Hawaii Administrative Rules
Title 11 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
Subtitle 1 - GENERAL DEPARTMENTAL PROVISIONS
Chapter 23 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL
Section 11-23-06 - Classification of injection wells
Universal Citation: HI Admin Rules 11-23-06
Current through February, 2024
(a) The department shall classify existing and proposed injection wells in accordance with the five classes of wells described in this section. Wells in classes I through IV are prohibited and are defined as follows:
(1) Class I. Wells which inject fluids
beneath the lowermost formation containing, within one quarter mile of the well
bore, an Underground source of drinking water and which are used by:
(A) Generators of hazardous waste or owners
or Operators of hazardous waste management facilities; and
(B) Disposers of industrial and municipal
waste fluids.
(2) Class
II. Wells which inject fluids:
(A) Which are
brought to the surface in connection with conventional oil or natural gas
production and may be commingled with waste waters from gas plants which are an
integral part of production Operations, unless those waters are classified as a
hazardous waste at the time of injection;
(B) For enhanced recovery of oil or natural
gas; and
(C) For storage of
hydrocarbons which are liquid at Standard temperature and pressure.
(3) Claas III. Wells which inject
for extraction of minerals including:
(A)
Mining of sulfur by the Frasch process;
(B) In-situ production of uranium or other
metals, using unconventional technigues to mine ore bodies; and
(C) Solution mining of salts or
potash.
(4) Class IV.
Wells used by generators of hazardous waste or of radioactive waste, by owners
or Operators of hazardous waste management facilities, or by owners or
Operators of radioactive waste disposal sites to dispose of hazardous waste or
radioactive waste into any geohydrologic formation or a formation, which,
within one-quarter of a mile of the well, contains an Underground source of
drinking water (USDW), even if exempted.
(b) Without exception, only class V wells shall be permissible and are defined as follows:
(1) Subclass A. Injection wells which inject
fluids into an Underground source of drinking water. Subclass A wells include:
(A) Sewage injection wells; and
(B) Industrial disposal wells other than
those classified under subclasses AB or B.
(2) Subclass AB. Injection wells which inject
only into exempted aquifers. Subclass AB wells include:
(A) Sewage injection wells; and
(B) Industrial disposal wells, other than
those classified under subclass B, such as brine disposal wells used in a
desalinization process.
(3) Subclass B. Injection wells which inject
non-polluting fluids into any geohydrologic formation, including Underground
sources of drinking water. Subclass B wells include:
(A) Air conditioning return flow wells used
to return the water used for heating or cooling in a heat pump;
(B) Cooling water return flow wells used to
inject water previously used for cooling;
(C) Hecharge wells used to replenish,
augment, or store water in an aquifer;
(D) Salt water intrusion barrier wells, used
to prevent the intrusion of salt water into fresh water, if they inject water
of equal or lesser Chloride concentration as that portion of the aquifer into
which injected;
(E) Wells used in
aquaculture, if the water in the receiving formation has, either:
(i) An equal or greater chloride
concentration as that of the injected fluid; or
(ii) A total dissolved solids concentration
in excess of five thousand mg/L.
(F) Injection wells used in an experimental
technology, which is one that has not been proven feasible under the conditions
in which it is being tested; and
(G) All wells not included in subclasses A,
AB, C, D, or E of class V or in classes I through IV.
(4) Subclass C. Injection wells which inject
surface fluids, i.e., storm runoff, into any geohydrologic formation.
(5) Subclass D. Injection wells which inject
overflows, or relief flows, from potable water Systems into any geohydrologic
formation.
(6) Subclass E.
(A) Injection wells associated with the
development and recovery of geothermal energy, provided that the geothermal
effluent will be injected at a depth that will not be detrimental to
Underground sources of drinking water. If injection is to occur below the basal
water table, the receiving formation water shall be tested and injection
allowed if the receiving water has, either:
(i) An equal or greater chloride
concentration as that of the injected fluid; or
(ii) A total dissolved solids concentration
in excess of five thousand mg/l; or
(iii) An equivalent or lesser water quality
than the injected fluid.
(B) Subclass E injection wells include:
(i) Brine injection wells for the disposal of
excess water from the steam-flashing process;
(ii) Condensate injection wells for the
disposal of condensate from electric generators; and
(iii) Gas injection wells for the disposal of
non-condensible gases entrained in an aqueous Solution.
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