Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 401 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET - DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 6 - Water Wells › Section 401 KAR 6:001 - Definitions for 401 KAR Chapter 6

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				223.400 - 223.460, 223.991
NECESSITY, FUNCTION, AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				224.10-100,
				224.70-100,
				and
				224.70-110
				authorize the cabinet to establish administrative regulations to protect water
				quality.
				KRS 223.420
				requires the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations to carry out the
				purposes of
				KRS
				223.405 through
				223.460.
				KRS 223.435 requires
				the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations establishing standards of
				practice for water well construction. This administrative regulation
				establishes definitions for terms used by the cabinet in 401 KAR Chapter
				6.
Section 1. Definitions.
(1) "Abandon" means to seal or plug a well or
			 borehole to prevent entry of surface water or contaminants and to prevent
			 mixing of water from different waterbearing formations.
(2) "Annular space" means the opening between
			 a well-bore or excavation and the well casing or between an outer casing pipe
			 and an inner casing pipe or liner pipe.
(3) "Aquifer" means a water-bearing formation
			 that transmits water in sufficient quantity to supply a well.
(4) "Base flood elevation" means the
			 elevation of surface water resulting from a flood that has a one (1) percent
			 chance of equaling or exceeding that level in any given year.
(5) "Bedrock" means a consolidated rock
			 exposed at the surface of the earth or overlain by unconsolidated materials or
			 soils.
(6) "Bentonite" means a clay
			 in the montmorillonite series with a predominance of sodium as its major
			 cation, having the property of expanding several times its original volume if
			 saturated, and used to seal or plug wells, well annuluses, and well
			 bores.
(7) "Board" is defined by
			 KRS
			 223.400(2).
(8) "Bridging" means the deliberate or
			 accidental closing or plugging of a section of a drill hole or annulus, beneath
			 which is an open borehole or unfilled annulus.
(9) "Certified well driller" means a person
			 who has met all requirements of
			 401
			 KAR 6:320 and to whom the cabinet has issued a well
			 driller certificate.
(10)
			 "Certified well driller assistant" means a person who has met all requirements
			 of
			 401
			 KAR 6:320 and to whom the cabinet has issued a well
			 driller assistant certificate.
(11)
			 "Confining layers" or "confining formation" means a zone of sufficiently low
			 permeability as to impede the vertical migration of groundwater.
(12) "Consolidated formation" means a
			 geological rock formation that has grains that are bonded together.
(13) "Construction":
(a) Means all acts necessary for obtaining
			 groundwater by wells, including drilling or excavation of the well and
			 installation or modification of casing; and
(b) Does not mean the installation of
			 permanent pumps and pumping equipment.
(14) "Direct supervision" means that a
			 certified water well driller oversees and manages the work of the water well
			 driller's assistant, including providing specific instruction regarding the
			 construction, modification, alteration, repair, and abandonment of a water
			 well, but the certified water well driller is not required to provide in-person
			 supervision at the drilling site.
(15)"Driller" means "water well driller" as
			 defined by
			 KRS
			 223.400(8).
(16) "Drilling derived waste" or "DDW" means
			 soils, drill cuttings, drilling fluids, product-contaminated water, and
			 decontamination rinsate.
(17)
			 "Finished ground surface" means the final or permanent elevation of the ground
			 surface at the site of the well or abandoned borehole.
(18) "Grout-pipe method" means that grout is
			 placed into the borehole or annulus from bottom to top via gravity flow or by
			 pumping through a pipe or funnel-like apparatus.
(19) "High solids sodium bentonite" means
			 bentonite containing a minimum of thirty (30) percent solids.
(20) "Impervious" means a material that will
			 not permit the passage of water at a rate greater than 1 x
			 10-7 centimeters per second (cm/sec).
(21) "Modification" means a change,
			 replacement, or alteration of the water well.
(22) "Monitoring well" means a well
			 constructed if the actual or intended use in whole or part is the removal of
			 water for sampling, measuring, treating, or pumping for scientific,
			 engineering, or regulatory purposes.
(23) "Perched" means a region in the
			 unsaturated zone separated from an underlying aquifer where the materials are
			 locally saturated because they overlie a confining layer.
(24) "Person" shall be defined by
			 KRS
			 223.400(5).
(25) "Pit" means a hole, shaft, or cavity in
			 the ground.
(26) "Pitless well
			 adapter" means a device designed for attachment to one (1) or more openings
			 through a well casing.
(27)
			 "Pitless well unit" means an assembly that extends from the upper end of the
			 well casing to above the finished ground surface.
(28) "Potable water" means water that
			 complies with the requirements of 401 KAR Chapter 8, the quality of which is
			 approved by the cabinet for human consumption.
(29) "Sealing materials" means neat cement,
			 cement-bentonite grout, or bentonite.
(30) "Special flood zone" means an area that
			 is subject to a one (1) percent or greater chance of flooding in any given
			 year.
(31) "Special well types"
			 means a well that is:
(a) Bored;
(b) Driven;
(c) Irrigation; or
(d) Radial collector.
(32) "Static water level" means the level at
			 which water stands in a well when water is not being taken from the aquifer
			 either by pumping or by free flow.
(33) "Unconsolidated formation" means a
			 loose-grained, non-lithified geological formation such as soil, sand, or
			 gravel.
(34) "Undesirable geologic
			 formation" means a geologic formation with physical characteristics or water
			 quality not conducive to the construction and use of a well.
(35) "Undesirable groundwater" means
			 groundwater not suitable for human or animal consumption, irrigation,
			 manufacturing process water, or cooling.
(36) "Water supply well" means "water well"
			 or "well" as defined by
			 KRS
			 223.400(7).
(37) "Water well driller's assistant" is
			 defined by
			 KRS
			 223.400(9).
(38) "Well unsuitable for its intended use"
			 means a well:
(a) The use of which has been
			 permanently discontinued;
(b) That
			 is in such a state of disrepair that it cannot be used to supply
			 groundwater;
(c) That presents a
			 health or safety hazard;
(d) From
			 which usable groundwater is not obtainable; or
(e) With boreholes that:
1. Are dry;
2. Have caved in; or
3. Are unsuitable for further development and
			 well construction.