Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
The following requirements apply to the owner or operator of
a Class I or Class III well authorized by rule under this Subpart C, as
provided by Section
704.144.
a) The owner or operator must comply with all
applicable requirements of this Subpart C and with Sections
704.121,
704.122,
704.124,
704.201,
704.202, and
704.203. Any
noncompliance with these requirements constitutes a violation of the Act and
SDWA and is grounds for enforcement action, except that the owner or operator
need not comply with these requirements to the extent and for the duration such
noncompliance is authorized by an emergency permit under Section
704.163.
b) Twenty-Four Hour Reporting. The owner or
operator must report any noncompliance that may endanger health or the
environment, including either of the events described in subsection (b)(1) or
(b)(2), subject to the conditions of subsection (b)(3):
1) Any monitoring or other information that
indicates that any contaminant may cause an endangerment to a USDW;
or
2) Any noncompliance or
malfunction of the injection system that may cause fluid migration into or
between USDWs.
3) Any information
must be provided orally within 24 hours from the time the owner or operator
becomes aware of the circumstances. A written submission must also be provided
within five days of the time the owner or operator becomes aware of the
circumstances. The written submission must contain a description of the
noncompliance and its cause; the period of noncompliance, including exact dates
and times, and if the noncompliance has not been corrected, the anticipated
time it is expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce,
eliminate, and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.
c) Plugging and Abandonment Plan
1) The owner or operator must prepare,
maintain, and comply with a plan for plugging and abandonment of the wells or
project that meets the requirements of 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.110.
For purposes of this subsection (c), temporary intermittent cessation of
injection operations is not abandonment.
2) Submission of Plan
A) The owner or operator must submit the plan
on any forms prescribed by the Agency.
B) The owner or operator must submit any
proposed significant revision to the method of plugging reflected in the plan
no later than the notice of plugging required by subsection (i) (i.e., 45 days
prior to plugging, unless shorter notice is approved).
C) The plan must include the following
information:
i) The nature and quantity and
material to be used in plugging;
ii) The location and extent (by depth) of the
plugs;
iii) Any proposed test or
measurement to be made;
iv) The
amount, size, and location (by depth) of casing to be left in the well;
v) The method and location where
casing is to be parted; and
vi) The
estimated cost of plugging the well.
D) After a cessation of operations of two
years, the owner or operator must plug and abandon the well in accordance with
the plan, unless the owner or operator performs both of the following actions:
i) It provides written notice to the Agency;
and
ii) It describes actions or
procedures, satisfactory to the Agency that the owner or operator will take to
ensure that the well will not endanger a USDW during the period of temporary
abandonment. These actions and procedures must include compliance with the
technical requirements applicable to active injection wells, unless the
operator obtains regulatory relief in the form of a variance or adjusted
standard from the technical requirements pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code 104 and
Title IX of the Act.
E)
The owner or operator of any well that has been temporarily abandoned (ceased
operations for more than two years and which has met the requirements of
subsections (c)(2)(D)(i) and (c)(2)(D)(ii)) must notify the Agency in writing
prior to resuming operation of the well.
d) Financial Responsibility
1) The owner or operator or transferor of a
Class I or Class III injection well is required to demonstrate and maintain
financial responsibility and resources to close, plug, and abandon the
underground injection operation in a manner acceptable to the Agency until one
of the following has occurred:
A) The well has
been plugged and abandoned in accordance with an approved plugging and
abandonment plan pursuant to subsection (c) and 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.110
and submission of a plugging and abandonment report has been made pursuant to
subsection (k);
B) The well has
been converted in compliance with subsection (j); or
C) The transferor has received notice from
the Agency that the transferee has demonstrated financial responsibility for
the well. The owner or operator must show evidence of such financial
responsibility to the Agency by the submission of a surety bond or other
adequate assurance, such as a financial statement.
2) The owner or operator must submit evidence
of financial responsibility to the Agency. Where the ownership or operational
control of the well is to transfer, the transferee must submit such evidence no
later than the date specified in the notice required pursuant to subsection
(l)(2).
3) The Agency may require
the owner or operator to submit a revised demonstration of financial
responsibility if the Agency has reason to believe that the original
demonstration is no longer adequate to cover the cost of closing, plugging, and
abandoning the well.
4) The owner
or operator of a well injecting hazardous waste must comply with the financial
responsibility requirements of Subpart G.
5) An owner or operator must notify the
Agency by certified mail of the commencement of any voluntary or involuntary
proceeding under Title 11 (Bankruptcy) of the United States Code that names the
owner or operator as debtor, within 10 business days after the commencement of
the proceeding. Any party acting as guarantor for the owner or operator for the
purpose of financial responsibility must so notify the Agency if the guarantor
is named as debtor in any such proceeding.
6) In the event of commencement of a
proceeding specified in subsection (d)(5), an owner or operator that has
furnished a financial statement for the purpose of demonstrating financial
responsibility pursuant to this Section will be deemed to be in violation of
this subsection (d) until an alternative financial assurance demonstration
acceptable to the Agency is provided either by the owner or operator or by its
trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, or other authorized party. All parties must be
prohibited from injecting into the well until such alternative financial
assurance is provided.
e) This subsection (e) corresponds with
40
CFR 144.28(e), which
pertains exclusively to enhanced recovery and hydrocarbon storage wells (Class
II wells). Those wells are regulated by the Illinois Department of Natural
Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals, rather than by the Board and the
Agency. This statement maintains structural consistency with USEPA
rules.
f) Operating Requirements
1) No person must cause or allow injection
between the outermost casing protecting USDWs and the well bore.
2) Maintenance of Mechanical Integrity
A) The owner or operator of a Class I or
Class III injection well authorized by rule under this Subpart C must establish
and maintain mechanical integrity, as defined in 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.106, until
either of the following has occurred:
i) The
well is properly plugged and abandoned in accordance with an approved plugging
and abandonment plan pursuant to subsection (c) and 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.110
and a plugging and abandonment report is submitted pursuant to subsection (k);
or
ii) The well is converted in
compliance with subsection (j).
B) The Agency may require by permit condition
that the owner or operator comply with a schedule describing when mechanical
integrity demonstrations must be made.
3) Cessation upon Lack of Mechanical
Integrity.
A) When the Agency determines that
a Class I (non-hazardous) or Class III injection well lacks mechanical
integrity pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.108, the
Agency must give written notice of its determination to the owner or
operator.
B) Unless the Agency
requires immediate cessation, the owner or operator must cease injection into
the well within 48 hours of receipt of the Agency's determination.
C) The Agency may allow plugging of the well
in accordance with 35 Ill. Adm. Code 730.110, or require the owner or operator
to perform such additional construction, operation, monitoring, reporting, and
corrective action as is necessary to prevent the movement of fluid into or
between USDWs caused by the lack of mechanical integrity.
D) The owner or operator may resume injection
upon receipt of written notification from the Agency that the owner or operator
has demonstrated mechanical integrity pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.108.
4) The Agency
may allow the owner or operator of a well that lacks mechanical integrity
pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code
730.108(a)(1)
to continue or resume injection if the owner or operator has made a
satisfactory demonstration that there is no movement of fluid into or between
USDWs.
5) For a Class I injection
well, unless an alternative to a packer has been approved under 35 Ill. Adm.
Code
730.112(c),
the owner or operator must fill the annulus between the tubing and the long
string of casings with a fluid approved by the Agency and maintain a pressure,
also approved by the Agency, on the annulus. The owner or operator of a Class I
well completed with tubing and packer must fill the annulus between tubing and
casing with a non-corrosive fluid and maintain a positive pressure on the
annulus. For any other Class I injection well, the owner or operator must
insure that the alternative completion method will reliably provide a
comparable level of protection of USDWs.
6) Injection Pressure for Class I and III
Injection Wells
A) Except during stimulation,
the owner or operator must not exceed an injection pressure at the wellhead
that must be calculated so as to assure that the pressure during injection does
not initiate new fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection
zone; and
B) The owner or operator
must not inject at a pressure that will initiate fractures in the confining
zone or cause the movement of injection or formation fluids into a
USDW.
g)
Monitoring Requirements. The owner or operator must perform the monitoring as
described in this subsection (g). Monitoring of the nature of the injected
fluids must comply with applicable analytical methods cited in tables IA (List
of Approved Biological Methods), IB (List of Approved Inorganic Test
Procedures), IC (List of Approved Test Procedures for Non-Pesticide Organic
Compounds), ID (List of Approved Test Procedures for Pesticides), IE (List of
Approved Radiologic Test Procedures), and IF (List of Approved Methods for
Pharmaceutical Pollutants) of
40 CFR
136.3 (Identification of Test Procedures) or
in appendix III of 40 CFR 261 (Chemical Analysis Test Methods), each
incorporated by reference in 35 Ill. Adm. Code
720.111(b),
or with other methods that have been approved by the Agency.
1) The owner or operator of a Class I
injection well must undertake the following actions:
A) It must analyze the nature of the injected
fluids with sufficient frequency to yield data representative of their
characteristics;
B) It must install
and use continuous recording devices to monitor injection pressure, flow rate
and volume, and the pressure on the annulus between the tubing and the long
string of casing; and
C) It must
install and use monitoring wells within the area of review, if required by the
Agency, to monitor any migration of fluids into and pressure in the USDWs. The
type, number, and location of the wells; the parameters to be measured; and the
frequency of monitoring must be approved by the Agency.
2) This subsection (g)(2) corresponds with
40
CFR 144.28(g)(2), a
provision related to Class II injection wells, which are regulated by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals, and not
by the Board. This statement maintains structural consistency with USEPA
rules.
3) The owner or operator of
a Class III injection well must undertake the following actions:
A) It must provide to the Agency a
qualitative analysis and ranges in concentrations of all constituents of
injected fluids at least once within the first year of authorization and
thereafter whenever the injection fluid is modified to the extent that the
initial data are incorrect or incomplete.
i)
The owner or operator may request confidentiality pursuant to Sections 7 and
7.1 of the Act and 35 Ill. Adm. Code 130.
ii) If the information is proprietary the
owner or operator may in lieu of the ranges in concentrations choose to submit
maximum concentrations that must not be exceeded.
iii) In such a case the owner or operator
must retain records of the undisclosed concentration and provide them upon
request to the Agency as part of any enforcement investigation;
B) It must monitor
injection pressure and either flow rate or volume semi-monthly, or meter and
record daily injected and produced fluid volumes as appropriate;
C) It must monitor the fluid level in the
injection zone semi-monthly, where appropriate; and
D) All Class III injection 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
or operator demonstrates to the Agency that manifold monitoring is comparable
to individual well monitoring.
h) Reporting Requirements. The owner or
operator must submit reports to the Agency as follows:
1) For a Class I injection well, quarterly
reports on all of the following:
A) The
physical, chemical, and other relevant characteristics of the injection
fluids;
B) Monthly average, maximum
and minimum values for injection pressure, flow rate and volume, and annular
pressure;
C) The results from
groundwater monitoring wells prescribed in subsection (f)(1)(C);
D) The results of any test of the injection
well conducted by the owner or operator during the reported quarter if required
by the Agency; and
E) Any well work
over performed during the reported quarter.
2) This subsection (h)(2) corresponds with
40
CFR 144.28(h)(2), a
provision related to Class II injection wells, which are regulated by the
Illinois Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals, and not
by the Board. This statement maintains structural consistency with USEPA
rules.
3) For a Class III injection
well, all of the following:
A) Quarterly
reporting on all monitoring, as required in subsections (f)(2)(A), (f)(2)(B),
and (f)(2)(C);
B) Quarterly
reporting of the results of any periodic tests required by the Agency that are
performed during the reported quarter; and
C) Monitoring may be reported on a project or
field basis rather than an individual well basis where manifold monitoring is
used.
i)
Retention of Records. The owner or operator must retain records of all
monitoring information, including the following:
1) Calibration and maintenance records and
all original strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation,
and copies of all reports required by this section, for a period of at least
three years from the date of the sample, measurement or report. This period may
be extended by request of the Agency at any time; and
2) The nature and composition of all injected
fluids until three years after the completion of any plugging and abandonment
procedures specified under Section
704.188.
The owner or operator must retain the records after the three year retention
period unless it delivers the records to the Agency or obtains written approval
from the Agency to discard the records.
j) Notice of Abandonment. The owner or
operator must notify the Agency at least 45 days before conversion or
abandonment of the well.
k)
Plugging and Abandonment Report. Within 60 days after plugging a well or at the
time of the next quarterly report (whichever is less) the owner or operator
must submit a report to the Agency. If the quarterly report is due less than 15
days before completion of plugging, then the report must be submitted within 60
days. The report must be certified as accurate by the person who performed the
plugging operation. Such report must consist of either:
1) A statement that the well was plugged in
accordance with the plan previously submitted to the Agency; or
2) Where actual plugging differed from the
plan previously submitted, an updated version of the plan, on any form supplied
by the Agency, specifying the different procedures used.
l) Change of Ownership
1) The owner or operator must notify the
Agency of a transfer of ownership or operational control of the well at least
30 days in advance of the proposed transfer.
2) The notice must include a written
agreement between the transferor and the transferee containing a specific date
when the financial responsibility demonstration of subsection (d) will be met
by the transferee.
3) The
transferee is authorized to inject unless it receives notification from the
Agency that the transferee has not demonstrated financial responsibility
pursuant to subsection (d).
m) Requirements for a Class I Hazardous Waste
Injection Well. The owner or operator of any Class I injection well injecting
hazardous waste must comply with Section 704.203. In addition the owner or
operator must properly dispose of, or decontaminate by removing all hazardous
waste residues, all injection well equipment.
BOARD NOTE: Derived from
40
CFR 144.28
(2017).
