Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 50, December 13, 2024
Section 35-8-6 - Plats; Form and Contents6.1. Plats.6.1.a. The plat submitted with the well work permit application pursuant to W. Va. Code § 22-6A-5(a)(6) shall contain the information required by that subdivision of the Code and this rule in the form and manner provided below. A separate plat is not required for stimulating a well where stimulating is to be a part of the work for which a permit is sought and is noted on Form WW-6B, "Well Work Permit Application."6.1.b. An application for permission to fracture a well subsequent to and not as an incident of previously permitted drilling, redrilling, deepening, pressuring or converting a well shall be accompanied by a plat pursuant to W. Va. Code § 22-6A-5(a)(6). If the well to be fractured is a horizontal well, the plat shall contain the same information required for plats as outlined in subdivision 6.1.a above, and shall be in the form and manner provided below.6.2. Form and Contents of Plats. - In addition to the statutory requirements set forth in W. Va. Code § 22-6A-5(a)(6), any plat filed with the Chief shall conform to the following standards of accuracy and depiction:6.2.a. Accuracy - An accuracy of one (1) part in two thousand five hundred (2,500) is required for location of wells on land containing workable coal beds that are tributary to operator coal mines. All other plats require a minimum accuracy of one (1) part in two hundred (200). The attained accuracy standard shall be stated on every plat.6.2.b. Permanent Landmarks - At least two (2) permanent monuments or landmarks with courses and distances to the subject well shall be shown on the basis of an on-the-ground survey and, if any monument or landmark is not a permanently established property corner, it shall be referenced to a permanently established property corner by courses and distances on the basis of an on-the-ground survey.6.2.c. Physical Location of Well - Every well shall be drilled within ten feet (10') of the exact well location designated on the plat. At no point shall the path of the drilled borehole deviate from the permitted borehole by more than fifty feet (50') or deviate outside the target formation subsequent to intersection of that formation. The path of the borehole shall be drilled using prudent methods identified pursuant to the requirements in section 5.7.c.7. of this rule establishing safeguards to minimize the risk of underground collisions. Such deviations or curvature strategy for borehole separations are acceptable exceptions to the 50' distance requirement. Additionally if unforeseen conditions occur such as fault intersection, formation dip, other geological variations or drilling methodology causing the borehole to either deviate from the fifty feet (50') path requirement or to drill out of the target formation, prudent actions shall immediately be applied to correct the borehole or otherwise provide immediate notice to the Office of Oil and Gas. To facilitate compliance and verification, the plat for a new well shall designate at least two (2) reference points from which, after the drilling site has been cleared and graded, the proposed well location can be accurately reestablished by the well operator and, if desired, subsequently verified by the oil and gas inspector or any interested person. When the survey party stakes the proposed well location, it shall flag or otherwise mark the reference points, which may be permanent (such as standing trees) or temporary (such as set stakes). The reference points shall be beyond the limits of the drilling site but within six hundred feet (600') of the well location. A description of the reference points and their location with reference to the well location shall be indicated on a detail drawing or a narrative statement on the face of the plat.6.2.d. Description - Landmarks and permanently established property corners used shall be named and described on all plats. They shall include standing corner trees, set stones, iron pipes, T-rails or other manufactured monuments. Existing wells (operating or abandoned) shall also be considered established landmarks if the wells are accurately platted and on file with the Office. If landmarks used are not permanently established property corners, the landmark must be adequately referenced to property corners to permit their future location.6.2.e. Method of Showing Property Lines - The courses and distances of all farm lines both adjoining and connecting the landmarks or permanently established property corners and all mineral tract boundaries within the scope of the well location plat shall be shown thereon. All lines actually surveyed shall be shown on the plat in solid lines. Lines taken from deed descriptions only shall be shown by broken lines. Mineral tract boundary lines and surface tract boundary lines shall be clearly distinguishable from each other.6.2.f. Proven Elevation - The elevation of the surface of the well location shall be given, and it shall be tied to either a government benchmark or other point of proven elevation. The location of the government benchmark or the point of proven elevation shall be noted and described on the plat.6.2.g. North-South Line - A north and south line shall be given and point to the top of the plat.6.2.h. Scale and Size of Plat - If practicable, all plats shall be drawn to a scale of one inch equals two thousand feet (1" = 2,000'), (1:24,000) or to even multiples thereof for each reduction of the plat photographically to a scale of one inch equals two thousand feet (1" = 2,000'). The plat shall be eight and one-half inches by fourteen inches (81/2" x 14") in size. Plats may be submitted electronically, using a format approved by the Chief.6.2.i. Topographic Map Location of Well - The topographic map location of the top-hole and bottom-hole of the well for which any permit application is made shall be shown on the plat by a "cross" with the measured distance in feet from the nearest two point five (2.5) minute latitude and longitude intersection using the Northeast (upper right) border of the plat on a seven point five (7.5) minute (1:24,000) topographic map. The plat shall also contain Universal Transverse Mercator (UTM) Zone 17 Northing and Easting coordinates in North American Datum (NAD) 83(CORS96). Each plat shall indicate the quadrangle name of the topographic map used.6.2.j. Wells - All wells within the scope of the plat, whether active, drilling or abandoned, shall be shown. The scope of every plat shall be sufficient to show all wells within one thousand two hundred feet (1,200') of the surface location of the well that is the subject of the new application and within five hundred feet (500') of the horizontal section of the well bore and, in the case of an application for a gas well with a depth of three thousand feet (3,000') or more and that penetrates a coal seam, the scope of the plat shall be sufficient to show all wells within two thousand four hundred feet (2,400') of the surface location of the well that is the subject of the application and within five hundred feet (500') of the horizontal section of the well bore. To make this determination, the permit applicant may rely on all available records and locational information; the permit applicant need not conduct a physical survey of the area.6.2.k. Other Surface Features - The plat shall show the following surface features lying within the scope of the plat: 6.2.k.1. Existing water wells or developed springs used for human or domestic animal consumption within two hundred fifty feet (250') of the well for which the permit is being sought;6.2.k.2. Occupied dwellings or buildings two thousand five hundred square feet (2,500 ft2) or larger used to house or shelter dairy cattle or poultry husbandry within six hundred twenty-five feet (625') of the center of the well pad for which the well work permit is being sought. Occupied dwellings for the purpose of this Rule shall mean dwellings that are used for human habitation on a permanent or periodic basis. An occupied dwelling is not a structure designed for temporary human habitation, i.e. a mobile camping unit, unless such unit is affixed to the ground, not capable of immediate removal, and attached to at least one public utility; tents or similar camping units; unimproved structures that are not equipped for long-term human habitation; temporary structures erected on the premises commensurate with the initiation of activity indicating the prospect of horizontal drilling activities on the site; and similar temporary structures.6.2.k.4. Roads and highways; and6.2.l. Names - The plat shall state the names of the surface owners and the royalty owners of the land at the well location.6.3. Plat Certification - Surveys and plats shall be made under the supervision of a registered professional engineer or professional surveyor licensed by the State of West Virginia. The certificate shall be signed and certified by the registered professional engineer or professional surveyor in the following manner: "I, the undersigned, hereby certify that this plat is correct to the best of my knowledge and belief and shows all the information required by law and the rules issued and prescribed by the Department of Environmental Protection."
6.4. Re-use of Plats - Following issuance of the initial permit for drilling a well, any subsequent application for a new permit involving the same well may be accompanied by an accurate copy of the plat accepted by the Chief for use with the permit issued for the most recent previous application, updated as necessary to reflect new data or additional data not required by statute or this rule and bearing a new certification as required above. However, a new certification is not required for a plugging permit.6.5. Permanent Character of Plats - Every plat submitted pursuant to this rule shall be of permanent character, that is, on linen or plastic or other material of comparable quality and with indicia or other ink resulting in a depiction not subject to substantial degradation through time from exposure to ordinary conditions of temperature, humidity, and light. Plats may be submitted electronically, using a format approved by the Chief.