UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL

UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL. Definitions Unless the context otherwise requires, the words hereinafter defined shall have the following meaning when found in this rule, to wit: (a) "Area of review" means the area surrounding an injection well described according to the criteria set forth in EPA Underground Injection Control program regulations, 40 C.F.R. Section 146.06 (1984) or in the case of an area permit, the project area plus a circumscribing area the width of which is either 1/4 of a mile or a number calculated according to the criteria set forth in EPA Underground Injection Control program regulations, 40 C.F.R. Section 146.06 (1984). (b) "Confining zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of limiting fluid movement above an injection zone. (c) "Exempted aquifer" means an aquifer or its portion that meets the criteria in the definition of "underground source of drinking water" but which has been exempted according to the procedures set forth in EPA Underground Injection Control program regulations, 40 C.F.R. Section 144.7(b) (1983). (d) "Fluid" means material or substance which flows or moves whether in a semisolid, liquid sludge, gas, or any other form or state. 1. Prohibition of Unauthorized Injection A. Any underground injection, except as authorized by permit or rule issued under this Class II Program is prohibited. The construction or conversion of any well required to have a permit is prohibited until the permit is issued. Injection fluids authorized for injection under this Class II Program include those: 1) which are brought to the surface in connection with conventional oil and natural gas drilling and production and may be commingled with waste waters from gas processing plants which are an integral part of production operations, unless those fluids are classified as hazardous waste at the time of injection; 2) for enhanced recovery of oil and natural gas; and 3) for storage of hydrocarbons which are liquid at standard temperature and pressure. B. Underground injection permits shall be issued only when the operator shows that there will be no endangerment of an underground source of drinking water. 1) Underground injection endangers drinking water sources if such injection may result in the presence of any contaminant in underground water, which supplies or can reasonably be expected to supply any public water system, and if the presence of such contaminant may result in such system's not complying with any National Primary Drinking Water Regulation or may otherwise adversely affect the health of persons. 2) "Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW)" shall mean an aquifer or its portion: a) which currently supplies any public water system(s); or b) which contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system; and i) currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or ii) contains fewer than 10,000 mg/l total dissolved solids (10,000 ppm); and c) which is not an exempted aquifer. C. Existing enhanced recovery injection, produced fluid disposal or liquid hydrocarbon storage wells operating under permits issued by the State Oil and Gas Board (Board) are authorized by rule and not required to reapply for a new permit. However, these wells are subject to the mechanical integrity, confinement of fluids, operating, monitoring and reporting, pressure limitation, casing, cementing, plugging and abandonment, and financial responsibility requirements of this rule (63) or Rule 64 as applicable. The State Oil and Gas Board can require that individual wells be permitted on a case by case basis. D. The provisions and requirements of this rule shall apply to underground injection by Federal Agencies, State Agencies, or any other party, whether or not occurring on property owned or leased by the United States. E. Financial Responsibility 1) New Permits Upon the effective date of this rule, no new permit for an enhanced recovery injection well, produced fluid disposal well or liquid hydrocarbon storage well shall be issued to an operator until the requirements of this Sub-Part E (Financial Responsibility) are met. 2) Existing Permits All existing holders of permits issued by the Board for operation of enhanced recovery injection wells, produced fluid disposal wells or liquid hydrocarbon storage wells shall be required to show cause why the permit should not be revoked by the Board after notice and hearing, unless the holder of the permit meets the requirements of this Sub-Part E (Financial Responsibility) by May 31, 1989. 3) Proof of Financial Responsibility All applicants for enhanced recovery injection wells, produced fluid disposal wells or liquid hydrocarbon storage wells must submit evidence to assure that the resources necessary to close, plug and abandon the injection wells are available. This surety must be in a form approved by the Supervisor, and must provide assurance of financial responsibility in the amount of the total estimated plugging costs. If the surety is in the form of a Letter of Credit or Surety Bond, it shall be issued by a financial institution approved by the Supervisor. Evidence of financial responsibility accepted by the Board must be maintained by the operator on an annual basis. 2. Notice and Hearing A. The applicant shall give notice to all parties in interest and the surface owner, without having to name such parties or surface owner, (applicant shall identify and submit on a list with the Permit application, the names and addresses of all owners of record of land within the AOR), by publishing notice of the application in a newspaper of general circulation in this state and also in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the well will be located and in the manner and form approved by the Board. If the application is for the initial application for fluid injection into a producing reservoir (pool), such notice by publication shall also be given to all operators of wells in the producing reservoir (pool) without having to name such operators. The applicant shall file proof of publication prior to the hearing or administrative approval. See Rules of Order and Procedure for Hearings Before Board. B. A hearing shall be held on all applications provided, however, that where said application is not contested when called for hearing, then sworn affidavits, exhibits and Board forms may be received in evidence at the hearing as to the manner in which the injection well, or wells, which are the subject of the application, are to be completed and regardless of whether or not the Board has previously approved, after notice and hearing of witnesses, a similar application for the pool or field. Applications requesting exceptions to this rule (63) shall require testimony before the Board to justify such exceptions. Any exception(s) granted and allowed by the Board after notice and hearing shall provide that the operator must show that such exception(s) shall not endanger any USDW. 3. Duration of Permits A. Permits authorizing injection into enhanced recovery injection, produced fluid disposal and liquid hydrocarbon storage wells shall remain valid for the life of the well unless revoked by the Board for cause, after notice and hearing, or unless mechanical integrity is lost as prescribed in Part 7 of this rule (63). Loss of mechanical integrity will automatically suspend permit authorization. If mechanical integrity is not restored and a concurrent or subsequent mechanical integrity test passed within ninety (90) days, after written notice from the Supervisor, the operator shall be required to show cause at a hearing before the Board why the permit should not be cancelled and the well be plugged and abandoned in accordance with Part 10 of this rule (63). B. A permit authorizing underground injection may be modified, revoked and re-issued after modifications, or cancelled during its term for cause after notice and hearing. This may be at the request of any interested person or at the Board's initiative. All requests shall be in writing and shall contain facts or reasons supporting the request. C. A permit may be modified, revoked and re-issued, or terminated after notice and hearing, if: 1) there is a substantial change of conditions in the enhanced recovery injection, produced fluid disposal or liquid hydrocarbon storage operations, or there are substantial changes in the information originally furnished; or 2) information as to the permitted operation indicates that the cumulative effects on the environment are detrimental, such as endangerment of USDW's; or 3) there are violations of the terms and provisions of the permit; or 4) the operator has misrepresented any material facts during the permit issuance process. 4. Transfer of Permits Permits authorizing enhanced recovery injection, produced fluid disposal or liquid hydrocarbon storage wells may be transferred from one operator to another, without notice and hearing, upon the filing of the Oil and Gas Board Form No. 2, Change of Operator, with the appropriate fee, proof of financial responsibility of new operator as stated in Part 1 (E)(3) of this rule (63), and approval by the Supervisor. All permit conditions shall apply to the new operator including financial responsibility as stated in Part 1(E) of this rule (63), and approval by the Supervisor. All permit conditions shall apply to the new operator. 5. Application Requirements (Individual Well or Project) for New Enhanced Recovery Injection or Produced Fluid Disposal Wells (Note: liquid hydrocarbon storage well requirements are detailed in Rule 64). [A new injection well is any well not presently permitted as a Class II Well, regardless of whether it has ever been permitted as such.] A. The application for a new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well shall be made on Oil and Gas Board Form No. 2 and the proposed plan of work attached, and which shall contain the following information: 1) name of operator, field name and well name and number, section, township and range; 2) geologic name, depth interval and lithologic description of the injection zone; 3) geologic name and lithologic description of the confining zone or zones and depth interval(s); 4) size, grade and length of all casing strings and amount, type and grade of cement used to cement each string in place and hole size; 5) size, grade and length of tubing and packer setting depth; 6) estimated average and maximum injection pressure; 7) estimated average and maximum injection rate; 8) source of the injected fluid, and an analysis of the injected fluid; 9) depth and geologic name of the deepest underground source of drinking water in the field and all other underground sources of drinking water; 10) depth and geologic name of shallowest zone in the field commercially productive of hydrocarbons; 11) a schematic drawing depicting surface and down-hole equipment and construction features; 12) area of review a) calculations shall be made and filed with the Board showing calculated radius of pressure influence for the well's expected injection parameters, using the methods proposed in the U. S. Department of Commerce National Technical Information Service, P. 680-100498 titled Radius of Pressure Influence of Injection Wells. A map shall be submitted with the individual well or project permit application for which the permit is sought which shows the applicable area of review within the calculated radius (for individual wells - calculated radius from the well; for an area permit for enhanced recovery projects - the project area plus a circumscribing area the width of which is the calculated radius); or b) a map shall be submitted with the individual well or project permit application for which the permit is sought which shows the applicable area of review (for individual wells - one-quarter (1/4) mile radius; for an area permit for enhanced recovery projects - the project area plus a circumscribing area the width of which is one-quarter (1/4) mile). c) a topographic map (or other map if a topographic map is unavailable) extending one mile beyond the property boundaries of the source depicting the facility and each of its intake and discharge structures; each of its hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities; each well where fluids from the facility are injected underground; and those wells, springs, and other surface water bodies, and drinking water wells listed in public records or otherwise known to the applicant within a quarter mile of the facility property boundary." d) the application for the approval of an enhanced recovery injection or disposal well shall include the following information: i) within the area of review, the map must show location, well name and number of any existing producing wells, injection wells, abandoned wells and dry holes; ii) identification of each operator of a producing well within the area of review; iii) only information of public record is required to be included on the map. iv) corrective action for wells which are improperly sealed, completed, or abandoned, the applicant shall also submit a plan consisting of such steps or modifications as are necessary to prevent movement of fluid into underground sources of drinking water ("corrective action"). 13) for produced fluid disposal wells, a certification from the applicant that the proposed injection zone is non-productive of oil or gas and is not an underground source of drinking water; a sample of formation fluid shall be obtained and an analysis of such fluid sample supplied to the Board upon completion of the well; 14) whether the system is open or closed; 15) information submitted with the application showing that injection into the proposed zone will not initiate fracturing in the confining zone or cause any movement of fluids into any USDW; the proper demonstration by the applicant that the pressure in the well at the depth of injection will not exceed seventy-five per cent (75%) of the calculated fracture pressure of the formation or upon proper demonstration and submission of evidence, that a sufficient thickness of overlying strata exists between the injection zone and the lowermost USDW to prevent fracturing into the USDW. Calculations shall accompany this submission of evidence that demonstrate that the maximum injection pressure will not initiate fracturing in the designated confining zone of a Class II Well. 16) a copy of an electric log or radioactive log of the well, if available; in the case of an undrilled well, submit a geologic description of the zone to be used for injection, the approximate depth of the proposed zone and an electric log or radioactive log of the nearest well available. B. A plan for plugging and abandoning the well in compliance with Part 10 of this rule (63) and the estimated cost of such plugging and abandoning operation shall be submitted along with the proof of financial responsibility required in Part 1:E of this rule (63). 6. Construction Requirements for New or Converted Enhanced Recovery Injection and Produced Fluid Disposal Wells A. Each new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well shall be completed, equipped, operated and maintained in a manner designed to assure confinement of fluids to the interval(s) approved. B. All new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal wells shall be sited in such fashion that they inject into a formation which is separated from any USDW by a confining zone that is free of known open faults or fractures within the area of review that are potential flow conduits. C. All newly drilled enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal wells shall be cased with surface or intermediate casing and cemented to a point at least one hundred feet (100') into the first confining unit immediately below the lowermost USDW, or through the entire thickness of the confining unit, whichever is less, unless long-string casing has cement circulated to the surface, to prevent the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking water. The surface or intermediate casing shall have cement circulated to the surface with uncontaminated returns. If cement is not circulated to the surface, a cement evaluation log acceptable to the Board shall be run to evaluate cement adequacy. If the cement is not adequate after setting, additional cement shall be block-squeezed or added to top off the casing to surface. The circulation of cement or cement evaluation log must be witnessed and attested to by the operator and the cementing company. The operator shall file Oil and Gas Board Form 3 (Well Completion Report) documenting the circulation of uncontaminated cement or adequacy of cement. The long-string casing shall also have cement behind it through a confining zone for at least one hundred feet (100') in an interval between the lowermost USDW and the injection zone. The casing and cement used in the construction of each newly drilled well shall be designed to comply with all requirements of this rule for the life expectancy of the well. D. The requirements of Part 6:C shall not apply to existing or newly converted wells if: 1) the wells were cased and cemented in compliance with existing rules of the Oil and Gas Board in existence at the time the well was originally drilled; and 2) injection will not result in the movement of fluids into an underground source of drinking water as defined in this rule (63) Part 1(B)(2). E. Each new or converted enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well shall be equipped with tubing set on a mechanical packer. The packer shall be set below the lowermost USDW and at least 100 feet below the top of competent cement behind the long string casing. In addition, the packer shall be set no more than 150 feet above the top perforations. F. The wellhead shall be equipped so that tubing and annulus pressures can be recorded for monthly monitoring reports (obtained from monitored pressure data) by having above-ground pressure observation valves on the tubing and for each annulus of the well; said valves shall be equipped with operable one-half inch (1/2") female fittings. G. The operator shall not proceed with any down-hole work on a new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well until the operator has notified the State Oil and Gas Board and has received written permission from the Supervisor. No work shall commence until the Oil and Gas Board Field Inspector has been given adequate notification in order to be able to witness the work. H. Logging Requirements 1) For new wells drilled as enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal wells, a) if open-hole logs of a nearby well that would reasonably be expected to depict the same lithology were not run through the lowermost USDW, the new well shall be logged from the surface to total depth before casing is set; or b) if logs exist from a nearby well that would reasonably be expected to depict the same lithology, the new well need only be logged below the surface casing before long string casing is run; and c) appropriate logs as approved by the Board and other tests shall be conducted during the drilling and construction of new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal wells and shall be submitted to the Supervisor along with a descriptive report interpreting the results of that portion of those logs and tests which specifically relate to (1) a USDW and the confining zone adjacent to it, and (2) the injection formation and adjacent formations prepared by a knowledgeable log analyst. 2) For existing wells or dry holes converted to enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal wells, a) copies of all logs not on file with the State Oil and Gas Board shall be submitted with the permit application, where available; b) copies of Gamma Ray Correlation Logs and Cement Bond Logs shall be submitted, including Gamma Ray Correlation and Cement Bond Log for intervals squeeze cemented, where required. 3) For all enhanced recovery injection wells and produced fluid disposal wells, a) other logs such as Temperature Logs, Porosity Logs, Fracture Finder Logs or Density Logs shall be submitted, if available or required by the Board; b) a portion of the Dual Induction Log shall be annotated to show: i) the base of the lowermost USDW; ii) the top and bottom of the injection zone; iii) the perforated interval; iv) the upper and lower confining zones; v) the top of cement behind the injection casing (verified by appropriate log(s) or calculations); and vi) the location of the packer. I. Testing Requirements: Before operating any new or converted enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well, the tubing/casing annulus or the long string casing shall be tested under the supervision of the Oil and Gas Board at a pressure of 500 psig or the maximum authorized injection pressure, whichever is less, provided no testing pressure shall be less than 300 psig. The well shall have passed the Mechanical Integrity Test if there is a pressure loss of no greater than three per cent (3%) for a duration one-half (1/2) hour. Any leaks in excess of three per cent (3%) pressure loss over one-half (1/2) hour shall be considered a significant leak. 7. Mechanical Integrity A. An injection well has mechanical integrity if: 1) there is no significant leak in the casing, tubing or packer as defined in Part 6:I of this rule (63); 2) there is no significant fluid movement into an underground source of drinking water through vertical channels adjacent to the well bore. B. One of the following methods must be used to evaluate the absence of significant leaks as defined in Part 6:I under Part 7:A(1) above: 1) pressure test with liquid; 2) Monitoring of annulus pressure. C. Unless cement was circulated to the surface with uncontaminated returns and documented by a Form No. 3, Well Completion Report, filed with the Mississippi State Oil & Gas Board, one of the following methods must be used to demonstrate the absence of significant fluid movement under Part 7:A.(2) above: 1) cementing records, including cement squeezes acceptable to the Board, demonstrating the presence of adequate cement to prevent such migration; and a Cement Bond Log demonstrating the presence of adequate cement and adequate bonding to prevent such migration; or 2) the results of a Radioactive Tracer Survey (RTS) witnessed, after adequate notification, by a representative of the Board will be accepted in conjunction with cementing records which demonstrate the presence of adequate cement to prevent migration. D. Each enhanced oil recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well shall demonstrate mechanical integrity at least once every five (5) years. The Supervisor shall prescribe a schedule and mail notification to the operator to allow for orderly and timely compliance with this requirement. E. The operator shall notify the Supervisor at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to any testing. Testing shall not commence before the end of the forty-eight (48) hour period unless authorized by the Supervisor. F. A complete record of all Mechanical Integrity Tests shall be made out, verified and placed on file with the Oil and Gas Board within thirty (30) days after testing. 8. Operating Requirements A. Injection shall not commence in any Class II Well until all permit requirements have been reviewed and approved by the Supervisor of the State Oil and Gas Board or his designee. B. Injection pressure at the well head shall not exceed the maximum pressure allowed by the permit. All wells shall not exceed calculated fracture pressure (enhanced recovery wells can be excepted after notice and hearing). C. Injection between the outermost string of casing protecting underground sources of drinking water and the well bore (borehole) is prohibited. D. If the operator or the Supervisor determines that operation may cause fluid to enter an unauthorized stratum or escape to the land surface, the operator shall shut in the well immediately. The operator shall notify the Supervisor by telephone within twenty-four (24) hours of such occurrence. Injection into the well shall not be resumed until the Supervisor has determined that the well is in compliance with all material permit conditions. If such compliance is not achieved within ninety (90) days, after written notice by the Supervisor, the operator shall be required to show cause at a hearing before the Board why the permit should not be cancelled and the well be plugged and abandoned in accordance with Part 10 of this rule (63). E. After the completion or recompletion of any well as an enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well, the operator shall file Form No. 3 (Well Completion Report) setting forth all pertinent information. Actual information shall be submitted for those items that were estimated or approximated in the permit application. 9. Monitoring and Reporting Requirements A. The operator shall monitor the nature of the injected fluids at time intervals sufficiently frequent to yield data representative of their characteristics and observe injected pressure, flow rate, and cumulative volume at least with the following frequencies: i) weekly for produced fluid disposal operations; ii) monthly for enhanced recovery operations; with the results of (i) and (ii) being reported monthly on Oil and Gas Board Form 14. B. All reports submitted to the Oil and Gas Board shall be signed by a duly authorized representative of the operator and notarized when indicated on the form. C. The operator of a new enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well shall give written notification to the Supervisor within thirty (30) days after injection or disposal is commenced. D. The operator shall notify the Supervisor of permanent cessation of injection if an injection well or project is to be removed from service for a period of six (6) months or more and give reasons or justification for such cessation of injection. Said permission shall not exceed one (1) year. After one (1) year, the well, or wells in a project, shall be plugged and abandoned as outlined in Part 10 of this rule (63). The operator may request a hearing for an extension exceeding one (1) year. Wells required for standby service, provided they pass a mechanical integrity test and meet all requirements for wells in active service, are exempt from the plugging requirements of this paragraph. E. The operator shall, within thirty (30) days, notify the Supervisor of the date injection into an enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well or project is permanently terminated and the reason therefor. The permit authorizing the well or project shall expire at this time. Notification of project termination must be accompanied by an individual well status report for all project injection wells. F. Mechanical failures or down-hole problems which indicate an enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well is not directing fluids into the authorized injection zone may be cause to shut in the well. If this condition may endanger a USDW, the operator shall orally notify the Supervisor within twenty-four (24) hours. Written notice of this failure shall be submitted to the Supervisor within five (5) days of the occurrence, additionally a plan for testing and/or repairing the well shall be submitted within thirty (30) days of the occurrence. Any mechanical down-hole well work performed on the well shall be witnessed by an oil and gas inspector unless such witnessing is waived by the Supervisor. Mechanical failures will be treated as loss of mechanical integrity, and provisions of Part 3:A of this rule (63) will apply. G. The operator shall retain records of all monitoring information for a period of three (3) years. H. The operator shall monitor the nature of the injected fluids to obtain data representative of their characteristics at least once within the first year of the authorization and, thereafter, when changes in the fluid occur. 10. Plugging and Abandoning A. Prior to abandoning an enhanced recovery injection or produced fluid disposal well, the well shall be plugged in a manner which will not allow the movement of fluids either into or between underground sources of drinking water by: 1) isolating the injection zone from the well bore by the use of cement plugs; and 2) such other cement plugs as are deemed necessary by the Board to properly plug the well. B. Placement of the cement plugs shall be accomplished by one of the following: 1) the Balance-Plug Method; 2) the Dump Bailer Method; 3) the Two-Plug Method; or 4) an alternative method, approved by the Supervisor, which will reliably provide a comparable level of protection to underground sources of drinking water. C. The well to be abandoned shall be in a state of static equilibrium with the mud weight equalized top to bottom, either by circulating the mud in the well at least once or by a comparable method prescribed by the Supervisor, prior to the placement of the cement plug(s). 11. Notification of Down-hole Work When any produced fluid disposal well permit has been issued by the Board, the operator shall not proceed with any down-hole work on such well or the reworking of any existing produced fluid disposal well, including, but not limited to, any cementing, setting of packer, the running or pulling of tubing or any work involving subsurface equipment, until the operator has notified the Supervisor of the State Oil and Gas Board and has received from the Supervisor written permission to proceed with any such work. The Supervisor may, in his discretion and in lieu of such written permission, have his representative present to observe and inspect any such work, in which event the representative shall file a written report thereof. Notification as to the time, date and place of the work must be given at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to commencing the work, unless waived by the Supervisor. 12. Annular Disposal The Board may approve annular disposal of produced fluids for a period of not more than one (1) year, after notice and hearing provided that the outermost casing is properly cemented through the lowermost USDW. The applicant shall provide the Board a Radioactive Tracer Survey (accompanied by an interpretation of the survey by the company which performed the test) to prove that the injected fluid is entering the permitted zone and there are no leaks in the casing. The applicant shall furnish the Board an economic study of the well and the economics of alternative methods of disposal of the produced fluids. No permit for annular injection will be granted where a viable economic alternative is found to exist. 13. Exemption of Aquifers After notice and opportunity for public hearing, the Board may identify (by narrative description, illustrations, maps or other means) and describe in geographic and/or geometric terms (such as vertical and lateral limits and gradient) which are clear and definite, all aquifers, or parts thereof, which the Board proposes to designate as exempted aquifers for purpose of Class II Underground Injection. In order to be designated as an exempted aquifer, the following criteria must be met: A. The aquifer does not currently serve as a source of drinking water; and B. The aquifer cannot now, and will not in the future, serve as a source of drinking water because: 1) It is mineral producing, hydrocarbon producing or geothermal energy producing or can be demonstrated by a permit applicant, as part of a permit application for a Class II operation, to contain minerals or hydrocarbons that, considering their quantity and location, are expected to be commercially producible; or 2) It is situated at a depth or location which makes recovery of water for drinking water purposes economically or technologically impractical; or 3) It is so contaminated that it would be economically or technologically impractical to render that water fit for human consumption; or 4) It is located over a Class III Well mining area subject to subsidence or catastrophic collapse; or C. The total dissolved solids content of the ground water is more that 3000 and less that 10,000 mg/l and it is not reasonably expected to supply a public water system; D. the aquifer exemption is approved with the concurrence of the Mississippi Department of Natural Resources and the Mississippi State Board of Health. 14. Suspension of Operations Should the Supervisor of the State Oil and Gas Board determine that the continued operation of a well, wells or associated treating, handling or storage facilities would cause waste, pollution or contamination of air, surface water, a USDW or soils, he will immediately prohibit further operation of the well, wells or associated facilities and may suspend the operator's Certificate of Compliance (Form 8) to transport oil, gas or other products until such time as it is determined by the Supervisor that the operator is in compliance with all rules and regulations of the Board. 15. Penalty Any person, firm or corporation violating any of these rules and regulations shall be punished as provided by Section 53-1-47 of the Mississippi Code Annotated, 1972. 16. Exceptions The Board, after notice and hearing, may grant an exception to any construction or operating provision of this rule upon proof of good cause. The operator must clearly demonstrate that this exception will not endanger a USDW. No exception shall be granted by the Board which would be a violation of any Federal Regulation and/or State of Mississippi Statute. 17. Effective Date This order supersedes Order No. 395-87 of the State Oil and Gas Board, dated September 17, 1987, and these rules and regulations shall take effect and be in force from and after April 20, 1989, except where otherwise provided. 18. Validity Should any section, subsection or other provision of this rule be declared by a court of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, that decision shall not affect the validity of the rule as a whole or any part thereof, other than the part so declared to be invalid, this Board hereby declaring that it would have adopted those parts of this rule which are valid and omitted any parts which may be invalid, if it had known that such part or parts were invalid at the time of the adoption of this rule.