South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-87 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL REGULATIONS
Subchapter 61-87.11 - Classification and Regulation of Injection Wells
Universal Citation: SC Code Regs 61-87.11
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 9, September 27, 2024
A. Class I.
(1) This class applies to industrial,
municipal and other injection wells for disposing of fluids into the subsurface
or ground water and includes:
(a) Industrial
disposal wells for disposing of waste other than hazardous or radioactive
waste;
(b) Municipal or privately
owned disposal wells for disposing of domestic sewage or other waste not
hazardous or radioactive.
(c) Wells
used by generators of hazardous waste or owners or operators of hazardous waste
management facilities to inject hazardous waste;
(2) No person shall construct, operate or use
a well of this Class for injection.
B. Class II.
(1) This Class applies to wells which inject
fluids:
(a) Which are brought to the surface
in connection with conventional oil or natural gas production and may be
commingled with waste waters from gas plants which are an integral part of
production operations, unless those waters are classified as a hazardous waste
at the time of injection;
(b) For
enhanced recovery of oil or natural gas; and,
(c) For storage of hydrocarbons which are
liquid at standard temperature and pressure.
(2) No person shall construct, use, or
operate a well of this Class for injection except as authorized by a permit
issued by the Department. A mining permit issued by the Department may be
necessary before petroleum exploration and/or production is
initiated.
C. Class III.
(1) This Class applies to special process
wells which use injection for extraction of minerals and includes but is not
limited to:
(a) Mining of sulfur by the
Frasch process;
(b) In-situ
production of uranium or other metals;
(c) Solution mining of salts or
potash;
(d) In-situ recovery of
lignite, coal, tar sands, and oil shale.
(2) No person shall construct, use, or
operate a well of this Class for injection except as authorized by a permit
issued by the Department. A mining permit issued by the Department may be
necessary before mineral extraction is initiated.
D. Class IV.
(1) This Class applies to injection wells for
disposing of hazardous or radioactive waste into the subsurface or ground water
and includes those injection wells used by:
(a) Generators of hazardous or radioactive
wastes;
(b) Owners or operators of
hazardous waste management facilities or radioactive waste disposal
sites.
(2) No person
shall construct, use or operate a well of this class for injection:
(a) Except owners or operators of
contaminated ground water remedial systems treating groundwater to be injected
into the same formation from which it was drawn are authorized by rule for the
life of the well if subsurface emplacement of fluids is approved by EPA, or the
Department, pursuant to provisions for cleanup of releases under the
Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980
(CERCLA),
42
U.S.C. 9601 -
9675,
or pursuant to requirements and provisions under the Resource and Conservation
Act (RCRA),
42 U.S.C.
6901 -
6992
k;
(b) In violation of
R61-87.5.
E. Class V.A.
(1) This Class applies to all
injection wells not included in Class I, II, III, and IV and V.B. and includes
but is not limited to:
(a) Drainage wells used
to drain storm runoff into a subsurface formation;
(b) Recharge wells used to replenish the
water in an aquifer;
(c) Salt-water
intrusion barrier wells used to inject water into a fresh water aquifer to
prevent the intrusion of salt water into the fresh water;
(d) Subsidence control wells (Not used for
the purpose of oil or natural gas production) used to inject fluids into a
non-oil or gas producing zone to reduce or eliminate subsidence associated with
the overdraft of fresh water;
(e)
Sand backfill and other backfill wells used to inject a mixture of water and
sand, mill tailings or other solids into mined-out portions of subsurface
mines;
(f) Injection wells
associated with the recovery of geothermal energy of heating, aquaculture or
production of electric power;
(g)
Injection wells used in experimental technologies;
(h) Natural gas storage wells;
(i) Corrective action wells used to inject
groundwater associated with aquifer remediation;
(j) Septic system wells used to inject the
waste or effluent from a multiple dwelling, business establishment, community,
or regional business establishment septic tank;
(k) Large capacity cesspools including
multiple dwelling, community or regional cesspools, or other devices that
receive sanitary wastes which have an open bottom and sometimes perforated
sides. The UIC requirements do not apply to single family residential cesspools
nor to non residential cesspools which receive sanitary waste and have the
capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons a day;
(l) Motor vehicle waste disposal wells that
receive or have received fluids from vehicular repair or maintenance
activities.
(2) No
person shall construct, use or operate a well of this Class for injection:
(a) Except as authorized by a permit issued
by the Department as provided by these regulations;
(b) In violation of R61-87.5.
(3) No person shall construct, use
or operate:
(a) Large capacity cesspools
including multiple dwelling, community or regional cesspools, or other devices
that receive sanitary wastes which have an open bottom and sometimes perforated
sides. The UIC requirements do not apply to single family residential cesspools
nor to non residential cesspools which receive sanitary waste and have the
capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons a day;
(b) Motor vehicle waste disposal wells that
receive or have received fluids from vehicular repair or maintenance
activities.
F. Class V. B.
(1) This Class applies to all injection wells
used to return to the supply aquifer the water which has passed through a
non-contact system and includes, but is not limited to:
(a) Heat pump return flow wells;
(b) Cooling water return flow
wells.
(2) This Class is
authorized by rule and does not require a permit, however, no person shall
construct, use or operate a well of this Class for injection in violation of
R61-87.5.
(3) Reporting
requirements: All Class V. B. well owners or operators shall report to the
Department no later than one year after the effective date of these regulations
for existing wells of this Class, and no later than thirty days for new wells
of this Class, on forms provided by the Department or on an alternative
approved form the following information:
(a)
Facility name and location description with direction and distance from two
nearby map reference points;
(b)
Name and mailing address of facility owner;
(c) Name and mailing address of facility
operator;
(d) Nature and type of
injection facility and well(s) including drawings of the surface and subsurface
construction details of the well(s);
(e) Operating status of the injection
facility and well(s).
(4) Failure to submit information to the
Department regarding R.61-78(f)(3)(f)(3)will
result in the prohibition from injecting until the reporting requirements are
satisfied.
Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. South Carolina 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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