Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) Applicants for Class
I, II or III injection well permits, or for any Class IV well allowed under
7:14A-8.7, shall identify the location
of all known wells within the injection well's area of review as specified in
7:14A-8.12 which penetrate the injection
zone. For wells which are improperly sealed, completed, or abandoned, the applicant
shall submit a plan consisting of such steps or modifications as are necessary to
prevent movement of fluid into underground sources of drinking water ("corrective or
preventive action"). Where the plan is adequate, the Department shall incorporate it
into the permit as a condition. Where the Department determines that the permittee's
plan is inadequate pursuant to
7:14A-8.12(b), the
Department shall:
1. Require the applicant to
revise the plan;
2. Prescribe a plan for
corrective or preventive action as a condition of the permit; or
3. Deny the application.
(b) Requirements for corrective or preventive
action are as follows:
1. For an existing
injection well, the permit requiring corrective action shall include a compliance
schedule for implementing any corrective action required pursuant to (a) above to be
completed as soon as possible.
2. For a
new injection well, the permit shall prohibit injection until all required
corrective or preventive action has been taken pursuant to (a) above.
3. Where the Department determines that a more
stringent corrective or preventive alternative is not feasible, the Department shall
require as a permit condition that injection pressure in the injection zone does not
exceed hydrostatic pressure at the site of any improperly sealed, completed, or
abandoned well within the area of review, or alternatively, the Department shall
require an injection pressure limitation be included as part of the compliance
schedule until all other required corrective or preventive action has been taken.
The Department shall only approve an injection pressure limitation in satisfaction
of the corrective action requirement if the injection pressure limitation will not
endanger groundwater resources. The Department reserves the right to deny permit
authorization where it determines that the corrective or preventive plan is
inadequate.
4. For Class III wells only,
the Department shall consider the overall effect of the project on the hydraulic
gradient in potentially affected USDWs and the corresponding changes in
potentiometric surface(s) and flow direction(s) rather than the discrete effect of
each well. If the Department determines that corrective action is not necessary, the
monitoring program required pursuant to
7:14A-8.15(c)2 shall
be designed to verify the validity of such determination.
