Wyoming Administrative Code › Agency 060 - Lands and Investments, Office of › Sub-Agency 0002 - Land Commissioners, Board of › Chapter 18 - LEASING OF OIL AND GAS › Section 18-12 - Surface Integrity and Minimum Reclamation

Current through July 13, 2024
(a) Lessees shall
				use care and proper safeguards to prevent pollution of the soil or any water,
				including underground aquifers, by virtue of lessee's or lessee's designee's
				operation on state lands and shall capture and dispose of any operation's
				pollutants not permitted under Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
				regulation, resulting from lessee's or lessee's designee's operations, and
				shall be responsible for any and all damages caused thereby related to lessee's
				operations.
(b) When any oil, gas,
				or disposal well on state lands becomes dormant as defined by Wyoming Oil and
				Gas Conservation Commission Rules at Chapter 3, Section  4, the lessee shall
				either properly plug and abandon it within one hundred eighty (180) days after
				first reaching that status or post an additional bond with the Office in the
				amount of two dollars ($2.00) per foot of well depth. All wells must be
				properly plugged and abandoned, unless otherwise authorized by the Director,
				within one hundred eighty (180) days of the loss of lease. Lessee's bond will
				not be released until satisfactory abandonment, as approved by the Wyoming Oil
				and Gas Conservation Commission and the Office, has been completed.
(c) Upon completion of operations on state
				lands, all related disturbances on state lands must be reclaimed to leave the
				land in as near as practicable to the original condition of the land prior to
				operations. All topsoil must be salvaged before an area is disturbed by roads,
				buildings or other related activities. The salvaged topsoil must be stockpiled
				in such a way to protect it from wind and water erosion. If no topsoil exists
				for use in reclamation, with the Director's written approval, a cover soil that
				has been amended to sustain vegetation may be applied. If lessees can
				demonstrate that stripping and stockpiling of topsoil as precursor to their
				activities will be more detrimental to the topsoil as relates to reclamation,
				the Director may waive this requirement.
(d) New roads shall cross all drainages at
				right angles with culverts installed in a manner to avoid constricting the flow
				of surface water. All drainage or creek crossings must be constructed of
				erosion resistant material and constructed in a manner to prevent degradation
				of waters of the state from eroded sediment. No pits or impoundments shall
				remain after operations and reclamation activities, unless they have developed
				into viable wetlands as that term is defined by current federal regulation or
				if the pits or impoundments could potentially be of use to the state or to the
				surface lessee. All reclaimed areas must have slopes as approved by the
				Director and in conformance with existing State of Wyoming laws, rules, and
				regulations governing reclamation.
(e) All reclaimed areas must be reseeded,
				where possible, with an approved seed mixture.