§ 34-21. General regulations.

(a)

Site access. No site access shall be allowed across any public park or any other property owned or maintained by the parish, except for public roads or street which may be designated as either truck routes or commercial delivery routes by the parish as provided in this ordinance, without the prior consent of the parish commission.

(b)

Drilling within floodplain or floodway. Drilling activities as well as activities associated therewith within any floodplain or floodway identified by FEMA on the most current FIRM shall recognize the legal responsibilities of the parish to FEMA.

(c)

Abatement of dust, vibration, or odors.

(1)

All drilling, production, compression and transmission operations shall be conducted in such a manner as to minimize, so far as practicable, dust, vibration, or noxious odors, and shall be in accordance with the best accepted practices incident to drilling for the production of oil or gas and other hydrocarbon substances in urban areas. All equipment used shall be so constructed and operated so that vibrations, dust, odor or other harmful or annoying substances or effect will be minimized by the operations carried on at any drilling or production site or from anything incident thereto. The site or structures located thereon shall not be permitted to become dilapidated, unsightly or unsafe. Proven reasonable and feasible technological improvements in industry standards of drilling and production in this area shall be adopted if capable of reducing factors of dust, vibration, and odor that may create a nuisance.

(2)

In addition to the foregoing, the placement of fill material may not cause the release of dust and/or odor that may create a nuisance, or damage any public improvements or public infrastructure. Further, no fill material shall be placed in a floodplain or floodway identified by FEMA on the most current FIRM without the prior consent of the director of public works.

(d)

Lighting. No person shall permit any lights located on the site of any well to be directed in such a manner to that they shine directly on public roads or streets, adjacent property, or property within 300 feet of the site. Additionally, to the extent practicable, and taking into account safety considerations, site lighting shall be directed downward and internally so as to avoid glare on public roads and streets, adjacent dwellings and buildings, and dwellings and buildings within 300 feet of the site.

(e)

Abatement of exhaust fumes. Exhaust from any internal combustion engine or compressor, stationary or mounted on wheels, used in connection with the drilling of any well or for use on any production equipment shall not be discharged into the open air unless it is equipped with an exhaust muffler or mufflers, or an exhaust muffler box, sufficient to suppress noise and disruptive vibrations and minimize the escape of gases, fumes, or ignited carbon or soot in order to prevent the creation of a nuisance. This equipment shall be maintained and kept in good operating condition according to the manufacturer's specifications.

(f)

Electric pumping. Only electric prime movers or motors shall be allowed for the purpose of pumping wells after drilling. No electric power shall be generated on location unless otherwise approved by the director of public works. All electrical installations and equipment shall conform to the ordinances of the parish and the appropriate national codes.

(g)

Signage. A sign shall be immediately and prominently displayed at the gate of the site of any oil or gas well. Such sign shall be of durable material, maintained in good condition and shall have a surface area of no less than two square feet nor more than four square feet and shall be lettered with the following:

(1)

Well name and number;

(2)

Name of operator;

(3)

24-hour emergency number for operator.

(h)

Required incident reporting. In the event of a fire or discovery of a fire, smoke, or unauthorized release of flammable or hazardous materials on any property, or any other event requiring evacuation of residences or businesses, voluntary or mandatory, the operator shall immediately upon discovery report such condition to the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office and applicable Fire District having jurisdiction at the site through the 911 Communications District of Caddo Parish in addition to any other required notification. Additionally, the operator shall give notice as soon as practicable to the parish administrator for the Parish of Caddo. Pursuant to R.S. Title 30, § 23-75, the Caddo Parish Sheriff's Office is hereby designated as the local response agency to have access to all facilities with the parish pursuant to said section.

(i)

Venting. No person shall allow, or cause or permit gases to be vented into the atmosphere or to be burned by open flame except as provided by law or as allowed by the state.

(j)

Installation of pipelines or flowlines on, under or across public property. Except as may otherwise be specifically addressed by agreement with the parish regarding use of public rights-of-way, installation and operation of flowlines and pipelines (those not exempt from parish regulation under federal or state rules and regulations regarding mapping, inventorying, location or relocation, including pipelines over, under, along, or across a public street or alley) shall be subject to the requirement that the operator:

(1)

Not interfere with or damage existing utilities, including, but not limited to, water, sewer or gas lines, storm drains, electric lines or the facilities of any public utilities located in public rights-of-way, utility easements, or other public property.

(2)

Furnish the director of public works, prior to commencement of work, with a plat showing the location of such pipelines or flowlines, including GIS information sufficient to locate the pipelines or flowlines in the future, including the beginning and end points of the pipeline or flowline and sufficient points in between the pipeline or flowline route and the depth of cover information; and detailed cross section drawing for all public rights-of-ways and easement crossings as allowed by the parish. Failure to provide necessary GIS information shall act as a release of the parish from responsibility for any damages or cost of repair to such pipelines or flowlines arising from any activity by or under authority of the parish.

(3)

Comply with parish codes and regulations.

(k)

Use of public water supplies. No person may use public water supplies in drilling and production operations of an oil or gas well (specifically including fracturing operations) unless the operator has complied with all regulations set forth in this section as well as any water conservation regulations which may be imposed by the parish and/or state.

(l)

Discharge. Unless otherwise specifically allowed by state regulation or private contract, no person shall place, deposit, discharge, or cause or permit to be placed, deposited or discharged, any oil, naphtha, petroleum, asphalt, tar, hydrocarbon substances or any refuse including wastewater or brine from any oil or gas operation or the contents of any container used in connection with any oil or gas operation in, into, or upon:

(1)

Any public right-of-way, alley, street, lot, storm drain, ditch or sewer, or sanitary drain without permits from the appropriate parish departments;

(2)

Any body of water; or

(3)

Any private property.

(m)

Disposal wells and compressor stations limited to industrial locations. Commercial salt water disposal wells and compressor stations shall be limited to industrially zoned locations but in no case shall be located within 500 feet of a protected use. The operator of the compressor station shall be responsible for establishing and reporting to the director of public works the pre-development ambient noise levels.

(n)

Explosives. Use of surface explosive charges within the parish shall require advance notification to the director of public works.

(o)

No debris, grass, weeds, or trash. The public street or road entrance and property on which a well site is located shall at all times be kept free of mud, debris, pools of water or other liquids, contaminated soil, weeds, brush, trash or other waste material within a radius on site of 100 feet around any separators, tanks and producing wells. All drill and operation sites shall be kept clear of high grass, weeds, and combustible trash within a radius on site of 100 feet around any gas tanks or producing wells.

(p)

Accessibility to emergency shut-off valves. All wells shall have emergency shut-off values clearly labeled as such accessible to the district fire chief having jurisdiction at the site. However, such access shall be limited to those emergencies when the operator has failed to respond within the time frames established under its emergency response plan which shall be provided prior to commencement of drilling operations to the district fire chief having jurisdiction at the site and the parish sheriff's office through the 911 Communications District of Caddo Parish.

(Ord. No. 4916, § 29-2, 9-17-2009; Ord. No. 4980, Ch. 29, § 2(8), 4-29-2010)