Disposing of wastewater through underground wells began in the 1930s, when oil companies started pumping brine produced from oil and gas production into porous rock formations underground. This disposal method is more cost effective than treating and reusing wastewater. This disposal method was increasingly used by the chemical and petrochemical industries in the 1960s and 1970s, and EPA raised concerns that injected waste could contaminate underground drinking water. Underground water supplies are used to provide about 50 percent of the public water in the United States and are vulnerable to contamination. The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) of 1974 authorized EPA to regulate underground injection wells in order to protect drinking water sources. EPA published regulations establishing the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program in 1980, specifying safeguards to prevent injection wells from endangering underground sources of drinking water. The UIC program encompasses five classes of underground wells. Class I wells, which are the focus of this report, inject hazardous and nonhazardous waste from manufacturing and other sources below the lowermost underground source of drinking water located within a quarter mile of the well. Approximately 500 Class I wells operate nationwide, many concentrated in midwestern and southern states. The other four classes range from Class II wells involved in oil and natural gas production to Class V wells that include waste from agricultural runoff and septic systems. Of the 473 Class I deep injection wells that exist nationwide, only 13 wells are at commercial sites that accept and inject hazardous waste from various manufacturing facilities, according to the most recent EPA data (2001). Two more commercial wells have been constructed in Michigan and are awaiting final approval for operation. The other noncommercial Class I wells are owned by companies that use them exclusively to dispose of their own manufacturing waste. Because hazardous waste is injected into Class I wells, EPA imposes stringent technical requirements on the wells to protect drinking water supplies through both UIC and RCRA regulations. Class I hazardous well owners and operators must meet certain requirements to construct a well. For example, they must review the area to ensure that the site is geologically suitable. One purpose of this review is to ensure that other existing or abandoned wells nearby do not provide avenues for the injected waste to enter underground sources of drinking water. To obtain final approval to operate a deep injection well, owners and operators are required to, among other things properly design the well to ensure that the waste will not migrate into an underground source of drinking water; assure that injection pressure does not cause fractures in the injection zone or migration of fluids; provide plans for closing the well and post-closure care; demonstrate and maintain financial assurance (trust fund, bond, or other approved forms) to ensure that the well can be properly plugged and abandoned; establish monitoring and reporting requirements; and demonstrate that the injected waste will not migrate beyond the injection zone for 10,000 years, if otherwise prohibited hazardous waste will be injected into the well. Well owners must design and construct a well shaft that is made of three or more protective layers of pipe or tubing that go into the injection zone. Wastewater is injected through the innermost part of the constructed well shaft, referred to as the injection tubing. (See fig. 1.) Owners of Class I injection wells must obtain RCRA permits if they plan to treat and store waste before injecting it. These permits are for building and operating treatment and storage facilities. RCRA prohibits the land disposal of restricted hazardous waste unless EPA determines the prohibition is not required in order to protect human health and the environment for as long as the waste remains hazardous. Under UIC program regulations, EPA requires owners to demonstrate, among other things, that, to a reasonable degree of certainty, the restricted hazardous waste will not migrate out of the injection zone for 10,000 years. EPA determines compliance with this requirement through its computer simulation models, which the owners use to enter their specific data to demonstrate the movement of injected waste under certain geologic conditions. If the owner successfully demonstrates that waste will not migrate out of the injection zone, EPA will grant an exemption to the RCRA regulation, sometimes referred to as a land ban petition or a no-migration petition. The permitting of deep injection wells can raise environmental justice concerns within a community, and permit decisions may be challenged based on environmental justice concerns. Executive Order 12898, issued in 1994, directed federal agencies to incorporate environmental justice as part of their missions. Agencies are to identify and address disproportionately adverse human health or environmental effects on minority or low-income populations of their programs, policies, or activities. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity that receives federal funding; individuals may appeal permit decisions if they believe the prohibited discrimination occurred. Section 601 of the act prohibits intentional discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in programs or activities receiving federal financial assistance. Section 602 provides federal departments or agencies with the authority to issue rules or regulations implementing the objectives contained in section 601. To ensure that financial resources are available to close wells if they cease operation, EPA requires financial assurance from owners under the UIC and RCRA programs. Owners must provide financial assurance for plugging and abandonment of wells and closing associated RCRA treatment and storage facilities. For both the UIC and RCRA programs, owners can provide financial assurance through approved methods such as trust funds, surety bonds, letters of credit, or insurance. The amount of financial assurance needed is based on the estimated cost of the plugging and abandonment of the well or closing the treatment and storage facility. For example, the estimated cost for plugging and abandonment of one well in Michigan was $25,000, while the estimate for another well in Ohio was $250,000; the variation in cost was due to difference in the sizes and depths of the two wells. Each year owners must also certify that the financial assurance is adequate and make any necessary changes to the type or amount of financial assurance. Under EPA regulations, communities can raise concerns during the required public comment process for deep injection well permits after a draft permit is issued. EPA bases final approvals on whether a proposed well meets technical and safety requirements under its regulations and does not have authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to deny a permit on the basis of other concerns. Earlier public involvement would allow more time for individuals to approach appropriate state or local officials with any other concerns. When states are the permitting authority, they provide more and earlier opportunities for obtaining community concerns. The National Academy of Public Administration believes that states can pay more attention to these concerns than EPA can and that these actions mitigate or avoid controversial issues and possible litigation. EPA regional offices, or state offices for states with primacy, obtain information about community concerns regarding UIC permits through public comment processes. These offices first request public comments after working with a prospective well owner to complete a draft permit, which may take as long as 2 years for a construction permit. When the draft is complete, EPA or state officials establish a list of interested parties—citizens and local government representatives—and mail a fact sheet describing the proposed well. The public must be given at least 30 days from the date of the draft permit notice to submit written comments or request a public hearing, in which case the hearing time and place are also published in the local newspapers. Last, EPA or a state office makes a final permit decision and prepares written responses to the public comments. Figure 2 shows the permitting process, including opportunities for public comment. Because the agency and the prospective well owner have already expended time and resources to develop the draft permit, communities have raised concerns that the opportunity for commenting on the proposed construction permit is often too late in the process to have any effect. EPA does not have authority under the Safe Drinking Water Act to deny a permit if it meets technical and safety requirements, even if the application raises other community concerns. We also believe that, after this much investment, well owners may not be as willing to make changes in their planned operations and communities may not have enough time to contact appropriate state and local officials to have their nontechnical concerns addressed. Both EPA and the National Academy of Public Administration (NAPA) have noted the importance of getting the public involved early in the permitting process. For example, in January 2001, EPA reported that it is important to involve the public early in its decision-making process because stakeholders (such as owners or city officials) and the public have perspectives that can greatly improve the quality of decision making. Similarly, in December 2001, NAPA raised concerns about how the public has missed opportunities to provide timely input in the permitting process. Without timely participation, the public is less able to affect important decisions at the state and local level, such as site location. Not providing an opportunity for early public involvement may result in extensive community opposition to proposed wells. For example, the two proposed wells in Romulus, Michigan generated extensive opposition. Community concerns included issues such as possible damage to the interstate highway as a result of increased traffic traveling to the wells. EPA only has authority to base permitting decisions on SDWA requirements and does not consider the impact of traffic on the interstate highway or the safety of transporting hazardous waste to Class I facilities. These particular wells have generated substantial public comment and legal action by community members. In 1996, the applicant, Environmental Disposal Systems (EDS), applied for a construction permit. The public was first notified of the draft permit 15 months later. After another 2 years, and significant public comments, EPA issued the construction permit without significant modifications. As of April 2003, EPA was still engaged in resolving community concerns through public hearings relating to the no- migration petition. Recognizing the importance of public involvement in making decisions that affect the environment, Texas, Ohio, and Louisiana have gone beyond the federal minimum public notice and comment requirements to address community concerns. For example, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality (TCEQ) must notify the public when it first receives a completed permit application—unlike EPA, which requires public notification after the permit is drafted.