Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES
Part XVII - Office of Conservation-Injection and Mining
Subpart 5 - Statewide Order No. 29-M-3
Chapter 33 - Class III (Solution-Mining) Injection Wells
Section XVII-3337 - Closure and Post-Closure
Universal Citation: LA Admin Code XVII-3337
Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A. Closure. The owner or operator shall close the solution-mining well, cavern, surface facility or parts thereof as approved by the Office of Conservation. Closure shall not begin without written authorization from the Office of Conservation.
1. Notice of Intent to Close
a. The operator shall review the closure plan
before seeking authorization to begin closure activities to determine if the
conditions for closure are still relevant to the actual conditions of the
solution-mining well, cavern, or surface facility. Revisions to the method of
closure reflected in the plan shall be submitted to the Office of Conservation
for approval no later than the date on which the notice of closure is required
to be submitted as shown in the subparagraph below.
b. The operator shall notify the Office of
Conservation in writing at least 30 days before the expected closure of a
solution-mining well, cavern, or surface facility. Notification shall be by
submission of a request for a work permit. At the discretion of the Office of
Conservation, a shorter notice period may be allowed.
2. Closure Plan. Plans for closure of the
solution mining well, cavern, and related surface facility shall be submitted
as part of the permit application. The closure plan shall meet the requirements
of these rules and regulations and be acceptable to the Office of Conservation.
The obligation to implement the closure plan survives the termination of a
permit or the cessation of mining operations or related activities. The
requirement to maintain and implement an approved plan is directly enforceable
regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of the permit. The Office
of Conservation may modify a closure plan where necessary.
3. Closure Plan Requirements. The owner or
operator shall review the closure plan annually to determine if the conditions
for closure are still applicable to the actual conditions of the
solution-mining well, cavern, or surface facility. Any revision to the plan
shall be submitted to the Office of Conservation for approval. At a minimum, a
closure plan shall address the following:
a.
assurance of financial responsibility as required in
§3309.B.1 All
instruments of financial responsibility shall be reviewed each year before its
renewal date according to the following process:
i. a detailed cost estimate for adequate
closure (plugging and abandonment) of the well and related appurtenances entire
solution-mining well facility (solution mining well, cavern, surface
appurtenances, etc.) shall be prepared by a qualified professional. The closure
plan and cost estimate shall include provisions for closure acceptable and
submitted to the Office of Conservation by the date specified in the
permit;
ii. the closure plan and
cost estimate shall include provisions for closure acceptable to the Office of
Conservation;
iii. after reviewing
the required closure cost estimate, the Office of Conservation may amend the
required financial surety to reflect the estimated costs to the Office of
Conservation to complete the approved closure of the facility increase,
decrease or allow the amount to remain the same;
iv. documentation from the operator showing
that the required financial instrument has been renewed shall be received each
year by the date specified in the permit. When an operator is delinquent in
submitting documentation of financial instrument renewal, the Office of
Conservation shall initiate procedures to take possession of funds guaranteed
by the financial instrument and suspend or revoke the operating permit. Permit
suspensions shall remain in effect until renewal documentation is received and
accepted by the Office of Conservation;
b. a prediction of the pressure build-up in
the cavern following closure;
c. an
analysis of potential pathways for leakage from the cavern, cemented casing
shoe, and wellbore. Consideration shall be given to site specific elements of
geology, salt cavern geometry and depth, cavern pressure build-up over time due
to salt creep and other factors inherent to the salt stock and/or salt
dome;
d. procedures for determining
the mechanical integrity of the solution-mining well and cavern before
closure;
e. removal and proper
disposal of any waste or other materials remaining at the facility;
f. closing, dismantling, and removing all
equipment and structures located at the surface (including site restoration) if
such equipment and structures will not be used for another purpose at the same
solution-mining facility;
g. the
type, number, and placement of each wellbore or cavern plug including the
elevation of the top and bottom of each plug;
h. the type, grade, and quantity of material
to be used in plugging;
i. a
description of the amount, size, and location (by depth) of casing and any
other well construction materials to be left in the solution-mining
well;
j. any proposed test or
measurement to be made before or during closure.
4. Standards for Closure. The following are
minimum standards for closing the solution-mining well or cavern. The Office of
Conservation may require additional standards prior to actual closure.
a. After permanently concluding mining
operations into the cavern but before closing the solution-mining well or
cavern, the owner or operator shall:
i.
observe and accurately record the shut-in salt cavern pressures and cavern
fluid volume for no less than five years or a time period specified by the
Office of Conservation to provide information regarding the cavern's natural
closure characteristics and any resulting pressure buildup;
ii. using actual pre-closure monitoring data,
show and provide predictions that closing the solution-mining well or cavern as
described in the closure plan will not result in any pressure buildup within
the cavern that could adversely affect the integrity of the solution-mining
well, cavern, or any seal of the system.
b. Unless the well is being plugged and
abandoned due to a failed mechanical integrity test and the condition of the
casing and cavern are known, before closure, the owner or operator shall do
mechanical integrity pressure and leak tests to ensure the integrity of both
the solution-mining well and cavern.
c. Before closure, the owner or operator
shall remove and properly dispose of any free oil or blanket material remaining
in the solution-mining well or cavern.
d. Upon permanent closure, the owner or
operator shall plug the solution-mining well with cement in a way that will not
allow the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking
water or outside the salt stock.
5. Plugging and Abandonment. The well/cavern
to be abandoned shall be in a state of static equilibrium prior to plugging.
a. A continuous column of cement shall fill
the deepest cemented casing from shoe to surface via a series of cement plugs
and shall be accomplished as follows:
i. a
balanced cement plug shall be placed across the shoe of the deepest cemented
casing, tagged to verify the top of cement, and pressure tested to at least 300
PSI for 30 minutes before setting the next cement plug; and
ii. subsequent cement plugs shall be spotted
immediately on top of the previously-placed cement plug. Each plug shall be
tagged to verify the top of cement before the next plug is placed.
b. After placing the top plug, the
operator shall be required on all land locations to cut and pull the casings a
minimum of 5 feet below ground level. A 1/2 inch thick steel plate shall be
welded across the top of all casings. The plate shall be inscribed with the
plug and abandonment date and the well serial number on top. On all water
locations, the casings shall be cut and pulled a minimum of 15 feet below the
mud line.
c. The plan of
abandonment may be altered if new or unforeseen conditions arise during the
well work, but only after approval by the Office of Conservation.
6. Closure Report. The owner or
operator shall submit a closure report to the Office of Conservation within 60
days after closure of the solution-mining well, cavern, surface facility, or
part thereof. The report shall be submitted electronically and shall be
certified as accurate by the owner or operator and by the person charged with
overseeing the closure operation (if other than the owner or operator). The
report shall contain the following information:
a. detailed procedures of the closure
operation. Where actual closure differed from the plan previously approved, the
report shall include a written statement specifying the differences between the
previous plan and the actual closure;
b. the appropriate Office of Conservation
plug and abandon report form (Form UIC-P&A or successor); and
c. any information pertinent to the closure
activity including test or monitoring data.
B. Post-Closure. Plans for post-closure care of the solution-mining well, cavern, and related surface facility shall be submitted as part of the permit application. The post-closure plan shall meet the requirements of these rules and regulations and be acceptable to the Office of Conservation. The obligation to implement the post-closure plan survives the termination of a permit or the cessation of mining operations or related activities. The requirement to maintain and implement an approved post-closure plan is directly enforceable regardless of whether the requirement is a condition of the permit. The Office of Conservation may modify a post-closure plan where necessary.
1. The owner or
operator shall review the post-closure plan at least every five years to
determine if the conditions for post-closure are still applicable to actual
conditions. Any revision to the plan shall be submitted to the Office of
Conservation for approval. At a minimum, a post-closure plan shall address the
following:
a. assurance of financial
responsibility as required in
§3309. B.1 All
instruments of financial responsibility shall be reviewed each year before its
renewal date according to the following process:
i. a detailed cost estimate for adequate
post-closure care of the entire solution-mining well shall be prepared by a
qualified, independent third party and submitted to the Office of Conservation
by the date specified in the permit;
ii. the post-closure care plan and cost
estimate shall include provisions acceptable to the Office of Conservation and
shall reflect the costs for the Office of Conservation to complete the approved
post-closure care of the facility;
iii. after reviewing the closure cost
estimate, the Office of Conservation may amend the amount to reflect the costs
to the Office of Conservation to complete the approved closure of the facility;
iv. documentation from the
operator showing that the required financial instrument has been renewed must
be received each year by the date specified in the permit. When an operator is
delinquent in submitting documentation of financial instrument renewal, the
Office of Conservation shall initiate procedures to take possession of the
funds guaranteed by the financial instrument and suspend or revoke the
operating permit. Any permit suspension shall remain in effect until renewal
documentation is received and accepted by the Office of Conservation.
b. any plans for monitoring,
corrective action, site remediation, site restoration, etc., as may be
necessary.
2. Where
necessary and as an ongoing part of post-closure care, the owner or operator
shall continue the following activities:
a.
conduct subsidence monitoring for a period of no less than 10 years after
closure of the facility;
b.
complete any corrective action or site remediation resulting from the operation
of a solution-mining well;
c.
conduct any groundwater monitoring by the permit or approved corrective action
plan;
d. complete any site
restoration.
3. The
owner or operator shall retain all records as required in
§3335 for five years following
conclusion of post-closure requirements.
AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 30:4 et seq.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Louisiana may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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