TITLE 12 CONSERVATION AND NATURAL RESOURCES

Section 4. Mineral Resources and Caves, 12-4-1 through 12-4-147.

ARTICLE 2 MINING AND DRILLING

12-4-44. Authority to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations.

1. The board shall have the authority to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations dealing with the control of matters over which it has jurisdiction under this part. Such rules and regulations shall include, but shall not be limited to, rules and regulations for the following purposes:
   1. To require the drilling, casing, and plugging of wells regulated under this part to be done in such a manner as to prevent the escape of oil or gas out of one stratum into another stratum; to prevent the pollution of fresh surface-water and ground-water supplies by oil, gas, salt water, or other contaminants; and to require reasonable bonds;
   2. To require the making of reports showing the location of all wells regulated under this part, including the filing of drill cutting samples, cores, and copies of all logs, and to further require that the operator submit the name classification used for each of the subsurface formations penetrated and the depth at which each such formation was penetrated;
   3. To prevent the drowning by water of any stratum or part thereof capable of producing oil or gas in paying quantities and to prevent the premature and irregular encroachment of water which reduces the total ultimate recovery of oil or gas from any pool;
   4. To require the operation of wells regulated under this part with efficient gas-oil ratios and to fix such ratios;
   5. To prevent "blowouts," "caving," and "seepage" in the sense that conditions indicated by such terms are generally understood in the oil and gas business;
   6. To prevent fires, waste, and spillage as same relates to any activity regulated by the provisions of this part;
   7. To identify the ownership of all oil or gas wells, producing leases, refineries, tanks, plants, structures, and all storage and transportation equipment and facilities;
   8. To regulate the "shooting," perforating, fracturing, hydraulic fracturing, and chemical treatment of wells;
   9. To regulate secondary recovery methods, including, but not limited to, the introduction of gas, oil, water, or other substances into producing formations;
   10. To limit and prorate the production of oil or gas, or both, from any pool or field for the prevention of waste as defined in Code Section 12-4-42;
   11. To require, either generally or in or from particular areas, certificates of clearance or tenders in connection with the transportation of oil or gas produced in Georgia;
   12. To regulate the spacing of wells and to establish drilling units;
   13. To prevent, insofar as is practical, avoidable drainage from each developed unit which is not equalized by counterdrainage;
   14. To establish procedures for the plugging and abandonment of wells regulated under this part and to establish procedures for the restoration and reclamation of well sites;
   15. To require that accurate records be kept on forms to be prescribed by the director, which records shall be reported to the director within the time specified in such rules and regulations; reports shall include such information as the director may prescribe, including, but not limited to, information concerning cuttings, subsurface samples, and lithologic and geophysical logs;
   16. To require that geologic and testing information obtained from a well regulated under this part be held in confidence by the director for a period of at least six months from the time of drilling to total depth, or, if the director approves, a longer period, if the operator makes a written request for the same stating the length of the extension desired and the reasons therefor; provided, however, that the guarantee of confidentiality provided for in this paragraph shall in no way impair the ability of the board or the director to enforce this part;
   17. To regulate the issuance, denial, and revocation of permits and to regulate bonds required under this part, except as to persons provided for in paragraph (18) of this subsection;
   18. To regulate the issuance of permits to persons who have been found to have violated any provision of this part, any rule or regulation adopted and promulgated pursuant to this part, or any order or permit issued under this part, and to establish the amount of bond for such persons;
   19. To regulate the cooperative development or operation of all or part of an oil or gas pool as a unit;
   20. To require that certain geophysical logging and other tests be conducted to ensure that the requirements of paragraphs (1), (8), and (14) of this subsection are met; and
   21. To regulate the underground storage or disposal of substances other than those substances covered by the provisions of Article 3 of Chapter 4 of Title 46.
2. On or before July 1, 2019, the board shall adopt regulations governing hydraulic fracturing operations. Such regulations shall include, at a minimum:
   1. Provisions for public notice of any application for any permit for any hydraulic fracturing well, such notice to be given before any decision on the permit application. The contents of such public notice shall include, at a minimum:
      1. The name, address, and telephone number of the division contact where further information can be obtained;
      2. The name and address of the applicant;
      3. The location of the well proposed to be fractured and the route of any directional borehole to the end point of such borehole;
      4. A brief description of the project, including information regarding the sources of water to be used as base fluid and estimated amounts and methods of waste-water disposal; and
      5. A brief description of the public comment period and procedures the director will follow to determine whether to issue the permit;
   2. Provisions for the identification of ground-water sources within one-half mile of any proposed wellhead and within one-half mile along the route of any directional borehole to the end point of such borehole, and for ground-water quality monitoring before, during, and after drilling operations;
   3. Provisions providing for the mandatory disclosure of the chemicals in the fluids used in hydraulic fracturing projects to the director and to the commissioner of public health, and a fair process for the disclosure of fracturing fluids to facilitate transparency, while protecting valuable trade secrets and allowing well owners, operators, and service companies to protect their right to obtain an advantage over competitors;
   4. Provisions for the safe disposal of all hydraulic fracturing fluids; and
   5. Provisions for the restoration and reclamation of abandoned well sites, storage facility sites, pits, and access roads.

(Ga. L. 1945, p. 366, § 11; Ga. L. 1975, p. 966, § 7; Ga. L. 1976, p. 544, §§ 6, 7; Ga. L. 1984, p. 398, § 3; Ga. L. 1996, p. 6, § 12; Ga. L. 2018, p. 953, § 1/HB 205.)

The 2018 amendment, effective May 8, 2018, designated the existing provisions of this Code section as subsection (a); substituted "surface-water and ground-water supplies" for "water supplies" in the middle of paragraph (a)(1); inserted "hydraulic fracturing," in paragraph (a)(8); added "and to establish procedures for the restoration and reclamation of well sites" at the end of paragraph (a)(14); substituted "subsection" for "Code section" at the end of paragraph (a)(17) and near the end of paragraph (a)(20); added "and" at the end of paragraph (a)(20); and added subsection (b).