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November 19, 2003
Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Role
in Protection of Fresh Water
Randy Ruedrich - Commissioner
The Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission regulates subsurface oil and gas
operations on all federal, state and private lands within the state. Protecting
fresh water from contamination is a primary aspect of our Alaskan oil and gas
regulations. EPA has delegated primacy to AOGCC to administer the Clean Drinking
Water Act Underground Injection Control Program for Alaskan oil and gas operations.
The AOGCC’s authority is exercised through the issuance of permits and orders approving
oil and gas operations. Orders relating to subsurface activities require public notice
with an opportunity for a public hearing. Commercial Coal bed methane development
operations will require several Conservation Orders establishing operating rules for
each development area.
The entire set of AOGCC Regulations can be found at:
http://www.state.ak.us/local/akpages/ADMIN/ogc/homeogc.htm
If you would like to receive Public Hearing Announcements and Copies of
Commission Orders, contact our Special Staff Assistant at
jody_colombie@admin.state.ak.us.
A brief recap of AOGCC Freshwater Protection:
- Protection of water with less than 10,000 ppm salinity is a major part of the AOGCC’s
responsibilities with regulation of oil and gas operations
(Drinking water usually has less than 200 ppm)
- All applications for underground injection operations require public notice with an
opportunity for public comment and a public hearing
- Protection of underground sources of drinking water requires:
- identification of aquifers (AOGCC consults with DNR hydrologists on
distribution of water wells and uses oil and gas well data to delineate water
salinity. The cross section of Evergreen wells shows an example).
- well designs that isolate the aquifers from injection pressures and
fluids (casing depths and grades, cementing programs, mechanical integrity testing)
- operational constraints that prevent injected fluids from migrating into aquifers
(injection pressure, rate, and fluid limitations)
- injection well surveillance that insures mechanical problems cannot impair
injection operations (continuous monitoring of well pressures during injection,
periodic surveillance activities ranging from pressure tests to surveillance logging)
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