Wyoming Administrative Code
Agency 020 - Environmental Quality, Dept. of
Sub-Agency 0011 - Water Quality
Chapter 27 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL PROGRAM CLASS I AND V WELLS
Section 27-13 - Construction and Operation Standards for Class V Wells

Universal Citation: WY Code of Rules 27-13

Current through September 21, 2024

(a) All Class V facilities must meet or exceed the design standards of these regulations including Part B of Chapter 11 and Chapter 26, Water Quality Rules and Regulations.

(b) All Class V facilities shall be constructed to permit the use of testing devices, and allow monitoring of injected fluid quality. Class V facilities shall be constructed to provide for metering of the injectate volume if the individual or general permit requires such metering.

(c) All heating and cooling facilities (5A1, 5A2 and 5A3) shall include:

(i) Provision for the use of non-toxic circulating medium in closed loop systems or an operating system which cannot be made to operate with fluid leaking.

(ii) Provision for operations without the use of corrosion inhibitors, biocides, or other toxic additives in open loop systems.

(iii) Provisions to control the total dissolved solids of waters injected into open loop systems to the class of use standard.

(iv) Provisions for automatic shutdown of the system in the event of a fluid loss from a closed loop system or a loss of any product to an open loop system.

(v) Provisions to ensure that injected water does not come to the surface or flood any subsurface structure in the immediate vicinity of the injection system.

(vi) Provisions to ensure that known groundwater contamination is not spread by the direct injection of contaminated water or by movement of contamination from one zone to another caused indirectly by the injection.

(d) All mining, sand and backfill facilities (5B1) shall include:

(i) Provision for insuring mechanical integrity of any well designed to remain in service for more than 60 days.

(ii) Provision for controlling the type of material injected and to insure that no hazardous waste is injected.

(iii) Provision for leak detection in all surface piping.

(iv) Provision for insuring that the backfill remains within the permitted area of injection.

(v) Provision to insure that the injection does not cause a groundwater standards violation for the class of use of the receiver.

(e) All beneficial use injection facilities (5B2, 5B3, 5B4, 5B5, 5B6, and 5B7) shall include:

(i) Plans to insure that contaminants do not enter the injection stream.

(ii) Information to show that the injection will accomplish the desired goal stated in the application.

(iii) Target restoration values for the groundwater in the affected area being remediated for 5B5 facilities.

(f) All commercial and industrial Class V facilities (5C1, 5C2, 5C3 and 5C4) shall:

(i) Include a pre-treatment plan to insure that toxic materials (substances) are not discharged to the groundwater at concentrations higher than the class of use standards found in Chapter 8, Wyoming Water Quality Rules and Regulations or any primary drinking water standard found in 40 CFR 141 (as of June 6, 2001), whichever is more stringent;

(ii) Conform to applicable construction standards found in Chapter 25, Wyoming Water Quality Rules and Regulations; and

(iii) Include, at a minimum, annual sampling of the waste injected as part of the monitoring plan for the facility.

(g) When a 5C3 facility receiving slaughter house wastes can demonstrate that no violations of groundwater standards will occur, the facility shall be:

(i) Designed for the following minimum disposal capacities:
(A) 300 gallons per day for plant cleanup plus.

(B) 25 gallons per head of cattle slaughter capacity.

(C) 40 gallons per head of hog slaughter capacity.

(D) 35 gallons per head of sheep slaughter capacity.

(E) Appropriate capacity for any other species slaughtered on a per head basis.

(ii) Designed to prevent the disposal of blood and viscera into the septic system except as a small incidental portion of the total flow. Blood and viscera shall be sent to a rendering plant or other approved disposal or recycling system.

(iii) A grease trap shall be provided ahead of the septic system with a total capacity equal to one half of the total required capacity of the septic tank.

(h) All drainage facilities (those with the code number 5D on Appendix C) shall include:

(i) A plan to preclude the inadvertent introduction of contaminants into the wastewater stream.

(ii) An operations and maintenance manual detailing maintenance required, reporting requirements for known spills affecting the facility, and steps to be taken to prevent the introduction of contaminants in the event of a spill within the area served by the facility.

(iii) Maps showing the area where runoff will be transported to the drainage facility.

(i) All agricultural drainage facilities (5D1) injecting surface runoff from animal waste piles, feedlots, or dairy operations for which a demonstration can be made that the groundwater standards can be met, shall be designed for treatment in a septic tank, lagoon, or other treatment technology prior to injection. The following requirements apply to these systems:

(i) The treatment facility shall be sized for the strength and solids content of the wastewater to be treated.

(ii) The flow capacity requirements shall include all runoff from operations within the collection area and all runoff from precipitation up to and including a 25 year, 24 hour design storm.

(iii) The flow capacity requirements for drainage from a fully enclosed dairy or feeding operation shall be as follows:
(A) 20 gallons per day per animal up to 50 pounds.

(B) 100 gallons per day per animal up to 500 pounds.

(C) 200 gallons per day per animal over 500 pounds.

(iv) The subsurface fluid distribution system shall be designed in accordance with general design requirements found in Chapter 25.

(j) All sewage disposal (5E) facilities shall:

(i) Conform to applicable construction standards found in Chapter 25, Wyoming Water Quality Rules and Regulations;

(ii) Comply with applicable sections of Chapter 11, Parts B and C, Water Quality Rules and Regulations for all piping systems or storage facilities feeding existing or Class V facilities constructed after the effective date of these regulations; and

(iii) Be designed for the maximum daily peak flow determined from Tables 1 and 2 of Chapter 25, Water Quality Rules and Regulations. In addition, whenever multiple points of discharge under one owner within any five (5) acres of land have a design capacity under Chapter 25 to inject more than a total of 2,000 gallons per day of domestic sewage, they shall be permitted under this chapter in the same manner that they would be permitted if all the waste were delivered to a single point of discharge.

(k) All aquaculture return flow facilities (5E1) shall include pretreatment in a lagoon, septic tank, or oxidation ditch sized for the strength and volume of the wastes to be disposed of.

(l) All domestic wastewater treatment plant disposal facilities (5E4) shall also include:

(i) Provisions for filtering of the waste and disinfection of the injectate.

(ii) An environmental monitoring program, including pre-discharge, operational monitoring, and post discharge monitoring.

(iii) Monitoring of the injectate on at least a weekly basis for nitrate as N, ammonia as N, and coliform bacteria.

(iv) Design to prevent groundwater standards violations as defined by Chapter 8, Water Quality Rules and Regulations.

(v) The points of compliance shall be at down gradient monitor wells installed on land owned by the same utility that operates the treatment plant and injection facilities whenever the point of injection is not the point of compliance.

(vi) Requirements for the submission, approval and conformance with an operational and maintenance manual.

(m) All cathodic protection facilities (5F1) shall include:

(i) A seal of sodium bentonite or sodium bentonite grout is required from the surface to a minimum depth of three (3) feet. A second sodium bentonite or sodium bentonite grout seal is required for a minimum thickness of three (3) feet, just above the top of the coke breeze. After the sodium bentonite has been placed in the hole, it shall be hydrated to insure a proper seal. The remainder of the hole between these seals may be backfilled with cuttings. The above seals may be placed directly in the hole or may be placed outside of a surface pipe of sufficient length to reach down to the anodes. If a surface pipe is used, no seals are required inside the pipe except during final abandonment.

(ii) All aquifers encountered while drilling shall be isolated from one another using a bentonite seal of at least two (2) feet in vertical dimension.

(iii) The coke breeze shall be a high quality product containing a minimum of leachable metals or organic pollutants. The coke breeze shall not discharge any pollutant which will cause a groundwater standard violation.

(iv) Surface access to the anode shall be kept sealed and locked at all times when the anode is not actually being serviced.

(v) Each separate aquifer penetrated shall require a separate breather pipe. Each aquifer shall remain in hydrologic isolation from each other if they were isolated prior to installation.

(vi) If it becomes necessary to wet any anode installed under this section, only water from a public water supply or water meeting all of the standards for Class I groundwater of the state shall be used unless the division is first supplied with an analyses of the water for approval.

(vii) Each 5F1 facility shall be marked in the field with a sign showing the name, address, and telephone number of the operator who installed the system. Upon abandonment, such markers shall remain in place.

(viii) A 5F1 facility shall not be installed within 200 feet of any pipeline, wellhead, storage tank, mud pit or other potential source of pollution unless the operator's surface rights prevent this requirement from being met.

(n) Except for beneficial use facilities, Class V facilities shall not be located within 200 feet of any active public water supply well, regardless of whether or not the well is completed in the same aquifer. This minimum distance may increase or the existence of a Class V facility may be prohibited within a state approved wellhead protection area, source water protection area or water quality management plan area.

(o) Class 5C6 and 5E5 facilities shall meet the construction standards and separation distances appropriate for the design flow as shown in Chapter 25.

(p) Class 5C5 coal bed methane injection facilities shall:

(i) Provide for metering of water injected into each well.

(ii) Be constructed to insure that the water injected reaches the intended receiver and only the intended receiver. The intended receiver shall be identified by geologic formation and/or member name as well as the depth of that receiver below ground surface.

(iii) Provide for disinfection of the water injected if analysis shows that coliform bacteria, sulfate reducing bacteria or iron fixing bacteria are present in the water as pumped from the coal seam. Treatment methods must be methods that would be appropriate for treating water in a public water supply system.

(iv) Provide for injection at a pressure of less than the fracture pressure of the receiver.

(v) Provide for monitoring of the quality of the injected water on a periodic basis.

(vi) Provide notification of the intent to obtain coverage under the general permit to all surface owners, mineral owners or water rights owners, oil and gas owners and the owners of coal leases within one-half mile of the proposed point of injection.

(vii) Provide for pressure testing of the casing before injection and at least once every five (5) years thereafter. The casing shall be pressure tested up to an indicated surface pressure of 700 psi and held for 15 minutes. A passing result is indicated if the casing still has 690 psi at the end of the 15 minute shut in time.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wyoming 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.
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.