Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XIX - Office of Conservation-General Operations › Subpart 1 - Statewide Order No. 29-B › Chapter 4 - Pollution Control (Class II Injection/Disposal Well Regulations) › Section XIX-433 - Disposal of E and P Wastes by Slurry Fracture Injection

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. Applicability. The regulations in this
				  Section shall apply to all onsite or offsite Class II injection wells which
				  inject RCRA exempt E and P Waste at pressures which exceed the fracture
				  pressure of the injection interval.
B. Definitions
Confining Zone
- the impermeable geologic
					 formation that is located below the base of the USDW and which directly
					 overlies and is contiguous with the injection zone.
Containment Zone
-the geologic formation or
					 formations intended to serve as a barrier to fracture height growth, but
					 allowed to be partially penetrated by fractures created during authorized
					 injection. The containment zone directly overlies and is contiguous with the
					 injection interval.
Injection Interval
-the geological
					 formation targeted to receive the injected fluids. This interval is contained
					 within the injection zone.
Injection Zone
-that group of geologic
					 formations which extend from the bottom of the lowermost injection interval to
					 the top of the containment zone.
Slurry Fracture Injection
-a process by
					 which solid waste is ground, if necessary, and mixed with water or another
					 liquid. The resulting slurry is then deposited into fractures created in the
					 receiving formation by the hydraulic force of injection.
Source Water Protection Area
-the surface
					 and subsurface area surrounding a source of drinking water (a water well, a
					 well field, or a surface intake), supplying a public water system, through
					 which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach the source of
					 drinking water. The Source Water Protection Program is under the jurisdiction
					 of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals and the Louisiana
					 Department of Environmental Quality.
Zone of Endangering Influence
-a defined
					 area around an injection well, the radius of which is the lateral distance for
					 which the pressures in the injection interval(s) may cause the vertical
					 migration of injection and/or formation fluid out of the injection zone.
C. Application Requirements for Slurry
				  Fracture Injection Wells
1. Each application
				  for approval of a new slurry fracture injection well shall be filed on Form
				  UIC-2 SFI (or latest revision) and shall be developed under the supervision of
				  person(s) knowledgeable in all phases of slurry fracture injection permit
				  application preparation. The original, signed by the operator, and one copy of
				  the application with two complete sets of attachments shall be furnished to the
				  commissioner.
2. The application
				  for approval of a slurry fracture injection well shall be accompanied by:
a. a completed Form UIC-2 SFI (or latest
				  revision);
b. a completed Form
				  MD-10-R (or latest revision);
c. a
				  map showing the disposal well for which a permit is sought, the Area of Review
				  (AOR), and the following information:
i. the
				  number or name and location of all existing producing wells, injection wells,
				  abandoned wells, and dry holes within the AOR;
ii. identification of the surface owner of
				  the land on which disposal is to be located within the AOR;
iii. identification of each operator with a
				  producing leasehold within the AOR;
iv. surface bodies of water, mines (surface
				  and subsurface), quarries, water wells (public and private), public water
				  systems, and other pertinent surface features including residences and
				  roads;
d. a schematic of
				  the well showing:
i. the total depth, drilled
				  out depth or plugged back depth of the well;
ii. the depth of the top and bottom of the
				  perforated interval;
iii. the size
				  of the casing, borehole and tubing, and the depth of the packer and bottom hole
				  pressure sensor;
iv. the depths of
				  the tops and bottoms of the casings and the amounts, formulation, and yields of
				  the cement slurries used to cement each string of casing;
v. the depth of the base of the
				  USDW;
vi. the depths of the tops
				  and bottoms of the injection interval, the containment zone, the injection
				  zone, and confining zone;
e. if the well has been drilled, a copy of
				  the Well History and Work Resume Report (WH-1) and an electric log of the well.
				  In the case of undrilled wells, a descriptive statement of the proposed
				  injection interval giving its approximate depth, along with an electric log or
				  radioactivity log of a nearby well, if available;
f. maps and cross sections that detail the
				  local geology and hydrology. All maps shall be constructed on a 1:2000 scale
				  and contain a legend and a north arrow. All control points and fault cuts shall
				  be shown on all cross sections. At a minimum, the following maps and cross
				  sections shall be submitted:
i. isopach maps
				  of the injection interval or intervals, the containment zones, and the
				  confining zone;
ii. a structure map
				  of the top of the injection zone and confining zone;
iii. two structural cross sections
				  transecting the AOR and extending from below the base of the injection zone to
				  above the base of the USDW. The cross sections shall be at approximate right
				  angles and extend beyond the limits of the AOR;
iv. a regional map contoured on the base of
				  the USDW;
v. a map of all fault
				  planes within the AOR;
vi. any
				  other information required by the commissioner;
g. a tabulation of data on all wells that
				  penetrate the proposed confining zone. Such data shall include a description of
				  each well's type, construction, date drilled, location, depth, record of
				  plugging and/or completion, and any additional information the commissioner may
				  require;
h. a tabulation of all
				  freshwater wells of record within the AOR. Each freshwater well shall be
				  identified by owner, type of well, depth and current status of the well.
				  Include a laboratory analysis for pH, chloride (mg/l) and total dissolved
				  solids (mg/l) of a water sample from each freshwater well. A DEQ certified
				  laboratory must perform the required analyses. As deemed appropriate,
				  additional test parameters may be required by the commissioner;
i. the following proposed operating data
				  shall be submitted as part of the operator's application:
i. the average and maximum daily rate and
				  volume of slurry to be injected;
ii. the average and maximum injection
				  pressure;
iii. the proposed
				  injection procedures (including storage and pre-injection treatment of the
				  waste stream, and the well use schedule);
j. schematic or other appropriate drawings of
				  the surface (well head and related appurtenances) and subsurface construction
				  details of the system;
k.
				  construction procedures including cementing and casing program, logging
				  procedures, deviation checks, and a drilling, testing and coring
				  program;
l. description of the
				  bottom hole pressure sensor required in §433. G 4, which includes
				  installation procedures and equipment specifications;
m. detailed discussion of the logging and
				  testing programs required in §433 H;
n. a detailed description of the monitoring
				  program proposed in order to meet the requirements of §433. I and if
				  applicable, §433. E 4;
o.
				  contingency plans to cope with all shut-ins or well failures so as to prevent
				  the migration of fluids out of the injection zone;
p. for wells within the AOR (as defined in
				  §433. D) which penetrate the proposed confining zone, but are not properly
				  completed or plugged, the proposed corrective action to be taken under
				  §433 F;
q. any additional
				  information necessary to demonstrate that injection into the proposed injection
				  interval or intervals will not initiate fractures in the confining zone that
				  could allow fluid movement out of the injection zone, pursuant to §433 B
Confining Zone
.
r. any other information required by the
				  commissioner to evaluate the proposed well.
3. Unless the application is for a commercial
				  slurry fracture injection well and subject to the public notice requirements of
				  §519. A and §529, all applications for slurry fracture injection must
				  be advertised at least once by the applicant in a format acceptable to the
				  commissioner in the official state journal, in the official journal of the
				  affected parish and in the journal of general circulation in the area where the
				  proposed well is to be located, if different from the official parish journal.
				  Interested parties shall have at least 15 days to provide comments and/or
				  request a hearing.
4. Unless the
				  application is for a commercial slurry fracture injection well and subject to
				  the provisions for adequate closure in §519. C 14, all applications for
				  slurry fracture injection wells shall contain a closure plan cost estimate in a
				  format acceptable to the commissioner. If the well is permitted, the applicant
				  shall provide a bond, letter of credit, certificates of deposit issued by and
				  drawn on Louisiana banks, or any other evidence of equivalent financial
				  security acceptable to the commissioner. The amount of financial security will
				  be determined upon review of the closure cost estimate and will be reviewed
				  annually.