Section 0400-52-02-.01 - PERMIT REQUIRED(1) A permit is required from the Supervisor before any person shall conduct operations described in Chapter 0400-52-01 through Chapter 0400-52-12. Each permit, when granted, shall expire 365 days after issuance unless the applicant has commenced operations and reasonably continues said operations pursuant to the permitted objective. Any permit now in force shall expire 365 days from the date of this rule unless permittee complies with this requirement. If a permitted location is to be abandoned without the commencement of any drilling activity, then the operator shall notify the Supervisor in writing within 30 days after expiration of the permit.(2) No work shall begin on a well pursuant to this chapter before a permit for such work on the well has been issued by the Supervisor. Furthermore, any work the operator may do, or may have done, shall be at his own risk and with the full understanding that the Supervisor may find it necessary to require changing the well location or operation plans, or otherwise deny the permit because of noncompliance with applicable rules and regulations and require that the well be plugged. No requests for exceptions shall be considered for a well that was started before a permit was issued. (a) A legible copy of this permit shall be displayed on location upon commencement of drilling operations and remain on display at said location until completion of the well.(3) Fifteen day progress on drilling, upon request of the Supervisor, shall be mailed to the Supervisor describing well activities for the previous week.(4) Organization Report (Form CN-0219) shall be made to the Supervisor prior to the issuance of a permit. The applicant shall name all parties responsible for the well and give contact information for them on the Organization Report consistent with the record submitted to the Secretaries of States for any corporation or limited liability company. If such persons have previously filed an Organization Report with the Supervisor, it shall not be necessary to submit another report, unless there has been a change in the information originally submitted.(5) The operator shall indicate on the permit application, on a space provided, if the operator has the legal right to drill and produce the well.(6) A notice to surface owners of oil and gas estates is required as follows: (a) No later than the filing of the application with the Department for a permit to drill and prior to initiating any site preparation, the applicant shall give notice by certified mail, return receipt requested, of his intent to drill to the property owner or owners of the surface of the land to be drilled or to be affected by the surface disturbances listed in subparagraph (c) of this paragraph.(b) The property owners to be notified under this paragraph shall be the property owners of record in the property tax assessor's office in the county where the property is located.(c) The notice shall include a well location plat which shows the proposed location of the oil and gas well site, the proposed location of all new ingress and egress, the location of all diversions, drilling pits, dikes, and related structures and facilities, the location of proposed storage tanks and all other surface disturbances. Said plat shall comply with Chapter 0400-52-03.(d) The notice shall state that the property owner and applicant have 15 working days from the date of mailing to discuss the location of surface disturbances in connection with the drilling operation. It shall also state that if the property owner and applicant are unable to resolve differences regarding the location of surface disturbances, either or both may request in writing a hearing before the Supervisor or his representative. The notice shall provide the name and address of the Supervisor.(e) The applicant shall file with the Supervisor, as a part of the application, written certification that the notice required by subparagraph (a) of this paragraph has been given, including the name and address of each property owner given notice and the date on which each notice was mailed.(f) The applicant and the property owners given notice under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph shall attempt to resolve any differences between them regarding surface disturbances related to the proposed drilling operation. If those differences cannot be resolved, then a hearing and order may be obtained as follows: 1. Any property owners entitled to notice (or the applicant) may request, within 15 working days of the mailing of the notice required in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, that the Supervisor or his representative conduct a hearing. A request for hearing under this paragraph shall be in writing to the Supervisor, and shall be mailed by certified mail, return receipt requested within 15 working days of the mailing of the notice required in subparagraph (a) of this paragraph. The purpose of the hearing shall be to minimize the impact of the proposed drilling operation on the surface of the land.2. The hearing shall be conducted as a contested case pursuant to the Administrative Procedures Act under Title 4, Chapter 5, Part 3 and shall be held before a hearing officer sitting alone. For purposes of the hearing, the Supervisor or his representative shall be the hearing officer. The hearing shall be held within 10 working days of receipt of a request for hearing by the Supervisor or his representative, and shall be held in the county of the proposed oil and gas well. Notice of the hearing shall be given to all persons entitled to notice under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph and the applicant.3. The hearing officer shall render a decision within 10 calendar days of the hearing. The decision shall be considered a final order not subject to further agency review pursuant to T.C.A. § 4-5-315(a)(1).4. For purposes of this subparagraph, "working day" means all calendar days excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays as designated in T.C.A. § 15-1-101. .(g) Notwithstanding any other requirement for a permit to drill, such a permit may only be issued: 1. If the applicant submits to the Supervisor statements of no objection signed by all property owners entitled to notice under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph; or2. If a hearing is not requested as provided in part (f)1 of this paragraph; or3. Upon the issuing of a final order pursuant to part (f)3 of this paragraph.(h) For purposes of satisfying the requirements of subparagraph (g) of this paragraph for issuing a permit: 1. The Supervisor may treat the persons named in the applicant's certification of property owners, under subparagraph (e) of this paragraph, as being all of the property owners entitled to notice under subparagraph (a) of this paragraph, unless the Supervisor has actual notice to the contrary.2. If a request for hearing as provided in part (f)1 of this paragraph is not delivered to the office of the Supervisor within 15 working days plus 3 additional days after the date notice-of-intent to drill was mailed to each property owner, as stated in the applicant's certification of notice, under subparagraph (e) of this paragraph, the Supervisor may assume that no hearing was requested, unless he has actual notice to the contrary.(7) Inspection and approval of all access roads, surface disturbances, and pollution control structures at a proposed well site by the designated gas and oil field inspector is required prior to the issuance of any permit under this chapter.(8) Permits shall not in any way be construed as a certification by the State of Tennessee that any property interest in the premises covered by a permit is vested in the permit; they are issued solely under the regulatory powers vested in the Board and the Department under the provisions set forth in Title 60 of the Tennessee Code and the rules and regulations promulgated by the Board pursuant to Title 60.(9) In the event of litigation over a particular tract of land, or in the event a tract of land is contested as to the ownership of oil and gas rights, the policy of the Board shall be to issue permits in order to preserve the physical integrity of that particular tract without prejudicing any claimants to the title of that land.(10) In the case of any well that is proposed to be fractured using a cumulative total of more than 200,000 gallons of water-based liquids:(a) The Supervisor shall give notice to the public by e-mail, including a list of interested persons and agencies who have requested such notification, and by posting on the Department website. The Public Notice shall include the following information: 1. Name, address, and telephone number of the Division contact where further information can be obtained.2. Name and location of the applicant.3. The location of the well proposed to be fractured.4. A brief description of the well plan including information regarding the sources of water to be used as base fluid, fracturing methods, whether or not an Aquatic Resource Alteration Permit for water withdrawal will be required, and estimated amounts and methods of wastewater disposal.5. A brief description of the procedures for the Supervisor to make a final determination of whether to issue the permit.(b) Interested persons may submit written comments for 30 days from the date of Public Notice. Any comments received shall be considered by the Supervisor, and the Supervisor shall provide written responses to those comments. Prior to Public Notice, the Supervisor may require additional information from the applicant in these cases, including but not limited to information on water sources, fracturing methodologies, and methods of wastewater disposal. The Supervisor will notify the public of permit issuance or denial through the Division's website.(c) The applicant shall provide the Department's Public Notice of the proposed well to owners of any property within 1/2 mile of the proposed well head or any residence that has any drinking water wells within a 1/2 mile radius of the proposed wellhead within 14 days of the date of the Public Notice. In the case of a horizontal well, the 1/2 mile radius shall be measured from the terminus of the horizontal well bore. The determination of the presence of any such drinking water wells shall include at a minimum the information available on the Division of Water Resources Well Log Tracking System. The applicant shall collect a sample of any such well at the request of the owner and have the sample analyzed for Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons (TPH), BTEX (benzene/toluene/ethyl benzene/xylene), pH, chlorides, Total Organic Carbon (TOC) and Total Dissolved Solids, to demonstrate the condition of the water well prior to the drilling of the well to be fractured. Landowners opting for their well to be sampled by the applicant must submit a written request to the applicant within 14 days of receiving the Public Notice from the operator or the applicant is under no obligation to sample the well. Sampling results shall be provided to the Supervisor and drinking water well owner as soon as results are obtained. Sample collection protocols shall be comparable to those specified in the Department's "Quality System Standard Operating Procedure for Chemical and Bacteriological Sampling of Surface Water". Sample analyses shall be conducted by a certified laboratory utilizing standard methods and minimum detection levels consistent with Tennessee Department of Health laboratories.Tenn. Comp. R. & Regs. 0400-52-02-.01
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.