Current through September 21, 2024
(a) The underground
disposal of fresh water or of salt water, brackish water, or other water unfit
for domestic, livestock, irrigation, or other general uses, is permitted only
upon order of the Commission or approval of the Supervisor, obtained pursuant
to an application therefore filed in accordance with Chapter 5, Rules of
Practice and Procedure, as amended herein. Orders authorizing disposal wells
shall remain valid unless revoked by the Commission for just cause. In
addition, there is assessed a seventy-five dollar ($75.00) annual fee on all
new and old disposal wells.
(i) No later than
January 1, 2005, disposal wells shall be equipped with operable pressure
gauges, calibrated at all times to industry standards and manufacturer's
specifications for the instrument used, on the tubing and on the casing-tubing
annulus, or set up in such a way that the company representative can connect
gauges to the well to determine pressure on the tubing and casing-tubing
annulus. Accurate gauges shall also be placed on any other annuluses as deemed
necessary by the Supervisor. Variances may be administratively approved for
good cause shown.
(b)
Disposal Well Permits. The applicant shall demonstrate by
compliance with Chapter 3, Section 22 of these rules that the proposed disposal
operation will not endanger fresh water sources. Disposal wells shall be cased
and the casing cemented in such a manner that damage will not be caused to oil,
gas, or fresh water sources.
(c)
The application to dispose of salt water, brackish water, or other water unfit
for domestic, livestock, irrigation, or other general uses shall include:
(i) A plat showing the location of the
disposal well or wells, including abandoned and drilling wells and dry holes,
and the names of all lease Operators or Owners and surface owners within a
one-half (1/2) mile radius from the proposed disposal well or wells;
(ii) An affidavit showing that said lease
Operators or Owners and surface owners within a one-half (1/2) mile radius have
been provided a copy of the application for disposal;
(iii) The names, description, and depth of
the formation into which water is to be injected, including a mechanical log of
the proposed disposal well or wells if one is available;
(iv) A description of the casing in the
disposal well or wells, or the proposed casing program and the proposed method
for testing casing before use of the disposal well or wells;
(v) A statement specifying the source of
water to be injected;
(vi) The
estimated minimum and maximum amount of water to be injected daily;
(vii) The average and maximum disposal
pressure;
(viii) Evidence and data
to support a Commission finding that the proposed disposal well will not
initiate fractures through the overlying strata or confining zone which could
enable the injection fluid or formation fluid to enter the fresh water
strata;
(ix) Standard laboratory
analysis of the water to be disposed and the water in the formation into which
disposal is taking place. The method of water analysis is subject to review by
the commission or Supervisor. Water Analysis Report (Form 17) illustrates the
minimum parameters for which water must be analyzed. Other reporting formats
which include this minimum information may be accepted;
(x) A reference to the Commission order
exempting the aquifer that is to receive the injected fluid;
(xi) The applicant shall provide for a
one-quarter (1/4) mile radius of investigation for mechanical conditions of all
wells which have penetrated the disposal zone surrounding a proposed disposal
well. Specifically known and documented geological features may limit the need
to review all wells within the one-quarter (1/4) mile radius;
(xii) The depth and areal extent of all
usable fresh and potable water (USDW) underlying the area proposed for
exemption;
(xiii) An Operator or
Owner who files an application for approval of a disposal well which is within
a one-half (1/2) mile radius of a well producing from the proposed disposal
zone shall give notice of the application to the royalty and overriding royalty
interest owners within said radius unless the wells are located within a
unit.
(d)
Disposal
Well Integrity Demonstrations. For the purpose of this rule, a
mechanical integrity test of an injection well is a test designed to determine:
if there is a significant leak in the casing, tubing, or packer of the well,
and if there is significant fluid movement into an underground source of
drinking water through vertical channels adjacent to the wellbore.
(i) Mechanical integrity must be established
by the Owner or Operator no less than once every five (5) years. A mechanical
integrity test shall include one of the following tests to determine whether
significant leaks are present in the casing, tubing, or packer:
(A) The Owner or Operator may test the
casing-tubing annulus above the packer at the greater of a minimum pressure of
300 psi or a pressure equivalent to the maximum injection pressure, but no
higher than 1,000 psi. For the purpose of pressure testing, packers or bridge
plugs must be set within one hundred feet (100') of perforations. A retrievable
bridge plug may be utilized in casing to test tubingless completions.
Owners/Operators must provide the Commission staff the opportunity to witness
all integrity tests. In the event a representative of the Commission is unable
to witness the test, the Owner or Operator is required to provide documentation
of the test to the Commission; or
(B) As an alternative to the pressure test,
the Owner or Operator may use any test or combination of tests approved by
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
(ii) The initial mechanical integrity test
for all disposal wells shall include one of the following tests to determine
whether there are significant fluid movements in vertical channels adjacent to
the well bore:
(A) Cementing records which
shall only be valid for disposal wells in existence prior to present
date;
(B) Tracer surveys;
(C) Cementing records with a cement bond log
or other acceptable cement evaluation log;
(D) Temperature surveys; or,
(E) In lieu of (A) through (D), any other
test or combination of tests approved by EPA.
(iii) As provided in Chapter 2, Section
6, if normal testing, surveys, or monitoring
schedules provide inconclusive proof of mechanical reliability, the Commission
shall require that other appropriate logs or additional well tests be
performed.
(iv) All disposal wells
are required to maintain mechanical integrity as defined by these rules. Any
well which fails a mechanical integrity test, or which has been determined
through other means to not have mechanical integrity, is required to be shut-in
immediately. Once a disposal well is determined to lack mechanical integrity,
within ninety (90) days of the determination, it must be repaired and retested
or plugged and abandoned. For just cause, in order to continue disposal
operations or to extend the deadlines for repairing or plugging wells, Owners
or Operators may request variances. These requests must demonstrate that the
leaks do not pose a threat to any underground sources of drinking
water.
(e) New Owners
are obligated to carry out previously approved programs in the manner
originally approved. Change of ownership must be filed in accordance with
Chapter 3, Section
14 of these rules.
(f) Modifications or variations of existing
or pending disposal operations may be approved by the Supervisor under Chapter
3, Section
10 of these rules, upon application
containing sufficient detail for the Supervisor to evaluate the proposed
modification. Permits for remedial work under this section are only valid for
ninety (90) days but can be extended on request by filing a Sundry Notice (Form
4) with the Supervisor assuming there has been no change in geologic,
regulatory, or environmental situations. No such variance shall be approved
unless the applicant proves to the Supervisor or the Commission that the
variance will not endanger fresh water.
(g) The Commission shall publish notice of
the disposal application fifteen (15) days before approval in a newspaper in
general circulation in Natrona County, and a newspaper of general circulation
in the county in which the disposal well is located.
(h) Disposal operations must commence within
one (1) year of the approval date of the disposal application or the approval
shall be null and void.
