Current through September 21, 2024
(a) A monitoring program shall be required
for all Class I wells that will be adequate to establish baseline data and
ensure knowledge of migration and behavior of the discharge.
(i) Monitoring may be required for any
circumstance where groundwaters of the State could be affected.
(ii) The extent and design of a monitoring
system shall be sufficient to deal with the pollution potential of the proposed
discharge.
(b) The
monitoring program shall consist of any or all of the following:
(i) Pre-discharge or pre-operational
monitoring;
(ii) Operational
monitoring;
(iii) Post-discharge or
post-operational monitoring;
(iv)
Recordkeeping and reporting;
(v)
Such additional requirements established by the administrator to meet the
purposes of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act and these
regulations.
(c) Each
monitoring program shall include maps and cross-sections, where appropriate,
showing the location, lithology, and screening interval of each monitoring
site.
(d) The operator is
responsible for properly installing, operating, maintaining and removing all
necessary monitoring equipment.
(e)
At a minimum, the permittee shall monitor the pressure in the injection zone
annually, including at a minimum, a shut down of the well for a time sufficient
to conduct a valid observation of the pressure falloff curve.
(f) When prescribing a monitoring system, the
administrator may also require:
(i)
Continuous monitoring for pressure changes in the first aquifer overlying the
confining zone. When such a well is installed, the operator shall, on a
quarterly basis, sample the aquifer and analyze for constituents specified by
the administrator;
(ii) The use of
indirect, geophysical techniques to determine the position of the waste front,
the water quality in a formation designated by the administrator, or to provide
other site specific data;
(iii)
Periodic monitoring of the groundwater quality in the first aquifer overlying
the receiver;
(iv) Periodic
monitoring of the groundwater quality in the lowermost underground source of
drinking water; and
(v) Any
additional monitoring necessary to determine whether fluids are moving into or
between any aquifers penetrated by the well.
(vi) The administrator may require seismicity
monitoring when he has reason to believe that the injection activity may have
the capacity to cause seismic disturbances.
(g) The operator shall develop and follow an
approved written waste analysis plan that describes the procedures to be
carried out to obtain detailed chemical and physical analyses of a
representative sample of the waste, including quality assurance procedures
used. At a minimum, the plan shall specify:
(i) The parameters for which the waste will
be analyzed, the rationale for the selection of these parameters, and the test
methods to be used to test for these parameters; and
(ii) The sampling method that will be used to
obtain a representative sample of the waste.
(h) The operator shall repeat the analysis of
the injected wastes in the manner and on the schedule described in the waste
analysis plan, and when process or operating changes occur that may
significantly alter the characteristics process, or operating changes occur
that may significantly alter the characteristics of the waste stream.
(i) The operator shall conduct continuous or
periodic monitoring of selected parameters as required by the
administrator.
(j) The operator
shall assure that the plan remains accurate and the analyses remain
representative.
(k) Testing and
monitoring requirements for all Class I hazardous waste wells shall include:
(i) Submission of information by the
applicant demonstrating that the waste stream and its anticipated reaction
products will not alter the permeability, thickness, or other relevant
characteristics of the confining or discharge zones such that they would no
longer meet the requirements specified when the area of review was
calculated.
(ii) Submission of
information by the applicant demonstrating that the waste will be compatible
with the well materials with which the waste is expected to come into contact
and a description of the methodology used to make that determination.
Compatibility for purposes of this requirement is established if contact with
injected fluids will not cause the well materials to fail to satisfy any design
requirement imposed under Section 11 of this chapter.
(iii) The administrator shall require
continuous corrosion monitoring of the construction materials in the well for
all wells where the pH of the injection fluid is less than two (2) or greater
than eleven ( 11), and may require such monitoring of other wastes. This
monitoring may be conducted by placing samples of the well construction
materials in contact with the waste stream or routing the waste stream through
a loop constructed of the same materials used in the well, or by using an
alternative method approved by the administrator.
(iv) If a corrosion monitoring program is
required, the test shall use identical materials to those used in the
construction of the well, and such materials shall be continuously exposed to
the operating pressures, temperatures, and flow rates of the injection
operation as measured at the well head. The operator shall monitor the
materials for loss of mass, thickness, pitting, and other signs of corrosion on
a quarterly basis to ensure that the well components meet the minimum standards
for material strength and performance set forth in Section 11 of this
chapter.
(l) In addition
to the above-mentioned requirements, operators of Class I hazardous waste wells
shall also conduct mechanical integrity testing as follows:
(i) The long string casing, injection tubing,
and annular seals shall be tested by means of an approved pressure test with
liquid or gas on an annual basis and whenever there has been a well
workover;
(ii) The bottom-hole
cement shall be tested by means of an approved radioactive tracer survey
annually;
(iii) An approved
temperature, noise, or other approved log shall be run at least once every five
(5) years to test for movement of fluid along the borehole. The administrator
may require such tests whenever the well is worked over;
(iv) Casing inspection logs shall be run at
least once every five (5) years, unless the administrator waives this
requirement due to well construction or other factor's which limit the test's
reliability; and
(v) Any other test
approved by the administrator may also be used. Procedures for approval of
unauthorized mechanical integrity tests are outlined in Section 9(d)(7) of this
chapter.
(vi) The administrator
shall be given the opportunity to witness all logging and drill stem testing
done by the operator at any time during the permitting of any well under this
chapter. The operator shall submit a schedule of such planned logging and
testing to the administrator at least thirty (30) days prior to the first
test.
