| (17) Notice of conversion or abandonment. The operator
shall notify the commission at such times as the permit requires before
conversion or abandonment of the well.
(18) Plugging. Within one year after cessation of brine
mining injection operations, the operator shall plug the well in accordance
with §3.14(a) and (c)(h) of this title (relating to Plugging)
(Rule 14(a) and (c) - (h)). For good cause, the director may grant
a reasonable extension of time in which to plug the well if the operator
submits a proposal that describes actions or procedures to ensure
that the well will not endanger fresh water during the period of the
extension.
(g) Other permit conditions. In addition to the conditions
required in all permits, the commission will establish conditions,
as required on a case-by-case basis, to provide for and assure compliance
with the requirements specified in this subsection.
(1) Duration. Permits will be effective for a term
up to the operating life of the facility. The commission will review
each permit issued pursuant to this section at least once every five
years to determine whether cause exists for modification, revocation
and reissuance, or termination of the permit.
(2) Operating requirements. Permits will prescribe
operating requirements, which will at a minimum specify that:
(A) except during well stimulation, injection pressure
at the wellhead may not exceed a maximum calculated to assure that
the injection pressure does not initiate new fractures or propagate
existing fractures in the injection zone; and
(B) in no case may the injection pressure initiate
fractures in the confining zone or cause the escape of injection or
formation fluids from the injection zone.
(3) Monitoring requirements. Permits will specify the
following monitoring requirements:
(A) requirements concerning the proper use, maintenance,
and installation, when appropriate, of monitoring equipment or methods;
(B) requirements concerning the type, intervals, and
frequency of monitoring sufficient to yield data representative of
the monitored activity, including continuous monitoring when appropriate;
and
(C) requirements to report monitoring results with
a frequency dependent on the nature and effect of the monitored activity,
but in no case less than quarterly.
(4) Construction requirements. Permits will specify
construction requirements to assure that the injection operations
will not endanger fresh water. Changes in construction requirements
during construction may be approved by the director as minor modifications
of the permit. No such changes may be physically incorporated into
the construction of the well prior to approval of the modifications
by the director.
(A) An existing brine mining injection well shall achieve
compliance with the construction requirements according to a compliance
schedule established as soon as possible and in no case later than
one year after the effective date of the permit. The permit will require
the operator to submit a written compliance report within 30 days
after compliance has been achieved.
(B) A new brine mining injection well must be cased
and cemented in accordance with §3.13 of this title (relating
to Casing, Cementing, Drilling, and Completion Requirements), (Rule
13), provided, however, that the operator shall set and cement surface
casing in accordance with the letter obtained from the Groundwater
Advisory Unit of the Oil and Gas Division pursuant to subsection (d)(4)(I)
of this section regardless of the total depth of the well. No alternative
program for setting less surface casing will be authorized.
(C) Appropriate logs and other tests must be conducted
during the drilling and construction of a new brine mining injection
well. A descriptive report interpreting the results of such logs and
tests must be prepared by a knowledgeable log analyst and submitted
to the director. The logs and tests appropriate to each well will
be determined based on the depth, construction, and other characteristics
of the well, the availability of similar data in the area, and the
need for additional information that may arise from time to time as
the construction of the well progresses.
(5) Financial responsibility. It shall be a permit
condition that the operator maintain financial responsibility and
resources to plug and abandon the brine mining injection well. The
operator shall show evidence of such financial responsibility to the
commission by submitting a surety bond or letter of credit in a form
prescribed by the commission. Such bond or letter of credit shall
be maintained until the well is plugged in accordance with subsection
(f)(18) of this section.
(6) Corrective action. For all known wells that penetrate
the injection zone within a 1/4 mile radius of the brine mining injection
well and are improperly completed, plugged, or abandoned, the commission
will consider requiring corrective action to prevent movement of fluid
into fresh water strata.
(A) In determining the need for corrective action,
the commission will consider the following factors: nature and volume
of injected fluid; nature of native fluids; potentially affected population;
geology; hydrology; history of the injection operation; completion
and plugging records; abandonment procedures in effect at the time
a well was abandoned; and hydraulic connections with fresh water.
(B) For an existing brine mining injection well requiring
corrective action, any permit issued will include a compliance schedule
leading to compliance with corrective action requirements. The compliance
schedule will require compliance as soon as possible and in no case
later than one year after the effective date of the permit. The permit
will require the operator to submit a written compliance report within
30 days after all required corrective action has been taken.
(C) For a new brine mining injection well, the operator
may not begin injection operations until all required corrective action
has been taken.
(h) Modification, revocation and reissuance, and termination
of permits. A permit may be modified, revoked and reissued, or terminated
by the commission either upon the written request of any interested
person, including the operator, or upon the commission's initiative,
but only for the reasons and under the conditions specified in this
subsection. Except for minor modifications made under paragraph (2)
of this subsection, the commission will follow the applicable procedures
in subsection (i) of this section. In the case of a modification,
the commission may request additional information or an updated application.
In the case of a revocation and reissuance, the commission will require
a new application. If a permit is modified, only the conditions subject
to modification are reopened. The term of a permit may not be extended
by modification. If a permit is revoked and reissued, the entire permit
is reopened and subject to revision, and the permit is reissued for
a new term.
(1) Modification, or revocation and reissuance. The
following are causes for modification, or revocation and reissuance:
(A) material and substantial alterations or additions
to the facility occurred after permit issuance and justify permit
conditions that are different or absent in the existing permit;
(B) the commission receives new information;
(C) the standards or regulations on which the permit
was based have been changed by promulgation of amended standards or
regulations or by judicial decision after the permit was issued;
(D) the commission determines good cause exists for
modifying a compliance schedule, such as a act of God, strike, flood,
materials shortage, or other event over which the operator has little
or no control and for which there is no reasonably available remedy;
(E) cause exists for terminating a permit under paragraph
(3) of this subsection, and the commission determines that modification,
or revocation and reissuance, is appropriate; or
(F) a transfer of the permit is proposed.
(2) Minor modifications. With the operator's consent,
the director may make minor modifications to a permit administratively,
without following the procedures of subsection (i) of this section.
Minor modifications may only:
(A) correct clerical or typographical errors, or clarify
any description or provision in the permit, provided that the description
or provision is not changed substantively;
(B) require more frequent monitoring or reporting;
(C) change construction requirements provided that
any changes shall comply with the requirements of subsection (g)(4)
of this section; or
Cont'd... |
