No. 393, July, 2024
For wells drilled to a strata or formation, including lignite
				  or coal strata or seam, located above the depth of five thousand feet [1524
				  meters] below the surface, or located more than five thousand feet [1524
				  meters] below the surface but above the top of the Rierdon formation, a
				  container or reserve pit of sufficient size to contain said material or fluid,
				  and the accumulation of drill cuttings may be utilized to contain solids and
				  fluids used and generated during well drilling and completion operations,
				  providing the pit can be constructed, used and reclaimed in a manner that will
				  prevent pollution of the land surface and freshwaters. A reserve pit may be
				  allowed by an order of the commission after notice and hearing, provided the
				  reserve pit can be constructed, used, and reclaimed in a manner that will
				  prevent pollution of the land surface and freshwaters, for (a) wells drilled
				  within a specified field and pool more than five thousand feet [1524 meters]
				  below the surface and below the top of the Rierdon formation provided the
				  proposed well or wells utilized a low sodium content water-based mud system or
				  (b) for wells drilled and completed, outside an established field which has
				  defined the pool to include the Bakken or Three Forks formation, when separate
				  reserve pits will be utilized to segregate each mud system and associated drill
				  cuttings and any oil skim accumulated on any reserve pit utilized for a
				  water-based mud system will be removed immediately after completion of drilling
				  operations so as not to cause any significant delay in the reclamation of the
				  reserve pit. In special circumstances, based on site-specific conditions, the
				  director or authorized representative may prohibit construction of a reserve
				  pit or may impose more stringent pit construction and reclamation requirements,
				  including reserve pits previously authorized by a commission order within a
				  specified field and pool. Under no circumstances shall reserve pits be used for
				  disposal, dumping, or storage of fluids, wastes, and debris other than drill
				  cuttings and fluids used or recovered while drilling and completing the
				  well.
Reserve pits shall not be located in, or hazardously near,
				  bodies of water, nor shall they block natural drainages. No reserve pit shall
				  be wholly or partially constructed in fill dirt unless approved by the
				  director.
Within a reasonable time, but not more than one year after
				  the completion of a shallow well, or prior to drilling below the surface casing
				  shoe on any other well, the reserve pit shall be reclaimed. Prior to reclaiming
				  the pit, the operator or the operator's agent shall file a sundry notice (form
				  4) with the director and obtain approval of a pit reclamation plan. Verbal
				  approval to reclaim the pit may be given. The notice shall include:
1. The name and address of the reclamation
				contractor;
2. The name and address
				of the surface owner;
3. The
				location and name of the disposal site for the pit water; and
4. A description of the proposed work,
				including details on treatment and disposition of the drilling waste.
All pit water must be removed prior to reclamation. Drilling
				  waste should be encapsulated in the pit and covered with at least four feet
				  [1.22 meters] of backfill and topsoil and surface sloped, when practicable, to
				  promote surface drainage away from the reclaimed pit area.
General Authority:
NDCC
					 38-08-04
Law Implemented:
NDCC
					 38-08-04