Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The area of review is the region
surrounding the geologic sequestration project where the injection activity may
endanger a USDW. The area of review is delineated using computational modeling
that accounts for the physical and chemical properties of all phases of the
injected carbon dioxide stream and which is based on available site
characterization, monitoring, and operational data.
b) The owner or operator of a Class VI
injection well must prepare, maintain, and comply with a plan to delineate the
area of review for a proposed geologic sequestration project; must periodically
reevaluate the delineation; and must perform corrective action that meets the
requirements of this Section and which is sufficient to support an Agency
determination that the corrective action is acceptable. The requirement to
maintain and implement an approved plan is directly enforceable regardless of
whether the requirement is a condition of the permit. As a part of the permit
application to the Agency, the owner or operator must submit an area of review
and corrective action plan that includes the following information:
1) The method that the owner or operator will
use for delineating the area of review which meets the requirements of
subsection (c), including the model that the owner or operator will use,
assumptions that the owner or operator will make, and the site characterization
data on which the owner or operator will base the model;
2) A description of each of the following:
A) The minimum fixed frequency, not to exceed
five years, at which the owner or operator proposes to reevaluate the area of
review;
B) The monitoring and
operational conditions that would warrant a reevaluation of the area of review
prior to the next scheduled reevaluation as determined by the minimum fixed
frequency established pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(A);
C) How monitoring and operational data (e.g.,
injection rate, pressure, etc.) will be used to inform an area of review
reevaluation; and
D) How the owner
or operator will conduct corrective action to meet the requirements of
subsection (d), including the following information:
i) What corrective action the owner or
operator will perform prior to injection;
ii) What, if any, portions of the area of
review the owner or operator will address with corrective action on a phased
basis and how that phasing will be determined;
iii) How the owner or operator will adjust
corrective action if there are changes in the area of review; and
iv) How the owner or operator will guarantee
site access for future corrective action.
c) The owner or operator of a
Class VI injection well must perform the following actions to delineate the
area of review and identify all wells that require corrective action:
1) The owner or operator must predict, using
existing site characterization, monitoring and operational data, and
computational modeling, the projected lateral and vertical migration of the
carbon dioxide plume and formation fluids in the subsurface from the
commencement of injection activities until the plume movement ceases, until
pressure differentials sufficient to cause the movement of injected fluids or
formation fluids into a USDW are no longer present, or until the end of a fixed
time period determined by the Agency. The model must fulfill the following
requirements:
A) The model must be based on
detailed geologic data collected to characterize the injection zones, confining
zones and any additional zones; and anticipated operating data, including
injection pressures, rates, and total volumes over the proposed life of the
geologic sequestration project;
B)
The model must take into account any geologic heterogeneities, other
discontinuities, data quality, and their possible impact on model predictions;
and
C) The model must consider
potential migration through faults, fractures, and artificial
penetrations;
2) Using
methods approved by the Agency, the owner or operator must identify all
penetrations, including active and abandoned wells and underground mines, in
the area of review that may penetrate the confining zones and must provide a
description of each well's type, construction, date drilled, location, depth,
record of plugging and/or completion, and any additional information the Agency
may require; and
3) The owner or
operator must determine which abandoned wells in the area of review have been
plugged in a manner that prevents the movement of carbon dioxide or other
fluids that may endanger USDWs, including use of materials compatible with the
carbon dioxide stream.
d) The owner or operator of a Class VI
injection well must perform corrective action on all wells in the area of
review that are determined to need corrective action, using methods designed to
prevent the movement of fluid into or between USDWs, including use of materials
compatible with the carbon dioxide stream, where appropriate.
e) At the minimum fixed frequency, not to
exceed five years, as specified in the area of review and corrective action
plan, or when monitoring and operational conditions warrant, the owner or
operator of a Class VI injection well must fulfill each of the following
requirements:
1) The owner or operator must
reevaluate the area of review in the same manner specified in subsection
(c)(1);
2) The owner or operator
must identify all wells in the reevaluated area of review that require
corrective action in the same manner specified in subsection (c);
3) The owner or operator must perform
corrective action on wells requiring corrective action in the reevaluated area
of review in the same manner specified in subsection (d); and
4) The owner or operator must submit an
amended area of review and corrective action plan or demonstrate through
monitoring data and modeling results sufficiently to support an Agency finding
that no amendment to the area of review and corrective action plan is needed.
Any amendments to the area of review and corrective action plan must be
approved by the Agency, must be incorporated into the permit, and are subject
to the permit modification requirements set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code
704.262
or
704.264, as
appropriate.
f) The
emergency and remedial response plan (as required by Section
730.194
) and the demonstration of financial responsibility (as described by Section
730.185
) must account for the area of review delineated as specified in subsection
(c)(1) or the most recently evaluated area of review delineated pursuant to
subsection (e), regardless of whether corrective action in the area of review
is phased.
g) The owner or operator
must retain all modeling inputs and data used to support area of review
reevaluations under subsection (e) for 10 years.
BOARD NOTE: This Section corresponds with
40 CFR
146.84
(2017).
