Crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipelines

1. Application of section. This section is applicable to all underground gathering pipelines designed for or capable of transporting crude oil or produced water from an oil and gas production facility for the purpose of disposal, storage, or for sale purposes. If these rules differ from the pipeline manufacturer's prescribed installation and operation practices, the pipeline manufacturer's prescribed installation and operation practices take precedence. The requirements in this section are not applicable to flow lines, injection pipelines, pipelines operated by an enhanced recovery unit for enhanced recovery unit operations, or on piping utilized to connect wells, tanks, treaters, flares, or other equipment located entirely within the boundary of a well site or production facility. If these rules differ from or are preempted by federal requirements on federally regulated pipelines, the federal rules take precedence. The pipeline owner shall provide sufficient documentation to the director confirming the pipeline is federally regulated. 2. Definitions. The terms used throughout this section apply to this section only. a. "Crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline" means an underground gathering pipeline designed or intended to transfer crude oil or produced water from a production facility for disposal, storage, or sale purposes. b. "New construction" means a new gathering pipeline installation project or an alteration or reroute of an existing gathering pipeline where the location, composition, size, design temperature, or design pressure changes. c. "Pipeline repair" is the work necessary to restore a pipeline system to a condition suitable for safe operations that does not change the design temperature or pressure. d. "Gathering system" is a group of connected pipelines which have been designated as a gathering system by the operator. A gathering system must have a unique name and must be interconnected. e. "In-service date" is the first date fluid was transported down the underground gathering pipeline for disposal, storage, or sale purposes after construction. 3. Notifications. a. The underground gathering pipeline owner shall notify the director, at least seven days prior to commencing new construction of any underground gathering pipeline. The notice of intent to construct automatically expires after one year and for any project not built within one year; a new notice of intent to construct must be submitted. (1) The notice of intent to construct a crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline must include the following: (a) The proposed date construction is scheduled to begin. (b) A statement that the director will be verbally notified approximately forty-eight hours prior to commencing the construction. (c) A geographical information system layer utilizing North American datum 83 geographic coordinate system (GCS) and in an environmental systems research institute (Esri) shape file format showing the proposed route of the pipeline from the point of origin to the termination point. (d) The proposed underground gathering pipeline design drawings, including all associated above ground equipment. [1] The proposed pipeline composition, specifications (i.e. size, weight, grade, wall thickness, coating, and standard dimension ratio). [2] The type of fluid to be transported. [3] The method of testing pipeline integrity (e.g. hydrostatic or pneumatic test) prior to placing the pipeline into service. [4] Proposed burial depth of the pipeline. [5] The location and type of all road crossings (i.e. bored and cased or bored only). [6] The location of all environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, streams, or other surface waterbodies that the pipeline may traverse, if applicable. b. The underground gathering pipeline owner shall file a sundry notice (form 4 or form provided by the director) with the director providing notification of any underground gathering pipeline system or portion thereof that has been removed from service for more than one year. c. If damage occurs to any underground gathering pipeline, flow line, or other underground equipment used to transport crude oil, natural gas, carbon dioxide, or water produced in association with oil and gas, during construction, operation, maintenance, repair, or abandonment of an underground gathering pipeline, the responsible party shall verbally notify the director immediately. d. The pipeline owner shall file a sundry notice (form 4 or form provided by the director) within thirty days of the in-service date reporting the date of first service. 4. Design and construction. The following applies to newly constructed crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipelines, including tie-ins to existing systems: a. Underground gathering pipelines must be devoid of leaks and constructed of materials resistant to external corrosion and to the effects of transported fluids. b. Underground gathering pipelines must be designed in a manner that allows for line maintenance, periodic line cleaning, and integrity testing. c. Installation crews must be trained in all installation practices for which they are tasked to perform. d. Underground gathering pipelines must be installed in a manner that minimizes interference with agriculture, road and utility construction, the introduction of secondary stresses, and the possibility of damage to the pipe. Tracer wire must be buried with any nonconductive pipe installed. e. Unless the manufacturer's installation procedures and practices provide guidance, pipeline trenches must be constructed to allow for the pipeline to rest on undisturbed native soil and provide continuous support along the length of the pipe. Trench bottoms must be free of rocks greater than two inches in diameter, debris, trash, and other foreign material not required for pipeline installation. If a trench bottom is over excavated, the trench bottom must be backfilled with appropriate material and compacted prior to installation of the pipe to provide continuous support along the length of the pipe. The width of the trench must provide adequate clearance on each side of the pipe. Trench walls must be excavated to ensure minimal sluffing of sidewall material into the trench. Subsoil from the excavated trench must be stockpiled separately from previously stripped topsoil. f. Underground gathering pipelines that cross a township, county, or state graded road must be bored unless the responsible governing agency specifically permits the owner to open cut the road. g. No pipe or other component may be installed unless it has been visually inspected at the site of installation to ensure that it is not damaged in a manner that could impair its strength or reduce its serviceability. h. The pipe must be handled in a manner that minimizes stress and avoids physical damage to the pipe during stringing, joining, or lowering in. During the lowering in process the pipe string must be properly supported so as not to induce excess stresses on the pipe or the pipe joints or cause weakening or damage to the outer surface of the pipe. i. When a trench for an underground gathering pipeline is backfilled, it must be backfilled in a manner that provides firm support under the pipe and prevents damage to the pipe and pipe coating from equipment or from the backfill material. Sufficient backfill material must be placed in the haunches of the pipe to provide long-term support for the pipe. Backfill material that will be within two feet of the pipe must be free of rocks greater than two inches in diameter and foreign debris. Backfilling material must be compacted as appropriate during placement in a manner that provides support for the pipe and reduces the potential for damage to the pipe and pipe joints. j. Cover depths must be a minimum of four feet [1.22 meters] from the top of the pipe to the finished grade. The cover depth for an undeveloped governmental section line must be a minimum of six feet [1.83 meters] from the top of the pipe to the finished grade. k. Underground gathering pipelines that traverse environmentally sensitive areas, such as wetlands, streams, or other surface waterbodies, must be installed in a manner that minimizes impacts to these areas. Any horizontal directional drilling plan prepared by the owner or required by the director, must be filed with the director, prior to the commencement of horizontal directional drilling. l. Clamping or squeezing as a method of connecting any produced water underground gathering pipeline must be approved by the director. Prior to clamping or squeezing the pipeline, the owner shall file a sundry notice (form 4 or form provided by the director) with the director and obtain approval of the clamping or squeezing plan. The notice must include documentation that the pipeline can be safely clamped or squeezed as prescribed by the manufacturer's specifications. Any damaged portion of a produced water underground gathering pipeline that has been clamped or squeezed must be replaced before it is placed into service. 5. Pipeline reclamation. a. When utilizing excavation for pipeline installation, repair, or abandonment, topsoil must be stripped, segregated from the subsoils, and stockpiled for use in reclamation. "Topsoil" means the suitable plant growth material on the surface; however, in no event shall this be deemed to be more than the top twelve inches [30.48 centimeters] of soil or deeper than the depth of cultivation, whichever is greater. b. The pipeline right-of-way must be reclaimed as closely as practicable to original condition. All stakes, temporary construction markers, cables, ropes, skids, and any other debris or material not native to the area must be removed from the right-of-way and lawfully disposed of. c. During right-of-way reclamation all subsoils and topsoils must be returned in proper order to as close to the original depths as practicable. Right-of-way reclamation must be completed within one year of the pipeline being placed into service. An extension may be granted at the director's discretion. d. The reclaimed right-of-way soils must be stabilized to prevent excessive settling, sluffing, cave-ins, or erosion. e. The crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owner is responsible for their right-of-way reclamation and maintenance until such pipeline is released by the director from the pipeline bond pursuant to section 43-02-03-15. 6. Inspection. All newly constructed crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipelines must be inspected by third-party independent inspectors to ensure the pipeline is installed as prescribed by the manufacturer's specifications and in accordance with the requirements of this section. A list of all third-party independent inspectors and a description of each independent inspector's qualifications, certifications, experience, and specific training must be provided to the director upon request. A person may not be used to perform inspections unless that person has been trained and is qualified in the phase of construction to be inspected. The third-party independent inspector may not be an employee of the gathering pipeline owner/operator or the contractor hired to construct and install the pipeline. The number of third-party independent inspectors must be adequate for the size of the pipeline construction project to ensure proper pipeline installation. 7. Associated pipeline facility. No associated above ground equipment may be installed less than five hundred feet [152.40 meters] from an occupied dwelling unless agreed to in writing by the owner of the dwelling or authorized by order of the commission. All associated above ground equipment used to store crude oil or produced water must be devoid of leaks and constructed of materials resistant to the effects of crude oil, produced water, brines, or chemicals that may be contained therein. The above materials requirement may be waived by the director for tanks presently in service and in good condition. Unused tanks and associated above ground 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 all produced water or crude oil tanks at any new facility prior to placing the associated underground gathering pipeline into service. Dikes must be erected and maintained around all crude oil or produced water tanks or above ground equipment, when deemed necessary 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 must be of sufficient dimension to contain the total capacity of the largest tank plus one day's fluid throughput. The required capacity of the dike may be lowered by the director if the necessity therefor can be demonstrated to the director's satisfaction. Discharged crude oil or produced water must be properly removed and may not be allowed to remain standing within or outside of any diked areas. The underground gathering pipeline owner shall take steps to minimize the amount of solids stored at the pipeline facility, although the remediation of such material may be allowed onsite, if approved by the director. 8. Underground gathering pipeline as built. The owner of any underground gathering pipeline placed into service after July 31, 2011, shall file with the director, as prescribed by the director, within one hundred eighty days of placing into service, a geographical information system layer utilizing North American datum 83 geographic coordinate system (GCS) and in an environmental systems research institute (Esri) shape file format showing the location of all associated above ground equipment and the pipeline centerline from the point of origin to the termination point. An affidavit of completion shall accompany each layer containing the following information: a. A third-party inspector certificate that the pipeline was constructed and installed in compliance with section 43-02-03-29.1. b. The outside diameter, minimum wall thickness, composition, and maximum temperature rating of the pipeline, or any other specifications deemed necessary by the director. c. The maximum allowable operating pressure of the pipeline. d. The specified minimum yield strength and internal yield pressure of the pipeline if applicable to the composition of pipe. e. The type of fluid that will be transported in the pipeline. f. Pressure and duration to which the pipeline was tested prior to placing into service. g. The minimum pipeline depth of burial from the top of the pipe to the finished grade. h. In-service date. i. Leak protection and monitoring methods that will be utilized after in-service date. j. Any leak detection methods that have been prepared by the owner. k. The name of the pipeline gathering system and any other separately named portions thereof. l. The geographical information system layer must be within twenty feet [6.10 meters] of horizontal accuracy. 9. Operating requirements. The maximum operating pressure for all crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipelines may not exceed the manufacturer's specifications of the pipe or the manufacturer's specifications of any other component of the pipeline, whichever is less. The maximum operating pressure of any portion of an underground gathering system may not exceed the test pressure from the most recent integrity test demonstration following modification or repair for which it was tested. The crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline must be equipped with adequate controls and protective equipment to prevent the pipeline from operating above the maximum operating pressure. 10. Leak protection, detection, and monitoring. All crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owners shall file with the director any leak protection and monitoring plan prepared by the owner or required by the director, pursuant to North Dakota Century Code section 38-08-27. If any leak detection plan has been prepared by the owner, it must be submitted to the director. All crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline owners shall develop and maintain a data sharing plan and file a copy with the director. The plan must provide for real- time sharing of data between the operator of the production facility, the crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline owner, and the operator at the point or points of disposal, storage, or sale. If a discrepancy in the shared data is observed, the party observing the data discrepancy shall notify all other parties and action must be taken to determine the cause. A record of all data discrepancies must be retained by the crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline owner. If requested, copies of such records must be filed with the director. 11. Spill response. All crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owners shall maintain a spill response plan during the service life of any crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline. The plan should detail the necessary steps for an effective and timely response to a pipeline spill. The spill response plan should be tailored to the specific risks in the localized area. Response capabilities should address access to equipment and tools necessary to respond, as well as action steps to protect the health and property of impacted landowners, citizens, and the environment. 12. Corrosion control. a. Underground gathering pipelines must be designed to withstand the effects of external corrosion and maintained in a manner that mitigates internal corrosion. b. All metallic underground gathering pipelines installed must have sufficient corrosion control. c. All coated pipe must be electronically inspected prior to placement using coating deficiency (i.e. holiday) detectors to check for any faults not observable by visual examination. The holiday detector must be operated in accordance with manufacturer's instructions and at a voltage level appropriate for the electrical characteristics of the pipeline system being tested. During installation all joints, fittings, and tie-ins must be coated with materials compatible with the coatings on the pipe. Coating materials must: (1) Be designed to mitigate corrosion of the buried pipeline; (2) Have sufficient adhesion to the metal surface to prevent under film migration of moisture; (3) Be sufficiently ductile to resist cracking; (4) Have enough strength to resist damage due to handling and soil stress; (5) Support any supplemental cathodic protection; and (6) If the coating is an insulating type, have low moisture absorption and provide high electrical resistance. d. Cathodic protection systems must meet or exceed the minimum criteria set forth in the National Association of Corrosion Engineers standard practice Control of External Corrosion on Underground or Submerged Metallic Piping Systems. e. If internal corrosion is anticipated or detected, the underground gathering pipeline owner shall take prompt remedial action to correct any deficiencies, such as increased pigging, use of corrosion inhibitors, internal coating of the pipeline (e.g. an epoxy paint or other plastic liner), or a combination of these methods. Corrosion inhibitors must be used in sufficient quantity to protect the entire part of the pipeline system that the inhibitors are designed to protect. 13. Pipeline integrity. A crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline owner may not operate a pipeline unless it has been pressure tested and demonstrated integrity. In addition, an owner may not return to service a portion of pipeline which has been repaired, replaced, relocated, or otherwise changed until it has demonstrated integrity. a. The crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owner shall notify the director at least forty-eight hours prior to commencement of any pipeline integrity test to allow a representative of the director to witness the testing process and results. The notice must include the pipeline integrity test procedure. b. The crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owner shall submit within sixty days of the underground gathering pipeline being placed into service the integrity test results which must include the following: (1) The name of the pipeline gathering system and any other separately named portions thereof; (2) The date of the test; (3) The duration of the test; (4) The length of pipeline which was tested; (5) The maximum and minimum test pressure; (6) The starting and ending pressure; (7) A copy of the appropriately scaled chart recorder or digital log results; (8) A geographical information system layer utilizing North American datum 83 geographic coordinate system (GCS) and in an environmental systems research institute (Esri) shape file format showing the location of the centerline of the portion of the pipeline that was tested; (9) A copy of the test procedure used; and (10) A third-party inspector certificate summarizing the pipeline has been pressure tested and whether it demonstrated integrity, including the identification of any leaks, ruptures, or other integrity issues encountered, and an explanation for any substantial pressure gain or losses during the integrity test, if applicable. c. All crude oil and produced water underground gathering pipeline owners shall maintain a pipeline integrity demonstration plan during the service life of any crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline. The director, for good cause, may require a pipeline integrity demonstration on any crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline. 14. Pipeline repair. Each owner, in repairing an underground gathering pipeline or pipeline system, shall ensure that the repairs are made in a manner that prevents damage to persons or property. An owner may not use any pipe, valve, or fitting, for replacement or repair of an underground gathering pipeline, unless it is designed to meet the maximum operating pressure. a. At least forty-eight hours prior to any underground gathering pipeline repair or replacement, the underground gathering pipeline owner shall notify the director, except in an emergency. b. Within one hundred eighty days of repairing or replacing any underground gathering pipeline the owner of the pipeline shall file with the director a geographical information system layer utilizing North American datum 83 geographic coordinate system (GCS) and in an environmental systems research institute (Esri) shape file format showing the location of the centerline of the repaired or replaced pipeline and an affidavit of completion containing the following information: (1) A statement that the pipeline was repaired in compliance with section 43-02-03-29.1. (2) The reason for the repair or replacement. (3) The length of pipeline that was repaired or replaced. (4) Pressure and duration to which the pipeline was tested prior to returning to service. c. Clamping or squeezing as a method of repair for any produced water underground gathering pipeline must be approved by the director. Prior to clamping or squeezing the pipeline, the owner shall file a sundry notice (form 4) with the director and obtain approval of the clamping or squeezing plan. The notice must include documentation that the pipeline can be safely clamped or squeezed as prescribed by the manufacturer's specifications. If an emergency requires clamping or squeezing, the owner or the owner's agent shall obtain verbal approval from the director and the notice shall be filed within seven days of completing the repair. Any damaged portion of a produced water underground gathering pipeline that has been clamped or squeezed must be replaced before it is returned to service. 15. Pipeline abandonment. a. At least forty-eight hours prior to abandoning any underground gathering pipeline, the underground gathering pipeline owner shall notify the director verbally. b. When an underground gathering pipeline or any part of such pipeline is abandoned as defined under subsection 1 of North Dakota Century Code section 38-08-02 after March 31, 2014, the owner shall leave such pipeline in a safe condition by conducting the following: (1) Disconnect and physically isolate the pipeline from any operating facility, associated above ground equipment, or other pipeline. (2) Cut off the pipeline or the part of the pipeline to be abandoned below surface at pipeline level. (3) Purge the pipeline with fresh water, air, or inert gas in a manner that effectively removes all fluid. (4) Remove cathodic protection from the pipeline. (5) Permanently plug or cap all open ends by mechanical means or welded means. (6) The site of all associated above ground equipment must be reclaimed pursuant to section 43-02-03-34.1. (7) If the bury depth is not at least three feet below final grade, such portion of pipe must be removed. c. Within one hundred eighty days of completing the abandonment of an underground gathering pipeline the owner of the pipeline shall file with the director a geographical information system layer utilizing North American datum 83 geographic coordinate system (GCS) and in an environmental systems research institute (Esri) shape file format showing the location of the pipeline centerline and an affidavit of completion containing the following information: (1) A statement that the pipeline was abandoned in compliance with section 43-02-03-29.1. (2) The type of fluid used to purge the pipeline. (3) The date of pipeline abandonment. (4) The length of pipeline abandoned. 16. Pipeline markers. a. Aboveground pipeline markers must be placed and maintained over each buried crude oil or produced water underground gathering pipeline or portion thereof at the discretion of the director when necessary to protect public health and safety. The markers must contain at least the following on a background of sharply contrasting color: the word "Warning", "Caution", or "Danger" followed by the name of the fluid transported pipeline, the name of the operator, and current emergency phone number.