South Carolina Code of Regulations
Chapter 61 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL
Subchapter 61-87 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL REGULATIONS
Subchapter 61-87.2 - Definitions

A. "Abandoned well" means a well the use of which has been permanently discontinued or which is in a state of disrepair such that it cannot be used for its intended purpose or for monitoring purposes.

B. "Aquifer" means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield significant quantities of ground water to wells or springs.

C. "Casing" means a pipe or tubing of appropriate material, of varying diameter and weight, lowered into a borehole during or after drilling in order to support the sides of the hole and thus prevent the walls from caving, to prevent loss of drilling mud into permeable strata, or to prevent fluids from entering or leaving the hole.

D. "Cesspool" means a drywell that receives untreated sanitary waste containing human excreta, and which sometimes has an open bottom and/or perforated sides.

E. "Confining zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of significantly limiting fluid movement above or below an injection zone.

F. "Contaminant" means any substance or matter which degrades the quality of naturally occurring water either directly or indirectly as a result of man's activity.

G. "Drywell" means a well, other than an improved sinkhole or subsurface fluid distribution system, completed above the water table so that its bottom and sides are typically dry except when receiving fluids.

H. "Facility, operation or activity" means any injection well or system including land and appurtenances thereto.

I. "Flow rate" means the volume per unit of time of a fluid which emerges from an orifice, pump, turbine, or passes along a conduit or channel.

J. "Fluid" means material or substance which flows or moves whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas, or any other form or state.

K. "Formation" means a body of rock characterized by a degree of lithologic homogeneity which is prevailingly, but not necessarily, tabular and is mappable on the earth's surface or traceable in the subsurface.

L. "Formation fluid" means fluid present in a formation under natural conditions as opposed to introduced fluids.

M. "Ground water" means water below the land surface in a zone of saturation.

N. "Improved sinkhole" means a naturally occurring karst depression or other natural crevice found in volcanic terrain and other geological settings which have been modified by man for the purpose of directing and emplacing fluids into the subsurface.

O. "Injection" means the emplacement of fluid into the subsurface or ground waters by an injection well except fluids used in association with well construction, development, or abandonment.

P. "Injection well" means any well which is used or intended to be used for injection.

Q. "Injection zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation which is receiving injection, has received injection, or is intended to receive injection.

R. "Lithology" means the description of rocks on the basis of their physical and chemical characteristics.

S. "Non-contact system" means a closed system which conveys water pumped from the aquifer through a process on a once-through basis without significantly altering the chemical quality of the water to be returned to the aquifer.

T. "Owner/operator" means the person who owns the land on which a facility is located and/or the person who is responsible for the overall operation of the facility.

U. "Person" means any individual, federal agency, public or private corporation, political sub-division, government agency, municipality, industry, copartnership, association, firm, trust, estate, or any legal entity whatsoever.

V. "Point of injection for Class V wells" means the last accessible point prior to waste fluids being released into the subsurface environment through a Class V well.

W. "Pressure" means the total load or force per unit area acting on a surface.

X. "Septic system" means a well that is used to emplace sanitary wastes below the surface and is typically comprised of a septic tank and subsurface fluid distribution system. The UIC requirements do not apply to single family residential septic systems nor to non residential septic systems which are used solely for disposal of sanitary waste and have the capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons a day.

Y. "Stratum (plural strata)" means a single sedimentary bed or layer, regardless of thickness, that consists of generally the same kind of rock material.

Z. "Subsurface fluid distribution system" means an assemblage of perforated pipes, drain tiles, or other similar mechanisms intended to distribute fluids below the surface of the ground.

AA. "Subsidence" means the lowering of the natural land surface in response to: Earth movements; lowering of fluid pressure; removal of underlying supporting material by mining or solution of solids, either artificially or from natural causes; compaction due to wetting (Hydro-compaction); oxidation of organic matter in soils; or added load on the land surface.

BB. "Total dissolved solids (TDS)" means the amount of material in solution gravimetrically determined after filtering the sample through a 0.45-um membrane filter and drying at 180°C.

CC. "Underground source of drinking water (USDW)" means an aquifer or its portion:

DD. "Waste" shall mean and include the following:

EE. "Well" means any excavation which is cored, bored, drilled, jetted, dug, or otherwise constructed the depth of which is greater than its largest surface dimension; or, a dug hole whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension; or, an improved sinkhole; or, a subsurface fluid distribution system.

FF. "Well injection" means the subsurface emplacement of fluids through a well.