Idaho Admin. Code r. 20.07.02.210

Current through September 2, 2024

Section 20.07.02.210 - WELL TREATMENTS

01.Application Required. An Application for Permit to Drill required by Section 200 must include any plans for well treatment if they are known before the well is drilled. If well treatments are not covered in the original drilling permit, then an application to amend the permit must be made to the Department with an application fee. Approval by the Department is required prior to the well treatments being implemented. Actions to clean the casing or perforations not in excess of pressures sufficient to overcome the fracture gradient in the surrounding formation are not considered to be well treatments, but operators must notify the Department when such actions occur. Applications for well treatments must include the permit number, well name, well location, as-built description if drilling has been completed, and the following:

a. Depth to perforations or the openhole interval;

b. The source of water or type of base fluid;

c. Additives, meaning any substance or any combination of substances including proppant, having a specified purpose that is combined with base treatment fluid by trade name, if available, and MSDS for each additive;

d. Type of proppant(s);

e. Anticipated percentages by volume and total volumes of base treatment fluid, individual additives, and proppant(s);

f. Estimated pump pressures;

g. Method and timeline for the management, storage, and disposal of well treatment fluids, including anticipated disposal site of treatment fluids or plans for reuse;

h. Size and design of storage pits, if proposed, in conformance with Section 230 of these rules;

i. Information specific to hydraulic fracturing as described in Section 211 of these rules;

j. Summary identifying all water bearing zones from the surface down to the bottom of the well;

k. Fresh water protection plan that describes the proposed site specific measures to protect water quality from activities associated with well treatments. The Department will review this plan in consultation with the IDEQ. The Fresh Water Protection Plan shall include the following information:

i. Ground water and storm water best management practices;

ii. Statement certifying that the owner or operator is complying with Spill Prevention, Control, and Countermeasures (SPCC) requirements administered by the EPA;

iii. A preconstruction topographic site map or aerial photos identifying all habitable structures, wells, perennial and intermittent springs, surface waters, and irrigation ditches within one-quarter (1/4) mile of the oil or gas well. The distance or location may be changed based on site specific factors such as horizontal drilling, the expected length of fractures, or lack of suitable water sample locations within one-quarter (1/4) mile;

iv. A brief description of the structural geology that may influence ground water flow and direction; and

v. The general hydrogeological characteristics of the treatment area and surrounding land.

l. Certification by the owner or operator that all aspects of the well construction, including the suitability and integrity of the cement used to seal the well, are designed to meet the requirements of proposed well treatments;

m. Affidavit signed by the owner or operator stating that all home owners and water well owners within one-quarter (1/4) mile of the oil or gas well, and all owners of a public drinking water system that have a IDEQ recognized source water assessment or protection area within one-quarter (1/4) mile of the oil or gas well, have been notified of the proposed treatment. If a well deviates from the vertical, these surface distances will be from the entire length of the wellbore from the surface to total depth. The notification will also offer an opportunity to have the owner or operator sample and test the water, at the owner or operator's cost, prior to and after the oil or gas well being treated. Notification shall be by certified mail to the surface owner as identified by the county assessor's records, or to the well owner as identified on the IDWR registry of water rights or well log database;

n. Proof of publication in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the well is located of a legal notice briefly describing the well treatment to be performed. Notice shall also advise all water well or public drinking water system owners, as described in Paragraph 210.01.m. of these rules, of the opportunity to have their water tested at the owner's or operator's cost before and after the well treatment; and

o. Additional information as required by the Department.

02.Master Drilling/Treatment Plans. Where multiple stimulation activities will be undertaken for several wells proposed to be drilled in the same field within an area of geologic similarity, approval may be sought from the Department for a comprehensive master drilling/treatment plan containing the information required. The approved master drilling/treatment plan must then be referenced on each individual well's Application for Permit to Drill.

03.Application Denial. The Department may deny well treatment applications for one (1) or more of the following reasons:

a. Application does not contain the information in Subsection 210.01 of these rules;

b. Application fee was not submitted.

c. Proposed treatment will result in a waste of oil or gas, a violation of correlative rights, or the pollution of fresh water supplies.

04.Time Limit. If a treatment approved in a drilling permit or amended drilling permit is not started within one (1) year of the approval of the well treatment, the well treatment permit will expire and reapplication will be required prior to conducting the well treatment. Prior to the anniversary date, the owner or operator may apply for a six-month (6) extension. If conditions have not changed, and no changes to the permit are requested, the extension may be approved by the Department.

05.Inspections. The Department may conduct inspections prior, during, and after well treatments.

06.Reporting Requirements. A report on the well treatment must be submitted within thirty (30) days of the treatment. The report shall present a detailed account of the work done and the manner in which such work was performed, including:

a. The daily production of oil, gas, and water both prior to and after the operation.

b. The size and depth of perforations.

c. Percentages by volume and total volumes of base treatment fluid, individual additives, and proppant(s). This requirement can be met by the submittal of well completion field tickets if they contain this information.

d. Documentation demonstrating the chemicals used in the well treatment have been reported to the website www.fracfocus.org, its successor website, or another publicly accessible database approved by the Department. The chemical information must be reported in a systems approach.

e. Information specific to hydraulic fracturing, as described in Section 211 of these rules.

f. Static pressure testing results before and after the well treatment.

g. The amounts, handling, and if necessary, disposal at an identified appropriate disposal facility, or reuse of the well stimulation fluid load recovered during flow back, swabbing, and/or recovery from production facility vessels. Reporting of recovered fluids shall be included with other monthly production reports required by the Department. Storage of such fluid shall be protective of ground water as demonstrated by the use of either tanks or authorized lined pits as described in Section 230 of these rules.

h. Any other information related to operations which alter the performance or characteristics of the well.

07.Fresh Water Protections for Well Treatments.

a. The Department will not authorize pits, lagoons, ponds, or other methods of subsurface storage for treatment fluids within IDEQ recognized source water assessment or protection areas for public drinking water systems. Owners or operators must store and transport treatment fluids using above ground storage facilities and tanker trucks for well treatments in these locations.

b. The Department will not authorize well treatments to create fractures within five hundred (500) vertical feet above or below fresh water aquifers.

c. The Department shall require the owner or operator to complete fresh water monitoring at the owner's or operator's cost before and after a well treatment unless the Department, in consultation with the IDEQ, determines that the proposed treatment does not pose a threat of pollution to fresh waters. The Department will review and approve all monitoring proposals with the IDEQ. The monitoring will be done using representative existing water wells or surface waters within one-quarter (1/4) horizontal mile of the treated well. For wells that deviate from the vertical, sampling may be required within one-quarter (1/4) horizontal mile of the wellbore's projected location on the surface. If no water wells or surface waters are present in this area, the sampling area may be enlarged as needed with approval by the Department. If the Department determines that existing water wells are not representative of the ground waters that could be impacted, then the Department may require the owner or operator to install one (1) or more ground water monitoring wells at the owner's or operator's cost. The owner or operator must obtain consent from appropriate property owners to gain access prior to any sampling or well construction. When monitoring is required by the Department, the operator will prepare a monitoring plan that includes the following:

i. Location of proposed monitoring sites;

ii. Construction details of any sampled or constructed wells including total well depth, depth of screened interval(s), screen size, and drilling log. For existing wells, the operator must make every reasonable attempt to locate this information;

iii. When possible, data from the existing wells collected within the last five (5) years and analyzed in a state or EPA certified drinking water lab;

iv. List of proposed analytes, testing methods, and their detection limits;

v. Additional tests such as stable isotopic analysis; and

vi. Pre-treatment sampling and analysis when no relevant data exists, and a schedule for post-treatment sampling and analysis.

d. The owner or operator will provide the Department with copies of any analysis or reports within thirty (30) days of samples being taken. All samples must be analyzed in a state or EPA certified drinking water lab.

e. Pollution of fresh water supplies due to a well treatment is a violation of these rules and Title 47, Chapter 3, Idaho Code.

Idaho Admin. Code r. 20.07.02.210

Effective March 18, 2022