Rules & Regulations of the State of Tennessee
Title 0400 - Environment and Conservation
Subtitle 0400-52 - Drilling, Re-Entering, Plugging and Abandoning Exploratory and Exploitation Oil and Gas Wells (Transferred from 1040-02)
Chapter 0400-52-02 - Permits (Transferred from 1040-02-02)
Section 0400-52-02-.02 - DRILLING PERMIT
Current through September 24, 2024
(1) Applications for a permit to drill a well for oil and gas shall be made on Application for Permit to Drill (Form CN-0211) and submitted to the Supervisor's office for approval. The application shall be accompanied by a copy of a location plat, bond, Organization Report (Form CN-0219) and a fee of five hundred dollars ($500). The application shall give the name and address of the drilling contractor, if known; otherwise notification shall be made by letter to the Supervisor as soon as determined. Information submitted with the application shall include the intent to fracture the well, as well as an estimate of the volume of fluids to be used to fracture. The application shall also include a plan for erosion control, prevention of pollution of surface waters, and reclamation of all areas disturbed by the operations, including access roads. The plan shall conform to the requirements of Rule 0400-52-09-.05. The plan shall be sufficiently detailed to allow a gas and oil field inspector to locate the site of the facilities to be constructed and estimate the expected environmental impact, but does not have to include detailed engineering design drawings. The plan shall also include identification of all drinking water wells within a 1/4 mile radius of the proposed wellhead, except where a 1/2 mile radius is required, as specified in paragraph (10) of Rule 0400-52-02-.01. The Supervisor may require modifications in the operator's plan if such modifications are necessary to prevent pollution or to promote reclamation. Upon approval, the operator's plan shall be a condition of the permit. Failure to comply with the plan shall be grounds for revocation of the permit and forfeiture of the bond.
(2) A drilling permit shall be amended by filing an Application to Amend Well Permit (Form CN-0228) with the Supervisor and paying a fee of $100 if the well name, number, elevation, location, or proposed total depth is changed. If the well location is changed, 1 copy of a revised survey plat shall be filed with the application. The amended permit is subject to the same terms and conditions as a well permit, including erosion control requirements. A person who is granted a drilling permit can only transfer the permit and attendant rights to another person after submitting an Application to Change Operators (Form CN-237) and receiving approval of the application from the Supervisor. The person to whom the permit is being transferred shall file an Organization Report (Form CN-0219), post a well plugging bond and a reclamation bond, if needed, and pay a fee of $100. The transfer of a permit from the original permittee to another operator, with or without the approval of the Supervisor, does not relieve the original permittee of obligations occurring before the transfer, and the bond shall not be released until all material at the time of transfer has been submitted. Unless change of operator forms have been processed or approved by the office of the Supervisor, any operation conducted on the well in question is the responsibility of the original permittee, and his bond shall not be released until all State requirements have been met.
(3) If drilling operations cease for a period of 30 days, the operator shall notify the Supervisor in writing of the reason for the shutdown and the date on which operations shall be resumed.
(4) All wells shall be either properly plugged or completed within a period of 6 months following cessation of drilling. Upon written request to the Supervisor by the operator, showing valid cause for requiring additional time, a reasonable extension of as much as 90 days additional may be granted.
(5) An applicant who requests a permit to drill on site which is closer than normal statewide spacing to the boundary of an offsetting oil and gas lease, or mineral or surface property, or on a tract of land which is contested as to the ownership of oil and gas rights, shall comply with the following procedures:
(6) If more than one applicant applies for a permit to drill the same or a conflicting location on a tract of land at a permissible distance from an offset or offsetting well, the first application received in the Supervisor's office shall be issued the permit, provided the applicant complies with all other rules and regulations governing permits to drill a well. If the first applicant fails to exercise his permit privilege, then the next applicant of record, based on time submittal, shall receive the permit, provided he complies with all other requirements.
(7) If the ownership of the drill site tract of land is contested, all claimants shall be identified by an accompanying letter.
(8) Requests for permits for a voluntary pooled drilling unit, or for two or more leases or tracts that have been pooled for exploration or development shall be accompanied by a notarized affidavit signed by the operator that has the right to pool these leases to form a drilling unit.
(9) The Supervisor has the right to withhold the issuance of a permit to any operator in violation of any rule or regulation of this order until such violation has been removed.
Authority: T.C.A §§ 4-5-201, et seq. and 60-1-201, et seq.