Texas Administrative Code › Title 30 - ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Part 1 - TEXAS COMMISSION ON ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY › Chapter 331 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL › Subchapter G - CONSIDERATION PRIOR TO PERMIT ISSUANCE › Section 331.121 - Class I Wells

Current through Reg. 49, No. 28; July 12, 2024
(a) The commission
				  shall consider the following before issuing a Class I Injection Well Permit:
(1) all information in the completed
				  application forpermit;
(2) all
				  information in the Technical Report submitted with the application for permit
				  in accordance with §
											305.45(a)(8)
				  of this title (relating to Contents of Application for Permit). Subparagraphs
				  (A) - (Q) of this paragraph apply to all Class I wells except those Class I
				  wells authorized to inject only nonhazardous desalination concentrate or
				  nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals. Information to be considered
				  includes, but is not limited to:
(A) a map
				  showing the location of the injection well for which a permit is sought and the
				  applicable area of review. Within the area of review, the map must show the
				  number, or 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. The map should also show faults, if known or
				  suspected. Only information of public record is required to be included on this
				  map;
(B) a tabulation of all wells
				  within the area of review which penetrate the injection zone or confining zone,
				  and for salt dome cavern disposal wells, the salt dome cavern injection zone,
				  salt dome cavern confining zone and caprock. Such data shall include a
				  description of each well's type, construction, date drilled, location, depth,
				  record of plugging and/or completion, and any additional information the
				  executive director may require;
(C)
				  the protocol followed to identify, locate, and ascertain the condition of
				  abandoned wells within the area of review which penetrate the injection or the
				  confining zones;
(D) maps and
				  cross-sections indicating the general vertical and lateral limits of
				  underground sources of drinking water (USDWs) and freshwater aquifers, their
				  positions relative to the injection formation and the direction of water
				  movement, where known, in each USDW or freshwater aquifer which may be affected
				  by the proposed injection;
(E)
				  maps, cross-sections, and description of the geologic structure of the local
				  area;
(F) maps, cross-sections, and
				  description of the regional geologic setting;
(G) proposed operating data:
(i) average and maximum daily injection rate
				  and volume of the fluid or waste to be injected over the anticipated life of
				  the injection well;
(ii) average
				  and maximum injection pressure;
(iii) source of the waste streams;
(iv) an analysis of the chemical and physical
				  characteristics of the waste streams;
(v) for salt dome cavern waste disposal, the
				  bulk waste density, permeability, porosity, and compaction rate, as well as the
				  individual physical characteristics of the wastes and transporting
				  media;
(vi) for salt dome cavern
				  waste disposal, the results of tests performed on the waste to demonstrate that
				  the waste will remain solid under cavern conditions; and
(vii) any additional analyses which the
				  executive director may reasonably require;
(H) proposed formation testing program to
				  obtain an analysis of the chemical, physical, and radiological characteristics
				  of formation fluids, and other information on the injection zone and confining
				  zone;
(I) proposed stimulation
				  program, if needed;
(J) proposed
				  operation and injection procedures;
(K) engineering drawings of the surface and
				  subsurface construction details of the injection well;
(L) contingency plans, based on a reasonable
				  worst-case scenario, to cope with all shut-ins; loss of cavern integrity, or
				  well failures so as to prevent migration of fluid into any USDW;
(M) plans (including maps) for meeting the
				  monitoring requirements of this chapter, such plans shall include all
				  parameters, test methods, sample methods, and quality assurance procedures
				  necessary and used to meet these requirements;
(N) for wells within the area of review which
				  penetrate the injection zone or confining zone but are not adequately
				  constructed, completed, or plugged, the corrective action proposed to be
				  taken;
(O) construction procedures
				  including a cementing and casing program, contingency cementing plan for
				  managing lost circulation zones and other adverse subsurface conditions, well
				  materials specifications and their life expectancy, logging procedures,
				  deviation checks, and a drilling, testing, and coring program;
(P) delineation of all faults within the area
				  of review, together with a demonstration, unless previously demonstrated to the
				  commission or to the United States Environmental Protection Agency, that the
				  fault is not sufficiently transmissive or vertically extensive to allow
				  migration of hazardous constituents out of the injection zone; and
(Q) the authorization status of the
				  pre-injection units for the injection well.
(3) This paragraph applies to those Class I
				  wells authorized to inject only nonhazardous desalination concentrate or
				  nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals. Information to be considered
				  includes, but is not limited to:
(A) a map
				  showing the injection well(s) for which a permit is sought and the applicable
				  area of review. Within the area of review, the map must show the number, or
				  name, and location of all producing wells, dry holes, surface bodies of water,
				  springs, mines (surface and subsurface), quarries, water wells and other
				  pertinent surface features including residences and roads. The map should also
				  show faults, if known or suspected. Only information of public record is
				  required to be included on this map;
(B) a tabulation of data on all wells within
				  the area of review that penetrate into the proposed injection zone. Such data
				  shall include a description of each well's type, construction, date drilled,
				  location, depth, record of plugging and/or completion, and any additional
				  information the executive director may require;
(C) a topographic map (or other map if a
				  topographic map is unavailable) extending one mile beyond the property
				  boundaries of the source depicting the facility and each of its intake and
				  discharge structures; each of its hazardous waste treatment, storage, or
				  disposal facilities; each well where fluids from the facility are injected
				  underground; and those wells, springs, and other surface water bodies, and
				  drinking water wells listed in public records or otherwise known to the
				  applicant within a quarter mile of the facility property boundary;
(D) maps and cross sections indicating the
				  general vertical and lateral limits of all USDW within the area of review,
				  their position relative to the injection formation and the direction of water
				  movement, where known, in each USDW which may be affected by the proposed
				  injection;
(E) maps and cross
				  sections detailing the geologic structure of the local area;
(F) generalized maps and cross sections
				  illustrating the regional geologic setting;
(G) proposed operating data:
(i) average and maximum daily rate and volume
				  of the fluid to be injected;
(ii)
				  average and maximum injection pressure; and
(iii) source and an analysis of the chemical,
				  physical, radiological and biological characteristics of injection
				  fluids;
(H) proposed
				  formation testing program to obtain an analysis of the chemical, physical and
				  radiological characteristics of and other information on the receiving
				  formation;
(I) proposed stimulation
				  program;
(J) proposed injection
				  procedure;
(K) schematic or other
				  appropriate drawings of the surface and subsurface construction details of the
				  well;
(L) contingency plans to cope
				  with all shut-ins or well failures so as to prevent migration of fluids into
				  any USDW;
(M) plans (including
				  maps) for meeting the monitoring requirements in §
												331.64
				  of this title (relating to Monitoring and Testing Requirements);
(N) 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 §
												331.45(2)(G)
				  of this title (relating to Executive Director Approval of Construction and
				  Completion); and
(O) construction
				  procedures including a cementing and casing program, logging procedures,
				  deviation checks, and a drilling, testing, and coring program;
				  and
(4) whether the
				  applicant will assure, in accordance with Chapter 37, Subchapter Q of this
				  title (relating to Financial Assurance for Underground Injection Control
				  Wells), the resources necessary to close, plug, abandon, and if applicable,
				  provide post-closure care for the well and/or waste disposal cavern as
				  required;
(5) the closure plan,
				  corrective action plan, and post-closure plan submitted in the technical report
				  accompanying the permit application; except that a post-closure plan is not
				  required for those Class I wells authorized to inject only nonhazardous
				  desalination concentrate or nonhazardous drinking water treatment residuals;
				  and
(6) any additional information
				  required by the executive director for the evaluation of the proposed injection
				  well.