Louisiana Administrative Code › Title 43 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Part XVII - Office of Conservation-Injection and Mining › Subpart 5 - Statewide Order No. 29-M-3 › Chapter 33 - Class III (Solution-Mining) Injection Wells › Section XVII-3317 - Well Construction and Completion

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 6, June 20, 2024
A. General Requirements
1. All materials and equipment used in the
				  construction of the solution-mining well and related appurtenances shall be
				  designed and manufactured to exceed the operating requirements of the specific
				  project. Consideration shall be given to depth and lithology of all subsurface
				  geologic zones, corrosiveness of formation fluids, hole size, anticipated
				  ranges and extremes of operating conditions, subsurface temperatures and
				  pressures, type and grade of cement, and projected life of the solution-mining
				  well.
2. All solution-mining wells
				  and caverns shall be designed, constructed, completed, and operated to prevent
				  the escape of injected materials out of the salt stock, into or between
				  underground sources of drinking water, or otherwise create or cause pollution
				  or endanger the environment or public safety. All phases of design,
				  construction, completion, and testing shall be prepared and supervised by
				  qualified personnel.
a. Where injection is
				  into a formation which contains water with less than 10,000 mg/l TDS,
				  monitoring wells shall be completed into the injection zone and into any
				  underground sources of drinking water above the injection zone which could be
				  affected by the mining operation. These wells shall be located in such a
				  fashion as to detect any excursion of injected fluids, process by-products, or
				  formation fluids outside the mining area or zone. If the operation may be
				  affected by subsidence or catastrophic collapse the monitoring wells shall be
				  located so that they will not be physically affected.
b. Where injection is into a formation which
				  does not contain water with less than 10,000 mg/l TDS, no monitoring wells are
				  necessary in the injection stratum.
c. Where the injection well penetrates an
				  underground source of drinking water in an area subject to subsidence or
				  catastrophic collapse an adequate number of monitoring wells shall be completed
				  into the USDW to detect any movement of injected fluids, process by-products or
				  formation fluids into the USDW. The monitoring wells shall be located outside
				  the physical influence of the subsidence or catastrophic collapse.
d. In determining the number, location,
				  construction and frequency of monitoring of the monitoring wells the following
				  criteria shall be considered:
i. the
				  population relying on the USDW affected or potentially affected by the
				  injection operation;
ii. the
				  proximity of the injection operation to points of withdrawal of drinking
				  water;
iii. the local geology and
				  hydrology;
iv. the operating
				  pressures and whether a negative pressure gradient is being
				  maintained;
v. the nature and
				  volume of the injected fluid, the formation water, and the process by-products;
				  and
vi. the injection well
				  density.