805 KAR 9:060. Operating or
deepening existing coal bed methane wells and drilling deeper than the
permitted depth.
RELATES TO: KRS 349.015, 349.075,
349.120, 349.155
STATUTORY AUTHORITY: KRS 349.110, 349.115
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY: KRS
349.115 authorizes the Department for Natural Resources to promulgate all
rules, administrative regulations, and amendments to implement the provisions
of KRS Chapter 349, governing coal bed methane wells. KRS 349.110 requires the
Department for Natural Resources to promulgate administrative regulations
concerning the drilling and operation of all coal bed methane wells. This
administrative regulation establishes the requirements to operate a well and
drill deeper than the permitted depth.
Section 1. Definitions. The definitions
contained in KRS 349.010 and the following additional definitions shall apply
to this administrative regulation:
(1) "Deepening" means the
drilling deeper of any existing well where new drilling is to proceed past the
depth at which the initial drilling of the well ceased.
(2) "Operating a well" means to
reenter, reopen, deepen, drill, inject into, produce, attempt to produce, or
work over, any well.
Section 2. New Permit Required. The
applicant shall obtain a permit to operate any well previously in violation of
KRS Chapter 349 or 805 KAR Chapter 9 and whose bond the department has forfeited
for noncompliance. The applicant shall comply with KRS Chapter 349 and 805 KAR
Chapter 9 before a new permit is granted.
Section 3. New Permit Not Required. An
applicant may operate an existing well if he submits an acceptable well
transfer Form CBM-10 and bonding as required in KRS 349.015 if one (1) of the
following conditions exists:
(1) The well is producing or capable of
producing, is not abandoned, and is not in violation of KRS Chapter 349 or 805
KAR Chapter 9; or
(2) The well has been abandoned by the
previous operator, but the current applicant's sole intent is to reenter the
well for the purpose of properly plugging and abandoning it.
Section 4. New Permit Required for
Deepening. The applicant shall obtain a new permit prior to deepening any well,
including a directional or horizontal well, if the original permit is more than
one (1) year old and the well was not deepened pursuant to that permit or the
original well was drilled prior to the permitting requirements of the
department, and shall not deepen the well until the permit is issued.
Section 5. New Permit Not Required for
Deepening. The permitted operator may deepen an existing well if the permit is
not more than one (1) year old and the well has not been drilled past the permitted
and bonded depth. The operator shall not drill deeper than the permitted depth
if this drilling causes the well to be in noncompliance with the well spacing
standards set out in KRS 349.075 or the notice requirements contained in KRS
349.015.
Section 6. Operator Noncompliance. An
operator in noncompliance with the requirements of this administrative
regulation is subject to the penalties established in KRS 349.155.
Section 7. Material Incorporated by
Reference.
(1) "Well Transfer," Form
CBM-10, Jan. 2005, Division of Oil and Gas Conservation, is incorporated by
reference.
(2) This form may be inspected, copied,
or obtained, subject to applicable copyright law, at the Kentucky Department
for Natural Resources, Division of Oil and Gas Conservation, 1025 Capital Center
Drive, Frankfort, Kentucky 40601, Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.
(31 Ky.R. 1472; Am. 1966; eff. 6-8-2005.)