Illinois Administrative Code
Title 62 - MINING
Part 245 - HYDRAULIC FRACTURING REGULATORY ACT
Subpart B - REGISTRATION AND PERMITTING PROCEDURES
Section 245.210 - Permit Application Requirements
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) Every applicant for a permit under this Part must submit the following information to the Department on an application form provided by the Department (Section 1-35(b) of the Act). The plans required under subsections (a)(3), (a)(4), (a)(6), (a)(10), (a)(11), (a)(12), (a)(13), (a)(14), (a)(15) and (a)(20) are, pursuant to Section 1-55(a) of the Act, conditions of any permit issued under the Act. Pursuant to Section 1-35(b)(20) of the Act, the Department may request additional information from the applicant (see the other subsections of this subsection (a), requirements labeled as Additional Information within this subsection (a), and the information listed in subsection (b)).
The name, email address, and address of the applicant, the name and address of any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate (Section 1-35(b)(1) of the Act) of the applicant, and the applicant's HVHHF registration number;
The proposed well name, well location, and legal description per the Public Land Survey System of the well, well site, and its unit area (Section 1-35(b)(2) of the Act). The well location shall be surveyed by an Illinois licensed land surveyor or Illinois registered professional engineer and the description of the surveyed well location shall also include the legal description, the GPS latitude and longitude location, and ground elevation of the well. The GPS location shall be recorded as degrees and decimal degrees recorded to 6 decimal places in the North American Datum 1983 projection and shall be accurate to within 3 feet. The reported GPS location is required to be an actual GPS field measurement and not a calculated or conversion measurement;
A statement whether the proposed location of the well site is in compliance with the setback requirements of Section245.400 and a plat map, which shows the proposed surface location of the well site, providing the distance in feet from the surface location of the well site to the features described in Section245.400(a) (Section 1-35(b)(3) of the Act) and a statement explaining how the size of the well site is sufficient to conduct all aspects of HVHHF operations within its boundaries;
A detailed description of the directional drilling plan for the proposed well to be used for the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including, but not limited to, the following information (Section 1-35(b)(4) of the Act):
The estimated depth and elevation, according to the most recent publication of the Illinois State Geological Survey of Groundwater for the location of the well or any other relevant information known to the applicant, of the lowest potential fresh water along the entire length of the proposed well (Section 1-35(b)(5) of the Act);
A detailed description of the proposed high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including, but not limited to, the following (Section 1-35(b)(6) of the Act):
Unless the applicant documents to the Department's satisfaction why the information is not available at the time the application is submitted (in which case the applicant shall comply with Sections 245.700 and 245.720 ), a chemical disclosure report identifying each chemical and proppant anticipated to be used in hydraulic fracturing fluid for each stage of the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations (Section 1-35(b)(8) of the Act). If this information is not available pursuant to a trade secret claim under Sections 245.700 and 245.720, the permittee shall submit redacted and un-redacted copies of the documents identifying the specific information on the master list of chemicals claimed to be protected as trade secrets. The Department shall use the redacted copies when posting the master list of chemicals on its website. The redacted copy must also be submitted to the certified local public health department. The report must contain the following:
A self-certification explaining the applicant's compliance with the Water Use Act of 1983 [525 ILCS 45 ] and applicable regional water supply plans (Section 1-35(b)(9) of the Act), and including receipt or other proof of the applicant's delivery of the plan to the applicable Soil and Water Conservation District and any community water supply, as defined in Section 5 of the Public Water Supply Operations Act [415 ILCS 45/5 ], within 20 miles of the proposed water source;
* describe the source of that other water and the anticipated volume to be used; and
* if the water derives from a river, lake, stream, other surface water or groundwater and, but for the total dissolved solids (TDS) levels, would be considered fresh water, provide the information required by subsection (a)(10)(A);
A containment plan describing the containment practices and equipment to be used and the area of the well site where containment systems will be employed (Section 1-35(b)(13) of the Act) to be compliant with Sections 245.820, 245.825 and 245.830;
A casing and cementing plan that describes the casing and cementing practices to be employed, including the size of each string of pipe, the starting point, and depth to which each string is to be set and the extent to which each string is to be cemented (Section 1-35(b)(14) of the Act) to be compliant with Sections 245.530, 245.560 and 245.570;
The names and addresses of allownersof any real property surface interest within 1,500 feet of the proposed well siteas disclosed by the records in the office of the recorder of the county or counties (Section 1-35(b)(16) of the Act);
Drafts of the specific public notice and general public notice as required by Section245.250 using the forms provided by the Department (Section 1-35(b)(17) of the Act);
Proof of insurance indicating that the applicant/operator performing, itself or through a contractor, HVHHF operations at the proposed well is insured to cover injuries, damages, or loss related to pollution in the amount of at least $5,000,000 per occurrence (Section 1-35(b)(19) of the Act);
The work plan to ensure accurate and complete water quality sampling and testing (Section 1-80(a) of the Act) as set forth in Section 245.600(a), reviewed and certified by a professional engineer or professional geologist;
Disclosure of and a written explanation for the following, which must be supplemented if any changes occur after the application is submitted:
b) Additional Information. Pursuant to Section 1-35(b)(20) of the Act, the Department may request additional information from the applicant. This information is not automatically incorporated in the permit as a permit condition (see Section 1-55(a) of the Act), as are the plans described in the subsections specified in subsection (a). The applicant shall submit the following information:
Certification that the applicant's registration information provided pursuant to Section 245.200 is accurate and up to date;
A strategy for compliance with the requirement to preserve topsoil as required by Section 245.410;
A strategy for compliance with the requirement to implement practices to control fugitive dust as required by Section 245.410;
A statement indicating whether the applicant or a contractor will be performing the HVHHF operations. If a contractor will be performing the HVHHF operations, provide the contractor's name, address and telephone number, and the direct telephone number of the person responsible for HVHHF operations at the well site for the contractor. If any information is not known about the contractor at this time, the application shall be supplemented as soon as possible and in all events before the HVHHF operations begin;
A violations report indicating whether the applicant or any parent, subsidiary or affiliate of the applicant has pending Notices of Violations or Director's Decisions under the Act, this Part, the Illinois Oil and Gas Act, or the administrative rules promulgated under that Act;
A statement of which of the methods for managing natural gas and hydrocarbon fluids produced during the flowback period and production period the applicant will use, as required by Sections 245.845(a) and (b) and 245.900(a) through (c). If the applicant indicates in this statement that it intends to request an exemption or waiver under Section 245.845(c) or (f), 245.900(d) or (i), or 245.920, it must include that fact in the statement and attach the substantiation for the request that is required by Section 245.845, 245.900 or 245.920, as applicable;
c) When an application is made to conduct high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations at a well site located within the limits of any city, village, or incorporated town, the application shall state the name of the city, village, or incorporated town and be accompanied with a certified copy of the official consent for the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations to occur from the municipal authorities where the well site is proposed to be located. No permit shall be issued unless consent is secured and filed with the permit application. In the event that a modification to the permit is subsequently sought for an amended location or any other significant permit deviation, a new certified consent is required for the amended location. (Section 1-35(c) of the Act)
d) If any part of the well or well site identified in subsection (a)(2) is in an area identified by the U.S. Geological Service as having a 2% or more probability of exceedance (in 50 years) of peak ground acceleration of 0.4 standard gravity (g) or more, then the plans submitted per subsections (a)(11) (Hydraulic Fracturing Fluids and Flowback Plan), (a)(12) (Well Site Safety Plan), (a)(13) (Containment Plan) and (a)(14) (Casing and Cementing Plan) shall identify measures the applicant will take to protect the components in those plans against an earthquake of M 4.5 or more, and the insurance policy identified in subsection (a)(19) shall have a rider providing coverage against loss or claims resulting from impacts from any aspect of the permitted operations following earthquakes of M 4.5 or more.
e) If any part of the well or well site identified in subsection (a)(2) is in an area identified as a floodplain under 17 Ill. Adm. Code 3700 or 3706, it shall be considered a construction under either or both of those Parts and the applicant shall be responsible for obtaining all permits under Part 3700 or 3706, whichever is applicable, and the insurance policy identified in subsection (a)(19) shall have a rider providing coverage against loss or claims resulting from impacts from any aspect of the permitted operations following floods.
f) The permit application shall be accompanied by a bond or equivalent financial instrument as required by Section245.220(a) (Section 1-35(d) of the Act).
g) Each application for a permit under this Part shall include payment of a non-refundable fee of $13,500 (Section 1-35(e) of the Act). Checks shall be made payable to the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.
h) Each application submitted under this Part shall be signed, under the penalty of perjury, by the applicant or the applicant's designee who has been vested with the authority to act on behalf of the applicant and has direct knowledge of the information contained in the application and its attachments. Any person signing an application shall also sign an affidavit with the following certification:
"I certify, under penalty of perjury as provided by law and under penalty of refusal, suspension, or revocation of a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit, that this application and all attachments are true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge." (Section 1-35(f) of the Act)
i) The permit application shall be submitted to the Department in both electronic and hard copy format at the same time. One hard copy of the permit application and all documents attached to the application shall be provided. The electronic format shall be searchable (Section 1-35(g) of the Act) and provided to the Department on compact disc, DVD or Universal Serial Bus (USB) compatible storage devices. Permittee shall also provide the Department, in electronic and hard copy format, a duplicate set of any pages containing names or addresses of individuals in which the names and addresses, except those provided pursuant to subsections (a)(1) and (b)(4), are redacted for purposes of confidentiality. Review of the permit application shall not be considered for the purposes of Section 245.230 if the Department is unable to access the submitted electronic format.
j) The application for a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit may be submitted as a combined permit application with the permittee's application to drill on a form as the Department shall prescribe. The combined application must include the information required in this Section. The submission of a combined permit application under this subsection shall not be interpreted to relieve the applicant or the Department from complying with the requirements of this Part, the Act, the Illinois Oil and Gas Act and the rules adopted under that Act. (Section 1-35(h) of the Act)