Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 331 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL › Subchapter D - STANDARDS FOR CLASS I WELLS OTHER THAN SALT CAVERN SOLID WASTE DISPOSAL WELLS › Section 331.62 - Construction Standards

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) All Class I
				  wells shall be designed, constructed, and completed to prevent the movement of
				  fluids that could result in the pollution of an underground source of drinking
				  water (USDW). The following standards apply to all Class I wells except those
				  wells authorized to inject only nonhazardous desalination concentrate or
				  nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals.
(1) Design criteria. Casing and cement used
				  in the construction of each newly drilled well shall be designed for the life
				  expectancy of the well, including the post-closure care period. The well shall
				  be designed and constructed to prevent potential leaks from the well, to
				  prevent the movement of fluids along the wellbore into or between USDWs, to
				  prevent the movement of fluids along the wellbore out of the injection zone, to
				  permit the use of appropriate testing devices and workover tools, and to permit
				  continuous monitoring of injection tubing, long string casing, and annulus, as
				  required by this chapter. All well materials must be compatible with fluids
				  with which the materials may be expected to come into contact. A well shall be
				  deemed to have compatibility as long as the materials used in the construction
				  of the well meet or exceed standards developed for such materials by the
				  American Petroleum Institute, the American Society for Testing Materials, or
				  comparable standards acceptable to the executive director.
(A) Casing design. Surface casing shall be
				  set to a minimum subsurface depth, as determined by the executive director,
				  which extends into the confining bed below the lowest formation containing a
				  USDW or freshwater aquifer. At least one long string casing, using a sufficient
				  number of centralizers, shall extend to the injection interval. In determining
				  and specifying casing and cementing requirements, the following factors shall
				  be considered:
(i) depth of lowermost USDW or
				  freshwater aquifer;
(ii) depth to
				  the injection interval;
(iii)
				  injection pressure, external pressure, internal pressure, and axial
				  loading;
(iv) hole size;
(v) size and grade of all casing strings
				  (wall thickness, diameter, nominal weight, length, joint specification, and
				  construction material);
(vi) the
				  maximum burst and collapse pressures, and tensile stresses which may be
				  experienced at any point along the length of the casings at any time during the
				  construction, operation, and closure of the well;
(vii) corrosive effects of injected fluids,
				  formation fluids, and temperatures;
(viii) lithology of injection and confining
				  intervals;
(ix) presence of lost
				  circulation zones or other subsurface conditions that could affect the casing
				  and cementing program;
(x) types
				  and grades of cement; and
(xi)
				  quantity and chemical composition of the injected fluid.