Section 43-02-03-53.3 - Saltwater handling facility construction and operation requirements1. Bond requirement. Before construction of a saltwater handling facility, saltwater handling facility site, or access road begins, the operator shall file with the director a surety bond or cash bond conditioned upon compliance with all laws, rules and regulations, and orders of the commission. The bond must be in the amount of fifty thousand dollars and must be payable to the industrial commission. The commission, after notice and hearing, may require a higher bond amount. Such additional amounts for bonds must be related to the economic value of the facility and the expected cost of decommissioning and site reclamation, as determined by the commission. The commission may refuse to accept a bond if the operator or surety company has failed in the past to comply with all laws, rules and regulations, and orders of the commission; if a civil or administrative action brought by the commission is pending against the operator or surety company; or for other good cause.2. Saltwater handling facility sites or appropriate parts thereof must be fenced if required by the director. All fences installed within or around any facility must be constructed in a manner that promotes emergency ingress and egress.3. All waste, recovered solids, and fluids must be stored and handled in such a manner to prevent runoff or migration offsite.4. Surface tanks may not be underground or partially buried, must be devoid of leaks, and constructed of, or lined with, materials resistant to the effects of produced saltwater liquids, brines, or chemicals that may be contained therein. The above materials requirement may be waived by the director for tanks presently in service and in good condition. Unused tanks and equipment must be removed from the site or placed into service, within a reasonable time period, not to exceed one year.5. Dikes must be erected and maintained around saltwater tanks at any saltwater handling facility. Dikes must be erected around saltwater tanks at any new facility prior to introducing fluids. Dikes as well as the base material under the dikes and within the diked area must be constructed of sufficiently impermeable material to provide emergency containment. Dikes must be of sufficient dimension to contain the total capacity of the largest tank plus one day's fluid throughput. The required capacity of the dike may be lowered by the director if the necessity therefor can be demonstrated to the director's satisfaction. The operations of the saltwater handling facility must be conducted in such a manner as to prevent leaks, spills, and fires. Discharged liquids or brines must be properly removed and may not be allowed to remain standing within or outside of any diked areas. All such incidents must be properly cleaned up, subject to approval by the director. All such reportable incidents must be promptly reported to the director and a detailed account of any such incident must be filed with the director in accordance with section 43-02-03-30.6. Within one hundred eighty days from the date the operator is notified by the commission, a perimeter berm, at least six inches [15.24 centimeters] in height, must be constructed of sufficiently impermeable material to provide emergency containment around the facility and to divert surface drainage away from the site. The director may consider an extension of time to implement these requirements if conditions prevent timely construction or a modification of these requirements if other factors are present that provide sufficient protection from environmental impacts.7. The operator shall take steps to minimize the amount of solids stored at the facility.8. Within thirty days following construction or modification of a saltwater handling facility, a sundry notice (form 4) must be submitted detailing the work and the dates commenced and completed. The sundry notice must be accompanied by a schematic drawing of the saltwater handling facility site drawn to scale, detailing all facilities and equipment, including the size, location, and purpose of all tanks; the height and location of all dikes as well as a calculated containment volume; all areas underlain by a synthetic liner; any leak detection system installed; the location of all flowlines; the stockpiled topsoil location and its volume; and the road access to the nearest existing public road.9. Immediately upon the commissioning of the saltwater handling facility, the operator shall notify the director in writing of such date.10. The operator of a saltwater handling facility shall provide continuing surveillance and conduct such monitoring and sampling as the director may require.11. Storage pits, waste pits, or other earthen storage areas must be prohibited unless authorized by an appropriate regulatory agency. A copy of said authorization must be filed with the director.12. Burial of waste at any saltwater handling facility site is prohibited. All residual water and waste, fluid or solid, must be disposed of in an authorized facility.13. If deemed necessary by the director, the operator shall cause to be analyzed any waste substance contained onsite. Such chemical analysis must be performed by a certified laboratory and must adequately determine if chemical constituents exist which would categorize the waste as hazardous by department of environmental quality standards.14. Saltwater handling facilities must be constructed and operated so as not to endanger surface or subsurface water supplies or cause degradation to surrounding lands and must comply with section 43-02-03-28 concerning fire hazards and proximity to occupied dwellings.15. All proposed changes to any saltwater handling facility are subject to prior approval by the director.16. Any salable crude oil recovered from a saltwater handling facility must be reported on a form 5 SWD.17. The operator shall comply with all laws, rules and regulations, and orders of the commission. All rules in this chapter governing oil well sites also apply to any saltwater handling facility site.18. The operator shall immediately cease operations if so ordered by the director for the failure to comply with the statutes of North Dakota, commission rules or orders, or directives of the director.N.D. Admin Code 43-02-03-53.3
Adopted by Administrative Rules Supplement 2016-362, October 2016, effective 10/1/2016.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 2017-363, January 2017, effective 10/1/2016.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 368, April 2018, effective 4/1/2018.Amended by Administrative Rules Supplement 376, April 2020, effective 4/1/2020.General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04
Law Implemented: NDCC 38-08-04