Division of Energy, Mineral, & Land Resources - Energy
Program Walt Haven, P.G. Photo courtesy of W.T. Haven, 2013
Slide 2
Session Law 2012-143 Establishes the Mining and Energy
Commission Modern regulatory oil and gas program with rules for:
Well Permitting Well Construction Well Abandonment Wellhead &
Site Standards Drilling Units Environmental Sampling Water Use
& Management Waste Management & Disposal Chemical
Disclosure Hydraulic Fracturing/Stimulation Image courtesy of
blog.pubquizusa.com
Slide 3
Mining & Energy Commission Committees Administration of Oil
and Gas Committee Environmental Standards Committee Water and Waste
Committee Rules Committee Note: The Fracking Board does not exist.
http://portal.ncdenr.org/web/mining-and- energy-commission/ Photo
courtesy of W.T. Haven, 2013
Slide 4
Mining and Energy Commission Study Groups Funding Levels and
Potential Funding Sources Local Government Regulation Coordinated
Permitting Protection of Trade Secrets and Proprietary Information
Compulsory Pooling
Slide 5
Water Acquisition and Management Rule Approved by the
Commission Regulates quantity of water withdrawn from groundwater
& surface water resources Requires submission of a water use
plan Photo courtesy of W.T. Haven, 2013
Slide 6
Well Construction Rule Approved by the Commission Notifications
to DENR (cementing, loss of control, etc.) Well casing &
cementing standards Well equipment standards Well installation
standards Well control & blowout prevention Photo courtesy of
R. Channell, 2013
Slide 7
Well Construction Rule Surface casing 100 ft below deepest
freshwater zone Cement returned to surface Intermediate casing
Cemented from bottom to 200 ft above previous casing string (non
water zones) Cemented from bottom to 100 above top of shallowest
freshwater zone Image courtesy of Chesapeake Energy: Protecting
Groundwater During Natural Gas And Oil Drilling, May 2012
Slide 8
Baseline & Subsequent Testing Rule Draft passed by
Commission Testing of water supplies (5,000 ft radius) First round:
within 12 months of drilling (full list) Next round: 6 to 12 months
after drilling (full list) Subsequent round: 18 to 24 months after
construction completion (indicator list) Sampling report sealed by
P.E. or P.G.
Slide 9
Full List: pH, specific conductance, total dissolved solids
(TDS), turbidity, alkalinity, calcium, chloride, magnesium,
potassium, fluoride, sodium, sulfate, arsenic, barium, boron,
bromide, chromium, iron, manganese, selenium, strontium, lithium,
lead, zinc, uranium, isotopic radium ( 226 Ra and 228 Ra), isotopic
strontium ( 87 Sr and 86 Sr), trihalomethanes, benzene, toluene,
ethyl benzene, xylenes (BTEX), diesel range organics (DRO),
gasoline range organics (GRO), total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH),
polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (including benzo(a)pyrene),
and dissolved methane, propane, and ethane. Indicator List: pH,
specific conductance, TDS, chloride, sodium, divalent cations, and
dissolved methane, propane, ethane. Baseline & Subsequent
Testing Rule
Slide 10
Prohibited Chemical Constituents Rule Approved by the
Commission Chemical Abstracts Service (CAS) Numbers Restricts use
of diesel fuels in the subsurface US EPA: Permitting Guidance for
Oil and Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Activities Using Diesel Fuels
Draft: Underground Injection Control Program Guidance #84
Slide 11
Waste Management Rule Under development with the Water and
Waste Management Committee Pits and tanks for management of fluids:
Drilling muds/cuttings, flowback, and produced water Re-use
preferred over injection Leak detection for pits Tanks are
preferred over pits Final fluids disposal/treatment methods -
pending Pit design will require P.E. certification (USFWS Photo by
P. Ramirez)
Slide 12
Wellhead Standards Rule Approved by the Mining and Energy
Commission Standards for wellhead area (fencing, vegetation, etc.)
Standards for wellhead completion (materials, valves, etc.) Photo
courtesy of R. Channell, 2013
Slide 13
Well Closure (Draft) Rule Approved by Administration of Oil
& Gas Committee Awaiting review by Rules Committee Permanent
well abandonment Temporary well abandonment 5 year period Shut-in
status 1 year period.
Slide 14
Setback (Draft) Rule Under review by Environmental Standards
Committee Stakeholder group review completed Research included
Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania, California, Texas,
Wyoming, and New York Research included setbacks for other
industries in North Carolina
Slide 15
Potential Local Level Interactions
Slide 16
North Carolina Oil and Gas Study under Session Law 2011-276,
April 30, 2012, prepared by the North Carolina Department of
Environment and Natural Resources and the North Carolina Department
of Commerce.
Slide 17
Drilling and Well Construction 10,000 ft. down & horizontal
130 ft. tall 90 ft. drill rods at a time.
Slide 18
Typical Timeline for Installing an Oil or Gas Well Well Pad
Construction 7 to 14 days Drilling Operations 28 to 35 days
Hydraulic Fracturing 2 to 5 days Brophy, C. & Wolfe, F. 2013,
Noise Abatement, Odors, Dust, and Lighting presentation to
Environmental Standards Committee, North Carolina Mining &
Energy Commission Photo courtesy of www.greglatza.com
Slide 19
Hydraulic Fracturing Supply Lines Blowout Preventer Water
Additives Sands
Slide 20
Does Fracking Cause Groundwater Contamination? Phase Number of
Incidents Ohio (1983-2007) Texas (1993-2008) Orphaned wells and
sites4130 Site preparation00 Drilling and completion7410 Well
stimulation00 Production, on-lease transport, and storage3956 Waste
management and disposal2675 Plugging and site reclamation51
Unknown(none reported)39 Source: Groundwater Protection Council,
2011. State Oil and Gas Agency Groundwater Investigations And Their
Role in Advancing Regulatory Reforms
Slide 21
Discussion
Slide 22
Current Staffing Walt Haven, P.G., Energy Program Supervisor
Ryan Channell, Senior Geologist Katherine Marciniak, P.G. Senior
Specialist Rosalind Harris, Administrative Support Ashley Barham,
Intern