Oregon Administrative Rules › Chapter 690 - WATER RESOURCES DEPARTMENT › Division 240 - CONSTRUCTION, MAINTENANCE, ALTERATION, CONVERSION AND ABANDONMENT OF MONITORING WELLS, GEOTECHNICAL HOLES AND OTHER HOLES IN OREGON › Section 690-240-0010 - Definitions

Current through Register Vol. 63, No. 7, July 1, 2024
The following definitions apply to terms as used in monitoring
				well, geotechnical hole and other hole rules, OAR 690-240-0005  to 690-240-0640.
				No other definitions of these same words apply:
(1) "Abandonment, Permanent" means to remove
			 all or any portion of a monitoring well from service by filling it in such a
			 manner that vertical movement of water within the well bore and within the
			 annular space surrounding the well casing is effectively and permanently
			 prevented. This term is synonymous with "decommission".
(2) "Abandonment, Temporary" means to remove
			 a drilling machine from a well site after completing or altering a well
			 provided the well is not immediately put into service, or to remove a well from
			 service with the intent of using it in the future.
(3) "Altering a Well" means the deepening,
			 re-casing, perforating, re-perforating, installation of packers or seals, and
			 other material changes in the design or construction of a well. Material
			 changes include but are not limited to the installation or modification of well
			 casing including casing extensions, or installation or modification of liner
			 pipe, or under reaming of the borehole.
(4) "Annular Space" means the space between
			 the drillhole wall and the outer well casing.
(5) "Aquifer" means a geologic formation,
			 group of formations, or part of a formation that contains saturated and
			 permeable material capable of transmitting water in sufficient quantity to
			 supply wells or springs and that contains water that is similar throughout in
			 characteristics such as potentiometric head, chemistry, and temperature.
			 (Figure 240-1)
(6) "Area of Known
			 or Reasonably Suspected Contamination" means a site that is currently under
			 investigation by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, U.S.
			 Environmental Protection Agency, or other state or federal agency for the
			 presence of contaminants, or a site where a prudent person would suspect
			 contamination after conducting an appropriate inquiry consistent with good
			 commercial or customary practice as to the nature of the property.
(7) "Artesian Aquifer" means a confined
			 aquifer in which groundwater is under sufficient head to rise above the level
			 at which it was first encountered whether or not the water flows at land
			 surface. If the water level stands above land surface the well is a flowing
			 artesian well. (Figure 240-1).
(8)
			 "Artesian Monitoring Well" means a monitoring well in which groundwater is
			 under sufficient pressure to rise above the level at which it was first
			 encountered, whether or not the water flows at land surface. If the water level
			 stands above land surface the well is a flowing artesian monitoring
			 well.
(9) "Bored Well" means a well
			 constructed with the use of earth augers turned either by hand or by power
			 equipment.
(10) "Casing" means the
			 outer tubing, pipe, or conduit, welded or thread coupled, and installed in the
			 borehole during or after drilling to support the sides of the well and prevent
			 caving. Casing can be used, in conjunction with proper seal placement, to shut
			 off water, gas, or contaminated fluids from entering the hole, and to prevent
			 waste of groundwater.
(11) "Casing
			 Seal" means the water tight seal established in the well bore between the well
			 casing and the drillhole wall, above the filter pack seal, to prevent the
			 inflow and movement of surface water or shallow groundwater in the well
			 annulus, or to prevent the outflow or movement of water under artesian or
			 hydrostatic pressures. This term is synonymous with "annular seal" or "surface
			 seal".
(12) "Civil Engineer" means
			 an individual registered by the State of Oregon to practice civil
			 engineering.
(13) "Clay" means a
			 fine-grained, inorganic material having plastic properties and with a
			 predominant grain size of less than 0.002 mm.
(14) "Closed Loop Ground Source Heat Pump
			 Boring" means a geotechnical hole, cased or uncased, constructed for the
			 purpose of installing a closed loop heat exchange system for a ground source
			 heat pump.
(15) "Commission" means
			 the Oregon Water Resources Commission.
(16) "Committee" means the Oregon Ground
			 Water Advisory Committee created by ORS
			 536.090.
(17) "Confining Interval " means a low
			 permeability material such as clay or solid, unfractured, consolidated rock
			 immediately overlying an artesian (confined) aquifer. (Figure 240-1)
(18) "Consolidated Formation" means materials
			 that have become firm through natural rock-forming processes. It includes, but
			 is not limited to, materials such as basalt, sandstone, shale, hard claystone,
			 and granite.
(19) "Contamination"
			 means any chemical, ion, radionuclide, synthetic organic compound,
			 microorganism, waste or other substance that does not occur naturally in
			 groundwater or that occurs naturally but at a lower concentration.
(20) "Continuing Education" means that
			 education required as a condition of licensure under ORS
			 537.747, to maintain the skills
			 necessary for the protection of groundwater, the health and general welfare of
			 the citizens of Oregon and the competent practice of the construction,
			 alteration, abandonment, conversion, and maintenance of water supply wells,
			 monitoring wells, and geotechnical holes.
(21) "Continuing Education Committee" means
			 the Well Constructor Continuing Education Committee authorized under Chapter
			 496, Oregon Laws 2001 (ORS
			 537.765).
(22) "Continuing Education Course" means a
			 formal offering of instruction or information to licensees that provide
			 continuing education credits.
(23)
			 "Continuing Education Credit" (CEC) means a minimum of 50 minutes of
			 instruction or information approved by the Continuing Education
			 Committee.
(24) "Converting" a well
			 means changing the use of an existing well or hole not previously used to
			 either withdraw or monitor water such that the well or hole can be used to
			 either withdraw or monitor water.
(25) "Deepening a well" means extending the
			 well bore of an existing well through previously undisturbed native material.
			 Deepening is a type of alteration.
(26) "Department" means the Oregon Water
			 Resources Department.
(27)
			 "Director" means the Director of the Department or the Director's authorized
			 representatives.
(28)
			 "Documentation of Completion" means written evidence or documentation
			 demonstrating attendance and completion of a continuing education course,
			 including but not limited to: a certificate of completion, diploma, transcript,
			 certified class roster, or other documentation as approved by the Continuing
			 Education Committee.
(29) "Dug
			 Well" means a well in which the excavation is made by the use of digging
			 equipment such as backhoes, clam shell buckets, or sand buckets. (See Hand dug
			 well)
(30) "Excavation" means a
			 free-standing cavity with greater width than depth constructed in the earth's
			 surface which has a primary purpose other than seeking water or water quality
			 monitoring.
(31) "Figure", when
			 used herein, refers to an illustration and is made a part of the primary
			 article and section by reference.
(32) "Filter Pack" means the granular
			 material placed in the annular space between the well screen and the
			 borehole.
(33) "Filter Pack Seal"
			 means the fine grained sand or dry bentonite which is placed in the annulus
			 above the filter pack and prevents grout infiltration into the filter
			 pack.
(34) "Geologic Formation"
			 means an igneous, sedimentary or metamorphic material that is relatively
			 homogeneous and is sufficiently recognized as to be distinguished from the
			 adjacent material. The term is synonymous with "formation".
(35) "Geologist" means an individual
			 registered by the State of Oregon to practice geology.
(36) "Geotechnical hole" means a hole
			 constructed to collect or evaluate subsurface data or information, monitor
			 movement of landslide features, or to stabilize or dewater landslide features.
			 "Geotechnical hole" includes closed loop ground source heat pump borings.
			 Geotechnical holes are not monitoring wells or water supply wells as defined
			 below. Various classes and examples of geotechnical holes are listed in OAR
			 690-240-0035(6)-(9)
(37) "Grout"
			 means approved cement, concrete or bentonite sealing material used to fill an
			 annular space of a well or to abandon a well.
(38) "Grout Pipe" means a pipe which is used
			 to place grout at the bottom of the sealing interval of a well.
(39) "Hand dug well" means a well in which
			 the excavation is only made by the use of picks, shovels, spades, or other
			 similar hand operated implements. (See Dug Well)
(40) "Hazardous Materials Training" means
			 training as defined by OAR 437-002-0100  Adoption by Reference Subdivision H
			 Hazardous Materials 1910.120 Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency
			 Response.
(41) "Hazardous Waste"
			 means a substance as defined by ORS
			 466.005.
(42) "Health Hazard" means a condition where
			 there are sufficient concentrations of biological, chemical, or physical,
			 including radiological, contaminants in the water that are likely to cause
			 human illness, disorders, or disability. These include, but are not limited to
			 naturally occurring substances, pathogenic viruses, bacteria, parasites, toxic
			 chemicals, and radioactive isotopes. Sufficient concentrations of a contaminant
			 include but are not limited to contaminant levels set by the Oregon Department
			 of Environmental Quality and Oregon Health Division.
(43) "Health Threat" means a condition where
			 there is an impending health hazard. The threat may be posed by, but not
			 limited to: a conduit for contamination, or a well affecting migration of a
			 contaminant plume, or the use of contaminated water. A well in which the
			 construction is not verified by a monitoring well report or geophysical
			 techniques may be considered a conduit for contamination in certain
			 circumstances. Those circumstances include, but are not limited to: an unused
			 and neglected well or a well for which no surface seal was required. A well in
			 which the casing seal, filter pack seal, or watertight cap has failed, or was
			 inadequately installed may be considered a conduit for contamination.
(44) "Horizontal Well" means a well that
			 intentionally deviates more than 20 degrees from true vertical at any
			 point.
(45) "Hydrologic Cycle" is
			 the general pattern of water movement by evaporation from sea to atmosphere, by
			 precipitation onto land, and by return to sea under influence of
			 gravity.
(46) "Jetted Well" means a
			 well in which the drillhole excavation is made by the use of a high velocity
			 jet of water.
(47) "Leakage" means
			 movement of surface and/ or subsurface water around the well casing or
			 seal.
(48) "Monitoring Well" means
			 a well designed and constructed to determine the physical (including water
			 level), chemical, biological, or radiological properties of
			 groundwater.
(49) "Monitoring Well
			 Constructor" means any person who has a current monitoring well constructor's
			 license.
(50) "Monitoring Well
			 Constructor's License" means a Water Well Constructor's License with a
			 monitoring well endorsement issued in accordance with ORS
			 537.747(3) or
			 with a monitoring well temporary authorization endorsement issued in accordance
			 with ORS 537.747(3), ORS
			 670.400, and ORS
			 670.403.
(51) "Monitoring Well Drilling Machine" means
			 any driving, jetting, percussion, rotary, boring, auguring, digging, or other
			 equipment used in the construction, alteration, or abandonment of monitoring
			 wells.
(52) "Order" means any
			 action satisfying the definition given in ORS Chapter 183 or any other action
			 so designated in ORS 537.505 to
			 537.795.
(53) "Other Hole" means a hole other than a
			 water supply well, monitoring well, or geotechnical hole, however constructed,
			 in naturally occurring or artificially emplaced earth materials through which
			 groundwater can become contaminated. Holes constructed under ORS Chapters 517,
			 520, and 522 are not subject to these rules. Examples of other holes are listed
			 in OAR 690-240-0030.
(54) "Perched
			 Groundwater" means groundwater held above the regional or main water table by a
			 less permeable underlying earth or rock material. (Figure 240-1)
(55) "Permeability" means the ability of
			 material to transmit fluid, usually described in units of gallons per day per
			 square foot of cross-section area. It is related to the effectiveness with
			 which pore spaces transmit fluids.
(56) "Person" includes individuals,
			 corporations, associations, firms, partnerships, joint stock companies, public
			 and municipal corporations, political subdivisions, the state and any agencies
			 thereof, and the Federal Government and any agencies thereof.
(57) "Petcock Valve" is a valve used to
			 contain pressure which when opened will drain the line or pipe.
(58) "Petroleum" means gasoline, crude oil,
			 fuel oil, diesel oil, lubricating oil, oil sludge, oil refuse, and crude oil
			 fractions and refined petroleum fractions, including gasoline, kerosene,
			 heating oils, diesel fuels, and any other petroleum-related product or waste or
			 fraction thereof that is liquid at a temperature of 60 degrees Fahrenheit and a
			 pressure of 14.7 pounds per square inch absolute. "Petroleum" does not include
			 any substance identified as a hazardous waste under  40 CFR Part 261.
(59) "Piezometer" means a type of monitoring
			 well designed solely to obtain groundwater levels. Piezometers are prohibited
			 in areas of known or reasonably suspected contamination. This term is
			 synonymous with observation well.
(60) "Porosity" means the ratio of the volume
			 of voids in the geologic formation being drilled to the overall volume of the
			 material without regard to size, shape, interconnection, or arrangement of
			 openings.
(61) "Potable Water"
			 means water which is sufficiently free from biological, chemical, physical, or
			 radiological impurities so that users thereof will not be exposed to or
			 threatened with exposure to disease or harmful physiological effects.
(62) "Potentiometric Surface" means the level
			 to which water will rise in tightly cased wells. (Figure 240-1).
(63) "Pressure Grouting" means a process by
			 which grout is confined within the drillhole or casing by the use of retaining
			 plugs or packers and by which sufficient pressure is applied to drive the grout
			 slurry into the annular space or zone to be grouted.
(64) "Professional" means a person licensed
			 or registered by the State of Oregon to construct monitoring wells, water
			 supply wells, or practice geology or civil engineering. All licenses and
			 registrations must be valid at the time of monitoring well, water supply well
			 or geotechnical hole construction, alteration or abandonment as required by
			 these rules.
(65) "Public-at-Large"
			 means a person not actively engaged in the well industry.
(66) "Refusal to Renew" means a provision in
			 an order, or as allowed by ORS
			 537.747, that prohibits renewal
			 of a well constructor's license, for a specified term not to exceed one year
			 from the expiration date of the current license.
(67) "Remediation Well" means a well used for
			 extracting contaminated groundwater from an aquifer. This term is synonymous
			 with "extraction well" and "recovery well".
(68) "Respondent" means the person against
			 whom an enforcement action is taken.
(69) "Responsible Party" means the person or
			 agency that is in charge of construction or maintenance, or the landowner of
			 record and is either in violation as specified in a notice of violation or who
			 may benefit from that violation.
(70) "Rough Drilling Log" means a record kept
			 on the well site of the information needed to complete the well report for the
			 well being constructed.
(71)
			 "Revoke" means termination of a well constructor's license.
(72) "Sand" means a material having a
			 prevalent grain size ranging from 2 millimeters to 0.06 millimeters.
(73) "Silt" means an unconsolidated sediment
			 composed predominantly of particles between 0.06 mm and 0.002 mm in
			 diameter.
(74) "Slope Stability
			 Geotechnical Hole" means a geotechnical hole excavated, drilled or bored for
			 studying and/or monitoring movement of landslide features, including water
			 levels, or other mass-wasting features to detect zones of movement and
			 establish whether movement is constant, accelerating, or responding to remedial
			 measures. Hole(s) excavated, drilled or bored for the purpose of slope
			 remediation or stabilization shall be considered a slope stability geotechnical
			 hole. Slope stability geotechnical holes are not monitoring wells, piezometers,
			 or water supply wells.
(75)
			 "Sponsor" means an institution, professional organization, individual, or
			 business that offers continuing education courses to licensees. This term is
			 synonymous with provider.
(76)
			 "Static Water Level" means the stabilized level or elevation of water surface
			 in a well not being pumped.
(77)
			 "Sump" means a hole dug to a depth of ten feet or less with a diameter greater
			 than ten feet in which groundwater is sought or encountered.
(78) "Suspension" means the temporary removal
			 of the privilege to construct wells under an existing license for a period of
			 time not to exceed one year.
(79)
			 "Unconsolidated Formation" means naturally occurring, loosely cemented, or
			 poorly indurated materials including clay, sand, silt, and gravel.
(80) "Underground Injection" means the
			 emplacement or discharge of fluids to the subsurface.
(81) "Underground Injection System" means a
			 well, improved sump, sewage drain hole, subsurface fluid distribution system,
			 or other system or groundwater point source used for the emplacement or
			 discharge of fluids.
(82) "Upper
			 Oversize Drillhole" means that part of the well bore extending from land
			 surface to the bottom of the surface seal interval.
(83) "Violation" means an infraction of any
			 statute, rule, standard, order, license, compliance schedule, or any part
			 thereof and includes both acts and omissions.
(84) "Water Supply Well" means a well, other
			 than a monitoring well, that is used to beneficially withdraw or beneficially
			 inject groundwater. Water supply wells include, but are not limited to,
			 community, dewatering, domestic, irrigation, industrial, municipal, and aquifer
			 storage and recovery wells.
(85)
			 "Water Supply Well Constructor" means any person who has a current water supply
			 well constructor's license.
(86)
			 "Water Supply Well Constructor's License" means a Water Well Constructor's
			 License with a water supply well endorsement issued in accordance with ORS
			 537.747(3) or
			 with a water supply well temporary authorization endorsement issued in
			 accordance with ORS 537.747(3), ORS
			 670.400, and ORS
			 670.403.
(87) "Water Table" means the upper surface of
			 an unconfined water body, the surface of which is at atmospheric pressure and
			 fluctuates seasonally. The water table is defined by the levels at which water
			 stands in wells that penetrate the water body. (See Figure 240-1)
(88) "Water Well Constructor's License" means
			 a license to construct, alter, deepen, abandon or convert wells issued in
			 accordance with ORS 537.747(3).
			 Endorsements are issued to the license and are specific to the type of well a
			 constructor is qualified to construct, alter, deepen, abandon or
			 convert.
(89) "Well" means any
			 artificial opening or artificially altered natural opening, however made, by
			 which groundwater is sought or through which groundwater flows under natural
			 pressure, or is artificially withdrawn or injected. This definition shall not
			 include a natural spring, or wells drilled for the purpose of exploration or
			 production of oil or gas. Prospecting or exploration for geothermal resources
			 as defined in ORS 522.005 or production of
			 geothermal resources derived from a depth greater than 2,000 feet as defined in
			 ORS 522.055 is regulated by the
			 Department of Geology and Mineral Industries.
(90) "Wet Soil Monitoring Hole" means a
			 shallow geotechnical hole set vertically in the ground and constructed to a
			 depth of three and one-half feet or less for studying and/or monitoring the
			 upper portion of the shallowest water-bearing unit within and immediately below
			 the surface soil horizon.
To view attachments referenced in rule text,
click here to view
				  rule
.
Statutory/Other Authority: ORS
				  536.090, ORS
				  537.505-537.795, ORS
				  536.027, ORS
				  536.900, ORS
				  537.992, ORS
				  670.400 & ORS
				  670.403
Statutes/Other Implemented: ORS
				  536.090, ORS
				  537.505-537.795, ORS
				  536.900, ORS
				  537.992, ORS
				  670.400 & ORS
				  670.403