312 IAC 29-17-3 - Additional requirements for locating and permitting of wells
Authority: IC 14-37-3
Affected: IC 14-34; IC 14-37
Sec. 3.
(a) This
section establishes requirements for the locating and permitting of wells for
oil and gas purposes in areas underlain by commercially minable coal resources
identified under this rule.
(b) For
purposes of this section, "waste of the volume of coal" means locating,
spacing, drilling, equipping, operating, or producing a well for oil and gas
purposes that unreasonably reduces or tends to unreasonably reduce the quantity
of commercially minable coal resources ultimately to be recovered from a
mine.
(c) Unless the coal owner or
coal lessee authorized the drilling of a coal bed methane well, the division
may require an owner or operator to make reasonable modifications to the
specific location for the drilling of a well for oil and gas purposes if a
finding is made that the modifications:
(1)
are necessary to protect commercially minable coal resources from
waste;
(2) do not violate the
drilling unit, well spacing, or other requirements of IC 14-37; and
(3) are necessary to protect the health and
safety of miners.
(d)
Before submitting an application for a well for oil and gas purposes to the
division, the applicant should determine whether the proposed well location is
underlain by any of the following commercially minable coal resources:
(1) A coal seam on land within the permit
boundary of an active underground mine permitted under IC 14-34as described in
section 1(a)(1) of this rule.
(2) A
coal seam on land within the permit boundary of an inactive underground mine
permitted under IC 14-34as described in section 1(a)(2) of this rule.
(3) A coal seam associated with a mine
permitted under subdivision (1) or (2) that is projected to be mined and
identified as required under section 1(c)(1)(E) of this rule.
(e) The owner or operator of a
well proposed to be drilled on lands identified under subsection (d) must
provide notice of the intent to drill a well:
(1) to the permittee of the mine;
or
(2) for an inactive mine, to the
person with the right to develop the coal resource.
(f) The notice required under subsection (e)
is not required if the permittee of the mine consents in writing to the
placement of the well.
(g) The
notice required under subsection (e) must follow a format prescribed by the
division and must be accompanied by a plat showing the specific location of the
proposed well.
(h) The permittee of
the mine or other person with the right to develop the coal resource must
respond within fifteen (15) days of receipt of the notice whether the specific
location for the drilling of the well is likely to result in either or both of
the following:
(1) A significant waste of the
volume of coal ultimately to be recovered from the underground mine.
(2) Endangerment of the health and safety of
miners.
(i) A person that
makes an affirmative determination under subsection (h) with respect to waste
of the volume of coal or the endangerment of the health and safety of miners
must:
(1) promptly provide a copy of the
determination to the owner or operator of the proposed well and to the
division; and
(2) identify
alternative well locations that would:
(A)
reduce or avoid waste of the volume of coal ultimately to be recovered from the
underground mine;
(B) eliminate the
likelihood of endangerment of the health and safety of miners;
(C) not violate the drilling unit, well
spacing, or other requirements of IC 14-37 or this article; and
(D) not result in waste of oil and gas
resources.
(j)
If the permittee (or other owner of the right to mine the coal resource) fails
to respond within the specified fifteen (15) day period provided under
subsection (h), the owner or operator may file a permit application for the
specified location.
(k) If the
permittee (or other owner of the right to mine the coal resource) and the owner
or operator of the proposed well agree on a suitable alternate location, the
owner or operator may file a permit application for the specified alternate
location.
(l) If the permittee (or
other owner of the right to mine the coal resource) and the owner or operator
of the proposed well are unable to agree on a suitable location for the well,
which is not likely to result in endangerment of the health and safety of
miners, any of them may request an informal hearing under
312 IAC 29-3-4.
(m) Within thirty (30) days after receipt of
a request for an informal hearing, the division director must conduct the
informal hearing for the purposes of gathering the following information:
(1) Whether the proposed well location is in
an active, inactive, abandoned, or projected underground coal mine permit
area.
(2) Whether the proposed well
location is in an unsealed inactive area or a sealed area of an active coal
mine with the potential for the drilling of the well to introduce oxygen into
the area.
(3) The proximity and
size of coal pillars in an alternate location that might be drilled through,
including whether the alternate location is in a panel or in a support for a
submain or main entries.
(4) The
equipment technology, operating, and drilling experience history of the owner
or operator.
(n) Within
fifteen (15) days after the conclusion of the informal hearing and the
submittal of any follow-up information that the division director requests from
the participants, the division director shall determine whether:
(1) a suitable alternate well location can be
identified that is not likely to result in endangerment of the health and
safety of miners; and
(2) the
location for the well for which notice was provided under subsection (e) is not
likely to result in endangerment of the health and safety of miners.
(o) If after the informal hearing
the division director:
(1) is unable to
identify a suitable alternate location for the well that is not likely to
result in endangerment of the health and safety of miners; and
(2) determines the location for the well for
which notice was provided under subsection (e) is not likely to result in
endangerment of the health and safety of miners;
the owner or operator is not required to modify the location of the proposed well and may submit a permit application to the division for processing under IC 14-37 and this article.
Notes
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