Code of Maryland Regulations › Title 26 - DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENT › Part 1 - SUBTITLES 01-07 › Subtitle 04 - REGULATION OF WATER SUPPLY, SEWAGE DISPOSAL, AND SOLID WASTE › Chapter 26.04.04 - Well Construction › Section 26.04.04.02 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 14, July 12, 2024
A. In this chapter,
				  the following terms have the meanings indicated.
B. Terms Defined
(1) "Abandonment" means to discontinue the
				  use of a well permanently.
(2)
				  "Annular space" means the space between casings or between the casing and
				  borehole.
(3) "Approving Authority"
				  means the Secretary of the Environment or the Secretary's designee.
(4) "Aquifer" means a formation, group of
				  formations, or part of a formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable
				  material to yield significant quantities of water to a well
(5) Bedrock.
(a) "Bedrock" means solid rock that underlies
				  gravel, soil or other superficial material.
(b) "Bedrock" also means in absolute terms
				  material that a 6-inch auger, equipped with carbide cutting teeth, penetrates
				  at a rate of less than 1 inch in 3 minutes.
(6) "Bentonite " means a colloidal clay
				  composed of at least 85 percent sodium montmorillonite.
(7) "Bored well" means any excavation made
				  using power driven equipment where the drill consists of a continuous spiral of
				  metal solid or hollow stem auger or bucket attached to a shaft and where the
				  excavated material is brought to the ground surface by upward movement along
				  the surface of the spiral or removed by lifting the spiral or bucket
(8) "Borehole" means a hole drilled or bored
				  into the earth, into which casing, screen, liners, grout, gravel pack and other
				  physical objects that may be installed to construct a well. The generalized
				  term includes the excavations for dug, driven, and jetted wells.
(9) "Casing" means any metal plastic or other
				  pipe installed from the surface to either the bedrock or screened aquifer in
				  the borehole.
(10) "Cathodic
				  protection well" means a well constructed to minimize the electrolytic
				  corrosion of metallic equipment that comes in contact with the ground
(11) "Cluster" means a group of wells that
				  are constructed for the same use on the same property.
(12) "Confined aquifer" means an aquifer that
				  is bounded above and below by beds of distinctly lower permeability than that
				  of the aquifer itself and contains ground water under pressure greater than
				  that of the atmosphere. This term is synonymous with the term "artesian
				  aquifer".
(13) "Confining layer"
				  means a body of impermeable or of distinctly less permeable material
				  stratigraphically adjacent to one or more aquifers.
(14) "Department" means the Department of the
				  Environment
(15) "Development"
				  means the process whereby a well is pumped, surged, bailed airlifted, swabbed,
				  or jetted to remove any material that may be blocking the well screen or
				  fractures within the borehole.
(16)
				  "Disinfection " means the inactivation or removal of those agents that may
				  cause infection.
(17) "Domestic
				  well" means a well used to supply potable water to one or more
				  dwellings.
(18) "Driven well" means
				  any well in which the casing is manually or mechanically driven into the ground
				  with little or no material excavated during well construction.
(19) "Dug well" means any well made using
				  only hand tools.
(20) "Emergency
				  condition " means:
(a) The lack of water poses
				  an immediate and significant danger to the health and welfare of persons,
				  livestock domestic fowl, or crops; or
(b) The Approving Authority has determined
				  that other exceptional circumstances exist
(21) "Geothermal well" means a well used to
				  transfer heat to or from the ground or ground water
(22) "Grout" or "grouting material" means a
				  stable, impervious bonding material that is reasonably free of shrinkage and is
				  capable of providing a watertight seal in the annular space throughout the
				  depth required
(23)
				  "Hydrofracturing" means a method of developing or reworking an existing well
				  whereby water is pumped down the borehole under pressure in an attempt to
				  increase the well's yield
(24)
				  "Industrial well" means a well used to supply water to an industrial or
				  commercial facility for use in processing, washing, or manufacturing of goods
				  and services.
(25) "Injection well"
				  means any hole made in the ground to inject fluids into any underground
				  formation from which ground water may be produced
(26) "Irrigation well" means a well that is
				  used for watering crops other than residential lawns and gardens.
(27) "Jetted well" means any well made using
				  water under pressure as a means of drilling or penetrating the
				  ground.
(28) "Jetted-driven well"
				  means a jetted well where the diameter of the excavation is less than the
				  diameter of the well casing used and the well casing is driven into the
				  excavation.
(29) "Liner" means a
				  pipe that is installed inside a completed and cased well or borehole to:
(a) Protect the integrity of the
				  borehole;
(b) Seal off zones of
				  undesirable quality;
(c) Repair
				  compromised casing or;
(d) Repair
				  compromised screens.
(30) "Monitoring well" means a permanent well
				  used for:
(a) Determining the water
				  table,
(b) Determining the
				  potentiometric surface of an aquifer,
(c) Obtaining a ground water sample,
				  or
(d) Ground water withdrawal for
				  remediation purposes.
(31) "Non-potable well" means a well that is
				  not used or intended to be used as a drinking water supply
(32) "Person" means the federal government,
				  the State, any county, municipal corporation, or other political subdivision of
				  the State, or any of their units, an individual receiver, trustee, guardian,
				  executor, administrator, fiduciary, or representative of any kind, or any
				  partnership, firm, association, public or private corporation, or any other
				  entity.
(33) "Piezometer" means a
				  nonpumping well of a temporary nature to measure water tables.
(34) "Pitless adapter" means a device
				  designed for attachment to the exterior of a well casing and equipped with
				  lateral connections designed for the attachment of pipes leading from the well
				  for purposes of conducting water to a distribution system and allowing
				  extension of well casing above grade.
(35) "Pitless unit" means a device designed
				  to replace a section of casing with lateral connections designed for the
				  attachment of pipes leading from the well for the purposes of conducting water
				  to a distribution system and allowing extension of well casing above
				  grade.
(36) "Pollution" means any
				  contamination or other alteration of the physical chemical, or biological
				  properties of any waters of the State, including a change in temperature,
				  taste, color, turbidity, or odor of the waters, or the discharge or deposit of
				  any organic matter, harmful organism, or liquid, gaseous, solid, radioactive,
				  or other substance into any waters of this State that will render the waters
				  harmful or detrimental to:
(a) Public health,
				  safety, or welfare;
(b) Domestic
				  commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate
				  beneficial uses;
(c) Livestock,
				  wild animals, or birds; or
(d) Fish
				  or other aquatic life.
(37) "Potable water" means water that is free
				  from impurities in amounts sufficient to cause disease or harmful physiological
				  effects and that conforms with the maximum contaminant levels as adopted by the
				  United States Environmental Protection Agency and listed in 40 CFR § 141,
				  Subpart G as amended.
(38) "Public
				  well" means a well that is used to supply water to a public water system as
				  defined in COMAR 26.04.01.
(39)
				  "Replacement well" means a well that is to replace any existing water
				  supply.
(40) Reworking.
(a) "Reworking" means the rehabilitation or
				  modification of a well.
(b)
				  "Reworking" includes but is not limited to:
(i) Removing and replacing well
				  screen;
(ii) Placing a new screen
				  in a well;
(iii) Placing liner pipe
				  in a well; and
(iv) Redevelopment
				  of a well.
(c)
				  "Reworking" does not include:
(i) Increasing
				  the diameter of a well; or
(ii)
				  Deepening of a well.
(41) "Standby well" means a water supply well
				  that is a backup to the primarily used water supply well which meets the
				  construction and potability standards of this chapter.
(42) "Test well" means a well used for the
				  purpose of exploring for ground water for a water supply and used to determine
				  aquifer properties.
(43)
				  "Unconfined aquifer" means an aquifer that is not bounded above by a bed of
				  distinctly lower permeability than that of the aquifer itself and contains
				  ground water under pressure approximately equal to that of the atmosphere. This
				  term is synonymous with the term "water table aquifer".
(44) "Variance" means a deviation from the
				  requirements of these regulations granted by the Department according to the
				  provisions of Regulation .37.
(45)
				  "Water supply well" means every type of well, except monitoring and closed loop
				  geothermal wells.
(46) "Well" means
				  a hole made in the ground:
(a) To explore for
				  ground water;
(b) To obtain or
				  monitor ground water;
(c) To inject
				  water into any underground formation from which ground water may be produced;
				  or
(d) To transfer heat to or from
				  the ground or ground water, if the hole:
(i)
				  Extends more than 20 feet below the surface of the ground; and
(ii) Is not a well for obtaining geothermal
				  resources under Environment Article, §
													5-601, Annotated Code of
				  Maryland.