Current through September 21, 2024
(a) All owners or
operators of a Class VI well shall develop, maintain, and comply with an
emergency and remedial response plan that describes actions to be taken to
address movement of the injectate or formation fluids that endangers a USDW or
threatens human health, safety, or the environment during construction,
operation, closure, and post-closure periods.
(i) The emergency and remedial response plan
shall be reviewed and updated, as necessary, on the same schedule as the update
to the area of review delineation.
(ii) Any amendments to the emergency and
remedial response plan shall be subject to approval by the Administrator, shall
be incorporated into the permit, and are subject to the permit modification
requirements of Section
6 of this
Chapter. Amendments to the emergency and remedial response plan shall be
submitted to the Administrator as follows:
(A) Within one (1) year of an area of review
reevaluation;
(B) Following any
significant changes to the facility, such as addition of injection or
monitoring wells; or
(C) When
required by the Administrator.
(iii) The emergency and remedial response
plan shall account for the entire area of review delineated pursuant to Section
13 of this Chapter, regardless of whether
corrective action in the area of review is phased.
(b) If any monitoring data or other
information indicate that any contaminant, the injected carbon dioxide stream,
displaced formation fluids, or associated pressure front may endanger a USDW or
threaten human health, safety, or the environment, the owner or operator shall:
(i) Immediately cease injection;
(ii) Take all steps reasonably necessary to
identify and characterize any release;
(iii) Orally notify the Administrator within
twenty-four (24) hours of discovering the condition; and
(iv) Provide a written report to the
Administrator within five (5) days of discovering the condition. The written
report shall contain:
(A) A description of the
noncompliance and its cause;
(B)
The period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times, and, if the
noncompliance has not been controlled, the anticipated time it is expected to
continue; and
(C) Steps taken or
planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the
noncompliance.
(c) If an owner or operator discovers any
noncompliance with a permit condition or a requirement of this Chapter that may
cause fluid migration into or between USDWs, any malfunction of the injection
system that may cause fluid migration into or between USDWs, or any excursion,
the owner or operator shall:
(i) Orally
notify the Administrator within twenty-four (24) hours of discovering the
condition;
(ii) Provide a written
report to the Administrator within five (5) days of discovering the condition,
which shall contain:
(A) A description of the
noncompliance, malfunction, or excursion and its cause;
(B) The period of noncompliance, malfunction,
or excursion, including exact dates and times, and, if the noncompliance,
malfunction, or excursion has not been controlled, the anticipated time it is
expected to continue;
(C) Steps
taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the
noncompliance, malfunction, or excursion.
(iii) If an excursion is discovered, provide
written notice to all surface owners, mineral claimants, mineral owners,
lessees, and other owners of record of subsurface interests within thirty (30)
days of discovering the excursion; and
(iv) Implement the emergency and remedial
response plan approved by the Administrator.
(d) The Administrator may allow the owner or
operator to resume injection prior to implementing the emergency and remedial
response plan if the owner or operator demonstrates that the injection
operation will not endanger USDWs or otherwise threaten human health, safety,
or the environment.
(e) If any
water quality monitoring of a USDW indicates the movement of any contaminant
into the USDW, except as authorized under this Chapter, the Administrator shall
prescribe any additional requirements for construction, corrective action,
operation, monitoring, reporting, or closure of the injection well that are
necessary to prevent further movement, and:
(i) If the well responsible for the movement
is authorized by permit, these additional requirements shall be imposed by
modifying the permit; or
(ii) The
Director may terminate or revoke and reissue the permit pursuant to Section
7 of this Chapter.
