North Dakota Administrative Code
Title 43 - Industrial Commission
Article 43-02 - Mineral Exploration and Development
Chapter 43-02-03 - Oil and Gas Conservation
Section 43-02-03-49 - Oil production equipment, dikes, and seals

Storage of oil in underground or partially buried tanks or containers is prohibited. Surface oil tanks and production equipment must be devoid of leaks and constructed of materials resistant to the effects of produced fluids or chemicals that may be contained therein. Unused tanks and production equipment must be removed from the site or placed into service, within a reasonable time period, not to exceed one year.

Dikes must be erected around oil tanks, flowthrough process vessels, and recycle pumps at any new production facility prior to completing any well. Dikes must be erected and maintained around oil tanks at all facilities unless a waiver is granted by the director. Dikes as well as the base material under the dikes and within the diked area must be constructed of sufficiently impermeable material to provide emergency containment. Dikes around oil tanks must be of sufficient dimension to contain the total capacity of the largest tank plus one day's fluid production. Dikes around flowthrough process vessels must be of sufficient dimension to contain the total capacity of the vessel. The required capacity of the dike may be lowered by the director if the necessity therefor can be demonstrated to the director's satisfaction.

Within one hundred eighty days from the date the operator is notified by the commission, a perimeter berm, at least six inches [15.24 centimeters] in height, must be constructed and maintained. The berm must be constructed of sufficiently impermeable material to provide emergency containment and to divert surface drainage away from the site around all storage facilities and production sites that include storage tanks, have a daily throughput of more than one hundred barrels of fluid per day, and include production equipment or load lines that are not contained within secondary containment dikes. The director may consider an extension of time to implement these requirements if conditions prevent timely construction, or a modification of these requirements if other factors are present that provide sufficient protection from environmental impacts. Prior to removing any perimeter berm, the operator or owner shall obtain approval by the director.

Numbered weather-resistant security seals shall be properly utilized on all oil access valves and access points to secure the tank or battery of tanks.

General Authority: NDCC 38-08-04

Law Implemented: NDCC 38-08-04