Code of Colorado Regulations
400 - Department of Natural Resources
404 - Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
2 CCR 404-1 - PRACTICE AND PROCEDURE
Section 602 - GENERAL SAFETY REQUIREMENTS
Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 17, September 10, 2024
Operators will operate and maintain all Oil and Gas Facilities in a safe manner. Operators will train their employees in the safe conduct of all job responsibilities, including safe operation and location of all equipment. An Operator will ensure that all contractors, subcontractors, and persons directly under the Operator's control on an Oil and Gas Location or at an Oil and Gas Facility receive adequate training and are aware of the hazards presented by the Operator's Oil and Gas Operations.
a. Operators will familiarize their employees, contractors, and subcontractors with the Commission's Rules as they relate to the person's job functions.
b. Operators are responsible for training all employees so that operations can be conducted in a safe and workmanlike manner at all times. Such training will include at a minimum the review and training on standard operating procedures and best management practices for each job function.
c. Operators are responsible for ensuring that operations are conducted with due regard for the safety of employees, for the preservation and conservation of property, and for protecting and minimizing adverse impacts to public health, safety, welfare, the environment, and wildlife resources.
d. Operators will establish and maintain a written operations safety management program for all Oil and Gas Operations. The operations safety management program will establish operational practices and procedures for safety and will include at a minimum a:
e. Employees, contractors, and subcontractors will immediately report unsafe and potentially dangerous conditions to their supervisor and any such conditions will be remedied as soon as practicable.
f. In the event of a situation that requires operations to cease due to an imminent threat to safety, the Director may order a safety shut-in of an Oil and Gas Location until the imminent threat to safety is resolved. If the Director requires an Operator to take action pursuant to Rule 602.f, the Operator may appeal the Director's decision to the Commission pursuant to Rule 503.g.(10). The matter will not be assigned to an Administrative Law Judge pursuant to Rule 503.h. The Commission will hear the appeal at its next regularly scheduled meeting. Operators will continue to comply with any requirements identified by the Director pursuant to Rule 602.f until the Commission makes a decision on the appeal. The Commission may uphold the Director's decision if the Commission determines the Director had reasonable cause to determine that an Operator's actions posed an imminent threat to safety, and that the action required by the Director was necessary and reasonable to address those impacts or threatened impacts. If an Operator does not appeal the Director's decision pursuant to this Rule 602.f, the Director will report the decision at its next regularly scheduled hearing.
g. Operators will notify the Director and the Local Government of the applicable jurisdiction of reportable safety events at an Oil and Gas Facility. Reportable safety events include:
h. Operators will provide initial notification of a reportable safety event described in Rule 602.g.(1)-(4) above, as soon as practicable, but no more than 6 hours after the safety event. A Form 22, Accident Report, will be submitted to the Director within 3 days of the reportable safety event.
i. Where unsafe or potentially dangerous conditions exist at an Oil and Gas Location and first responders or Commission Staff are on-site, the Operator will respond to and be present at the Location with first responders or Commission Staff.
j. Each Operator will have a functioning emergency response plan that provides for the effective management of situations that may arise from Oil and Gas Operations. All existing and proposed Oil and Gas Locations will have an emergency response plan in place that has been coordinated with, and approved by, the local emergency response agency. The plan may be developed to cover all Oil and Gas Locations within a Field or geographical area so long as the emergency response agency agrees.
k. Vehicles not necessary for drilling, production, servicing, or seismic operations will be located a minimum distance of 100 feet from the wellbore, or a distance equal to the height of the derrick or mast, whichever is greater. Operators will take equivalent safety measures where terrain, location, or other conditions do not permit this minimum distance.
l. Existing Production Facilities are exempt from the provisions of the Commission's Rules with respect to minimum distance requirements and setbacks unless they are found by the Director to be unsafe.
m. Operators will provide self-contained physically secured sanitary facilities during drilling operations and at any other similarly staffed Oil and Gas Location or Oil and Gas Facility, and ensure that waste remains contained within the sanitary facilities.
