The Division of Gas and Oil in the Virginia Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy (DMME) regulates the effects of gas and oil operations both on and below the surface. The Virginia Gas and Oil Board fosters, encourages, and promotes the safe and efficient exploration for and development, production, and utilization of gas and oil resources. Otherwise, three regulatory citizen boards are responsible for adopting Virginia 's environmental regulations. The Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) staff administers the regulations as approved by the boards. Finally, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3, through its Water Protection Division, administers Class II underground injection control (UIC) programs in Virginia in direct implementation.

Contact

Division of Gas and Oil
230 Charwood Drive
Abingdon, VA 24210
(276) 676-5423 (phone)
(276) 676-5459 (fax)

Virginia Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 10009
Richmond, VA 23240 (mailing address)

629 East Main Street
Richmond, VA 23219 (street address)

(804) 698-4000 (phone)

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 3
Water Protection Division
1650 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19103-2029
(215) 814-2300 (phone)

Produced Water Management Practices and Applicable Regulations

Title 4 (Conservation and Natural Resources), Agency 25 (Department of Mines Minerals and Energy), Chapter 150 (Virginia Gas and Oil Regulation) of the Virginia Administrative Code (VAC) contains the rules administered by the Division of Gas and Oil. The DEQ administers the water regulations of the State Water Control Board.

• 4VAC25-150-420 (Disposal of Produced Fluids)
  • All fluids from a well shall be handled in a properly constructed pit, tank, or other type of container approved by the director. A permittee shall not dispose of fluids from a well until the director has approved the permittee's plan for permanent disposal of the fluids. Temporary storage of produced fluids is allowed with the approval of the director.
  • The permittee shall submit an application for either on-site or off-site permanent disposal of fluids on a form prescribed by the director. Maps and a narrative describing the method to be used for permanent disposal of fluids must accompany the application if the permittee proposes to land-apply any fluids on the permitted site. The application, maps, and narrative shall become part of the permittee's operations plan.
  • On-site Disposal
    • Fluids to be land-applied must meet the parameters listed in the Department of Environmental Quality's " Water Quality Criteria for Groundwater " under 9VAC25-280-60 to 9VAC25-280-70.
    • Land application of fluids must be confined to the permitted area.
    • Fluids must be applied in a manner that will not cause erosion or runoff. The permittee shall take into account site conditions such as slope, soils, and vegetation when determining the rate and volume of land application on each site. As part of the application narrative, the permittee shall show the calculations used to determine the maximum rate of application for each site.
    • Fluid application must not be conducted when the ground is saturated, snow-covered, or frozen.
    • Buffer zones must be maintained unless a variance has been granted by the director: fluid shall not be applied closer than 25 feet from highways or property lines not included in the acreage shown in the permit; fluid shall not be applied closer than 50 feet from surface watercourses, wetlands, natural rock outcrops, or sinkholes; and fluid shall not be applied closer than 100 feet from water supply wells or springs.
    • The permittee shall monitor vegetation for two years after the last fluid has been applied to a site. If any adverse effects are found, the permittee shall report the adverse effects in writing to the division.
    • The director may require monitoring of groundwater quality on sites used for land application of fluids to determine if the groundwater has been degraded.
  • Off-Site Disposal
    • Each permittee using an off-site facility for disposal of fluids shall submit a copy of a valid permit for the disposal facility to be used; and documentation that the facility will accept the fluids.
    • Each permittee using an off-site facility for disposal of fluids shall use a waste-tracking system to document the movement of fluids off of a permitted site to their final disposition. Records compiled by this system shall be available for inspection on request.

• 4 VAC 25-150-630 (Report of Produced Waters)
  • All coalbed methane gas well operators are required to submit monthly reports of total produced waters withdrawn from coalbed methane gas wells, in barrels, on a well-by-well basis, with the monthly report submitted under 4VAC 25-150-210.
  • The report shall show monthly produced water withdrawals and cumulative produced water withdrawals.