Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 23 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL
Section 11-23-03 - Definitions
As used in this chapter:
"Abandon" means to permanently discontinue usage; temporary or intermittent cessation of Operation does not constitute abandonment. An abandoned well need not necessarily be a sealed well.
"Aquifer" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of yielding a significant amount of water to a well, tunnel or spring.
"Artesian" means a hydrologic condition whereby groundwater is confined, under pressure greater than atmospheric, by overlying, relatively impermeable strata. Because of hydrostatic pressure, the piezometric surface of an artesian aquifer rises above the bottom of the (upper) confining bed.
"Building" means a structure, permanent or temporary, built, erected and framed of component structural parts designed for the housing, shelter, workplace, enclosure or support of persona, animals or property of any kind.
"Caprock" means a geological formation or formations composed of terrigenous or marine Sediments deposited over a formation or formations of volcanic origin. Caprock is substantially less permeable than volcanic formations, and is considered a "confining material".
"Confining materials or zone" means a geological formation or part of a formation capable of preventing or severely retarding fluid movement between different geological formations; used interchangeably with "aquiclude".
"Contaminant" means any substance or matter which causes, directly or indirectly, a physical, chemical, biological, or radiological change in the existing water quality; used interchangeably with "pollutant".
"County" means any county of the State, including Kalawao county on Molokai.
"Department" means the department of health, State of Hawaii.
"Director" means the director of health or a duly authorized representative.
"Disposal well" means a well used for the disposal or emplacement of fluid or fluids, either by gravity flow or under pressure, into subsurface strata; often used interchangeably with "injection well".
"Exempted aquifer" means an "quifer or a portion thereof that is exempted from being used as an USDW by the director.
"Existing well" means a well which was in Operation or had received official sanction from all of the necessary agencies, before July 6, 1984.
"Fluid" means any material or substance which flows or moves, whether a semisolid, liquid or gas.
"Formation" means a body of rock characterized by a degree of lithologic homogeneity or similarity which is prevailingly, but not necessarily, tabular and is mappable on the earth's surface or traceable in the subsurface.
"Geohydrologie formation" means any formation capable of transmitting fluids by saturated flow, unsaturated flow or a combination thereof.
"Geologist" means a person with a bachelors or higher degree in geologic sciences from an accredited College or university and a minimum of one year experience in well logging and testing.
"Ground water" means water below the land surface in a zone of Saturation.
"Grouting" means the Operation whereby a cement slurry is forced behind the casing for such purposes as: sealing the casing to the walls of the hole, preventing undesirable leakage of fluids out of the hole, and preventing migration of liquids or gases into the hole; or is pumped into a drill hole or well for plugging and abandonment.
"Hazardous waste" means a hazardous waste as defined extensively in Code of Federal Regulations (CFR), Title 40-Protection of Environment, section 261.3 dated July 1, 1990.
"HRS" means Hawaii Revised Statutes.
"Individual wastewater System (IWS)" means the facility which disposes of treated or untreated domestic wastewater generated from a room or group of rooms forming a Single habitable unit, including, but not limited to, cesspools, septic tanks and household aerobic units.
"Industrial" means associated with a productive enterprise using machinery and mechanical power or human power or both, including such enterprises as power generation and crop production.
"Inject" means to dispose or emplace fluids, either under pressure or by gravity flow, into a subsurface formation or formations.
"Injection pressure" means the head increase in the well bore with respect to the static ground water level; where head refers to the total energy of the fluid at any given point; and in ground water the main components of head are elevation and pressure.
"Injection well" means a well into which subsurface disposal of fluid or fluids occurs or is intended to occur by means of injection.
"Makai" means toward the sea or the area outside the UIC line encircling the protected aquifer.
"Mauka" means toward the mountains or the encircled protected aquifer.
"Modify" means to make a minor or a basic change in the physical characteristics or the operational Status of a well.
"Person" means any individual, partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, trust estate, the federal, State or county governments or any of their agencies, or any other legal entity.
"Pollute" means:
(1) To alter the physical, chemical, biological or radiological properties of any State waters or USDW, including but not limited to temperature, taste, potability, mineral content, turbidity, color or odor; or
(2) To discharge any liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive, or other substances, into any State waters as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render such waters harmful, detrimental or injurious to public health, safety or welfare, including harm, detriment, or injury to public or private drinking water supplies.
"Sewage" means waste from all plumbing fixtures in residences, institutions, public and private buildings, and other places of human habitation, employment or recreation, whether treated or not by public or private sewage treatment plants.
"State" means State of Hawaii.
"UIC" means the Underground injection control program under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( P.L. 93-523 ) and chapter 340E, HRS.
"UIC line" or "the line" means the line on the department of health UIC maps which separates, in plan view, exempted aquifers and USDW.
"Underground source of drinking water (USDW)" means an aquifer or its portion:
(1) Which supplies any public or private drinking water System; or contains a sufficient guantity of ground water to supply a public water System; and
(A) Currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or
(B) Contains fewer than ten thousand milligrams per liter (mg/L) total dissolved solids (TDS); and
(2) Which is not. an exempted aquifer.
"Volcanic" means material originating from a volcano; often, basaltic lava.
"Waste" means any solid, liquid or gaseous matter, whether treated or not, which, when injected, may pollute or tend to pollute the lands or waters, including, but not limited to, sewage; effluent; offal; garbage; refuse; and industrial, agricultural or radioactive fluids.
"Waste disposal System" means an excavation in the ground receiving wastes which functions by allowing fluids to seep through its bottom, sides or both, including cesspools, septic tanks, and seepage pits.
"Well" means a bored, drilled or driven shaft, or a dug hole, whose depth is greater than its widest surface dimension.
The publications referred to or incorporated by reference in this chapter are available from the Offices of the department of health.
