Section 0400-53-03-.02 - ENVIRONMENT(1) All personnel, including operators and service personnel shall be trained in the prevention of spills and made aware of the consequences of spillage. There shall be a Site Coordinator designated for each well site who shall be the principle contact for all activities on the location and the responsible party for submitting an action and safety plan for each well site. The action plan shall include contingency measures to mitigate and minimize the risk of failure, spills, or releases due to unplanned events. Site Coordinators shall be certified by completing the Tennessee Site Coordinator Training Course. Equivalent training credentials may be temporarily accepted at the Supervisor's discretion until such time as the course certification can be obtained.(2) Operators shall implement necessary procedures and safeguards during drilling and completion operations to prevent the uncontrolled flow of oil from wells, including, but not limited to:(a) Follow reasonable procedures such as cleaning and lubricating pipe threads so that pipe can be made up to proper tightness.(b) Lay flow and test lines on ground or install adequate supports for crossing streams and drainways with the lines.(c) At truck loading terminals, provide containers to catch unrecoverable oil at the hose connections, and provide proper maintenance of valves and other equipment. Train personnel to take necessary procedures to prevent spillage.(d) During completion operations, produce and clean wells into tanks instead of pits if at all possible.(e) At the same time that any pits or other diversion, transport, or storage facilities are constructed at ground level, dikes, diversion ditches, or other structures shall also be constructed to prevent any surface water from entering the pits or other facilities.(f) Remove oil, salt water, or other fluids from pits as soon as practical after it has accumulated in them, and dispose of it in such a way that none can enter surface water or ground water, or otherwise adversely affect the environment or threaten public health and safety. Uncontaminated fresh water (free of salt, hydrocarbons or other potential pollutants) produced during drilling operations may be land applied on site.(g) All pits or other diversion, transport, or storage facilities shall be constructed so that waste fluids do not discharge from them. There shall be no discharge pipe, overflow weir, trickle tube, or any other device allowing any discharge. The operator is responsible for maintaining adequate storage capacity at all times. No pit shall be located so that any part of it, including a dike or diversion structure, is within a horizontal distance of 100 feet of the normal high-water line of any stream or lake. All pits shall be lined using a synthetic liner of at least 10 mil thickness. If a rocky or uneven surface is encountered in pit construction, sand or sandy material shall be placed below the liner sufficient to protect the liner from damage. The synthetic liner shall be protected from deterioration, punctures, or other activity that may damage the integrity of the liner. As an alternative, compacted clay liners or other equivalent measures may be used at the discretion of the Supervisor. In areas where groundwater is close enough to the surface that it will be encountered in construction of a pit, pits shall be constructed above ground, or the operator shall use a closed-loop system.(h) Containment at tanks shall equal at a minimum the storage capacity of 11/2 times the capacity of the largest tank in the tank battery.(i) All tanks shall be maintained to prevent corrosion which can lead to both fluid loss from the vessel and accelerated reduction in its useful life span.(j) To prevent fire hazard, all tank batteries and tanks shall be kept free of brush or overgrowth within the berm surrounding the tank or tanks.(k) Dikes and ditches designated in subparagraphs (e) and (g) of this paragraph should be constructed in a manner to accommodate permanent facilities such as pumping units and flow lines.(l) Provide dikes and/or containment pits at storage tanks upon initial installation where such tanks are so located as to be deemed hazardous. If containment pits are to be used, they should be constructed according to the guidelines set forth in Rule 0400-54-01-.05.(3) The following additional requirements shall apply to mud and reserve pits. (a) The operator shall indicate in the drilling application that mud and/or reserve pits are to be constructed. The application shall include at a minimum the size and configuration of the pits, the liner to be used, the type of fluid system and drilling fluids to be used, and the method of disposal of all drilling fluids used at the site.(b) Mud circulation and reserve pits shall be constructed with a synthetic liner of at least 20 mil thickness, with a 4 inch welded seam overlap, completely covering the pit bottom and inside walls. Other materials and methods used for liner construction must be approved by the Supervisor prior to use.(c) Mud circulation and reserve pits shall be constructed and operated with a minimum of 2 feet of freeboard, and shall be designed so that only runoff from the immediate work area may enter the pit. Pits constructed above ground with bermed side walls shall be constructed with a minimum of 2:1 side slopes on both interior and exterior walls. The top of the bermed walls must be a minimum of 2 feet wide.(d) Closed loop systems may be used for mud and circulation, and must be maintained in a leak-free condition.(4) Operators shall implement prudent production operations to prevent potential oil spills, including, but not limited to:(a) Connect fill lines to storage tanks so that oil and gas shall not spray into the atmosphere. .(b) Install "equalizer" lines between adjacent tanks as a safeguard against overflow.(c) Install oil and gas separators where gas is produced in sufficient quantities to be hazardous.(d) Pump contaminated unsalable residual oil from storage tanks into an accumulator tank instead of open pits.(e) Place locks, remove handles, or otherwise secure all valves, so vandals cannot open them to cause spills.(5) The Supervisor should notify all oil industry related companies, including operators, service companies, drilling contractors, and crude oil gatherers and purchasers of their responsibility and liability in regard to oil spills. In the case of a spill of oil, saltwater, or other drilling or production associated materials, the operator shall contact the Supervisor or his representative within 12 hours upon knowledge of the spill.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-53-03-.02
Original rule filed March 20, 2013; effective June 18, 2013.Authority: T.C.A §§ 60-1-201 et seq., and 4-5-201 et seq.