Washington Administrative Code › Title 173 - Ecology, Department of (See also Titles 197, 317, 372, and 508) › Chapter 173-160 - Minimum standards for construction and maintenance of wells › Part TWO - GENERAL REQUIREMENTS FOR RESOURCE PROTECTION WELLCONSTRUCTION AND GEOTECHNICAL SOIL BORING › Section 173-160-410 - What are the specific definitions for words in this chapter?

Current through Register Vol. 24-14, July 15, 2024
This section specifically defines words associated with
				  resource protection wells and geotechnical soil borings. To find the
				  definitions of other words, see WAC
				  173-160-111.
(1) "Confining layer" or "confining
				formation" means a layer of low hydraulic conductivity material that
				significantly limits vertical movement of groundwater.
(2) "Environmental investigation well" means
				a cased hole intended or used to extract a sample or samples of groundwater,
				vapor, or soil from an underground formation and which is decommissioned
				immediately after the sample or samples are obtained. An environmental
				investigation well is typically installed using direct push technology or auger
				boring and uses the probe, stem, auger, or rod as casing. An environmental
				investigation well is not a geotechnical soil boring.
(3) "Geotechnical soil boring" or "boring"
				means a well drilled for the purpose of obtaining soil samples or information
				to ascertain structural properties of the subsurface.
(4) "Ground source heat pump boring" means a
				vertical boring constructed for the purpose of installing a closed loop heat
				exchange system for a ground source heat pump.
(5) "Grounding well" means a grounding
				electrode installed in the earth by the use of drilling equipment to prevent
				buildup of voltages that may result in undue hazards to persons or equipment.
				Examples are anode and cathode protection wells.
(6) "Instrumentation well" means a well in
				which pneumatic or electric geotechnical or hydrological instrumentation is
				permanently or periodically installed to measure or monitor subsurface strength
				and movement. Instrumentation well includes bore hole extensometers, slope
				indicators, pneumatic or electric pore pressure transducers, and load
				cells.
(7) "Monitoring well" means
				a well designed to obtain a representative groundwater sample or designed to
				measure the water level elevations in either clean or contaminated water or
				soil.
(8) "Nested well" means the
				installation of more than one cased resource protection well in one bore hole.
				This does not preclude casing reductions or installation of vibrating wire
				piezometers.
(9) "Observation well"
				means a well designed to measure the depth to the water or water level
				elevation in either clean or contaminated water or soil.
(10) "Piezometer" means a well designed to
				measure water level elevation at a specific depth beneath the water
				table.
(11) "PTFE" means
				polytetrafluoroethylene casing materials such as teflon. The use of the term
				teflon is not an endorsement for any specific PTFE product.
(12) "Remediation well" means a well intended
				or used to withdraw groundwater or inject water, air (for air sparging), or
				other solutions into the subsurface for the purpose of remediating, cleaning
				up, or controlling potential or actual groundwater contamination.
(13) "Resource protection well" means a cased
				boring intended or used to collect subsurface information or to determine the
				existence or migration of pollutants within an underground formation. Resource
				protection wells include monitoring wells, observation wells, piezometers,
				spill response wells, remediation wells, environmental investigation wells,
				vapor extraction wells, ground source heat pump boring, grounding wells, and
				instrumentation wells.
(14)
				"Resource protection well contractor" means any person, firm, partnership,
				copartnership, corporation, association, or other entity, licensed and bonded
				under chapter 18.27
				RCW, engaged in the business of constructing resource protection wells or
				geotechnical soil borings.
(15)
				"Resource protection report" or "geotechnical soil boring report" means a
				document that describes how a resource protection well or geotechnical soil
				boring was constructed or decommissioned and identifies its components per the
				requirements of WAC
				173-160-420.
(16) "Spill response well" means a well used
				to capture or recover any spilled or leaked fluid which has the potential to,
				or has contaminated the groundwater.
(17) "Structural properties" means subsurface
				engineering properties or geotechnical information used for the purpose of
				designing structures such as bridges, buildings, highways, pipelines, or for
				assessing slope stability samples.
(18) "Vapor extraction well" means a well
				used to withdraw gases or vapors from soil, rock, landfill, backfill or
				groundwater for the purpose of investigating or remediating soil or groundwater
				contamination or managing gases or vapors.
(19) "Vibrating wire piezometer" is a down
				hole instrument that measures water pore pressure and converts it to an
				electronic signal.
(20) "Well
				driller" or "driller" means a resource protection well contractor or operator
				and a water well contractor or operator.
(21) "Well" means water wells, resources
				protection wells, instrumentation wells, dewatering wells, and geotechnical
				soil borings. Well does not mean an excavation made for the purpose of
				obtaining or prospecting for oil or natural gas, geothermal resources,
				minerals, or products of mining, or quarrying, or for inserting media to
				repressure oil or natural gas bearing formations, or for storing petroleum,
				natural gas, or other products.
Statutory Authority: Chapter 18.104 RCW. 09-01-125 (Order
					 08-10), § 173-160-410, filed 12/19/08, effective 1/19/09; 06-23-121 (Order
					 06-08), § 173-160-410, filed 11/21/06, effective 12/22/06. Statutory
					 Authority: Chapter 18.104 RCW and
					 RCW
					 43.21A.080. 98-08-032 (Order 97-08), §
					 173-160-410, filed 3/23/98, effective
					 4/23/98.