Code of Massachusetts Regulations › 310 CMR - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Title 310 CMR 46.00 - Certification Of Well Drillers And Filing Of Well Completion Reports › Section 46.01 - General

Current through Register 1525, July 5, 2024
(1)
Authority and
			 Purpose
. The Department of Environmental Protection (Department)
			 promulgates
			 310 CMR 46.00 pursuant to the
			 authority granted to it under M.G.L. c. 21G,§§ 14 and 20.
			 310 CMR 46.00, among other
			 things, establish the qualifications for certification, information to be filed
			 upon well completion, certification responsibilities, and criteria whereby a
			 certification can be revoked.
(2)
Definitions.
Abandoned Well
means productive or non
				productive well, use of which has been permanently discontinued or has been out
				of service at least three years, is no longer suitable or used for monitoring
				purposes, or is a potential hazard to public health or safety and the situation
				cannot be corrected, such as well construction terminated before
				completion.
Alteration
means changing the
				structural or hydraulic characteristics of a well, including well deepening,
				hydrofracturing, well casing extension, replacement, or repair.
Business of Well Drilling
means
				charging a fee or advertising for hire the availability to drill productive or
				nonproductive wells in Massachusetts. The term drilling shall include both
				digging and drilling.
Casing
means impervious durable pipe
				placed in a boring to prevent the walls from caving and to serve as a vertical
				conduit for water in the well.
Certified Well Driller
means an
				individual authorized by certification with the Department, or under the
				predecessor regulations, 313 CMR 3.00, by registration with the Department of
				Conservation and Recreation, to engage in the business and supervise the
				drilling, altering, or decommissioning of wells in Massachusetts, and who signs
				and submits the well completion report to the Department and the municipal
				board of health.
Commissioner
means the Commissioner of
				the Department of Environmental Protection.
Decommissioning
means plugging of an
				abandoned well so that it will not serve as a conduit for movement of water to
				or from the well or between water bearing zones.
Department
means the Department of
				Environmental Protection.
Drawdown
means extent of lowering of
				the water surface in a well resulting from discharge of water in the
				well.
Engage in the Business
means having a
				principal financial interest in the firm doing business.
Hydrofracturing
means the science of
				entering a dry or low yield water well with special mechanical or inflatable
				well packers, used in conjunction with high pressure volume pumps to inject
				water for cleaning out existing seams and breaking into new aquifers.
Immediate Field Supervision
means
				providing sufficient onsite direction to the drilling crew and oversight of the
				drilling operation to ensure compliance with state regulations, municipal
				codes, and permit requirements on well location, drilling operation, use of
				equipment, materials, personnel, and quality of workmanship. For productive
				wells, this includes making certain that any required municipal permit has been
				obtained and state dig-safe regulations are complied with before starting the
				drilling operation, as well as performing onsite supervision of drilling
				startup, setting of casing, installing the protective well seal, and testing
				for well yield. For nonproductive wells, this includes the certified well
				driller inquiring with the municipality about regulations, and either obtaining
				or ensuring that any required municipal permit is obtained before starting the
				drilling operation, making certain that state dig-safe regulations are complied
				with, and providing sufficient technical oversight to ensure that guidelines
				contained in the Department's Standard References for Monitoring Wells are
				followed.
Municipal Board of Health
means the
				municipal board established in compliance with M.G.L. c. 41,§ 21 and
				M.G.L. c. 111,§ 26. For purposes of
				310 CMR 46.00, board of
				health includes a department of health established pursuant to M.G.L. c.
				111,§§ 26A through 26E.
Nonproductive Well
means either a well
				not having sufficient water available for its intended use or a well used for
				groundwater monitoring purposes or any well installation tool which is left in
				the ground for more than 48 hours after the installation. Guidelines for
				locating, drilling, installing, sampling, and decommissioning monitoring wells
				are contained in the Department's Standard References for Monitoring
				Wells.
Productive Well
means a well having
				sufficient water available for its intended use.
Protective Well Seal
means device or
				arrangement which seals the annular space between casing and rock, or between
				casing and unconsolidated formations, to prevent pollutants from entering the
				well.
Recovery
means the time required after
				well pumping ceases for the water level in the well to rise to pre-pumping
				level.
Static Water Level
means the distance
				from established ground surface to the stabilized water surface in a well which
				is neither being pumped nor under the influence of pumping.
Well
or
Waterwell
means any hole or shaft constructed into the
				ground for the purpose of injecting or extracting water and other fluids, or to
				monitor groundwater levels and water quality. Not included are wells used on a
				temporary basis for the purpose of dewatering excavations, stabilizing
				hillsides or earth embankments, sampling soil vapors, or sampling groundwater
				if the installation tool is left in the ground less than 48 hours.
Well Completion
means a well for which
				well data required for the well completion report has been obtained and the
				drilling rig is moved off the site at the end of the drilling operation.
Well Driller
means any individual,
				corporation, company, association, trust, or partnership that drills,
				constructs, alters, or decommissions a well for a fee, or advertises for hire
				to provide such services in Massachusetts.
Well Drilling Rig
means any power
				driven, percussion, rotary, digging, jetting, direct push, vibrating,
				hydrofracturing, or augering machine used in the construction, alteration or
				decommissioning of a well.
Well Yield
means the smaller of two
				well test measurements to determine:
(a) gallons per minute of water discharged
			 while being pumped over a four hour period; and
(b) gallons per minute of water discharged
			 after a minimum of 1½ hours of well recovery.