43 C.F.R. § 3171.17 – General operating requirements—operator responsibilities.

(a) In the APD package, the operator must describe or show, as set forth in this subpart, the procedures, equipment, and materials to be used in the proposed operations. The operator must conduct operations to minimize adverse effects to surface and subsurface resources, prevent unnecessary surface disturbance, and conform with currently available technology and practice. While appropriate compliance with certain statutes, such as NEPA, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act, are Federal responsibilities, the operator may choose to conduct inventories and provide documentation to assist the BLM or the surface managing agency to meet the requirements of this paragraph (a). The inventories and other work may require entering the lease and adjacent lands before approval of the APD. As in staking and surveying, the operator should make a good faith effort to contact the surface managing agency or surface owner before entry upon the lands for these purposes.
(b) The operator cannot commence either drilling operations or preliminary construction activities before the BLM's approval of the APD. A copy of the approved APD and any Conditions of Approval must be available for review at the drill site. Operators are responsible for their contractor and subcontractor's compliance with the requirements of the approved APD and/or Surface Use Plan of Operations. Drilling without approval or causing surface disturbance without approval is a violation of 43 CFR 3162.3-1(c) and is subject to a monetary assessment under 43 CFR 3163.1(b)(2).
(c) The operator must comply with the provisions of the approved APD and applicable laws, regulations, and Notices to Lessees, including, but not limited to, those that address the issues described in paragraphs (c)(1) through (5) of this section.
1. (1) Cultural and historic resources. If historic or archaeological materials are uncovered during construction, the operator must immediately stop work that might further disturb such materials, contact the BLM and if appropriate, the FS or other surface managing agency. The BLM or the FS will inform the operator within 7 days after the operator contacted the BLM as to whether the materials appear eligible for listing on the National Register of Historic Places.
  1. (i) If the operator decides to relocate operations to avoid further costs to mitigate the site, the operator remains responsible for recording the location of any historic or archaeological resource that are discovered as a result of the operator's actions. The operator also is responsible for stabilizing the exposed cultural material if the operator created an unstable condition that must be addressed immediately. The BLM, the FS, or other appropriate surface managing agency will assume responsibility for evaluation and determination of significance related to the historic or archaeological site.
  2. (ii) If the operator does not relocate operations, the operator is responsible for mitigation and stabilization costs and the BLM, the FS, or appropriate surface managing agency will provide technical and procedural guidelines for conducting mitigation. The operator may resume construction operations when the BLM or the FS verifies that the operator has completed the required mitigation.
  3. (iii) Relocation of activities may subject the proposal to additional environmental review. Therefore, if the presence of such sites is suspected, the operator may want to submit alternate locations for advance approval before starting construction.
2. (2) Endangered Species Act. To comply with the Endangered Species Act, as amended (16 U.S.C. 1531 et seq.), and its implementing regulations in 50 CFR chapter I, the operator must conduct all operations such that all operations avoid a “take” of listed or proposed threatened or endangered species and their critical habitats.
3. (3) Surface protection. Except as otherwise provided in an approved Surface Use Plan of Operations, the operator must not conduct operations in areas subject to mass soil movement, riparian areas, floodplains, lakeshores, and/or wetlands. The operator also must take measures to minimize or prevent erosion and sediment production. Such measures may include, but are not limited to:
  1. (i) Avoiding steep slopes and excessive land clearing when siting structures, facilities, and other improvements; and
  2. (ii) Temporarily suspending operations when frozen ground, thawing, or other weather-related conditions would cause otherwise avoidable or excessive impacts.
4. (4) Safety measures. The operator must maintain structures, facilities, improvements, and equipment in a safe condition in accordance with the approved APD. The operator must also take appropriate measures as specified in Notices to Lessees to protect the public from any hazardous conditions resulting from operations.
  1. (i) In the event of an emergency, the operator may take immediate action without prior surface managing agency approval to safeguard life or to prevent significant environmental degradation. The BLM or the FS must receive notification of the emergency situation and the remedial action taken by the operator as soon as possible, but not later than 24 hours after the emergency occurred. If the emergency only affected drilling operations and had no surface impacts, only the BLM must be notified.
  2. (ii) If the emergency involved surface resources on other surface managing agency lands, the operator should also notify the surface managing agency and private surface owner within 24 hours.
  3. (iii) Upon conclusion of the emergency, the BLM or the FS, where appropriate, will review the incident and take appropriate action.
5. (5) Completion reports. Within 30 days after the well completion, the lessee or operator must submit to the BLM two copies of a completed Form 3160-4, Well Completion or Recompletion Report and Log. Well logs may be submitted to the BLM in an electronic format such as “.LAS” format. Surface and bottom-hole locations must be in latitude and longitude.