Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
a) The owner or operator of a Class VI
injection well must prepare, maintain, and comply with a plan for
post-injection site care and site closure that the Agency has determined meets
the requirements of subsection (a)(2). The requirement to maintain and
implement an approved plan is directly enforceable, regardless of whether the
requirement is a condition of the permit.
1)
The owner or operator must submit the post-injection site care and site closure
plan to the Agency as a part of the permit application.
2) The post-injection site care and site
closure plan must include the following information:
A) The pressure differential between
pre-injection and predicted post-injection pressures in the injection
zones;
B) The predicted position of
the carbon dioxide plume and associated pressure front at site closure, as
demonstrated in the area of review evaluation required by Section
730.184(c)(1);
C) A description of the proposed
post-injection monitoring location, methods, and frequency;
D) A proposed schedule for submitting
post-injection site care monitoring results to the Agency pursuant to Section
730.191(e);
and
E) The duration of the
post-injection site care timeframe and, if approved by the Agency, the
demonstration of the alternative post-injection site care timeframe that
ensures non-endangerment of USDWs.
3) Upon cessation of injection, the owner or
operator of a Class VI injection well must either submit an amended
post-injection site care and site closure plan or demonstrate to the Agency
through monitoring data and modeling results that no amendment to the plan is
needed. The Agency must approve any amendments to the post-injection site care
and site closure plan and incorporate the amendments into the permit, and the
incorporation of the amendments into the permit is subject to the permit
modification requirements set forth in 35 Ill. Adm. Code
704.262
or
704.264, as
appropriate.
4) At any time during
the life of the geologic sequestration project, the owner or operator may
modify and resubmit the post-injection site care and site closure plan for
Agency approval. The owner or operator must resubmit the plan to the Agency
within 30 days after making any modification.
b) The owner or operator must monitor the
site following the cessation of injection to show the position of the carbon
dioxide plume and pressure front and demonstrate that no USDW is being
endangered.
1) Following the cessation of
injection, the owner or operator must continue to conduct monitoring as
specified in the Agency-approved post-injection site care and site closure plan
for at least 50 years or for the duration of the alternative timeframe approved
by the Agency pursuant to requirements in subsection (c), unless the owner or
operator makes a demonstration under subsection (b)(2). The monitoring must
continue until the geologic sequestration project no longer poses an
endangerment to USDWs and the demonstration under subsection (b)(2) is
submitted and approved by the Agency.
2) If the Agency determines, based on
monitoring and other site-specific data, that the geologic sequestration
project no longer poses an endangerment to any USDW before 50 years or prior to
the end of the approved alternative timeframe, the Agency must either approve
an amendment to the post-injection site care and site closure plan to reduce
the frequency of monitoring or authorize site closure before the end of the
50-year period or prior to the end of the approved alternative
timeframe.
3) Prior to
authorization for site closure, the owner or operator must submit to the Agency
for review and approval a demonstration, based on monitoring and other
site-specific data, that no additional monitoring is needed to ensure that the
geologic sequestration project does not pose an endangerment to any
USDW.
4) If the owner or operator
cannot make the demonstration required by subsection (b)(3) (i.e., the Agency
has determined that additional monitoring is needed to ensure that the geologic
sequestration project does not pose an endangerment to any USDW or the Agency
has not approved the demonstration) at the end of the 50-year period or at the
end of the approved alternative timeframe, the owner or operator must submit to
the Agency a plan to continue post-injection site care until the owner or
operator has made a demonstration that the Agency can approve.
c) Demonstration of Alternative
Post-Injection Site Care Timeframe. If the Agency determines in consultation
with USEPA during the permitting process that an alternative post-injection
site care timeframe other than the 50-year default is appropriate and ensures
non-endangerment of any USDW, the Agency must approve the alternative
post-injection site care timeframe. The Agency must base its determination on
significant, site-specific data and information, including all data and
information collected pursuant to Sections
730.182
and
730.183,
and the Agency must determine based on substantial evidence that the geologic
sequestration project will no longer pose a risk of endangerment to any USDW at
the end of the alternative post-injection site care timeframe.
1) A demonstration of an alternative
post-injection site care timeframe must include consideration and documentation
of the following:
A) The results of
computational modeling performed pursuant to delineation of the area of review,
as required by Section 730.184;
B)
The predicted timeframe for pressure decline within the injection zone and any
other zones, such that formation fluids may not be forced into any USDW, or the
timeframe for pressure decline to pre-injection pressures;
C) The predicted rate of carbon dioxide plume
migration within the injection zone and the predicted timeframe for the
cessation of migration;
D) A
description of the site-specific processes that will result in carbon dioxide
trapping, including immobilization by capillary trapping, dissolution, and
mineralization at the site;
E) The
predicted rate of carbon dioxide trapping in the immobile capillary phase,
dissolved phase, and mineral phase;
F) The results of laboratory analyses,
research studies, or field or site-specific studies to verify the information
required in subsections (c)(1)(D) and (c)(1)(E);
G) A characterization of the confining zones,
including a demonstration that each confining zone is free of transmissive
faults, fractures, and micro-fractures and is of appropriate thickness,
permeability, and integrity to impede fluid movement (e.g., carbon dioxide,
formation fluids, etc.);
H) The
presence of potential conduits for fluid movement, including planned injection
wells and project monitoring wells associated with the proposed geologic
sequestration project or any other projects in proximity to the predicted or
modeled final extent of the carbon dioxide plume and area of elevated
pressure;
I) A description of the
well construction and an assessment of the quality of plugs of all abandoned
wells within the area of review;
J)
The distance between the injection zone and the nearest USDWs above and below
the injection zone; and
K) Any
additional site-specific factors required by the Agency.
2) Information submitted to support the
demonstration required by subsection (c)(1) must meet the following criteria:
A) All analyses and tests performed to
support the demonstration must be accurate and reproducible, and they must have
been performed in accordance with the established quality assurance
standards;
B) Estimation techniques
must be appropriate, and USEPA-certified test protocols must have been used
where available;
C) Predictive
models must be appropriate and tailored to the site conditions, composition of
the carbon dioxide stream, and injection and site conditions over the life of
the geologic sequestration project;
D) Predictive models must be calibrated using
existing information (e.g., at Class I, Class II, or Class V experimental
technology injection well sites) where sufficient data are available;
E) Reasonably conservative values and
modeling assumptions must be used and disclosed to the Agency whenever values
are estimated on the basis of known historical information instead of
site-specific measurements;
F) The
owner or operator must perform an analysis to identify and assess aspects of
the alternative post-injection site care timeframe demonstration that
contribute significantly to uncertainty. The owner or operator must conduct
sensitivity analyses to determine the effect that significant uncertainty may
contribute to the modeling demonstration.
G) An approved quality assurance and quality
control plan must address all aspects of the demonstration; and
H) Any additional criteria required by the
Agency.
d)
Notice of Intent for Site Closure. The owner or operator must notify the Agency
in writing at least 120 days before site closure. At the time of this notice,
if any changes have been made to the original post-injection site care and site
closure plan, the owner or operator must also provide the revised plan. The
Agency may allow for a shorter notice period. The Agency must allow for a
shorter notice period if the Agency determines that the shorter notice period
is adequate to complete Agency review of the post-injection site care and site
closure plan or that well closure must occur more promptly.
e) After the Agency has authorized site
closure, the owner or operator must plug all monitoring wells in a manner that
will not allow movement of injection or formation fluids which endangers a
USDW.
f) The owner or operator must
submit a site closure report to the Agency within 90 days after site closure,
which must thereafter be retained at a location designated by the Agency for at
least 10 years. The report must include the following records and
documentation:
1) Documentation of the
injection and monitoring well plugging as required by Section
730.192
and subsection (e). The owner or operator must provide a copy of a survey plat
that the owner or operator has submitted to the local zoning authority
designated by the Agency. The plat must indicate the location of the injection
well relative to permanently surveyed benchmarks. The owner or operator must
also submit a copy of the plat to USEPA Region 5;
2) Documentation of appropriate notification
and information to all State and local authorities that have authority over
drilling activities within the area of review, to enable those State and local
authorities to impose appropriate conditions on subsequent drilling activities
that may penetrate the injection and confining zones; and
BOARD NOTE: The Illinois Department of Natural Resources,
Office of Mines and Minerals, Oil and Gas Division and the Illinois Department
of Public Health each have some role in regulating well drilling, depending on
the type of well. Other State agencies may also have a role. Further, units of
local government and agencies of a sister state may regulate well drilling if a
portion of the area of review lies within their jurisdiction. The owner or
operator must assure that all applicable regulatory entities receive the
required notification and information.
3) Records reflecting the nature,
composition, and volume of the carbon dioxide stream.
g) Each owner or operator of a Class VI
injection well must record a notation on the deed to the facility property or
any other document that is normally examined during title search that will in
perpetuity provide the following information to any potential purchaser of the
property:
1) The fact that land has been used
to sequester carbon dioxide;
2) The
name of the county with which the survey plat was filed, as well as the
addresses of the Agency and USEPA Region 5; and
3) The volume of fluid injected, the
injection zone or zones into which the fluid was injected, and the period over
which injection occurred.
h) The owner or operator must retain records
collected during the post-injection site care period for at least 10 years
following site closure. The owner or operator must deliver the records to the
Agency at the conclusion of the retention period, and the records must
thereafter be retained at a location designated by the Agency for that
purpose.
BOARD NOTE: This Section corresponds with
40 CFR
146.93
(2017).
