§ 9.36 - Plan of operations.

(a) The proposed plan of operations shall include, as appropriate to the proposed operations, the following:

(1) The names and legal addresses of the following persons: The operator, and the owner(s) or lessee(s) (if rights are State-owned) other than the operator;

(2) Copy of the lease, deed, designation of operator, or assignment of rights upon which the operator's right to conduct operations is based;

(3) A map or maps showing the location of the perimeter of the area where the operator has the right to conduct operations, as described in §9.36(a)(2), referenced to the State plane coordinate system or other public land survey as acceptable to the Superintendent;

(4) A map or maps showing the location, as determined by a registered land surveyor or civil engineer, of a point within a site of operations showing its relationship to the perimeter of the area described in §9.36(a)(2) and to the perimeter of the site of operations; the location of existing and proposed access roads or routes to the site; the boundaries of proposed surface disturbance; the location of proposed drilling; location and description of all surface facilities including sumps, reserve pits and ponds; location of tank batteries, production facilities and gathering, service and transmission lines; wellsite layout; sources of construction materials such as fill; and the location of ancillary facilities such as camps, sanitary facilities, water supply and disposal facilities, and airstrips. The point within the site of operations identified by registered land surveyor or civil engineer shall be marked with a permanent ground monument acceptable to the Superintendent, shall contain the point's State plane coordinate values, and shall be placed at least to an accuracy of third order, class I, unless otherwise authorized by the Superintendent;

(5) A description of the major equipment to be used in the operations, including a description of equipment and methods to be used for the transport of all waters used in or produced by operations, and of the proposed method of transporting such equipment to and from the site;

(6) An estimated timetable for any phase of operations for which approval is sought and the anticipated date of operation completion;

(7) The geologic name of the surface formation;

(8) The proposed drilling depth, and the estimated tops of important geologic markers;

(9) The estimated depths at which anticipated water, brines, oil, gas, or other mineral bearing formations are expected to be encountered;

(10) The nature and extent of the known deposit or reservoir to be produced and a description of the proposed operations, including:

(i) The proposed casing program, including the size, grade, and weight of each string, and whether it is new or used;

(ii) The proposed setting depth of each casing string, and the amount of type of cement, including additives, to be used;

(iii) The operator's minimum specifications for pressure control equipment which is to be used, a schematic diagram thereof showing sizes, pressure ratings, and the testing procedures and testing frequency;

(iv) The type and characteristics of the proposed circulating medium or mediums to be employed for rotary drilling and the quantities and types of mud and weighting material to be maintained;

(v) The testing, logging, and coring programs to be followed;

(vi) Anticipated abnormal pressures or temperatures expected to be encountered; or potential hazards to persons and the environment such as hydrogen sulfide gas or oil spills, along with plans for mitigation of such hazards;

(11) A description of the steps to be taken to comply with the applicable operating standards of §9.41 of this subpart;

(12) Provisions for reclamation which will result in compliance with the requirements of §9.39:

(13) A breakdown of the estimated costs to be incurred during the implementation of the reclamation plan;

(14) Methods for disposal of all rubbish and other solid and liquid wastes, and contaminating substances;

(15) An affidavit stating that the operations planned are in compliance with all applicable Federal, State and local laws and regulations;

(16) Background information, including:

(i) A description of the natural, cultural, social and economic environments to be affected by operations, including a description and/or map(s) of the location of all water, abandoned, temporarily abandoned, disposal, production, and drilling wells of public record within a two-mile radius of the proposed site. Where such information is available from documents identified in §9.36(d), specific reference to the document and the location within the document where such information can be found will be sufficient to satisfy this requirement;

(ii) The anticipated direct and indirect effects of the operations on the unit's natural, cultural, social, and economic environment;

(iii) Steps to be taken to insure minimum surface disturbance and to mitigate any adverse environmental effects, and a discussion of the impacts which cannot be mitigated;

(iv) Measures to protect surface and subsurface waters by means of casing and cement, etc.;

(v) All reasonable technologically feasible alternative methods of operations, their costs, and their environmental effects, and

(vi) The effects of the steps to be taken to achieve reclamation;

(17) Any other facets of the proposed operations which the operator wishes to point out for consideration; and

(18) Any additional information that is required to enable the Superintendent to establish whether the operator has the right to conduct operations as specified in the plan of operations; to effectively analyze the effects that the operations will have on the preservation, management and public use of the unit; and to make a recommendation to the Regional Director regarding approval or disapproval of the plan of operations and the amount of the performance bond to be posted.

(b) Where any information required to be submitted as part of a proposed plan of operations has been submitted to the Superintendent in substantially the same form in a prior approved plan of operations, a specific cross-reference to that information contained in the prior approved plan of operations will be sufficient to incorporate it into the proposed plan and will satisfy the applicable requirement of this section.

(c) Information and materials submitted in compliance with this section will not constitute a plan of operations until information required by §9.36(a) (1) through (18), which the Superintendent determines as pertinent to the type of operations proposed, has been submitted to and determined adequate by the Regional Director.

(d) In all cases the plan of operations must consider and discuss the unit's Statement for Management and other planning documents as furnished by the Superintendent, and activities to control, minimize or prevent damage to the recreational, biological, physical, scientific, cultural, and scenic resources of the unit, and any reclamation procedures suggested by the Superintendent.

[43 FR 57825, Dec. 8, 1978; 44 FR 37914, June 29, 1979]