45.1-361.29 - Permit required; gas, oil, or geophysical operations; coalbed methane gas wells; environmental assessment.
§ 45.1-361.29. Permit required; gas, oil, or geophysical operations; coalbedmethane gas wells; environmental assessment.
A. No person shall commence any ground disturbing activity for a well,gathering pipeline, geophysical exploration or associated activity,facilities or structures without first having obtained from the Director apermit to conduct such activity. Every permit application or permitmodification application filed with the Director shall be verified by thepermit applicant and shall contain all data, maps, plats, plans and otherinformation as required by regulation or the Director.
B. For permits issued on July 1, 1996, or thereafter, new permits issued bythe Director shall be issued only for the following activities: geophysicaloperations, drilling, casing, equipping, stimulating, producing, reworkinginitially productive zones and plugging a well, or gathering pipelineconstruction and operation. Applications for new permits to conductgeophysical operations shall be accompanied by an application fee of $130.Applications for all other new permits shall be accompanied by an applicationfee of $260.
C. For permits issued prior to July 1, 1996, prior to commencing anyreworking, deepening or plugging of the well, or other activity notpreviously approved on the permitted site, a permittee shall first obtain apermit modification from the Director. All applications for permitmodifications shall be accompanied by a permit modification fee of $130. Forpermits issued on July 1, 1996, or thereafter, prior to commencing any newzone completions a permittee shall first obtain a permit modification fromthe Director.
D. All permits and operations provided for under this section shall conformto the rules, regulations and orders of the Director and the Board. Whenpermit terms or conditions required or provided for under Article 3 (§45.1-361.27 et seq.) of this chapter are in conflict with any provision of aconservation order issued pursuant to the provisions of Article 2 (§45.1-361.13 et seq.) of this chapter, the terms of the permit shall control.In this event, the operator shall return to the Board for reconsideration ofa conservation order in light of the conflicting permit. Every permitteeshall be responsible for all operations, activity or disturbances associatedwith the permitted site.
E. No permit or permit modification shall be issued by the Director until hehas received from the applicant a written certification that (i) all noticerequirements of this article have been complied with, together with proofthereof, and (ii) the applicant has the right to conduct the operations asset forth in the application and operations plan.
F. A permit shall be required to drill any coalbed methane gas well or toconvert any methane drainage borehole into a coalbed methane gas well. Inaddition to the other requirements of this section, every permit applicationfor a coalbed methane gas well shall include:
1. The method that the coalbed methane gas well operator will use tostimulate the well.
2. a. A signed consent from the coal operator of each coal seam which islocated within 750 horizontal feet of the proposed well location (i) whichthe applicant proposes to stimulate or (ii) which is within 100 vertical feetabove or below a coal bearing stratum which the applicant proposes tostimulate.
b. The consent required by this section may be (i) contained in a lease orother such agreement; (ii) contained in an instrument of title; or (iii) inany case where a coal operator cannot be located or identified and theoperator has complied with § 45.1-361.19, provided by a pooling order enteredpursuant to § 45.1-361.21 or 45.1-361.22 and provided such order contains afinding that the operator has exercised due diligence in attempting toidentify and locate the coal operator. The consent required by this sectionshall be deemed to be granted for any tract where title to the coal is heldby multiple owners if the applicant has obtained consent to stimulate fromthe co-tenants holding majority interest in the tract and none of the coalco-tenants has leased the tract for coal development. The requirement ofsigned consent contained in this section shall in no way be considered toimpair, abridge or affect any contractual rights or objections arising out ofa coalbed methane gas contract or coalbed methane gas lease entered intoprior to January 1, 1990, between the applicant and any coal operator, andany extensions or renewals thereto, and the existence of such lease orcontractual arrangement and any extensions or renewals thereto shallconstitute a waiver of the requirement for the applicant to file anadditional signed consent.
3. The unit map, if any, approved by the Board.
G. No permit required by this chapter for activities to be conducted withinan area of Tidewater Virginia where drilling is authorized under subsection Bof § 62.1-195.1 shall be granted until the environmental impact assessmentrequired by § 62.1-195.1 has been conducted and the assessment has beenreviewed by the Department.
H. The applicant for a permit for a gathering pipeline, oil or gas well, orcoal bed methane well shall identify in the permit application any cemetery,as identified on a U.S.G.S. topographic map or located by routine fieldreview, within 100 feet of the permitted activity.
I. The operator of any coalbed methane well drilled within 250 feet of acemetery shall comply with a written request of any person owning an interestin a private cemetery or the authorized agent of a public cemetery that theoperator of such well suspend operations for a period from two hours beforeto two hours after any burial service that takes place on the surface area ofsuch cemetery. However, if the well operator or a mine operator determinesthat suspension of such operations will have an adverse effect on the safetyof the well operations or mining operations, the operator shall be under noobligation to comply with the request, and operation of the well shallcontinue.
(1982, c. 347, § 45.1-311; 1985, c. 601; 1987, c. 452; 1988, c. 160, §45.1-311.1; 1990, cc. 92, 967; 1994, c. 957; 1995, c. 269; 1996, c. 854;1997, cc. 759, 765; 1998, c. 229; 2003, cc. 542, 550; 2008, c. 227.)