Iowa Administrative Code › Agency 567 - Environmental Protection Commission › Title II - Air Quality › Division C › Chapter 55 - Aquifer Storage and Recovery: Criteria and Conditions for Authorizing Storage, Recovery, and Use of Water › Rule 567-55.6 - Aquifer Storage and Recovery Technical Evaluation Criteria

Current through Register Vol. 47, No. 3, July 24, 2024
(1)
Requirements.
Injections
				  into aquifers for the purpose of treated water storage and subsequent
				  withdrawals from the receiving aquifers intended for potable uses shall be
				  subject to the following requirements:
a.
Aquifer pretesting.
Procurement of a limited registration for
				  aquifer pretesting as outlined in subrule 55.5(1). The limited registration
				  shall be for the period of one year and may be renewed for two additional
				  one-year periods, for a total cumulative registration time not to exceed three
				  years at the discretion of the department should the project require more than
				  one year to be completed. The limited registration shall allow initial aquifer
				  testing for determining the feasibility of aquifer storage and recovery,
				  including placement of pumping and storage/extraction equipment. The testing
				  approach shall be designed to provide information as needed to evaluate the
				  ultimate capacity anticipated for the ASR project and provide assurance that
				  the ASR site shall not restrict other uses of the aquifer. The testing program
				  shall include injection rates and schedules, water storage volumes, recovery
				  rates and schedule, and a final testing report.
b.
Engineering report.
An
				  engineering evaluation of the technical feasibility of the proposed water
				  injection and the probable percentage of recovery of treated water when pumped
				  for recovery shall be submitted to the department. The engineering report shall
				  include preliminary information from conceptual evaluations and aquifer
				  pretesting such as:
(1) Injection rates and
				  schedules,
(2) Water storage
				  volumes,
(3) The length of time the
				  injected water will be stored,
(4)
				  The projected recovery rate,
(5)
				  Water quality data necessary to demonstrate the percentage of recovered water
				  and that the water meets national drinking water standards,
(6) Water level monitoring data including the
				  location of observation wells, if any,
(7) A plan detailing what to do with the
				  recovered water if the intended use is not possible, and
(8) A final testing protocol.
If the report can demonstrate by field test results or by a
					 conceptual or mathematical hydrogeologic modeling that the injection, storage,
					 and subsequent recovery will not adversely affect nearby users, the ASR project
					 may be permitted after review by the department. A displacement zone containing
					 the stored volume ofwaterwillnotbe allowed if it adversely affects another
					 user's zone of influence. If the department finds through hydrogeologic
					 modeling or during pretesting that the proposed displacement zone may impact
					 the zone of influence of another user's existing well, additional testing will
					 be required. The department may require the applicant to construct observation
					 wells between the ASR site and nearby wells and may designate project-specific
					 monitoring and reporting requirements at the observation wells.
c.
Hydrogeologic evaluation.
Hydrogeologic investigation of the
				  site to evaluate potential quantitative and qualitative impacts to the aquifer,
				  including changes to localized aquifer geochemistry, shall be part of the
				  engineering report. Preliminary hydrogeologic information shall include:
(1) The local geology,
(2) A hydrogeologic flow model of the areal
				  flow patterns,
(3) A description of
				  the aquifer targeted for storage,
(4) Estimated flow direction and rate of
				  movement,
(5) Both permitted and
				  private wells within the area affected by ASR wells, including best estimates
				  of respective zones of influence,
(6) Basis for estimating the displacement
				  zone,
(7) Anticipated changes to
				  the receiving aquifer geochemistry due to the proposed ASR testing and use,
				  and
(8) Potable water quantity
				  recovery estimates.
d.
Protection of nearby existing water uses.
The aquifer storage
				  and recovery permit applicant shall demonstrate that the ASR site shall not
				  restrict other uses of the aquifer by nearby water use permittees. An ASR
				  applicant shall conduct and submit an inventory of nearby wells. The
				  department, after considering the rate and amount of the ASR injections and
				  withdrawals and the characteristics of the aquifer, will determine the extent
				  of the inventory and the appropriate radius from the proposed ASR site. The
				  department shall provide a map specifying the area in which the inventory is
				  needed and forms specifying information to be gathered. The ASR permit
				  applicant shall make a good-faith effort in obtaining available information
				  from public records to identify nearby landowners and occupants and from
				  drilling contractors identified by a landowner or occupant who responds to the
				  inventory. The ASR applicant shall immediately notify the department of all
				  objections raised by nearby landowners or other on-site problems such as the
				  structural integrity of the injection equipment. Well interference conflicts
				  arising from the proposed ASR site/project shall be resolved as outlined in
				  567-Chapter 54 or as otherwise specified by the department. Water recovery from
				  an ASR site will not be permitted to any user other than the ASR
				  permittee.
e.
MCL
				  exceedance limitation.
No permit shall allow injected water to contain
				  contaminants in excess of the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) established by
				  the department in 567-Chapters 40 to 43. Chemicals associated with disinfection
				  of the water may be injected into the aquifer up to the standards established
				  under 567-Chapters 40 to 43 or as otherwise specified by the
				  department.
f.
Reporting and
				  recordkeeping.
The permittee shall maintain a monthly record of
				  injection and recovery, including the total number of hours of injection and
				  recovery and the total metered quantity injected and recovered. The records
				  must be submitted to the department annually. Project records including water
				  quality testing records must be kept by the applicant for a period of five
				  years. Water quality monitoring shall be at the frequency required by
				  567-Chapters 40 to 43 and as identified in the water system's public water
				  supply operation permit. The applicant shall keep project records for a period
				  of three years after termination of an ASR project and closure of the recovery
				  wells.
g.
Follow-up
				  analysis by permittee.
Reserved.
h.
Vacating a permit for failure to
				  construct and nonuse.
The department may vacate the permit if the
				  applicant fails to construct injection and water pumpage/recovery and ancillary
				  equipment within three years of issuance of the permit (or subsequent permit
				  modifications or renewals). The permit may also be vacated if the applicant
				  does not use the storage system within three years of acquisition of the
				  permit. A site abandonment plan including the physical removal of injection and
				  water recovery equipment and the abandonment of all injection/recovery and
				  observation wells pursuant to 567-Chapter 39 will be required of the applicant
				  if the permit is vacated. A permittee whose permit is vacated may request a
				  formal review of the action. The permittee must submit a request for review in
				  writing to the director within 30 days of the date of notification of the final
				  decision made by the department. A decision by the director in a formal review
				  case may be further appealed to the environmental protection commission
				  (EPC).
i.
Mechanical
				  integrity.
Other conditions that are necessary to ensure adequate
				  protection of water supplies may be imposed for mechanical integrity checks of
				  the injection and treated water recovery well.
j.
Revocation.
The
				  department may revoke or modify a permit to prevent or mitigate injury to other
				  water users or otherwise protect aquifer water quality. The department may,
				  based upon valid scientific data, further restrict certain chemicals in the
				  injection source water if the department finds the constituents will interfere
				  with or pose a threat to the maintenance of the water resources of the state
				  for present or future beneficial uses.
k.
Nonpotable uses.
Reserved.