Utah Admin. Code R317-7-10 - Technical Requirements for Class I Nonhazardous and Class III Wells
10.1 Construction Requirements
A. Class I Nonhazardous Well Construction
Requirements
1. All Class I Nonhazardous
wells as defined in Section 7-3.1(B) shall be sited so they inject beneath the
lowermost formation containing, within two miles of the well bore, an
USDW.
2. All Class I Nonhazardous
wells shall be cased and cemented to prevent the movement of fluids into or
between USDW's. The casing and cement used in the construction of each newly
drilled well shall be designed for the life expectancy of the well. In
determining and specifying casing and cementing requirements the following
factors shall be considered:
a. depth to the
injection zone;
b. injection
pressure, external pressure, internal pressure, and axial loading;
c. hole size;
d. size and grade of all casing strings (wall
thickness, diameter, nominal weight, length, joint specification, and
construction material);
e.
corrosiveness of injected fluid, formation fluids, and temperatures;
f. lithology of injection and confining
intervals; and
g. type or grade of
cement.
3. All Class I
Nonhazardous injection wells (except for municipal wells injecting noncorrosive
wastes) shall inject through tubing with a packer set immediately above the
injection zone or tubing with an approved fluid seal. Alternatives may be used
with the written approval of the Director if they provide a comparable level of
protection.
The following factors shall be considered in determining and specifying requirements for tubing, packer or alternatives:
a. depth of setting;
b. characteristics of injected
fluid;
c. injection
pressure;
d. annular
pressure;
e. rate, temperature and
volume of injected fluid; and
f.
size of casing.
4.
Appropriate logs and other tests shall be conducted during the drilling and
construction of new wells and a descriptive report interpreting the results of
such logs and tests shall be prepared by a qualified log analyst and submitted
to the Director. At a minimum, such logs and tests shall include:
a. deviation checks on holes constructed by
drilling a pilot hole, and then enlarging the pilot hole;
b. Such other logs and tests as may be
required by the Director. In determining which logs and tests shall be
required, the following shall be considered for use in the following
situations:
(1) for surface casing intended
to protect USDW's:
(a) electric and caliper
logs (before casing is installed);
(b) cement bond, temperature or density log
(after casing is set and cemented);
(2) for intermediate and long strings of
casing intended to facilitate injection:
(a)
electric, porosity and gamma ray logs (before casing is installed);
(b) fracture finder logs;
(c) cement bond, temperature or density log
(after casing is set and cemented).
5. At a minimum, the following information
concerning the injection formation shall be determined or calculated for new
wells:
a. fluid pressure;
b. temperature;
c. fracture pressure;
d. physical and chemical characteristics of
the injection matrix; and
e.
physical and chemical characteristics of the formation fluids.
B. Class III
Construction Requirements
1. All new Class
III wells shall be cased and cemented to prevent the migration of fluids into
or between underground sources of drinking water. The Director may waive the
cementing requirement for new wells in existing projects or portions of
existing projects where he has substantial evidence that no contamination of
underground sources or drinking water would result. The casing and cement used
in the construction of each newly drilled well shall be designed for the life
expectancy of the well. In determining and specifying casing and cementing
requirements, the following factors shall be considered:
a. depth to the injection zone;
b. injection pressure, external pressure,
internal pressure, and axial loading;
c. hole size;
d. size and grade of all casing strings (wall
thickness, diameter, nominal weight, length, joint specification, and
construction material);
e.
corrosiveness of injected fluids and formation fluids;
f. lithology of injection and confining
zones; and
g. type and grade of
cement.
2. Appropriate
logs and other tests shall be conducted during the drilling and construction of
new Class III wells. A descriptive report interpreting the results of such logs
and tests shall be prepared by a qualified log analyst and submitted to the
Director. The logs and tests appropriate to each type of Class III well shall
be determined based on the intended function, depth, construction and other
characteristics of the well, availability of similar data in the area of the
drilling site, and the need for additional information that may arise from time
to time as the construction of the well progresses. Deviation checks shall be
conducted on all holes where pilot holes and reaming are used, unless the hole
will be cased and cemented by circulating cement to the surface. Where
deviation checks are necessary they shall be conducted at sufficiently frequent
intervals to assure that vertical avenues for fluid migration in the form of
diverging holes are not created during drilling.
3. Where the injection zone is a formation
which is naturally water-bearing the following information concerning the
injection zone shall be determined or calculated for new Class III wells or
projects:
a. fluid pressure;
b. fracture pressure; and
c. physical and chemical characteristics of
the formation fluids.
4.
Where the injection zone is not a water bearing formation, only the fracture
pressure must be submitted.
5.
Where injection is into a formation which contains water with less than 10,000
mg/l TDS, monitoring wells shall be completed into the injection zone and into
any USDW above the injection zone.
6. Where injection is into a formation which
does not contain water with less than 10,000 mg/l TDS, no monitoring wells are
necessary in the injection stratum.
7. Where the injection wells penetrate an
USDW in a area subject to subsidence or catastrophic collapse, an adequate
number of monitoring wells shall be completed into the USDW.
10.2 Operation
Requirements
A. For Class I Nonhazardous and
Class III wells it is required that:
1.
Except during stimulation, the injection pressure at the wellhead shall not
exceed a maximum which shall be calculated to assure that the pressure in the
injection zone during injection does not initiate new fractures or propagate
existing fractures in the injection zone. In no case shall the injection
pressure initiate fractures in the confining zone or cause the movement of
injection or formation fluids into an USDW.
2. Injection between the outermost casing
protecting USDW's and the well bore is prohibited.
B. For Class I Nonhazardous wells, unless an
alternative to tubing and packer has been approved, the annulus between the
tubing and the long string of casings shall be filled with a fluid approved by
the Director and a pressure approved by the Director shall be maintained on the
annulus.
10.3
Monitoring. The permittee shall identify types of tests and methods used to
generate the monitoring data:
A. Class I
Nonhazardous well monitoring shall, at a minimum, include:
1. the analysis of the injected fluids with
sufficient frequency to yield representative data of their
characteristics;
2. installation
and use of continuous recording devices to monitor injection pressure, flow
rate and volume, and the pressure on the annulus between tubing and the long
string of casing;
3. a
demonstration of mechanical integrity pursuant to
40 C.F.R.
146.8 at least once every five years during
the life of the well; and
4. the
type, number and location of wells within the area of review to be used to
monitor any migration of fluids into and pressure in the USDW, the parameters
to be measured and the frequency of monitoring.
5. Ambient monitoring requirements for Class
I Nonhazardous wells found in
40 C.F.R.
146.13(d).
B. Class III monitoring shall, at
a minimum, include:
1. the analyses of the
physical and chemical characteristics of the injected fluid with sufficient
frequency to yield representative data on its characteristics;
2. monitoring of injection pressure and
either flow rate or volume semi- monthly, or metering and daily recording of
injected and produced fluid volumes as appropriate;
3. demonstration of mechanical integrity
pursuant to
40 C.F.R.
146.8 at least once every five years during
the life of the well for salt solution mining;
4. monitoring of the fluid level in the
injection zone semi-monthly, where appropriate and monitoring of the parameters
chosen to measure water quality in the monitoring wells required by Section
7-10.2 of these rules, semi- monthly;
5. quarterly monitoring of wells required by
Section 7-10.1(B)(7).
6. All Class
III wells may be monitored on a field or project basis rather than an
individual well basis by manifold monitoring. Manifold monitoring may be used
in cases of facilities consisting of more than one injection well, operating
with a common manifold. Separate monitoring systems for each well are not
required, provided the owner/operator demonstrates that manifold monitoring is
comparable to individual well monitoring.
7. In determining the number, location,
construction and frequency of monitoring of the monitoring wells, the criteria
in
40 C.F.R.
146.32(h) shall be
considered.
10.4 Reporting Requirements
A. For Class I Nonhazardous injection wells
reporting shall, at a minimum, include:
1.
quarterly reports to the Director on:
a. the
physical, chemical and other relevant characteristics of injection
fluids;
b. monthly average, maximum
and minimum values for injection pressure, flow rate and volume, and annular
pressure; and
c. the results of
monitoring of wells in the area of review.
2. Reporting the results, with the first
quarterly report after the completion of:
a.
periodic tests of mechanical integrity;
b. any other test of the injection well
conducted by the permittee if required by the Director; and
c. any well work over.
B. For Class III injection wells
reporting shall, at a minimum, include:
1.
quarterly reporting to the Director on required monitoring;
2. results of mechanical integrity and any
other periodic test required by the Director reported with the first regular
quarterly report after the completion of the test; and
3. monitoring may be reported on a project or
field basis rather than individual well basis where manifold monitoring is
used.
10.5
Plugging and Abandonment Requirements
A.
Prior to abandoning Class I Nonhazardous and Class III wells, the well shall be
plugged with cement in a manner which will not allow the movement of fluid
either into or between underground sources of drinking water. The Director may
allow Class III wells to use other plugging materials if he is satisfied that
such materials will prevent movement of fluids into or between underground
sources of drinking water.
B.
Placement of the cement plugs shall be accomplished by one of the following:
1. the Balance Method;
2. the Dump Bailer Method;
3. the Two-Plug Method; or
4. an alternative method approved by the
Director which will reliably provide a comparable level of protection to
USDW's.
C. The well to
be abandoned shall be in a state of static equilibrium with the mud weight
equalized top to bottom, either by circulating the mud in the well at least
once, or by a comparable method prescribed by the Director, prior to the
placement of the cement plug.
D.
The plugging and abandonment plan required in Section 7-9 shall, in the case of
a Class III well field which underlies or is in an aquifer which has been
exempted, also demonstrate adequate protection of USDW's. The Director shall
prescribe aquifer cleanup and monitoring where he deems it necessary and
feasible to insure adequate protection of USDW's.
10.6 Information to be Considered by the
Director. Requirements for information from well owners or operators and
evaluations by the Director for the issuance of permits, approval of well
operation or well plugging and abandonment of Class I Nonhazardous injection
wells are found in
40 C.F.R.
146.14 and Class III injection wells are
found in
40 C.F.R.
146.34.
Notes
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