State Codes and Statutes
Statutes > Utah > Title-40 > Chapter-06 > 40-6-540-6-5. Jurisdiction of board -- Rules.
(1) The board has jurisdiction over all persons and property necessary to enforce thischapter. The board shall enact rules in accordance with the Utah Administrative Rulemaking Act.
(2) The board shall adopt rules and make orders as necessary to administer the followingprovisions:
(a) Ownership of all facilities for the production, storage, treatment, transportation,refining, or processing of oil and gas shall be identified.
(b) Well logs, directional surveys, and reports on well location, drilling, and productionshall be made and filed with the division. Logs of wells marked "confidential" shall be keptconfidential for one year after the date on which the log is required to be filed, unless the operatorgives written permission to release the log at an earlier date. Production reports shall be:
(i) filed monthly;
(ii) accurate; and
(iii) in a form that reasonably serves the needs of state agencies and private fee owners.
(c) Monthly reports from gas processing plants shall be filed with the division.
(d) Wells shall be drilled, cased, operated, and plugged in such manner as to prevent:
(i) the escape of oil, gas, or water out of the reservoir in which they are found intoanother formation;
(ii) the detrimental intrusion of water into an oil or gas reservoir;
(iii) the pollution of fresh water supplies by oil, gas, or salt water;
(iv) blowouts;
(v) cavings;
(vi) seepages; and
(vii) fires.
(e) The drilling of wells shall not commence without an adequate and approved supply ofwater as required by Title 73, Chapter 3. This provision is not intended to impose any additionallegal requirements, but to assure that existing legal requirements concerning the use of water havebeen met prior to the commencement of drilling.
(f) The operator shall furnish a reasonable performance bond or other good and sufficientsurety, conditioned for the performance of the duty to:
(i) plug each dry or abandoned well;
(ii) repair each well causing waste or pollution; and
(iii) maintain and restore the well site.
(g) Production from wells shall be separated into oil and gas and measured by means andupon standards that will be prescribed by the board and will reflect current industry standards.
(h) Crude oil obtained from any reserve pit, disposal pond or pit, or similar facility, andany accumulation of nonmerchantable waste crude oil shall be treated and processed, asprescribed by the board.
(i) Any person who produces, sells, purchases, acquires, stores, transports, refines, orprocesses oil or gas or injects fluids for cycling, pressure maintenance, secondary or enhancedrecovery, or salt water disposal in this state shall maintain complete and accurate records of thequantities produced, sold, purchased, acquired, stored, transported, refined, processed, or injectedfor a period of at least six years. The records shall be available for examination by the board orits agents at any reasonable time. Rules enacted to administer this subsection shall be consistentwith applicable federal requirements.
(j) Any person with an interest in a lease shall be notified when all or part of that interestin the lease is sold or transferred.
(3) The board has the authority to regulate:
(a) all operations for and related to the production of oil or gas including:
(i) drilling, testing, equipping, completing, operating, producing, and plugging of wells;and
(ii) reclamation of sites;
(b) the spacing and location of wells;
(c) operations to increase ultimate recovery, such as:
(i) cycling of gas;
(ii) the maintenance of pressure; and
(iii) the introduction of gas, water, or other substances into a reservoir;
(d) the disposal of salt water and oil-field wastes;
(e) the underground and surface storage of oil, gas, or products; and
(f) the flaring of gas from an oil well.
(4) For the purposes of administering this chapter, the board may designate:
(a) wells as:
(i) oil wells; or
(ii) gas wells; and
(b) pools as:
(i) oil pools; or
(ii) gas pools.
(5) The board has exclusive jurisdiction over:
(a) class II injection wells, as defined by the federal Environmental Protection Agency orany successor agency; and
(b) pits and ponds in relation to these injection wells.
(6) The board has jurisdiction:
(a) to hear any questions regarding multiple mineral development conflicts with oil andgas operations if there:
(i) is potential injury to other mineral deposits on the same lands; or
(ii) are simultaneous or concurrent operations conducted by other mineral owners orlessees affecting the same lands; and
(b) to enter its order or rule with respect to those questions.
(7) The board has enforcement powers with respect to operators of minerals other than oiland gas as are set forth in Section 40-6-11, for the sole purpose of enforcing multiple mineraldevelopment issues.
Amended by Chapter 62, 1988 General Session
