Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-45a-8 - Siting requirements for new underground natural gas storage wells

(a) Each applicant shall assess the geographical, topographical, and physical data for any proposed natural gas storage well location to determine whether the siting requirements have been met. The following siting requirements shall be met:

(1) Each new underground natural gas storage facility shall be located at least three miles from the established boundaries of municipal population centers.

(2) Each proposed new facility or boundary expansion for any existing facility shall be located as follows:

(A) Not less than five miles from an active or abandoned conventional shaft mining operation; and

(B) not less than two miles from the facility's boundary of any solution mining operation.

(3) Each applicant shall assess the extent and nature of current or past conventional subsurface mining activities within five miles of the underground natural gas storage facility boundary to determine any potential impact to public health, safety, or the environment resulting from proposed activities at the facility.

(4) Each applicant shall identify and assess all wells, including abandoned wells, from available sources of information, within a one-mile perimeter of the facility's boundary to determine if the following conditions exist:

(A) All wells have been constructed in a manner to protect public health, safety, and the en vironment.

(B) All abandoned wells, including oil, gas, water, and monitoring wells, have been properly plugged.

(b) Each applicant shall conduct a regional geological evaluation to determine if the integrity of the proposed storage cavern will be adversely affected by either of the following:

(1) Salt thinning due to any stratigraphic change; or

(2) a dissolution zone in the salt.

(c) Each applicant shall determine if the facility's location is in a floodplain or flood-prone area.

(d) No new underground natural gas storage facility boundary or the expansion of an existing facility's boundary shall be located less than one mile from any existing underground porosity storage facility.

(e) Each applicant shall identify potential risks to the storage operation from activities conducted at adjacent facilities.

(f) Each applicant shall identify all utilities having right-of-way, including pipeline, railway, roadway, and electrical lines, and shall assess the potential impact of the utilities on the location or operation of the storage facility. If facilities are exposed and subject to hazards, including vehicular traffic, railroads, electrical power lines, and aircraft or shipping traffic, the facility shall be protected from accidental damage, by distance or barricades.

(g) No outer boundary of an underground natural gas storage cavern shall be less than 100 feet from any of the following:

(1) The property boundary of any owners who have not consented to subsurface storage under their property;

(2) any existing surface structure not owned by the facility's owner; or

(3) any public transportation artery.

Notes

Kan. Admin. Regs. § 28-45a-8

Authorized by and implementing K.S.A. 2002 Supp. 55-1,117; effective, T-28-4-1-03, April 1, 2003; effective Aug. 8, 2003.