New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION
Chapter 6 - WATER QUALITY
Part 2 - GROUND AND SURFACE WATER PROTECTION
Section 20.6.2.5205 - CONSTRUCTION REQUIREMENTS FOR CLASS I NON-HAZARDOUS WASTE INJECTION WELLS AND CLASS III WELLS
Universal Citation: 20 NM Admin Code 20.6.2.5205
Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
A. General Construction Requirements Applicable to Class I non-hazardous waste injection wells and Class III wells.
(1)
Construction of all Class I non-hazardous waste injection wells and all new
Class III wells shall include casing and cementing. Prior to well injection,
the discharger shall demonstrate that the construction and operation of:
(a) Class I non-hazardous waste injection
wells will not cause or allow movement of fluids into ground water having
10,000 mg/l or less TDS except for fluid movement approved pursuant to Section
20.6.2.5103 NMAC;
(b) Class III
wells will not cause or allow movement of fluids out of the injection zone into
ground water having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS except for fluid movement approved
pursuant to Section 20.6.2.5103 NMAC.
(2) The construction of each newly drilled
well shall be designed for the proposed life expectancy of the well.
(3) In determining if the discharger has met
the construction requirements of this Section and has demonstrated adequate
construction, the secretary shall consider the following factors:
(a) Depth to the injection zone;
(b) Injection pressure, external pressure,
annular pressure, axial loading, and other stresses that may cause well
failure;
(c) Hole size;
(d) Size and grade of all casing strings,
including wall thickness, diameter, nominal weight, length, joint
specification, and construction material;
(e) Type and grade of cement;
(f) Rate, temperature, and volume of injected
fluid;
(g) Chemical and physical
characteristics of the injected fluid, including corrosiveness, density, and
temperature;
(h) Chemical and
physical characteristics of the formation fluids including pressure and
temperature;
(i) Chemical and
physical characteristics of the receiving formation and confining zones
including lithology and stratigraphy, and fracture pressure; and
(j) Depth, thickness and chemical
characteristics of penetrated formations which may contain ground
water.
(4) To
demonstrate adequate construction, appropriate logs and other tests shall be
conducted during the drilling and construction of new Class I non-hazardous
waste injection wells or Class III wells or during work-over of existing wells
in preparation for reactivation or for change to injection use. A descriptive
report interpreting the results of such logs and tests shall be prepared by a
knowledgeable log analyst and submitted to the secretary for review prior to
well injection. The logs and tests appropriate to each type of injection well
shall be based on the intended function, depth, construction and other
characteristics of the well, availability of similar data in the area of the
drilling site and the need for additional information that may arise from time
to time as the construction of the well progresses.
(a) The discharger shall demonstrate through
use of sufficiently frequent deviation checks, or another equivalent method,
that a Class I non-hazardous waste injection well or Class III well drilled
using a pilot hole then enlarged by reaming or another method, does not allow a
vertical avenue for fluid migration in the form of diverging holes created
during drilling.
(b) The secretary
may require use by the discharger of the following logs to assist in
characterizing the formations penetrated and to demonstrate the integrity of
the confining zones and the lack of vertical avenues for fluid migration:
(i) For casing intended to protect ground
water having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS: Resistivity, spontaneous potential, and
caliper logs before the casing is installed; and a cement bond, or temperature
log after the casing is set and cemented.
(ii) For intermediate and long strings of
casing intended to facilitate injection: Resistivity, spontaneous potential,
porosity, and gamma ray logs before the casing is installed; and fracture
finder or spectral logs; and a cement bond or temperature log after the casing
is set and cemented.
(5) In addition to the requirements of
Section 20.6.2.5102 NMAC, the discharger shall provide notice prior to
commencement of drilling, cementing and casing, well logging, mechanical
integrity tests, and any well work-over to allow opportunity for on-site
inspection by the secretary or his representative.
B. Additional Construction Requirements for Class I non-hazardous waste injection wells.
(1) All Class I non-hazardous waste injection
wells shall be sited in such a manner that they inject into a formation which
is beneath the lowermost formation containing, within one quarter mile of the
well bore, ground water having 10,000 mg/l TDS or less except as approved
pursuant to Section 20.6.2.5103 NMAC.
(2) All Class I non-hazardous waste injection
wells shall be cased and cemented by circulating cement to the
surface.
(3) All Class I
non-hazardous waste injection wells, except those municipal wells injecting
noncorrosive wastes, shall inject fluids through tubing with a packer set in
the annulus immediately above the injection zone, or tubing with an approved
fluid seal as an alternative. The tubing, packer, and fluid seal shall be
designed for the expected length of service.
(a) The use of other alternatives to a packer
may be allowed with the written approval of the secretary. To obtain approval,
the operator shall submit a written request to the secretary which shall set
forth the proposed alternative and all technical data supporting its use. The
secretary may approve the request if the alternative method will reliably
provide a comparable level of protection to ground water. The secretary may
approve an alternative method solely for an individual well or for general
use.
(b) In determining the
adequacy of the specifications proposed by the discharger for tubing and
packer, or a packer alternative, the secretary shall consider the following
factors:
(i) Depth of setting;
(ii) Characteristics of injection fluid
(chemical nature or characteristics, corrosiveness, and density);
(iii) Injection pressure;
(iv) Annular pressure;
(v) Rate, temperature and volume of injected
fluid; and
(vi) Size of
casing.
C. Additional Construction Requirements for Class III wells.
(1) Where injection is into
a formation containing ground water having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS, monitoring
wells shall be completed into the injection zone and into the first formation
above the injection zone containing ground water having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS
which could be affected by the extraction operation. If ground water having
10,000 mg/l or less TDS below the injection zone could be affected by the
extraction operation, monitoring of such ground water may be required. These
wells shall be of sufficient number, located and constructed so as to detect
any excursion of injection fluids, process byproducts, or formation fluids
outside the extraction area or injection zone. The requirement for monitoring
wells in aquifers designated pursuant to Section 20.6.2.5103 NMAC may be waived
by the secretary, provided that the absence of monitoring wells does not result
in an increased risk of movement of fluids into protected ground waters having
10,000 mg/l or less TDS.
(2) Where
injection is into a formation which does not contain ground water having 10,000
mg/l or less TDS, no monitoring wells are necessary in the injection zone.
However, monitoring wells may be necessary in adjoining zones with ground water
having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS that could be affected by the extraction
operation.
(3) In an area that the
secretary determines is subject to subsidence or collapse, the required
monitoring wells may be required to be located outside the physical influence
of that area.
(4) In determining
the adequacy of monitoring well location, number, construction and frequency of
monitoring proposed by the discharger, the secretary shall consider the
following factors:
(a) The local geology and
hydrology;
(b) The operating
pressures and whether a negative pressure gradient to the monitor well is being
maintained;
(c) The nature and
volume of injected fluid, formation water, and process by-products;
and
(d) The number and spacing of
Class III wells in the well field.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. New Mexico 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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