Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 331 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL › Subchapter H - STANDARDS FOR CLASS V WELLS › Section 331.133 - Closure Standards for Injection Wells

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) It is the responsibility of the owner or
				  operator to close a Class V well which is to be permanently discontinued or
				  abandoned under standards set forth in this section unless the well must comply
				  with §
										331.136
				  of this title (relating to Closure Standards for Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal
				  Wells, Large Capacity Septic Systems, Large Capacity Cesspools, Subsurface
				  Fluid Distribution Systems, and Drywells). The well must be closed in a manner
				  that complies with §
										331.5 of
				  this title (relating to Prevention of Pollution) and 40 Code of Federal
				  Regulations (CFR) §144.12 ("prohibition of movement of fluid into
				  underground sources of drinking water," effective June 2, 1987 at 48 FR 20676).
				  Any contaminated soil, gravel, sludge, liquids, or other materials removed from
				  or adjacent to the well must be managed in accordance with Chapter 350 of this
				  title (relating to Texas Risk Reduction Program), and all other applicable
				  federal, state, and local regulations and requirements.
(b) Closure shall be accomplished by removing
				  all of the removable casing and the entire well shall be pressure filled via a
				  tremie pipe with cement from bottom to the land surface.
(c) As an alternative to the procedure in
				  subsection (b) of this section, if a Class V well is not completed through
				  zones containing undesirable groundwater, water that is injurious to human
				  health and the environment or water that can cause pollution to land or other
				  waters, the well may be filled with fine sand, clay, or heavy mud followed by a
				  cement plug extending from land surface to a depth of not less than ten feet
				  below the land surface.
(d) As an
				  alternative to the procedure in subsection (b) of this section, if a Class V
				  well is completed through zones containing undesirable groundwater, water that
				  is injurious to human health and the environment or water that can cause
				  pollution to land or other waters, either the zone(s) containing undesirable
				  groundwater or the fresh groundwater zone(s) shall be isolated with cement
				  plugs and the remainder of the wellbore filled with bentonite grout (9.1 pounds
				  per gallon mud or more) followed by a cement plug extending from land surface
				  to a depth of not less than ten feet below the land surface.
(e) It is the responsibility of the owner or
				  operator to ensure that temporary injection points are pressure grouted from
				  the bottom of the well to the land surface, and the injection point is sealed
				  to prevent the migration of fluids into underground sources of drinking
				  water.
(f) It is the responsibility
				  of the owner or operator to close improved sinkholes in a manner that prohibits
				  the movement of contaminated fluids into underground sources of drinking water,
				  in compliance with §
										331.5 of
				  this title, and
				  40
				  CFR §144.12 (as amended through June 2,
				  1987 at 48 FR 20676); and to demonstrate that any fluids released through the
				  closed well will meet the primary maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) for
				  drinking water contained in 40 CFR Part 141, and other appropriate health-based
				  standards at the point of injection.