Current through Supplement No. 392, April, 2024
1. In seeking a waiver of the requirement to
inject below the lowermost underground sources of drinking water, the storage
operator shall submit a supplemental report concurrent with the storage
facility permit application. The supplemental report must:
a. Demonstrate that the injection zone is
laterally continuous, is not an underground source of drinking water, and is
not hydraulically connected to underground sources of drinking water; does not
outcrop; has adequate injectivity, volume, and sufficient porosity to safely
contain the injected carbon dioxide and formation fluids; and has appropriate
geochemistry;
b. Demonstrate that
the injection zone is bounded by laterally continuous, impermeable confining
units above and below the injection zone adequate to prevent fluid movement and
pressure buildup outside of the injection zone; and that the confining unit is
free of transmissive faults and fractures. The report shall further
characterize the regional fracture properties and demonstrate that such
fractures will not interfere with injection, serve as conduits, or endanger
underground sources of drinking water;
c Demonstrate, using computational modeling, that underground
sources of drinking water above and below the injection zone will not be
endangered as a result of fluid movement. This modeling must be conducted in
conjunction with the area of review determination, and is subject to
requirements and periodic reevaluation;
d. Demonstrate that well design and
construction, in conjunction with the waiver, will ensure isolation of the
injectate in lieu of requirements and will meet well construction
requirements;
e. Describe how the
monitoring and testing and any additional plans will be tailored to the
geologic sequestration project to ensure protection of underground sources of
drinking water above and below the injection zone, if a waiver is
granted;
f. Provide information on
the location of all the public water supplies affected, reasonably likely to be
affected, or served by underground sources of drinking water in the area of
review; and
g. Provide any other
information requested by the commission that the United States environmental
protection agency regional administrator might find useful in making the
decision whether to issue a waiver.
2. To assist the United States environmental
protection agency regional administrator in making the decision whether to
grant a waiver of the injection depth requirements, the commission shall submit
to the regional administrator documentation of the following:
a. An evaluation of the following information
as it relates to siting, construction, and operation of a geologic
sequestration project with a waiver:
(1) The
integrity of the upper and lower confining units;
(2) The suitability of the injection zone
(e.g., lateral continuity; lack of transmissive faults and fractures; knowledge
of current or planned artificial penetrations into the injection zone or
formations below the injection zone);
(3) The potential capacity of the geologic
formation to sequester carbon dioxide, accounting for the availability of
alternative injection sites;
(4)
All other site characterization data, the proposed emergency and remedial
response plan, and a demonstration of financial responsibility;
(5) Community needs, demands, and supply from
drinking water resources;
(6)
Planned needs, potential and future use of underground sources of drinking
water and nonunderground sources of drinking water in the area;
(7) Planned or permitted water, hydrocarbon,
or mineral resource exploitation potential of the proposed injection formation
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 zone;
(8) The proposed plan for securing
alternative resources or treating underground sources of drinking water in the
event of contamination related to the carbon dioxide injection well activity;
and
(9) Any other applicable
considerations or information requested by the commission.
b. A review of the commission's consultation
with the state department of health and federally recognized Indian tribes
having jurisdiction over lands within the area of review for the injection well
for which a waiver is sought.
c.
Any written waiver-related information submitted by the state department of
health to the commission.
3. The commission shall give public notice
that a waiver application has been submitted. The notice must include a map of
the area of review and state:
a. The depth of
the proposed injection zone;
b. The
location of the injection well;
c.
The name and depth of all underground sources of drinking water within the area
of review;
d. The names of any
public water supplies affected, reasonably likely to be affected, or served by
underground sources of drinking water in the area of review; and
e. The results of the consultation with the
state department of health.
4. Following public notice, the commission
shall provide all information received through the waiver application process
to the United States environmental protection agency regional administrator.
a. If the regional administrator determines
that additional information is required to support a decision, the commission
shall request that the applicant for the waiver provide the
information.
b. The commission may
not issue a waiver without written concurrence from the regional
administrator.
5. Upon
receipt of a waiver, the storage operator shall comply with:
a. All requirements in sections 43-05-01-5.1,
43-05-01-9.1,
43-05-01-11.1,
43-05-01-11.2,
43-05-01-11.3,
43-05-01-11.5,
43-05-01-13, and
43-05-01-18.
b. All requirements in section
43-05-01-11 with the following
modifications:
(1) Injection wells must be
constructed and completed to prevent movement of fluids into any unauthorized
zones, including underground sources of drinking water.
(2) The casing and cementing program must be
designed to prevent the movement of fluids into any unauthorized zones,
including underground sources of drinking water in lieu of requirements in
section 43-05-01-11.
(3) The surface casing must extend through
the base of the nearest underground source of drinking water directly above the
injection zone and be cemented to the surface; or, at the commission's
discretion, another formation above the injection zone and below the nearest
underground source of drinking water above the injection zone.
c. All requirements in section
43-05-01-11.4 with the following
modifications:
(1) Ground water quality,
geochemical changes, and pressure in the first underground source of drinking
water immediately above and below the injection zone, and in any other
formations at the discretion of the commission, must be monitored.
(2) Test and monitor to track the extent of
the carbon dioxide plume and the presence or absence of elevated pressure
(e.g., the pressure front) by using direct methods to monitor for pressure
changes in the injection zone, and indirect methods (e.g., seismic, electrical,
gravity, or electromagnetic surveys or down-hole carbon dioxide detection
tools), unless the commission determines based on site-specific geology that
such methods are not appropriate.
d. All requirements in section
43-05-01-19 with the following
modifications for postinjection site care monitoring requirements:
(1) Ground water quality, geochemical changes
and pressure in the first underground source of drinking water immediately
above and below the injection zone, and in any other formations at the
discretion of the commission, must be monitored.
(2) Test and monitor to track the extent of
the carbon dioxide plume and the presence or absence of elevated pressure
(e.g., the pressure front) by using direct methods in the injection zone, and
indirect methods (e.g., seismic, electrical, gravity, or electromagnetic
surveys or down-hole carbon dioxide detection tools), unless the commission
determines based on site-specific geology that such methods are not
appropriate.
e. Any
additional requirements requested by the commission to ensure protection of
underground sources of drinking water above and below the injection
zone.
General Authority: NDCC
28-32-02
Law Implemented: NDCC
38-22