New Jersey Administrative Code › Title 7 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 14A - NEW JERSEY POLLUTANT DISCHARGE ELIMINATION SYSTEM › Subchapter 8 - ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS FOR UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL (UIC) PROGRAM › Section 7:14A-8.15 - Specific operating criteria and construction standards applicable to Class III wells

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) This section
				establishes operating criteria and construction standards for Class III
				wells.
(b) Construction
				requirements for Class III wells are as follows:
1. Class III wells shall, at a minimum, be
				constructed in accordance with the requirements and specifications set forth in
				N.J.A.C. 7:9D. More stringent requirements shall be imposed, based on an
				evaluation of the nature of the injection fluid and/or of geological
				conditions, or where the Department otherwise determines that it is
				appropriate, based on considering potential impacts on ground water
				quality.
2. All new Class III wells
				shall be cased and cemented to prevent the migration of fluids into or between
				underground sources of drinking water. The casing and cement used in the
				construction of each newly drilled well shall be designed for the life
				expectancy of the well. In determining and specifying casing and cementing
				requirements, the following factors shall be considered:
i. Depth to the injection zone;
ii. Injection pressure, external pressure,
				internal pressure, and axial loading;
iii. Hole size;
iv. Size and grade of all casing strings
				(wall thickness, diameter, nominal weight, length, joint specifications, and
				construction material);
v.
				Corrosiveness of injected fluid, formation fluids and temperatures;
vi. Lithology of injection and confining
				zones; and
vii. Type and grade of
				cement.
3. Appropriate
				logs and other tests shall be conducted during the drilling and construction of
				new Class III wells. A descriptive report interpreting the results of such logs
				and tests shall be prepared by a qualified log analyst and submitted to the
				Department. The logs and tests appropriate to each type of Class III well shall
				be determined based on the intended function, depth, construction and other
				characteristics of the well, availability of similar data in the area of the
				drilling site and the need for additional information that may arise from time
				to time as the construction of the well progresses. At a minimum, such logs and
				tests shall include deviation checks conducted on all holes where pilot holes
				and reaming are used, at sufficiently frequent intervals to ensure that
				vertical avenues for fluid migration in the form of diverging holes are not
				created during drilling.
4. Where
				the injection zone is a water-bearing formation, the following information
				concerning the injection zone shall be determined or calculated for new Class
				III wells:
i. Fluid pressure;
ii. Temperature;
iii. Fracture pressure;
iv. Other physical and chemical
				characteristics of the injection zone;
v. Physical and chemical characteristics of
				the formation fluids; and
vi.
				Compatibility of injected fluids with formation fluids.
5. Where the injection zone is not a
				waterbearing formation, the information in (b)4 above shall be determined or
				calculated and submitted to the Department.
6. Where injection is into a formation which
				contains water with less than 10,000 mg/l total dissolved solids (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 so as to detect
				any excursion of injection 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.
7.
				Where injection is into a formation which does not contain water with less than
				10,000 mg/l TDS, monitoring requirements may be less stringent.
8. Where the injection wells penetrate an
				underground source of drinking water (USDW) in an area subject to subsidence or
				catastrophic collapse monitoring wells shall be installed into the USDW in
				sufficient numbers 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.
9. 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.