La. Admin. Code tit. 43 § XVII-3321

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section XVII-3321 - Safety

A. Emergency Action Plan. An Emergency Action Plan containing emergency contact telephone numbers, procedures and specific information for facility personnel to respond to a release, upset, incident, accident, or other site emergency shall be kept at the facility and shall be reviewed and updated as needed. An outline of the plan, including emergency contact telephone numbers, shall be prepared and submitted as part of the permit application or compliance review.

B. Controlled Site Access. Access to solution-mining facilities shall be controlled by fencing or other means around the facility property. All points of entry into the facility shall be through a lockable gate system.

C. Personnel. While solution-mining, testing, or performing any work requiring a UIC-17 (Work Permit), trained and competent personnel shall be on duty and stationed as appropriate at the solution-mining well, facility's onsite local control room, or other facility control location at the storage site, during all hours and phases of facility operation. If the solution-mining facility chooses to use an offsite monitoring and control automated telemetry surveillance system, approved by the commissioner, provisions shall be made for trained personnel to be on-call at all times and 24 hours a day staffing of the facility may not be required.

D. Wellhead Protection and Identification

1. A protective barrier shall be installed and maintained around the wellhead as protection from physical or accidental damage by mobile equipment or trespassers.

2. An identifying sign shall be placed at the wellhead of each solution-mining well and shall include at a minimum the operator's name, well/cavern name and number, well's serial number, section-township-range, and any other information required by the Office of Conservation. The sign shall be of durable construction with all lettering kept in a legible condition.

E. Valves and Flowlines

1. All valves, flowlines, flanges, fittings, and related connections shall be manufactured of steel. All components shall be designed with a test pressure rating of at least 125 percent of the maximum pressure that could be exerted at the surface. All components and related connections shall be maintained in good working order and shall be periodically inspected by the operator.

2. All valves, flowlines for injection, fluid withdrawal, and any other flowlines shall be designed to prevent pressures over maximum operating pressure from being exerted on the solution-mining well and cavern and prevent backflow or escape of injected material. The fluid withdrawal side of the wellhead shall have the same pressure rating as the injection side.

3. All flowlines for injection and withdrawal connected to the wellhead of the solution-mining well shall be equipped with remotely operated shut-off valves and shall have manually operated positive shut-off valves at the wellhead. All remotely operated shut-off valves shall be failsafe and tested and inspected according to §3321 H

F. Alarm Systems. Manual and automatically activated alarms shall be installed at all cavern facilities. All alarms shall be audible and visible from any normal work location within the facility. The alarms shall always be maintained in proper working order. Automatic alarms designed to activate an audible and a visible signal shall be integrated with all pressure, flow, heat, fire, cavern overfill, leak sensors and detectors, emergency shutdown systems, or any other safety system. The circuitry shall be designed such that failure of a detector or sensor shall activate a warning.

G. Emergency Shutdown Valves. Manual and automatically activated emergency shutdown valves shall be installed on all systems of cavern injection and withdrawal and any other flowline going into or out from each solution mining wellhead. All emergency shutdown valves shall be fail-safe and shall be tested and inspected according to §3321 H

1. Manual controls for emergency shutdown valves shall be designed for operation from a local control room, at the solution-mining well, any remote monitoring and control location, and at a location that is likely to be accessible to emergency response personnel.

2. Automatic emergency shutdown valves shall be designed to actuate on detection of abnormal pressures of the injection system, abnormal increases in flow rates, responses to any heat, fire, cavern overfill, leak sensors and detectors, loss of pressure or power to the well, cavern, or valves, or any abnormal operating condition.

H. Systems Test and Inspection

1. Safety Systems Test. The operator shall annually function-test all critical systems of control and safety. This includes testing of alarms, test tripping of emergency shutdown valves ensuring their closure times are within design specifications, and ensuring the integrity of all electrical, pneumatic, and/or hydraulic circuits. Tests results shall be documented and kept onsite for inspection by an agent of the Office of Conservation.

2. Visual Facility Inspections. Visual inspections of the cavern facility shall be conducted each day the facility is operating. At a minimum, this shall include inspections of the wellhead, flowlines, valves, signs, perimeter fencing, and all other areas of the facility. Problems discovered during the inspections shall be corrected timely.

I. Retaining Walls and Spill Containment

1. Retaining walls, curbs, or other spill containment systems shall be designed, built, and maintained around appropriate areas of the facility to collect, retain, and/or otherwise prevent the escape of waste or other materials that may be released through facility upset or accidental spillage.

J. Assistance to Residents. As soon as practicable following the issuance of an evacuation order pursuant to R.S. 29:721 et seq., and associated with a sinkhole or other incident at a solution-mining cavern facility, the commissioner of conservation shall:

1. after consulting with the authority which issued the evacuation order and local governmental officials for the affected area, establish interim assistance amounts for residents subject to the evacuation order and identify the operator(s) responsible for providing assistance. The interim assistance shall remain in effect until the evacuation order is lifted or until a subsequent order is issued by the commissioner in accordance with Paragraph 2 of this Subsection;

2. Repealed.

La. Admin. Code tit. 43, § XVII-3321

Promulgated by the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Conservation, LR 40:335 (February 2014), Amended LR 42417 (3/1/2016), Amended LR 482312 (9/1/2022).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:4 et seq.