Section 1509.06 | Application for permit to drill, reopen, convert, or plug back a well.
(A) An application for a permit to drill a new well, drill an existing well deeper, reopen a well, convert a well to any use other than its original purpose, or plug back a well to a different source of supply, including associated production operations, shall be filed with the chief of the division of oil and gas resources management upon such form as the chief prescribes and shall contain each of the following that is applicable:
(1) The name and address of the owner and, if a corporation, the name and address of the statutory agent;
(2) The signature of the owner or the owner's authorized agent. When an authorized agent signs an application, it shall be accompanied by a certified copy of the appointment as such agent.
(3) The names and addresses of all persons holding the royalty interest in the tract upon which the well is located or is to be drilled or within a proposed drilling unit;
(4) The location of the tract or drilling unit on which the well is located or is to be drilled identified by section or lot number, city, village, township, and county;
(5) Designation of the well by name and number;
(6)(a) The geological formation to be tested or used and the proposed total depth of the well;
(b) If the well is for the injection of a liquid, identity of the geological formation to be used as the injection zone and the composition of the liquid to be injected.
(7) The type of drilling equipment to be used;
(8)(a) An identification, to the best of the owner's knowledge, of each proposed source of ground water and surface water that will be used in the production operations of the well. The identification of each proposed source of water shall indicate if the water will be withdrawn from the Lake Erie watershed or the Ohio river watershed. In addition, the owner shall provide, to the best of the owner's knowledge, the proposed estimated rate and volume of the water withdrawal for the production operations. If recycled water will be used in the production operations, the owner shall provide the estimated volume of recycled water to be used. The owner shall submit to the chief an update of any of the information that is required by division (A)(8)(a) of this section if any of that information changes before the chief issues a permit for the application.
(b) Except as provided in division (A)(8)(c) of this section, for an application for a permit to drill a new well within an urbanized area, the results of sampling of water wells within three hundred feet of the proposed well prior to commencement of drilling. In addition, the owner shall include a list that identifies the location of each water well where the owner of the property on which the water well is located denied the owner access to sample the water well. The sampling shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines established in "Best Management Practices For Pre-drilling Water Sampling" in effect at the time that the application is submitted. The division shall furnish those guidelines upon request and shall make them available on the division's web site. If the chief determines that conditions at the proposed well site warrant a revision, the chief may revise the distance established in this division for purposes of pre-drilling water sampling.
(c) For an application for a permit to drill a new horizontal well, the results of sampling of water wells within one thousand five hundred feet of the proposed horizontal wellhead prior to commencement of drilling. In addition, the owner shall include a list that identifies the location of each water well where the owner of the property on which the water well is located denied the owner access to sample the water well. The sampling shall be conducted in accordance with the guidelines established in "Best Management Practices For Pre-drilling Water Sampling" in effect at the time that the application is submitted. The division shall furnish those guidelines upon request and shall make them available on the division's web site. If the chief determines that conditions at the proposed well site warrant a revision, the chief may revise the distance established in this division for purposes of pre-drilling water sampling.
(9) For an application for a permit to drill a new well within an urbanized area, a sworn statement that the applicant has provided notice by regular mail of the application to the owner of each parcel of real property that is located within five hundred feet of the surface location of the well and to the executive authority of the municipal corporation or the board of township trustees of the township, as applicable, in which the well is to be located. In addition, the notice shall contain a statement that informs an owner of real property who is required to receive the notice under division (A)(9) of this section that within five days of receipt of the notice, the owner is required to provide notice under section 1509.60 of the Revised Code to each residence in an occupied dwelling that is located on the owner's parcel of real property. The notice shall contain a statement that an application has been filed with the division of oil and gas resources management, identify the name of the applicant and the proposed well location, include the name and address of the division, and contain a statement that comments regarding the application may be sent to the division. The notice may be provided by hand delivery or regular mail. The identity of the owners of parcels of real property shall be determined using the tax records of the municipal corporation or county in which a parcel of real property is located as of the date of the notice.
(10) A plan for restoration of the land surface disturbed by drilling operations. The plan shall provide for compliance with the restoration requirements of division (A) of section 1509.072 of the Revised Code and any rules adopted by the chief pertaining to that restoration.
(11)(a) A description by name or number of the county, township, and municipal corporation roads, streets, and highways that the applicant anticipates will be used for access to and egress from the well site;
(b) For an application for a permit for a horizontal well, a copy of an agreement concerning maintenance and safe use of the roads, streets, and highways described in division (A)(11)(a) of this section entered into on reasonable terms with the public official that has the legal authority to enter into such maintenance and use agreements for each county, township, and municipal corporation, as applicable, in which any such road, street, or highway is located or an affidavit on a form prescribed by the chief attesting that the owner attempted in good faith to enter into an agreement under division (A)(11)(b) of this section with the applicable public official of each such county, township, or municipal corporation, but that no agreement was executed.
(12) Such other relevant information as the chief prescribes by rule.
Each application shall be accompanied by a map, on a scale not smaller than four hundred feet to the inch, prepared by an Ohio registered surveyor, showing the location of the well and containing such other data as may be prescribed by the chief. If the well is or is to be located within the excavations and workings of a mine, the map also shall include the location of the mine, the name of the mine, and the name of the person operating the mine.
(B) The chief shall cause a copy of the weekly circular prepared by the division to be provided to the county engineer of each county that contains active or proposed drilling activity. The weekly circular shall contain, in the manner prescribed by the chief, the names of all applicants for permits, the location of each well or proposed well, the information required by division (A)(11) of this section, and any additional information the chief prescribes. In addition, the chief promptly shall transfer an electronic copy or facsimile, or if those methods are not available to a municipal corporation or township, a copy via regular mail, of a drilling permit application to the clerk of the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or to the clerk of the township in which the well or proposed well is or is to be located if the legislative authority of the municipal corporation or the board of township trustees has asked to receive copies of such applications and the appropriate clerk has provided the chief an accurate, current electronic mailing address or facsimile number, as applicable.
(C)(1) Except as provided in division (C)(2) of this section, the chief shall not issue a permit for at least ten days after the date of filing of the application for the permit unless, upon reasonable cause shown, the chief waives that period or a request for expedited review is filed under this section. However, the chief shall issue a permit within twenty-one days of the filing of the application unless the chief denies the application by order.
(2) If the location of a well or proposed well will be or is within an urbanized area, the chief shall not issue a permit for at least eighteen days after the date of filing of the application for the permit unless, upon reasonable cause shown, the chief waives that period or the chief at the chief's discretion grants a request for an expedited review. However, the chief shall issue a permit for a well or proposed well within an urbanized area within thirty days of the filing of the application unless the chief denies the application by order.
(D) An applicant may file a request with the chief for expedited review of a permit application if the well is not or is not to be located in a gas storage reservoir or reservoir protective area, as "reservoir protective area" is defined in section 1571.01 of the Revised Code. If the well is or is to be located in a coal bearing township, the application shall be accompanied by the affidavit of the landowner prescribed in section 1509.08 of the Revised Code.
In addition to a complete application for a permit that meets the requirements of this section and the permit fee prescribed by this section, a request for expedited review shall be accompanied by a separate nonrefundable filing fee of two hundred fifty dollars. Upon the filing of a request for expedited review, the chief shall cause the county engineer of the county in which the well is or is to be located to be notified of the filing of the permit application and the request for expedited review by telephone or other means that in the judgment of the chief will provide timely notice of the application and request. The chief shall issue a permit within seven days of the filing of the request unless the chief denies the application by order. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section governing expedited review of permit applications, the chief may refuse to accept requests for expedited review if, in the chief's judgment, the acceptance of the requests would prevent the issuance, within twenty-one days of their filing, of permits for which applications are pending.
(E) A well shall be drilled and operated in accordance with the plans, sworn statements, and other information submitted in the approved application.
(F) The chief shall issue an order denying a permit if the chief finds that there is a substantial risk that the operation will result in violations of this chapter or rules adopted under it that will present an imminent danger to public health or safety or damage to the environment, provided that where the chief finds that terms or conditions to the permit can reasonably be expected to prevent such violations, the chief shall issue the permit subject to those terms or conditions, including, if applicable, terms and conditions regarding subjects identified in rules adopted under section 1509.03 of the Revised Code. The issuance of a permit shall not be considered an order of the chief.
The chief shall post notice of each permit that has been approved under this section on the division's web site not later than two business days after the application for a permit has been approved.
(G) Each application for a permit required by section 1509.05 of the Revised Code, except an application to plug back an existing well that is required by that section and an application for a well drilled or reopened for purposes of section 1509.22 of the Revised Code, also shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee as follows:
(1) Five hundred dollars for a permit to conduct activities in a township with a population of fewer than ten thousand;
(2) Seven hundred fifty dollars for a permit to conduct activities in a township with a population of ten thousand or more, but fewer than fifteen thousand;
(3) One thousand dollars for a permit to conduct activities in either of the following:
(a) A township with a population of fifteen thousand or more;
(b) A municipal corporation regardless of population.
(4) If the application is for a permit that requires mandatory pooling, an additional five thousand dollars.
For purposes of calculating fee amounts, populations shall be determined using the most recent federal decennial census.
Each application for the revision or reissuance of a permit shall be accompanied by a nonrefundable fee of two hundred fifty dollars.
(H)(1) Prior to the commencement of well pad construction and prior to the issuance of a permit to drill a proposed horizontal well or a proposed well that is to be located in an urbanized area, the division shall conduct a site review to identify and evaluate any site-specific terms and conditions that may be attached to the permit. At the site review, a representative of the division shall consider fencing, screening, and landscaping requirements, if any, for similar structures in the community in which the well is proposed to be located. The terms and conditions that are attached to the permit shall include the establishment of fencing, screening, and landscaping requirements for the surface facilities of the proposed well, including a tank battery of the well.
(2) Prior to the issuance of a permit to drill a proposed well, the division shall conduct a review to identify and evaluate any site-specific terms and conditions that may be attached to the permit if the proposed well will be located in a one-hundred-year floodplain or within the five-year time of travel associated with a public drinking water supply.
(I) A permit shall be issued by the chief in accordance with this chapter. A permit issued under this section for a well that is or is to be located in an urbanized area shall be valid for twelve months, and all other permits issued under this section shall be valid for twenty-four months.
(J) An applicant or a permittee, as applicable, shall submit to the chief an update of the information that is required under division (A)(8)(a) of this section if any of that information changes prior to commencement of production operations.
(K) A permittee or a permittee's authorized representative shall notify an inspector from the division at least twenty-four hours, or another time period agreed to by the chief's authorized representative, prior to the commencement of well pad construction and of drilling, reopening, converting, well stimulation, or plugback operations.
Available Versions of this Section
- September 10, 2012 – Senate Bill 315 - 129th General Assembly [ View September 10, 2012 Version ]
- September 29, 2015 – House Bill 64 - 131st General Assembly [ View September 29, 2015 Version ]
- October 3, 2023 – Amended by House Bill 33 - 135th General Assembly [ View October 3, 2023 Version ]