| injection pressure does not
initiate new fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection
zone(s). In no case may injection pressure initiate fractures in the
confining zone(s) or cause the movement of injection or formation
fluids that endangers a USDW. The director may approve a plan for
controlled artificial fracturing of the injection zone.
(D) The operator must fill the annulus between the
tubing and the long string casing with a corrosion inhibiting fluid
approved by the director. The owner or operator must maintain on the
annulus a pressure that exceeds the operating injection pressure,
unless the director determines that such requirement might harm the
integrity of the well or endanger USDWs.
(E) The operator must install and use continuous recording
devices to monitor the injection pressure, and the rate, volume, and
temperature of the CO2 stream. The operator
must monitor the pressure on the annulus between the tubing and the
long string casing. The operator must continuously record, continuously
monitor, or control by a preset high-low pressure sensor switch the
wellhead pressure of each injection well.
(F) The operator must comply with the following requirements
for alarms and automatic shut-off systems.
(i) The operator must install and use alarms and automatic
shut-off systems designed to alert the operator and shut-in the well
when operating parameters such as annulus pressure, injection rate
or other parameters diverge from permitted ranges and/or gradients.
On offshore wells, the automatic shut-off systems must be installed
down-hole.
(ii) If an automatic shutdown is triggered or a loss
of mechanical integrity is discovered, the operator must immediately
investigate and identify as expeditiously as possible the cause. If,
upon investigation, the well appears to be lacking mechanical integrity,
or if monitoring otherwise indicates that the well may be lacking
mechanical integrity, the operator must:
(I) immediately cease injection;
(II) take all steps reasonably necessary to determine
whether there may have been a release of the injected CO2 stream into any unauthorized zone;
(III) notify the director as soon as practicable, but
within 24 hours;
(IV) restore and demonstrate mechanical integrity to
the satisfaction of the director prior to resuming injection; and
(V) notify the director when injection can be expected
to resume.
(e) Permit conditions for monitoring, sampling, and
testing requirements.
(1) The operator of an anthropogenic CO2 injection well must maintain and comply with
the approved monitoring, sampling, and testing plan to verify that
the geologic storage facility is operating as permitted and that the
injected fluids are confined to the injection zone.
(2) All permits shall include the following requirements:
(A) the proper use, maintenance, and installation of
monitoring equipment or methods;
(B) monitoring including type, intervals, and frequency
sufficient to yield data that are representative of the monitored
activity including, when required, continuous monitoring;
(C) reporting no less frequently than as specified
in §5.207 of this title (relating to Reporting and Record-Keeping).
(3) The director may require additional monitoring
as necessary to support, upgrade, and improve computational modeling
of the AOR evaluation and to determine compliance with the requirement
that the injection activity not allow movement of fluid that would
endanger USDWs.
(4) The director may require measures and actions designed
to minimize and respond to risks associated with potential seismic
events, including seismic monitoring.
(5) The operator shall comply with the following monitoring
and record retention requirements.
(A) Samples and measurements taken for the purpose
of monitoring shall be representative of the monitored activity.
(B) The permittee shall retain records of all monitoring
information, including the following:
(i) calibration and maintenance records and all original
strip chart recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation,
copies of all reports required by the permit, and records of all data
used to complete the permit application, for a period of at least
ten years from the date of the sample, measurement, report, or application.
This period may be extended by the director at any time; and
(ii) the nature and composition of all injected fluids
until ten years after the completion of any plugging and abandonment
procedures specified in §5.203(k)(2) of this title for the injection
wells. The director may require the operator to submit the records
to the director at the conclusion of the retention period. This period
may be extended by the director at any time.
(C) Records of monitoring information shall include:
(i) the date, exact place, and time of sampling or
measurements;
(ii) the individuals who performed the sampling or
measurements;
(iii) the dates analyses were performed;
(iv) the individuals who performed the analyses;
(v) the analytical techniques or methods used; and
(vi) the results of such analyses.
(D) Operators of Class VI wells shall retain records
as specified in this subchapter.
(f) Permit conditions for mechanical integrity.
(1) The operator must maintain and comply with the
approved mechanical integrity testing plan submitted in accordance
with §5.203(j) of this title.
(2) The operator must establish mechanical integrity
prior to commencing injection. Thereafter, other than during periods
of well workover in which the sealed tubing-casing annulus is of necessity
disassembled for maintenance or corrective procedures, the operator
must maintain mechanical integrity of the injection well at all times.
(3) If the director determines that the injection well
lacks mechanical integrity, the director shall give written notice
of the director's determination to the operator. Unless the director
requires immediate cessation, the operator shall cease injection into
the well within 48 hours of receipt of the director's determination.
The director may allow plugging of the well or require the permittee
to perform such additional construction, operation, monitoring, reporting
and corrective action as is necessary to prevent the movement of fluid
into or between USDWs caused by the lack of mechanical integrity.
The operator may resume injection upon written notification of the
director's determination that the operator has demonstrated the well
has mechanical integrity.
(4) The operator must either repair and successfully
retest or plug a well that fails a mechanical integrity test. However,
the director may allow the operator of a well which lacks internal
mechanical integrity because there is a leak in the casing, tubing,
or packer to continue or resume injection if the operator has made
a satisfactory demonstration that there is no movement of fluid into
or between USDWs.
(5) The director may require additional or alternative
tests if the results presented by the operator do not demonstrate
to the director that there is no significant leak in the casing, tubing,
or packer or movement of fluid into or between formations containing
USDWs resulting from the injection activity.
(g) Permit conditions for AOR and corrective action.
At the frequency specified in the approved AOR and corrective action
plan or permit, and whenever warranted by a material change in the
monitoring and/or operational data or in the evaluation of the monitoring
and operational data by the operator, but no less frequently than
every five years, the operator of a geologic storage facility also
must:
(1) perform a re-evaluation of the AOR by performing
all of the actions specified in §5.203(d)(1)(A) - (C) of this
title to delineate the AOR;
(2) identify all wells in the re-evaluated AOR that
require corrective action;
(3) perform corrective action on wells requiring corrective
action in the re-evaluated AOR in the same manner specified in §5.203(d)(1)(C)
of this title;
(4) submit an amended AOR and corrective action plan
or demonstrate to the director through monitoring data and modeling
results that no change to the AOR and corrective action plan is needed.
Any amendments to the AOR and corrective action plan must be approved
by the director, must be incorporated into the permit, and are subject
to the permit modification requirements at §5.202 of this title
(relating to Permit Required, and Draft Permit and Fact Sheet), as
applicable; and
(5) retain all modeling inputs and data used to support
AOR reevaluations for at least 10 years.
(h) Permit conditions for emergency, mitigation, and
remedial response.
Cont'd... |
