New Mexico Administrative Code › Title 20 - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 6 - WATER QUALITY › Part 2 - GROUND AND SURFACE WATER PROTECTION › Section 20.6.2.5210 - INFORMATION TO BE CONSIDERED BY THE SECRETARY FOR CLASS I WELLS AND CLASS III WELLS

Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 13, July 16, 2024
A. This section
				sets forth the information to be considered by the secretary in authorizing
				construction and use of a Class I well or Class III well or well field. Certain
				maps, cross-sections, tabulations of all wells within the area of review, and
				other data may be included in the discharge permit application submittal by
				reference provided they are current, readily available to the secretary and
				sufficiently identified to be retrieved.
B. Prior to the issuance of a discharge
				permit or project discharge permit allowing construction of a new Class I well,
				operation of an existing Class I well, or operation of a new or existing Class
				III well or well field, or conversion of any well to injection use, the
				secretary shall consider the following:
(1)
				information required in Subsection C of 20.6.2.3106 NMAC;
(2) a map showing the Class I well, or Class
				III well or well fields, for which approval is sought and the applicable area
				of review; within the area of review, the map must show, in so far as is known
				or is reasonably available from the public records, the number, name, and
				location of all producing wells, injection wells, abandoned wells, dry holes,
				surface bodies of water, springs, mines (surface and subsurface), quarries,
				water wells and other pertinent surface features, including residences and
				roads;
(3) a tabulation of data on
				all wells within the area of review which may penetrate into the proposed
				injection zone; such data shall include, as available, a description of each
				well's type, the distance and direction to the injection well or well field,
				construction, date drilled, location, depth, record of plugging or completion,
				and any additional information the secretary may require;
(4) for wells within the area of review which
				penetrate the injection zone, but are not properly completed or plugged, the
				corrective action proposed to be taken under 20.6.2.5203 NMAC;
(5) maps and cross-sections indicating the
				general vertical and lateral limits of all ground water having 10,000 mg/l or
				less TDS within the area of review, the position of such ground water within
				the area of review relative to the injection formation, and the direction of
				water movement, where known, in each zone of ground water which may be affected
				by the proposed injection operation;
(6) maps and cross-sections detailing the
				geology and geologic structure of the local area, including faults, if known or
				suspected;
(7) generalized maps and
				cross-sections illustrating the regional geologic setting;
(8) proposed operating data, including:
(a) average and maximum daily flow rate and
				volume of the fluid to be injected;
(b) average and maximum injection
				pressure;
(c) source of injection
				fluids and an analysis or description, whichever the secretary requires, of
				their chemical, physical, radiological and biological
				characteristics;
(9)
				results of the formation testing program to obtain an analysis or description,
				whichever the secretary requires, of the chemical, physical, and radiological
				characteristics of, and other information on, the receiving formation, provided
				that the secretary may issue a conditional approval of a discharge permit if he
				finds that further formation testing is necessary for final approval;
(10) expected pressure changes, native fluid
				displacement, and direction of movement of the injected fluid;
(11) proposed stimulation program;
(12) proposed or actual injection
				procedure;
(13) schematic or other
				appropriate drawings of the surface and subsurface construction details of the
				well;
(14) construction procedures,
				including a cementing and casing program, logging procedures, deviation checks,
				and a drilling, testing, and coring program;
(15) contingency plans to cope with all
				shut-ins or well failures so as to prevent movement of fluids into ground water
				having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS except for fluid movement approved pursuant to
				20.6.2.5103 NMAC;
(16) plans,
				including maps, for meeting the monitoring requirements of 20.6.2.5207 NMAC;
				and
(17) the ability of the
				discharger to undertake measures necessary to prevent contamination of ground
				water having 10,000 mg/l or less TDS after the cessation of operation,
				including the proper closing, plugging and abandonment of a well, ground water
				restoration if applicable, and any post-operational monitoring as may be
				needed; methods by which the discharger shall demonstrate the ability to
				undertake these measures shall include submission of a surety bond or other
				adequate assurances, such as financial statements or other materials acceptable
				to the secretary, such as:
(1) a surety bond;
(2) a trust fund with a New Mexico
				bank in the name of the state of New Mexico, with the state as beneficiary;
(3) a non-renewable letter of
				credit made out to the state of New Mexico;
(4) liability insurance specifically covering
				the contingencies listed in this paragraph; or
(5) a performance bond, generally in
				conjunction with another type of financial assurance; such bond or materials
				shall be approved and executed prior to discharge permit issuance and shall
				become effective upon commencement of construction; if an adequate bond is
				posted by the discharger to a federal or another state agency, and this bond
				covers all of the measures referred to above, the secretary shall consider this
				bond as satisfying the bonding requirements of 20.6.2.5000 through 20.6.2.5299
				NMAC wholly or in part, depending upon the extent to which such bond is
				adequate to ensure that the discharger will fully perform the measures required
				hereinabove.