25 Pa. Code § 78a.67 - Borrow pits
(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.
(d) A well operator who owns or operates a
borrow pit constructed prior to October 8, 2016, shall have the borrow pit
inspected by a qualified person for compliance with the requirements of this
section prior to April 6, 2017. Any borrow pits that do not comply with
subsection (a) shall be upgraded to meet the requirements of this section or
restored by October 10, 2017.
Notes
State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compare.
No prior version found.