Current through Register Vol. 43, No. 12, March 20,
2024
(a) Each permittee
shall ensure that each underground natural gas storage well is equipped with
pressure sensors to continuously monitor wellhead pressures on the product line
at the wellhead. The following requirements shall apply:
(1) The pressure sensor shall be capable of
recording the maximum and minimum operating pressures during a 24-hour period.
(2) The pressure sensor shall be
capable of recording operating pressures at an interval approved by the
secretary.
(3) The permittee shall
provide pressure data, including historic continuous monitoring, to the
secretary upon request.
(b) Each permittee shall submit a plan for
any monitoring activity, including logging and sonar surveys, to the secretary
for review and consideration for approval to ensure the protection of public
health, safety, and the environment, at least 60 days before the commencement
of these monitoring activities.
(c) Each permittee shall submit a summary and
the results of the monitoring activity to the secretary within 30 days after
completion of the monitoring activity.
(d) Each permittee shall monitor the
thickness of the salt roof for each cavern with gamma ray and density logs or
other log specified in K.A.R. 28-45a-4 (k) as follows:
(1) Every five years;
(2) at any time that the secretary determines
that cavern integrity is suspect; and
(3) before plugging the well.
(e) Each permittee shall determine
the cavern storage capacity and the cavern geometry with a sonar survey. The
sonar survey shall be conducted as follows:
(1) Before placing the natural gas storage
cavern in service;
(2) for
determining the capacity of the natural gas storage cavern, if the capacity
determined by the volume of gas injected into and withdrawn from the storage
cavern does not correspond with the reported cavern capacity;
(3) before plugging the well, if a sonar
survey has not been run in the past five years;
(4) for determining the stability of the
cavern and the overburden, if the salt roof thickness and cavern geometry
indicate that the stability of the cavern or overburden is at risk; and
(5) after any solutioning that
results in a solution volume increase of 20 percent or more of cavern capacity.
(f) Any permittee may
use an alternative method for the sonar survey if the secretary determines that
the alternative method is substantially equivalent to the method specified in
subsection (e). The permittee shall submit the following information:
(1) A description of the proposed method and
the theory for its operation;
(2)
a description of the storage well and cavern conditions under which the log can
be used;
(3) the procedure for
interpreting the survey results; and
(4) an interpretation of the capacity and
stability of the cavern upon completion of the survey.
(g) Each permittee of an underground natural
gas storage well equipped with a production casing and a tubing and packer
assembly shall monitor the annular space. Each permittee shall submit the
following to the secretary for review and consideration for approval:
(1) A diagram of the well construction; and
(2) a plan for monitoring the
annulus that includes the following:
(A) A
diagram of the instrumentation for monitoring the annular pressure and fluid
levels;
(B) a description of how
the annular pressure and fluid levels will be recorded; and
(C) a description of, and justification for,
the testing methods to demonstrate the mechanical integrity of the system.
(h) Each
permittee shall submit a survey plan for monitoring ground subsidence, with the
permit application, to the secretary for review and consideration for approval.
(1) The survey plan shall include the
following information:
(A) A description of
the method for conducting the elevation survey; and
(B) the criteria for establishing monuments,
benchmarks, and wellhead survey points.
(2) The criteria for subsidence monitoring
shall be the following:
(A) Level
measurements to the accuracy of 0.01 foot shall be made.
(B) Surface elevation changes in excess of
0.10 foot shall be reported within 24 hours to the department.
(C) No established benchmark shall be changed
unless the permittee submits a justification that the change is protective of
public health, safety, and the environment.
(D) If a benchmark is changed, the elevation
change from the previous benchmark shall be noted in the elevation survey
report.
(E) Each permittee shall
submit the elevation before and after any wellhead work that results in a
change in the survey point at the wellhead.
(3) The survey shall be conducted by a
licensed professional land surveyor.
(4) Biennial survey results, including
certified and stamped field notes, shall be submitted to the department within
30 days after completion of the survey.
(i) Each permittee shall submit an inventory
balance plan for measuring the volume of natural gas injected or withdrawn from
each underground natural gas storage well, including methods for measuring and
verifying volume, to the secretary for review and consideration for approval.
