Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 38, September 20, 2024
This Section specifies the requirements for application of
alternative injection well depth requirements for Class VI injection wells that
meet certain criteria. This Section sets forth information that an owner or
operator seeking application of alternative Class VI injection well depth
requirements must submit to the Agency; the information that the Agency must
consider when determining whether any well is suitable for application of
alternative injection well depth requirements; the procedure for Agency-USEPA
Region 5 communication and Agency determination whether a well is suitable for
application of alternative injection well depth requirements; and the
additional requirements that apply to an owner or operator of a Class VI
injection well that has been granted a permit that includes alternative
injection well depth requirements.
a)
When seeking a permit that includes alternative injection well depth
requirements to the requirement to inject below the lowermost USDW, the owner
or operator must submit a supplemental report concurrent with the permit
application. The supplemental report must include the following information:
1) The following demonstrations with regard
to the injection zones:
A) Each is laterally
continuous;
B) None is a
USDW;
C) None is hydraulically
connected to a USDW;
D) None
outcrops;
E) Each has adequate
injectivity, volume, and sufficient porosity to safely contain the injected
carbon dioxide and formation fluids; and
F) Each has appropriate
geochemistry.
2) A
demonstration that each injection zone is bounded by laterally continuous
impermeable confining units above and below the injection zone that are
adequate to prevent fluid movement and pressure buildup outside of the
injection zone and that the confining units are free of transmissive faults and
fractures. The report must further characterize the regional fracture
properties and contain a demonstration that these fractures will not interfere
with injection, serve as conduits, or endanger USDWs.
3) A demonstration, using computational
modeling, that no fluid movement will endanger any USDW above or below the
injection zone. This modeling should be conducted in conjunction with the area
of review determination required by Section
730.184,
and the modeling is subject to the area of review delineation and well
identification requirements set forth in Section
730.184(c)
and the periodic reevaluation requirements set forth in Section
730.184(e).
4) The following demonstrations with regard
to well design and construction, in conjunction with the alternative injection
well depth requirements:
A) Well design and
construction will ensure isolation of the injectate in lieu of the prohibition
against movement of fluids set forth in
730.186(a)(1);
and
B) Well design and construction
will meet the well construction requirements set forth in subsection
(f).
5) A description of
how the owner or operator will tailor the monitoring and testing and any
additional plans to the geologic sequestration project to ensure protection of
USDWs above and below each injection zone if the Agency issues a permit that
includes alternative injection well depth requirements.
6) Information on the location of all the
public water supplies that will be affected, or which are reasonably likely to
be affected, by the carbon sequestration project, and all public water supplies
that distribute water drawn from any USDW in the area of review.
7) Any other information that the Agency
determines is necessary to inform the USEPA Region 5's decision to issue a
waiver, as required by subsection (b).
b) To inform the USEPA Region 5's decision on
whether to grant a waiver of the injection depth requirements pursuant to
40 CFR
146.95, which would allow the Agency to issue
a permit that includes alternative injection well depth requirements, the
Agency must submit the following documentation to USEPA Region 5:
1) An evaluation of the following information
as it relates to siting, construction, and operation of a geologic
sequestration project under a permit that includes alternative injection well
depth requirements:
A) The integrity of the
upper and lower confining units;
B)
The suitability of the injection zones (e.g., lateral continuity, lack of
transmissive faults and fractures, known current or planned artificial
penetrations into the injection zones or formations below the injection zone,
etc.);
C) The potential capacity of
the geologic formations to sequester carbon dioxide, accounting for the
availability of alternative injection sites;
D) All other site characterization data, the
proposed emergency and remedial response plan, and a demonstration of financial
responsibility;
E) An assessment of
community needs, demands, and supply from drinking water resources;
F) An assessment of planned needs and
potential or future use of USDWs and non-USDWs in the area of review;
G) An assessment of planned or permitted
water, hydrocarbon, or mineral resource exploitation potential of the proposed
injection formations and other formations both above and below the injection
zone to determine if there are any plans to drill through the formation to
access resources in or beneath the proposed injection zones or
formations;
H) The proposed plan
for securing alternative water resources or treating USDW formation waters in
the event of contamination related to the Class VI injection well activity;
and
I) Any other applicable
considerations or information that the Agency determines is necessary to aid a
determination by USEPA Region 5 to grant a waiver that would allow the Agency
to issue a permit that includes alternative injection well depth
requirements.
2)
Consultation with the Agency's Division of Public Water Supply and all agencies
of a sister state that have public water system supervision authority over
lands within the area of review of a well for which a waiver that would allow
the Agency to issue a permit that includes alternative injection well depth
requirements is sought.
3) Any
written waiver-related information submitted by the Agency's Division of Public
Water Supply and all agencies of a sister state that have public water system
supervision authority to the Agency.
c) Pursuant to 35 Ill. Adm. Code
705.163
and concurrent with the Class VI injection well permit application notice
process, the Agency must give public notice that the owner or operator has
sought a permit that includes alternative injection well depth requirements.
The notice must clearly state the following information:
1) The depth of the proposed injection
zones;
2) The location of the
injection wells;
3) The name and
depth of each USDW within the area of review;
4) A map of the area of review;
5) The names of any public water supplies
that will be affected, or which are reasonably likely to be affected, by the
carbon sequestration project, and all public water supplies that distribute
water drawn from any USDW in the area of review; and
6) The results of consultation with the
Agency's Division of Public Water Supply and all agencies of a sister state
that have public water system supervision authority, as required by subsection
(b)(2).
d) Following the
public notice required by subsection (c), the Agency must provide all
information received through the waiver application process to USEPA Region 5.
USEPA has stated in corresponding
40 CFR
146.95(d) that, based on
this information, the USEPA Region 5 must provide written concurrence or
non-concurrence regarding the Agency issuing a permit that includes alternative
injection well depth requirements.
1) If
USEPA Region 5 determines that additional information is required to support a
decision, the Agency must provide that information. At its discretion, USEPA
Region 5 may require that public notice of the new information be
initiated.
2) The Agency must not
issue a permit that includes alternative injection well depth requirements
without having first received the written concurrence of USEPA Region
5.
e) USEPA has stated
in corresponding
40 CFR
146.95(e) that if the Agency
issues a permit that includes alternative injection well depth requirements,
USEPA will post the following information on its Office of Water website within
30 days after permit issuance:
1) The depth
of the proposed injection zones;
2)
The location of the injection wells;
3) The name and depth of all USDWs within the
area of review;
4) A map of the
area of review;
5) The names of any
public water supplies that will be affected, or which are reasonably likely to
be affected, by the carbon sequestration project, and all public water supplies
that distribute water drawn from any USDW in the area of review; and
6) The date of permit issuance.
f) Upon receipt of a permit that
includes alternative injection well depth requirements for geologic
sequestration, the owner or operator of the covered Class VI injection well
must comply with the following requirements:
1) All requirements of Sections 730.184,
730.185, 730.187, 730.188, 730.189, 730.191, 730.192, and 730.194.
2) All requirements of Section 730.186, with
the following modified requirements:
A) The
owner or operator must ensure that each Class VI injection well operating under
the alternative injection well depth requirements is constructed and completed
to prevent movement of fluids into any unauthorized zone that includes a USDW,
in lieu of the requirements of Section
730.186(a)(1).
B) The casing and cementing program must be
designed to prevent the movement of fluids into any unauthorized zone that
includes a USDW in lieu of the requirements of Section
730.186(b)(1).
C) The surface casing must extend through the
base of the nearest USDW directly above the injection zone. The surface casing
must be cemented to the surface. Alternatively, the Agency must require that
the casing extend through another formation above the injection zone and below
the nearest USDW above the injection zone if the Agency determines that doing
so is necessary to prevent movement of fluids into a USDW.
3) All requirements of Section
730.190,
with the following modified requirements:
A)
The owner or operator must monitor the groundwater quality, geochemical
changes, and pressure in the first USDWs immediately above and below each
injection zone; and in any other formation that the Agency determines is
necessary to detect potential movement of fluids into a USDW.
B) The owner or operator must conduct testing
and monitoring to track the extent of the carbon dioxide plume and the presence
or absence of elevated pressure (i.e., the pressure front) by using direct
methods to monitor for pressure changes in the injection zones. The owner or
operator must use indirect methods (e.g., seismic, electrical, gravity, or
electromagnetic surveys or down-hole carbon dioxide detection tools) that the
Agency determines are necessary based on site-specific geology.
4) All requirements of Section
730.193,
with the following, modified post-injection site care monitoring requirements:
A) The owner or operator must monitor the
groundwater quality, geochemical changes, and pressure in the first USDWs
immediately above and below each injection zone; and in any other formation
that the Agency determines is necessary to detect potential movement of fluids
into a USDW.
B) The owner or
operator must conduct testing and monitoring to track the extent of the carbon
dioxide plume and the presence or absence of elevated pressure (i.e., the
pressure front) by using direct methods in the injection zones. The owner or
operator must use indirect methods (e.g., seismic, electrical, gravity, or
electromagnetic surveys or down-hole carbon dioxide detection tools) that the
Agency determines are necessary to detect potential movement of fluids into a
USDW.
5) Any additional
requirements that the Agency determines are necessary to ensure protection of
USDWs above and below the injection zones.
BOARD NOTE: This Section corresponds with
40 CFR
146.95 (2017). The corresponding federal rule
calls the administrative permission to allow a well to inject at an alternative
depth (i.e., above the lowermost USDW) a "waiver". While the Board has retained
the use of "waiver" with regard to USEPA review of alternative depth
requirements, the Board has changed this to some variant of "permit that
includes alternative injection well depth requirements". While the Agency
cannot "waive" standards embodied in Board regulations, the Agency can issue a
permit that applies alternative standards that are contained in the
regulations. The Board believes that this rule includes standards sufficient to
guide an Agency permit determination.
