State Regulations: Colorado
The Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC), a division of the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), regulates oil and gas activities in Colorado. The COGCC has broad statutory authority with respect to impacts on any air, water, soil, or biological resources resulting from oil and gas operations. The COGCC implements the state ground water standards and classifications as they relate to oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) activities. The COGCC has jurisdiction for all Class II injection wells, except those on Indian lands. The COGCC has jurisdiction for the management of all E&P wastes except at commercial disposal facilities.
The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) administers the environmental protection laws related to air quality, waste discharge to surface water, and commercial disposal facilities.
The Colorado Division of Water Resources (CDWR), another division under the DNR, establishes water use rules and defines beneficial uses of CBM water [PDF].
Contact
Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
1120 Lincoln Street, Suite 801
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 894-2100 (phone)
(303) 894-2109 (fax)
Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment
4300 Cherry Creek Drive, South
Denver, CO 80246-1530
(303) 692-3423 (phone)
(303) 759-5355 (fax)
Colorado Division of Water Resources
1313 Sherman Street, Rm. 818
Denver, CO 80203
(303) 866-3581 (phone)
(303) 866-3589 (fax)
Produced Water Management Practices and Applicable Regulations
The regulations of the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission (COGCC) can be accessed online.
The COGCC’s rules governing the management of exploration and production waste are contained in the 900 series [PDF]. The COGCC’s rules governing enhanced recovery projects are contained in the 400 series [PDF]. Otherwise, the Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment (CDPHE) has promulgated regulations on water quality and supply, solid waste, and hazardous waste.
- 900 Series: Exploration and Production Waste Management — The definition of E&P waste under the Oil and Gas Conservation Act basically follows the federal exemption from the definition of hazardous waste for oil and gas E&P waste. Management Options for Produced Water (Rule 907c) include the following.
- Treatment of produced water — Produced water shall be treated prior to placement in a production pit to prevent crude oil and condensate from entering the pit.
- Produced water disposal through:
- Injection into a properly permitted Class II well (Rule 325);
- Evaporation/percolation in a properly permitted pit;
- Disposal at permitted commercial facilities;
- Disposal by roadspreading on lease roads outside sensitive areas for produced waters with less than 3,500 mg/l TDS when authorized by the surface owner. Roadspreading shall not impact waters of the state, shall not result in pooling or runoff, and the adjacent soils shall meet the allowable concentrations in Table 910-1.). Flowback fluids shall not be used for dust suppression; or
- Discharging into state waters, in accordance with the Water Quality Control Act and the implementing rules and regulations. Produced water discharged may be put to beneficial use in accordance with applicable state statutes and regulations governing the use and administration of water.
- Evaporation in a properly lined pit at a properly permitted centralized E&P waste management facility (Rule 908).
- Produced water reuse and recycling — Produced water may be reused for enhanced recovery, drilling, and other uses in a manner consistent with existing water rights and in consideration of water quality standards and classifications established by the CDPHE Water Quality Control Commission for waters of the state, or any point of compliance established by the Director (Rule 324D).
- Mitigation — Water produced during operation of an oil or gas well may be used to provide an alternate domestic water supply to surface owners within the oil or gas field, in accordance with all applicable laws, including, but not limited to, obtaining the necessary approvals from the CDPHE Water Quality Control Commission for constructing a new "waterworks." Produced water not so used shall be disposed in accordance with the disposal, reuse, and recycling regulations described above. The water produced shall be to the benefit of the surface owner within the oil and gas field and may not be sold for profit or traded.
- 400 Series: Enhanced Recovery Projects
- Approval — All operations must be authorized.
- Casing and Cementing — Wells used for injection of fluids into the producing formation shall be cased with safe and adequate casing or tubing so as to prevent leakage, and shall be so set or cemented that damage will not be caused to oil, gas, or fresh water resources. (Each injection well must satisfactorily pass a mechanical integrity test prior to injection.)
- Notice of Commencement and Discontinuance of Injection Operations — Operators must notify the COGCC immediately upon commencement and within ten days of discontinuance of all injection operations. When any well in an approved enhanced recovery unit operation is converted to or from an injection status, notice must be given within thirty days (Sundry Notice, Form 4). Before plugging any intake and oil and gas wells, notice must be given by the well owner.
- Produced Water Discharge Permits can be obtained through the CDPHE Water Quality Control Division. In 2009, the CDPHE issued a new general NPDES permit [PDF] authorizing produced water discharges.
Beneficial Use of Produced Water
The Colorado Division of Water Resources (CDWR) has jurisdiction over appropriations of water. CDWR recognizes the following uses as beneficial uses:
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CBM wells are not "wells" as defined in the Ground Water Management Act, and operators do not need to obtain a permit from CDWR to withdraw water from these wells as part of the CBM extraction process. However, if water from a CBM well is put to beneficial use other than those uses allowed under COGCC Rule 907, then CDWR has certain jurisdiction over the water and the well, and the well is subject to the Rules and Regulations for Water Well Construction, Pump Installation, and Monitoring and Observation Hole/Well Construction (2CCR 402-2).
The concept of beneficial use of water is expressed in the Colorado Constitution and defined broadly in the Water Right Determination and Administration Act of 1969. The application of a specific quantity of the waters of the state to a beneficial use gives rise to an appropriation of a water right, subject to water court adjudication and administration by the State and Division Engineers. However, a court decision in April 2009 ruled that the mere extraction of water through CBM wells constitutes beneficial use, and an appropriation of water; thus, CBM wells whose water is beneficially used are subject to water well permitting, water court adjudication, and administration in Colorado’s water rights priority system.