Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES
Part XVII - Office of Conservation-Injection and Mining
Subpart 7 - Statewide Order No. 29-M-5
Chapter 37 - Storage Wells in Solution-Mined Salt Dome Cavities
Section XVII-3721 - Safety

Universal Citation: LA Admin Code XVII-3721

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024

A. Emergency Action Plan. An Emergency Action Plan containing emergency contact telephone numbers, procedures and specific information for facility personnel to respond to a release, upset, incident, accident, or other site emergency shall be kept at the facility and shall be reviewed and updated as needed. An outline of the plan, including emergency contact telephone numbers, shall be prepared and submitted as part of the permit application or compliance review.

B. Controlled Site Access. Access to storage facilities shall be controlled by fencing or other means around the facility property. All points of entry into the facility shall be through by a lockable gate system.

C. Personnel. Personnel shall be on duty at the storage facility 24 hours a day. During periods of stored product injection or withdrawal, trained personnel shall be stationed at the storage well, facility's onsite local control room, or other facility control location at the storage site. If the storage facility chooses to use an offsite monitoring and control automated telemetry surveillance system, approved by the commissioner, provisions shall be made for trained personnel to be on-call at all times and 24-hours-a-day staffing of the facility may not be required.

D. Wellhead Protection and Identification

1. A barrier shall be installed and maintained around the storage wellhead as protection from physical or accidental damage by mobile equipment or trespassers.

2. An identifying sign shall be placed at the wellhead of each storage well and, at a minimum, shall include the operator's name, well/cavern name and number, well's state serial number, section-township-range, and any other information required by the Office of Conservation. The sign shall be of durable construction with all lettering kept in a legible condition.

E. Valves and Flowlines

1. All valves, flowlines, flanges, fittings, and related connections shall be manufactured of steel. All components shall be designed with a test pressure rating of at least 125 percent of the maximum pressure that could be exerted at the surface. All components and related connections shall be maintained in good working order and shall be periodically inspected by the operator.

2. All valves, flowlines for injection and withdrawal, and any other flowlines shall be designed to prevent pressures over maximum operating pressure from being exerted on the storage well and cavern and prevent backflow or escape of injected material. The fluid withdrawal side of the wellhead shall have the same pressure rating as the injection side.

3. All flowlines for injection and withdrawal connected to the wellhead shall be equipped with remotely operated shut-off valves and shall have manually operated positive shut-off valves at the wellhead. All remotely operated shut-off valves shall be fail-safe and tested and inspected according to §3721 I

F. Alarm Systems. Manual and automatically activated alarms shall be installed at all cavern facilities. All alarms shall be audible and visible from any normal work location within the facility. The alarms shall be maintained in proper working order. Automatic alarms designed to activate an audible and a visible signal shall be integrated with all pressure, flow, heat, fire, cavern overfill, leak sensors and detectors, emergency shutdown systems, or any other safety system. The circuitry shall be designed such that failure of a detector or sensor shall activate a warning.

G. Emergency Shutdown Valves. Manual and automatically actuated emergency shutdown valves shall be installed on all systems of cavern injection and withdrawal and any other flowlines going into or out from each storage wellhead. All emergency shutdown valves shall be fail-safe and shall be tested and inspected according to §3721 I

1. Manual controls for emergency shutdown valves shall be designed to isolate a single well and to operate from a local control room, at each storage wellhead, any remote monitoring and control location, and at a location that is accessible to emergency response personnel.

2. Automatic emergency shutdown valves shall be designed to actuate on detection of abnormal pressures of the injection system, abnormal increases in flow rates, responses to any heat, fire, cavern overfill, leak sensors and detectors, loss of pressure or power to the well, cavern, or valves, or any abnormal operating condition.

H. Vapor Detection. The operator shall develop and implement a plan as required in §3723.D to detect the presence of combustible gases or any potentially ignitable substances in the atmosphere resulting from the storage operation.

1. Installation of a safety system at or near each brine pit or any other location where the uncontrollable release of liquefied gases may occur may be required by the commissioner.

I. Safety Systems Test. The operator shall function-test all critical systems of control and safety at least once every six months. This includes testing of alarms, test tripping of emergency shutdown valves ensuring their closure times are within design specifications, and ensuring the integrity of all electrical, pneumatic, or hydraulic circuits. Tests results shall be documented and kept onsite for inspection by an agent of the Office of Conservation.

J. Safety Inspections

1. The operator shall conduct twice-yearly safety inspections and file with the commissioner a written report consisting of the inspection procedures and results within 30 days following the inspection. Such inspections shall be conducted during the winter and summer months of each year. The operator shall notify the commissioner at least five days prior to such inspections so that his representative may be present to witness the inspections. Inspections shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
a. operations of all manual wellhead valves;

b. operation of all automatic shut-in safety valves, including sounding or alarm devices;

c. safety system;

d. brine pits, tanks, firewalls, and related equipment;

e. flowlines, manifolds, and related equipment;

f. warning signs, safety fences, etc.

2. Visual inspections of the cavern facility shall be conducted each day the facility is operating. At a minimum, this shall include inspections of the wellhead, flowlines, valves, signs, perimeter fencing, and all other areas of the facility. Problems discovered during the inspections shall be corrected timely.

3. Representatives of the Office of Conservation may inspect the storage well and facility at any time during the storage facility regular working hours.

K. Spill Containment. Levees, booms, or other containment devices suitable to retain liquids released by accidental spillage shall surround the wellheads of caverns.

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:4 et seq. and R.S. 30:23 et seq.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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