Pennsylvania Code › Title 25 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Part I - Department of Environmental Protection › Subpart C - Protection of Natural Resources › Article I - Land Resources › Chapter 78a - UNCONVENTIONAL WELLS › Subchapter C - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION PERFORMANCE STANDARDS › Section 78a.67 - Borrow pits

Current through Register Vol. 54, No. 28, July 13, 2024
(a) An operator
						who owns or controls a borrow pit that does not require a permit under the
						Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation Act (52 P.S.
						§§
													3301-3326) under the exemption
						in section
						3273.1(b) of the
						act (relating to relationship to solid waste and surface mining), because the
						borrow pit is used exclusively for extraction of minerals for the purpose of
						oil and gas well development, including access road construction, shall
						operate, maintain and reclaim the borrow pit in accordance with the performance
						standards in Chapter 77, Subchapter I (relating to environmental protection
						performance standards) and in accordance with Chapter 102 (relating to erosion
						and sediment control), and other applicable laws. The mining permit exemption
						only applies so long as the borrow pit is servicing an oil and gas well site
						where a well is permitted under section 3211 of the act (relating to well
						permits) or registered under section 3213 of the act (relating to well
						registration and identification) and the requirements of section 3225 of the
						act (relating to bonding) are satisfied by filing a surety or collateral bond
						for wells drilled on or after April 18, 1985. Borrow pits shall be subject to
						The Clean Streams Law (35 P.S. §§
													691.1-691.1001), and regulations promulgated
						thereunder, including Chapter 102. For purposes of determining permitting
						requirements under §
												102.5(c)
						(relating to permit requirements), areas subject to the mining permit exemption
						shall be considered part of the project along with the well site being
						serviced.
(b) Operators shall
						register the location of their existing borrow pits by December 7, 2016, by
						providing the Department, electronically, through the Department's web site,
						with the GPS coordinates, township and county where the borrow pit is located.
						The operator shall register the location of a new borrow pit in the same manner
						prior to construction.
(c) Borrow
						pits used for the development of oil and gas well sites and access roads that
						no longer meet the conditions under section
						3273.1 of the act must meet one of
						the following:
(1) Be restored within 9 months
						after completion of drilling the final well on a well site serviced by the
						borrow pit or 9 months after the expiration of all well permits on well sites
						serviced by the borrow pit, whichever occurs later. An extension of the
						restoration requirement may be approved under §
													78a.65(c)
						(relating to site restoration).
(2)
						Obtain a noncoal surface mining permit for its continued use, unless relevant
						exemptions apply under the Noncoal Surface Mining Conservation and Reclamation
						Act and regulations promulgated thereunder.