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-8.10 - Establishing UIC permit conditions

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 14, July 15, 2024
(a) In addition to
				the conditions established under
				7:14A-6.3, each UIC permit is to
				include conditions meeting the following requirements, when applicable:
1. Construction requirements as set forth in
				7:14A-8.13, 8.14 or 8.15. Existing
				wells shall achieve compliance with such requirements according to a compliance
				schedule established as a permit condition. The owner or operator of a proposed
				new injection well shall submit plans for testing, drilling, and construction
				when applying for the permit. Construction shall not commence until a permit
				has been issued containing construction requirements (see
				7:14A-8.3 and
				58:4A-4.1 ). New wells shall be in
				compliance with these requirements prior to commencing injection operations.
				Changes in construction plans during construction shall be approved by the
				Department as minor modifications pursuant to
				7:14A-16.5(a). No
				such changes shall be physically incorporated into construction of the well
				prior to receipt of written approval of the modification from the
				Department;
2. Corrective or
				preventive action as set forth in
				7:14A-8.11 and 8.12(b);
3. Operating requirements as set forth in
				N.J.A.C. 7:14A-8.13, 8.14 or 8.15. The permit shall establish any maximum
				injection volumes and/or pressures necessary to ensure that fractures are not
				initiated in the confining zone, that injected fluids do not migrate into any
				underground source of drinking water, that formation fluids are not displaced
				into any underground source of drinking water, and to ensure compliance with
				the operating requirements in N.J.A.C. 7:14A-8.13, 8.14 or 8.15;
4. Monitoring and reporting requirements as
				set forth in N.J.A.C. 7:14A-8.13, 8.14 or 8.15. The permittee shall be required
				to identify types of tests and methods used to generate the monitoring
				data;
5. A permit for any Class I,
				II, III or V well, or any Class IV well allowed under
				7:14A-8.7, shall include conditions
				to ensure that plugging and abandonment of the well will not allow the movement
				of fluids either into an underground source of drinking water or from one
				underground source of drinking water to another. Each applicant for a UIC
				permit shall submit a plan for plugging and abandonment, taking into account
				the requirements of
				7:14A-8.17(a). The
				plan shall meet, at a minimum, the requirements of N.J.A.C. 7:9D, where
				applicable. Where the plan meets the requirements of this section, the
				Department shall incorporate the plan into the permit as a condition. Where the
				Department determines that the permittee's plan is inadequate, the Department
				shall require the applicant to revise the plan, prescribe conditions meeting
				the requirements of this section, or deny permit authorization. For purposes of
				this section, temporary intermittent cessation of injection operations is not
				abandonment. Cessation of injection operations for a period of two years or
				more constitutes abandonment. The improper maintenance of a well may constitute
				abandonment of that well in accordance with
				58:4A-4.1;
6. For Class I hazardous waste injection
				wells, the Department shall require the permittee to maintain financial
				responsibility and resources, in the form of a performance bond or other
				equivalent form of financial assurance in accordance with 40 C.F.R. Subpart F,
				144.60 through 144.70, to guarantee the closing, plugging, and abandonment of
				the underground injection operation in a manner prescribed by the Department.
				In lieu of an individual performance bond, a permittee may furnish a bond or
				other equivalent form of financial guarantee approved by the Department
				covering all of the permittee's injection wells in the State;
7. A permit for any Class I, II or III well,
				or for any Class IV well allowed under
				7:14A-8.7, or injection project
				which lacks mechanical integrity shall include, and for any Class V well, will
				include a condition prohibiting injection operations until the permittee shows
				to the satisfaction of the Department pursuant to
				7:14A-8.12(c) 
				that the well has mechanical integrity; and
8. The Department shall impose on a
				case-by-case basis such additional conditions as are necessary to prevent the
				migration of fluids into underground sources of drinking water.