The Oklahoma Corporation Brownfields Program

for Oil & Gas Exploration and

Production Sites Gas Stations

Storage Tanks, Pipelines

Patricia Billingsley, Brownfields Manager, Oklahoma Corporation Commission

OKC Once Looked Like This (View Facing North Across River)

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River

Tonkawa Once Looked Like This A drill rig behind every building!

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Historic Oil & Gas Fields Affect >60% of OK Townships

Who Can We Help?

Individuals, businesses and towns who are

Buying, taking for taxes, or otherwise acquiring any

Former O & G Exploration or Production Site or Gas Station or Storage Tank site, or

Land affected by an old Pipeline 7/11/2013 5

Who Else Can We Help?

Current Oil and Gas Operators who are taking over an orphan well (bankrupt

or shut down operator), or drilling a new oil or gas prospect in

what once was an old oilfield area

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Typical Old Oilfield Problem:Oily soil

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Typical Old Oilfield Problem: Salty Soil (produced water is up to

17% salt – seawater is only 3%)

White Salt Areas; grass or crops won’t grow

Typical Problem – Unplugged wells

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Unplugged well leaking to parking lot, Peoria St. Tulsa

Unplugged well in a pasture, for cow to step into

When you clip the top off an unknown old well, it can leak!

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Abandoned Wells Corp Comm has a state-funded

program to plug abandoned wells at no cost to site owners or developers

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Typical Problem – Former Pipelines I suspect this one had leaked

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Atypical Old Gas Station Problem: Gasoline Soaked Soil – Oops!

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We help You Determine what once was in that now

empty pasture or abandoned lot you want to develop,

Or What could affect that nice old building you want to renovate

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Site 1 - Our First Completed Site The Mayo Hotel in Tulsa

(But work actually started ~ 2008)

18 story, opened 1925. On National Historic Register. Abandoned 1981, acquired for renovation 2001

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Site 1 – Tank discovered in basement!

During renovation, old tank full of sludge discovered in sub-basement. Must have been installed first, building built over it.

Sampling of sludge showed crude oil, barium. Probably used for heating oil; gas heat installed 1950. Tank cleaned out, closed. Groundwater OK.

Site 2 – Views of Abandoned building, land; oil well was once here.

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Site 2 – Excavation – Removed oily soil, concrete debris; plugged well

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During excavation, a second unknown well 20’ from the first was found!

Chunk of concrete

Site 2 – Now an attractive fire station

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Unfortunately, many old pre-1980 oilfields are just open fields today –

So Pollution Risks are often NOT

obvious to developers or well drillers

“Only” few % will be hurt – Too many?

Open Pasture, No Problems – Right?

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View when development was just starting

BUT - WEST EDMOND OIL FIELD 1945

They should have done their research!

1941 Aerial, Development Area; Drill rigs, pits. NOT simply a pasture!

Dry salty pit

Pit with water

Drill rig shadows

Oil Well Spots

Pit Outlines

Under the Brownfields Program:

You fill out 3 Brownfields forms (we ARE the government – but they’re easy!)

We and/or a field inspector can check the site. Take photos, document conditions prior to your

takeover We check the prior drilling & production history,

check historic aerial photos back to 1937, to document who polluted the site and when.

We can run an EM survey to detect and map existing saline pollution

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We Work with the Oklahoma Energy Resources Board –

In some cases, state funded soil cleanup

Well plugged, initial cleanup- Nowata County Unplugged well

Under Our Brownfields Program, There is no $$ Charge for services, and

At the end of the Brownfields process, We issue you a Certificate of No

Further Action – No fines can thereafter be assessed

for the OLD, pre-existing pollution, and EPA will not go after you, either.

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Other Brownfields Activities

Old oilfield mapping, so cities and towns know where the old oilfield were, can incorporate into development planning

Old oilfield groundwater pollution mapping, to help water well drillers avoid drilling a polluted well 7/11/2013 26

Town Example -Map for Slaughterville

White, green etc. dots – known groundwater pollution

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HENNESSEY SHALE

GARBER SANDSTONE AQUIFER

30 F

EET

What Happens

SALT WATER IN PIPE

First Water Well Later Water Well

Sampling Results, One Case

Who Na ppm Cl ppm SO4 ppm TotlSolSalts

Na/Cl

Z 1314 3323 798 7597 0.395 L 665 2171 370 4996 0.306 C 438 1047 722 3247 0.418 D 210 460 357 1756 0.457 N 184 139 302 1095 0.662 B Frontyard 92 417 79 1327 0.441 B Backyard 1600

Exceeds Chloride 250 ppm secondary drinking water standards

Na/Cl Ratio <0.6 indicates oilfield source Sulfate SO4 – from natural BaSO4, which makes Rose Rocks

Commission Brownfields Program:

We have brochures and information sheets on the program, with our contact information.

We will be here for the break; come by and talk to us!

See our website OCCeweb.com – Divisions, Brownfields

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