Indiana Administrative Code › Title 312 - NATURAL RESOURCES COMMISSION › Article 29 - OIL AND GAS › Rule 32 - Management of Naturally Occurring Radioactive Material (NORM) › Section 32-4 - Authorized disposal methods

Current through July 10, 2024
Authority: IC 14-10-2-4; IC 14-37-3
Affected: IC 14-37
Sec. 4.
(a) This
				section authorizes the methods for disposing of NORM waste or NORM-contaminated
				equipment without prior authorization from the division, provided written
				notice is received by the division at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to
				commencing the disposal operation. The notice shall indicate the method
				proposed for the disposal of the NORM waste and NORM-contaminated
				equipment.
(b) An owner or operator
				may dispose of oil and gas NORM waste and NORM-contaminated equipment by
				placing it between plugs in a well that is being plugged and abandoned,
				provided the following:
(1) The surface owner
				of the lease or unit where the disposal occurs provides written consent for the
				disposal.
(2) The oil and gas NORM
				waste or NORM-contaminated equipment is placed in the well at a depth of at
				least two hundred fifty (250) feet below the base of the lowermost underground
				source of drinking water.
(3) If
				the oil and gas NORM waste or NORM-contaminated equipment is encased in a
				tubing string, or if the NORM-contaminated equipment is a tubing string, the
				tubing must:
(A) be placed, not dropped, in
				the well; and
(B) be equipped with
				an assembly that allows for retrieval unless the string is secured in
				cement.
(4) A cement plug
				shall be set immediately above the oil and gas NORM waste or NORM-contaminated
				equipment and the plug shall be either:
(A)
				above a cement retainer;
(B) above
				a cast iron bridge plug; or
(C)
				tagged to locate its position.
(5) The cement of the surface plug shall be
				color dyed with red iron oxide.
(6)
				A permanent marker depicting the three-bladed radiation symbol, without regard
				to color, shall be welded to the steel plate at the top of the well
				casing.
(7) The owner or operator
				shall include the following information on the plan for well plugging submitted
				to the division under
				312 IAC 29-33:
(A) The physical nature of the oil and gas
				NORM waste or NORM-contaminated equipment.
(B) The volume of oil and gas NORM waste or
				NORM-contaminated equipment.
(C)
				The radioactivity level of the oil and gas NORM waste, in pCi/g of Radium-226
				combined with Radium-228 and any other NORM radionuclides for soil or other
				media (such as pipe scale, contaminated soil, basic sediment), or in
				µR/hr for NORM-contaminated equipment (such as pipes, pumps, and
				valves).
(D) The owner or operator
				of the lease, unit, or facility at which oil and gas NORM waste and
				NORM-contaminated equipment was generated.
(E) The source of the oil and gas NORM waste
				and NORM-contaminated equipment by field, lease unit, or facility, and
				producing formation.
(F) If the oil
				and gas NORM waste and NORM-contaminated equipment is to be encased in tubing,
				the owner or operator shall include the following information:
(i) The size, grade, weight per foot, and
				outside diameter of the tubing.
(ii) The subsurface depth of both the top and
				bottom of the tubing.
(iii) The
				diameter of the retrieval assembly.
(iv) Whether the tubing is free in the hole
				or is secured by cement, a bridge plug, or a cement retainer.