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 27-6 - Permits and Permit Applications
Universal Citation: WY Code of Rules 27-6
Current through September 21, 2024
(a) It is the operator's responsibility to make application for and obtain a permit in accordance with these regulations. Each application must be submitted with all supporting data.
(b) All permits issued under this chapter, whether individual permits, or general permits, shall be for no more than ten (10) years duration.
(c) Each permit shall be reviewed by the department at least once every five (5) years for continued validity of all permit conditions and contents. Permits that do not satisfy the requirements of these regulations are subject to modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination pursuant to this chapter.
(d) Sections of permit applications filed under this chapter which represent engineering work shall be sealed, signed, and dated by a licensed professional engineer as required by Wyoming Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 29.
(e) Sections of permit applications filed under this chapter which represent geologic work shall be sealed, signed, and dated by a licensed professional geologist as required by Wyoming Statutes, Title 33, Chapter 41.
(f) A complete application for a Class I well shall include:
(i) A brief description of the
nature of the business and the activities to be conducted that require the
applicant to obtain a permit under this chapter.
(ii) The name, address and telephone number
of the operator, and the operator's ownership status and status as a Federal,
State, private, public or other entity.
(iii) The name address and telephone number
of the facility. Additionally, the location of the facility shall be identified
by section, township, range and county, and whether or not it is located on
Indian lands.
(iv) A calculation of
the area of review, which requires the calculation of the cone of influence and
the area of the ultimate limit of emplaced waste.
(A) The formula for determining the cone of
influence is:
r= Radius of the cone of influence of an injection well (feet)
K = Hydraulic conductivity of the injection zone (feet/day)
H = Thickness of the injection zone (feet)
t = Time of injection (days)
S = Storage coefficient (dimensionless)
Q = Injection rate (cubic feet/day)
B = Original hydrostatic head of injection zone (feet) measured from the base of the injection zone
W = Hydrostatic head of underground source of drinking water (feet) measured from the base of the injection zone
G = Specific gravity of fluid in the injection zone (dimensionless)
P = 3.142 (dimensionless)
(B) A volume calculation to determine the
maximum area that the injected waste could occupy shall be submitted on all new
Class I wells. This calculation determines the total amount of void space
around the well and assumes that the injected fluid completely displaces the
formation water.
(C) A Class I
non-hazardous waste well's area of review shall never be less than one-quarter
(1/4) mile, the cone of influence, or the area of emplaced waste, whichever is
greatest.
(D) A Class I hazardous
waste well's area of review shall never be less than two (2) miles, the cone of
influence, or the area of emplaced waste, whichever is greatest.
(E) All Areas of Review shall be legally
described by township, range and section to the nearest quarter quarter of a
section.
(v) Information
about the proposed facility, including:
(A) A
description of the substances proposed to be discharged, including type,
source, and chemical, physical, radiological and toxic characteristics;
and
(B) Construction and
engineering details in accordance with Section
12 of this chapter.
(vi) Information, including the name,
description, depth and geology of the receiver and confining zone and the
hydrology, fluid chemistry, fluid pressure, temperature, fracture pressure and
the total dissolved solids (TDS) in the receiver.
(vii) Water quality information, including
background water quality data, which will facilitate the classification of any
groundwaters which may be affected by the proposed discharge. This must include
information necessary for the Water Quality Division to classify the receiver
as class VI under Chapter 8 Section
4(d)(9) of the Wyoming
Water Quality Rules and Regulations.
(viii) A topographic and other pertinent
maps, extending at least one (1) mile beyond the property boundaries of the
facility, but never less than the area of review, depicting:
(A) The facility and each of its intake and
discharge structures;
(B) Each of
its hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facilities;
(C) Each well where fluids from the facility
are injected underground;
(D) Other
wells, springs, and surface water bodies, and drinking water wells listed in
public records or otherwise known to the applicant within a minimum one-quarter
(1/4) mile of the facility property boundary, or further, as the administrator
may determine is necessary; and
(E)
General geology and hydrogeology in the area.
(ix) A list of other relevant permits,
whether federal or state, that the facility has been required to obtain, such
as construction permits.
(x) A
listing of all wells that penetrate the confining zone and are within the area
of review, and records of plugging or completion, sufficient to satisfy the
administrator as to the adequacy of the plugging or completion.
(A) For those wells that the administrator
determines have not been adequately plugged, completed, or abandoned, or for
wells which lack supporting information, the applicant shall also submit a plan
to prevent movement of fluids into Underground Source of Drinking Waters
through these wells, and this plan, after approval or modification by the
administrator, shall be incorporated as a permit condition.
(xi) Detailed plans for:
(A) Monitoring volume and chemistry of the
discharge, and water quality of water wells within the area of
review;
(B) Monitoring injection
and annular pressures in the well, to minimize the potential for fracturing of
the confining zone and below the receiver; and
(C) Corrective action to cope with alarms,
shut-downs, malfunctions or well failures, so as to prevent endangerment of
groundwater.
(xii)
Information sufficient to demonstrate mechanical integrity of the well, and
compatibility between the proposed discharge and the well material.
(xiii) Information sufficient to demonstrate
compliance with Sections
12,
14,
15,
16,
17 and
19 of this chapter.
(xiv) All applications for permits shall be
signed by a responsible officer as follows:
(A)
For a
corporation - by a responsible corporate officer. For the purpose
of this section, a responsible corporate officer means:
(1.) A President, Secretary, Treasurer, or
Vice President of the corporation in charge of a principal business function,
or any other person who performs similar policy or decision making functions
for the corporation; or
(2.) The
manager of one or more manufacturing, production, or operating facilities
employing more than 250 persons or having gross annual sales or expenditures
exceeding $25 million (in second quarter 1980 dollars), if authority to sign
documents has been assigned or delegated to the manager in accordance with
corporate procedures.
(B)
For a partnership or sole proprietorship -- by a
general partner or the proprietor, respectively;
(C)
For a municipality, state,
federal or other public agency -- by either the principal
executive officer or ranking elected official.
(xv) The application shall contain the
following certification by the person signing the application:
"I certify under penalty of law that this document and all attachments were prepared under my direction or supervision in accordance with a system designed to assure that qualified personnel properly gather and evaluate the information submitted. Based on my inquiry of the person or persons who manage the system, or those persons directly responsible for gathering the information, the information submitted is, to the best of my knowledge and belief, true, accurate, and complete. I am aware that there are significant penalties for submitting false information, including the possibility of fine and imprisonment for knowing violations."
(xvi) All relevant data used to complete
permit applications shall be kept for a minimum of three (3) years from the
date of signing.
(g) For Class V facilities the following are applicable:
(i) A permit is required.
(ii) Construction, installation,
modifications or operation of Class V facilities shall be allowed only in
accordance with these regulations.
(iii) Discharges into, or construction of,
any Class V facility are prohibited unless permitted pursuant to this
chapter.
(iv) Every facility shall
be covered by one of the three types of permitting systems: individual;
general; or permit by rule. The following sections of these regulations
describe the permitting method for and subclasses of facilities. The owner or
operator of a facility that can be covered by a general permit or authorized
under permit by rule may apply for and be permitted by an individual permit if
the owner or operator desires. Operators who do not meet the requirements for a
general permit or permit by rule must obtain an individual permit prior to
installation or construction of the Class V facility.
(v) Permits may be issued for individual
facilities or they may be issued on an area basis for multiple points of
discharge operated by the same person.
(vi) A separate permit to construct is not
required under Chapter 3, Water Quality Rules and Regulations for any Class V
facility. Requirements of the Chapter 3 permit to construct will be included in
the underground injection control permit issued under this chapter.
(h) Permit conditions and contents.
(i) All Class I permits issued
under this chapter shall contain the following conditions:
(A) A requirement that the injection pressure
shall be limited to the fracture pressure of the receiver, except as necessary
during well stimulation, and, within one (1) year of the issuance of the
permit, the operator shall conduct a step-rate injection test to determine the
actual fracture pressure of the receiver.
(B) A requirement that mechanical integrity
shall be maintained continuously and be reviewed at least every five (5) years.
The test used to determine mechanical integrity shall be a two-part test
approved by the administrator, who shall approve only those tests that have
been approved first by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Office of
Drinking Water.
(I) Part one of the
mechanical integrity test shall demonstrate the absence of leaks through the
packer, tubing, casing, and well head.
(II) Part two of the mechanical integrity
test shall demonstrate the absence of fluid movement behind the
casing.
(III) Proposed mechanical
integrity tests that have not yet been approved shall be submitted to the
administrator who shall forward the information to the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Office of Drinking Water along with a request for approval,
if, in the administrator's opinion, it will adequately determine mechanical
integrity of the well system. A previously unauthorized mechanical integrity
test submitted for approval shall include:
(1.) The proposed method for demonstrating
the lack of significant leaks in the well;
(2.) The proposed method for showing the
absence of significant fluid movement; and
(3.) Any technical data supporting the use of
this test.
(C)
A Class I well that cannot demonstrate mechanical integrity shall be shut down
until such time as the mechanical integrity has been restored.
(D) A requirement that the packer be set
within five-hundred (500) feet of the top of the receiver, unless the
administrator allows some other specific interval to be used to set the packer,
but always within the zone covered by excellent cement bond as shown by the
cement bond log.
(ii)
Special conditions for Class I hazardous waste wells.
(A) All Class I hazardous waste wells
permitted under this chapter shall be subject to the special permit conditions
listed below in addition to the conditions applicable to all Class I well
permits in this chapter.
(B) All
hazardous waste injection permits issued under this chapter shall include the
following conditions:
(I) A requirement that
the operator shall maintain a casing/tubing annulus pressure that exceeds the
operating injection pressure, unless the administrator determines that such a
requirement might harm the integrity of the well. The fluid used in the
casing/tubing annulus shall be noncorrosive, and shall contain a corrosion
inhibitor.
(II) A requirement that
the operator shall follow special procedures when wastes have the potential to
react with the injection formation or to generate gases either during or after
injection. These procedures may take the form of special permit conditions that
limit the temperature or pH of the injected waste and require the operator to
follow procedures necessary to assure that pressure imbalances which might
cause a backflow or blowout do not occur.
(III) A requirement that the operator shall
install, maintain, and use continuous recording devices to monitor the
injection pressure, flow rate, temperature, of injected fluids and pressure on
the casing/tubing annulus, and shall install and use automatic alarm and
shut-off systems designed to shut down the well when pressures, flow rates, and
other parameters approved by the administrator exceed the range specified in
the permit.
(IV) A requirement that
the operator have a trained operator onsite at all times the well is
operating.
(V) A requirement that
if an automatic alarm or shutdown is triggered, the operator shall immediately
investigate and identify as early as possible, the cause of the alarm or
shutdown. If, upon such investigation, or if required monitoring indicates,
that the well is lacking in mechanical integrity, the operator shall:
(1.) Cease all injections of waste fluids
immediately.
(2.) Take all
necessary steps to determine the presence or absence of a leak.
(3.) Notify the administrator within
twenty-four (24) hours after the alarm or shutdown, using procedures and
criteria listed in paragraph (h)(iii)(Q) of this section.
(4.) The operator shall restore and
demonstrate, to the satisfaction of the administrator, mechanical integrity
prior to resuming injection activities.
(VI) A requirement that whenever the operator
obtains evidence that there may have been a release of injected wastes into an
unauthorized zone, regardless of whether or not an automatic alarm or shutdown
was triggered, the operator shall:
(1.)
Immediately cease all injection activities.
(2.) Notify the administrator pursuant to the
procedures outlined in paragraph (h)(iii)(Q) of this section. In addition to
the information required by paragraph (h)(iii)(Q) of this section, the operator
shall also include, as part of the written submission, a proposed remedial
action plan, designed to minimize the adverse impact of the unauthorized
release.
(3.) Comply with the
requirements of any remedial action plan approved by the
administrator.
(4.) Where the
unauthorized release is into a Class I aquifer, as classified under Chapter 8,
Quality Standards for Wyoming Groundwaters, Water Quality Rules and
Regulations, which is currently serving as a water supply, the operator shall
place a notice, describing the unauthorized release and the actions taken, in a
newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the release.
(5.) The administrator may allow the operator
to resume injection prior to completion of cleanup operations if the operator
demonstrates, to the satisfaction of the administrator, that the injection
activity will not endanger any Underground Source of Drinking Waters.
(VII) A requirement that the
operator notify the administrator and obtain his approval prior to conducting
any well workover.
(VIII) A
requirement that the operator comply with the following federal regulations
contained in 40 CFR 264 or applicable state hazardous waste regulations:
(1.) Identification numbers.
(2.) Recordkeeping and reporting for
manifested wastes.
(3.) Manifest
discrepancies.
(4.) Operating
record requirements.
(5.) Annual
reporting requirements and unmanifested waste reports.
(6.) Personnel training
requirements.
(IX) When
abandonment is completed, the operator must submit to the administrator
certification by the operator and certification by an independent registered
professional engineer that the facility has been closed in accordance with the
specifications detailed in the closure plan in Section
17 of this
chapter.
(iii)
All individual and general permits issued under this chapter shall contain the
following conditions:
(A) A requirement that
the permittee comply with all conditions of the permit and any permit
noncompliance constitutes a violation of these regulations and is grounds for
enforcement action, permit termination, revocation, or modification.
(B) A requirement that if the permittee
wishes to continue injection activity after the expiration of the permit, the
permittee must apply to the administrator for, and obtain, a new
permit.
(C) A stipulation that it
shall not be a defense for a permittee in an enforcement action that it would
have been necessary to halt or reduce the permitted activity in order to
maintain compliance with the conditions of this permit.
(D) A requirement that the permittee shall
take all reasonable steps to minimize or correct any adverse impact on the
environment resulting from noncompliance with this permit.
(E) A requirement that the permittee properly
operate and maintain all facilities and systems of treatment and control which
are installed or used by the permittee to achieve compliance with the
conditions of this permit. Proper operation and maintenance includes effective
performance, adequate funding and operator staffing and training, and adequate
laboratory and process controls including appropriate quality assurance
procedures. This provision requires the operation of back-up or auxiliary
facilities or similar systems only when necessary to achieve compliance with
the conditions of the permit.
(F) A
stipulation that the filing of a request by the permittee, or at the
instigation of the administrator, for a permit modification, revocation,
termination, or notification of planned changes or anticipated non-compliance,
shall not stay any permit condition.
(G) A stipulation that this permit does not
convey any property rights of any sort, or any exclusive privilege.
(H) A stipulation that the permittee shall
furnish to the administrator, within a specified time, any information which
the administrator may request to determine whether cause exists for modifying,
revoking and reissuing, or terminating the permit, or to determine compliance
with the permit. The permittee shall also furnish to the administrator, upon
request, copies of records required to be kept by the permit.
(I) A requirement that the permittee shall
allow the administrator, or an authorized representative of the administrator,
upon the presentation of credentials, during normal working hours, to enter the
premises where a regulated facility is located, or where records are kept under
the conditions of this permit, and inspect the discharge and related
facilities, review and copy reports and records required by the permit, collect
fluid samples for analysis, measure and record water levels, and perform any
other function authorized by law or regulation.
(J) A requirement that the permittee furnish
any information necessary to establish a monitoring program pursuant to Section
15 of this chapter.
(K) A requirement that all samples and
measurements taken for the purpose of monitoring shall be representative of the
monitored activity, and records of all monitoring information be retained by
the permittee. The monitoring information to be retained shall be that
information stipulated in the monitoring program established pursuant to the
criteria in Section
15 of this chapter.
(L) A requirement that all applications,
reports, and other information submitted to the administrator contain
certifications as required in Section 6(f) (xv) of this chapter, and be signed
by a person who meets the requirements to sign permit applications found in
Section 6(f) (xiv), or for routine reports, a duly authorized
representative;
(M) A requirement
that the permittee give advance notice to the administrator as soon as possible
of any planned physical alteration or additions, other than authorized
operation and maintenance, to the permitted facility and receive authorization
prior to implementing the proposed alteration or addition.
(N) A requirement that any modification which
may result in a violation of a permit condition shall be reported to the
administrator, and any modification that will result in a violation of a permit
condition shall be reported to the administrator through the submission of a
new or amended permit application.
(O) A requirement that any transfer of a
permit must first be approved by the administrator, and that no transfer will
be approved if the facility is not in compliance with the existing permit
unless the proposed permittee agrees to bring the facility into
compliance.
(P) A requirement that
monitoring results shall be reported at the intervals specified elsewhere in
the permit.
(Q) A requirement that
reports of compliance or non-compliance with, or any progress reports on
interim and final requirements contained in any compliance schedule, if one is
required by the administrator, shall be submitted no later than thirty (30)
days following each schedule date.
(R) A requirement that confirmed
noncompliance resulting in the migration of injected fluid into any zone
outside of the permitted receiver must be orally reported to the administrator
within 24 hours, and a written submission shall be provided within five (5)
days of the time the permittee becomes aware of the excursion. The written
submission shall contain:
(I) A description
of the noncompliance and its cause.
(II) 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
(III) Steps taken or planned to reduce,
eliminate, and prevent reoccurrence of the noncompliance.
(S) A requirement that the permittee report
all instances of noncompliance not already required to be reported under
paragraphs (h) (iii) (P) through (R) of this section, at the time monitoring
reports are submitted. The reports shall contain the information listed in
paragraph (h) (iii) (R) of this section.
(T) A requirement that in the situation where
the permittee becomes aware that it failed to submit any relevant facts in a
permit application, or submitted incorrect information in a permit application
or in any report to the administrator, the permittee shall promptly submit such
facts or information.
(U) A
requirement that the injection facility meet construction requirements outlined
in Section
10 of this chapter, and that the permittee
submit notice of completion of construction to the administrator and allow for
inspection of the facility upon completion of construction, prior to commencing
any injection activity.
(V) A
requirement that the permittee notify the administrator at such times as the
permit requires before conversion or abandonment of the facility.
(W) A requirement that an abandonment report,
detailing the compliance abandonment procedures outlined in the original permit
application, or describing any deviations from the original plan, be submitted
as soon as practicable after abandonment, and is complete.
(X) A requirement that injection may not
commence until construction is complete.
(Y) In addition to the conditions required of
all permits, the administrator may establish, on a case-by-case basis,
conditions as required for monitoring, schedules of compliance, and such
additional conditions as are necessary to prevent the migration of fluids into
underground sources of drinking water.
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