[Title 40 CFR 144.28]
[Code of Federal Regulations (annual edition) - July 1, 2009 Edition]
[Title 40 - PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT]
[Chapter I - ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)]
[Subchapter D - WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED)]
[Part 144 - UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL PROGRAM]
[Subpart C - Authorization of Underground Injection by Rule]
[Sec. 144.28 - Requirements for Class I, II, and III wells authorized by rule.]
[From the U.S. Government Printing Office]


40PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENT222009-07-012009-07-01false144.28Sec. 144.28PROTECTION OF ENVIRONMENTENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY (CONTINUED)WATER PROGRAMS (CONTINUED)UNDERGROUND INJECTION CONTROL PROGRAMAuthorization of Underground Injection by Rule
Sec. 144.28  Requirements for Class I, II, and III wells authorized by rule.

    The following requirements apply to the owner or operator of a Class 
I, II or III well authorized by rule under this subpart, as provided by 
Sec. Sec. 144.21(e) and 144.22(d).
    (a) The owner or operator shall comply with all applicable 
requirements of this subpart and subpart B of this part. Any 
noncompliance with these requirements constitutes a violation of the 
Safe Drinking Water Act and is grounds for enforcement action, except 
that the owner or operator need not comply with these requirements to 
the extent and for the duration such noncompliance is authorized by an 
emergency permit under Sec. 144.34.
    (b) Twenty-four hour reporting. The owner or operator shall report 
any noncompliance which may endanger health or the environment, 
including:
    (1) Any monitoring or other information which indicates that any 
contaminant may cause an endangerment to a USDW; or
    (2) Any noncompliance or malfunction of the injection system which 
may cause fluid migration into or between USDWs.

Any information shall be provided orally within 24 hours from the time 
the owner or operator becomes aware of the circumstances. A written 
submission shall also be provided within five days of the time the owner 
or operator becomes aware of the circumstances. The written submission 
shall contain a description of the noncompliance and its cause, the 
period of noncompliance, including exact dates and times, and if the 
noncompliance has not been corrected, the anticipated time it is 
expected to continue; and steps taken or planned to reduce, eliminate, 
and prevent recurrence of the noncompliance.

[[Page 713]]

    (c) Plugging and abandonment plan. (1) The owner or operator shall 
prepare, maintain, and comply with a plan for plugging and abandonment 
of the well or project that meets the requirements of Sec. 146.10 of 
this chapter and is acceptable to the Director. For purposes of this 
paragraph, temporary intermittent cessation of injection operations is 
not abandonment.
    (2) For EPA administered programs:
    (i) The owner or operator shall submit the plan, on a form provided 
by the Regional Administrator, no later than one year after the 
effective date of the UIC program in the state.
    (ii) The owner or operator shall submit any proposed significant 
revision to the method of plugging reflected in the plan no later than 
the notice of plugging required by Sec. 144.28(j)(2) (i.e., 45 days 
prior to plugging unless shorter notice is approved).
    (iii) The plan shall include the following information:
    (A) The nature and quantity and material to be used in plugging;
    (B) The location and extent (by depth) of the plugs;
    (C) Any proposed test or measurement to be made;
    (D) The amount, size, and location (by depth) of casing to be left 
in the well;
    (E) The method and location where casing is to be parted; and
    (F) [Reserved]
    (G) The estimated cost of plugging the well.
    (iv) After a cessation of operations of two years the owner or 
operator shall plug and abandon the well in accordance with the plan 
unless he:
    (A) Provides notice to the Regional Administrator;
    (B) Describe actions or procedures, satisfactory to the Regional 
Administrator, that the owner or operator will take to ensure that the 
well will not endanger USDWs during the period of temporary abandonment. 
These actions and procedures shall include compliance with the technical 
requirements applicable to active injection wells unless waived by the 
Regional Administrator.
    (v) The owner or operator of any well that has been temporarily 
abandoned [ceased operations for more than two years and has met the 
requirements of paragraphs (c)(2) (A) and (B) of this section] shall 
notify the Regional Administrator prior to resuming operation of the 
well.
    (d) Financial responsibility. (1) The owner, operator and/or, for 
EPA-administered programs, the transferor of a Class I, II or III well, 
is required to demonstrate and maintain financial responsibility and 
resources to close, plug and abandon the underground injection operation 
in a manner prescribed by the Director until:
    (i) The well has been plugged and abandoned in accordance with an 
approved plugging and abandonment plan pursuant to Sec. Sec. 144.28(c) 
and 146.10 and submission of a plugging and abandonment report has been 
made pursuant to Sec. 144.28(k);
    (ii) The well has been converted in compliance with the requirements 
of Sec. 144.28(j); or
    (iii) For EPA-administered programs, the transferor has received 
notice from the Director that the transferee has demonstrated financial 
responsibility for the well. The owner or operator shall show evidence 
of such financial responsibility to the Director by the submission of a 
surety bond, or other adequate assurance, such as a financial statement.
    (2) For EPA-administered programs, the owner or operator shall 
submit such evidence no later than one year after the effective date of 
the UIC program in the State. Where the ownership or operational control 
of the well is transferred more than one year after the effective date 
of the UIC program, the transferee shall submit such evidence no later 
than the date specified in the notice required pursuant to Sec. 
144.28(l)(2).
    (3) For EPA administered programs the Regional Administrator may 
require the owner or operator to submit a revised demonstration of 
financial responsibility if the Regional Administrator has reason to 
believe that the original demonstration is no longer adequate to cover 
the cost of closing, plugging and abandoning the well.
    (4) For EPA administered programs the owner or operator of a well 
injecting hazardous waste must comply with

[[Page 714]]

the financial responsibility requirements of subpart F of this part.
    (5) For EPA-administered programs, an owner or operator must notify 
the Regional Administrator by certified mail of the commencement of any 
voluntary or involuntary proceeding under Title 11 (Bankruptcy) of the 
United States Code which names the owner or operator as debtor, within 
10 business days after the commencement of the proceeding. Any party 
acting as guarantor for the owner or operator for the purpose of 
financial responsibility must so notify the Regional Administrator, if 
the guarantor is named as debtor in any such proceeding.
    (6) In the event of commencement of a proceeding specified in 
paragraph (d)(5) of this section, an owner or operator who has furnished 
a financial statement for the purpose of demonstrating financial 
responsibility under this section shall be deemed to be in violation of 
this paragraph until an alternative financial assurance demonstration 
acceptable to the Regional Administrator is provided either by the owner 
or operator or by its trustee in bankruptcy, receiver, or other 
authorized party. All parties shall be prohibited from injecting into 
the well until such alternate financial assurance is provided.
    (e) Casing and cementing requirements. For enhanced recovery and 
hydrocarbon storage wells:
    (1) The owner or operator shall case and cement the well to prevent 
movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking 
water. In determining and specifying casing and cementing requirements, 
the following factors shall be considered:
    (i) Depth to the injection zone;
    (ii) Depth to the bottom of all USDWs; and
    (iii) Estimated maximum and average injection pressures.
    (2) In addition, in determining and specifying casing and cementing 
requirements the Director may consider information on:
    (i) Nature of formation fluids;
    (ii) Lithology of injection and confining zones;
    (iii) External pressure, internal pressure, and axial loading;
    (iv) Hole size;
    (v) Size and grade of all casing strings; and
    (vi) Class of cement.
    (3) The requirements in paragraphs (e) (1) and (2) of this section 
need not apply if:
    (i) Regulatory controls for casing and cementing existed at the time 
of drilling of the well and the well is in compliance with those 
controls; and
    (ii) Well injection will not result in the movement of fluids into 
an underground source of drinking water so as to create a significant 
risk to the health of persons.
    (4) When a State did not have regulatory controls for casing and 
cementing prior to the time of the submission of the State program to 
the Administrator, the Director need not apply the casing and cementing 
requirements in paragraph (e)(1) of this section if he submits as a part 
of his application for primacy, an appropriate plan for casing and 
cementing of existing, newly converted, and newly drilled wells in 
existing fields, and the Administrator approves the plan.
    (f) Operating requirements. (1) Injection between the outermost 
casing protecting underground sources of drinking water and the well 
bore is prohibited.
    (2) The owner or operator of a Class I, II or III injection well 
authorized by rule shall establish and maintain mechanical integrity as 
defined in Sec. 146.8 of this chapter until the well is properly 
plugged in accordance with an approved plugging and abandonment plan 
pursuant to Sec. Sec. 144.28(c) and 146.10, and a plugging and 
abandonment report pursuant to Sec. 144.28(k) is submitted, or until 
the well is converted in compliance with Sec. 144.28(j). For EPA-
administered programs, the Regional Administrator may require by written 
notice that the owner or operator comply with a schedule describing when 
mechanical integrity demonstrations shall be made.
    (3) When the Director determines that a Class I (non-hazardous), II 
or III injection well lacks mechanical integrity pursuant to Sec. 146.8 
of this chapter, the Director shall give written notice of his 
determination to the owner or operator. Unless the Director requires

[[Page 715]]

immediate cessation, the owner or operator shall cease injection into 
the well within 48 hours of receipt of the Director's determination. The 
Director may allow plugging of the well in accordance with the 
requirements of Sec. 146.10 of this chapter, or require the owner or 
operator to perform such additional construction, operation, monitoring, 
reporting and corrective action as is necessary to prevent the movement 
of fluid into or between USDWs caused by the lack of mechanical 
integrity. The owner or operator may resume injection upon receipt of 
written notification from the Director that the owner or operator has 
demonstrated mechanical integrity pursuant to Sec. 146.8 of this 
chapter.
    (4) The Director may allow the owner or operator of a well which 
lacks mechanical integrity pursuant to Sec. 146.8(a)(1) of this chapter 
to continue or resume injection if the owner or operator has made a 
satisfactory demonstration that there is no movement of fluid into or 
between USDWs.
    (5) For Class I wells, unless an alternative to a packer has been 
approved under Sec. 146.12(c) of this chapter, the owner or operator 
shall fill the annulus between the tubing and the long string of casings 
with a fluid approved by the Director and maintain a pressure, also 
approved by the Director, on the annulus. For EPA administered programs, 
the owner or operator of a Class I well completed with tubing and packer 
shall fill the annulus between tubing and casing with a noncorrosive 
fluid and maintain a positive pressure on the annulus. For other Class I 
wells, the owner or operator shall insure that the alternative 
completion method will reliably provide a comparable level of protection 
to underground sources of drinking water.
    (6) Injection pressure.
    (i) For Class I and III wells:
    (A) Except during stimulation, the owner or operator shall not 
exceed an injection pressure at the wellhead which shall be calculated 
so as to assure that the pressure during injection does not initiate new 
fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection zone; and
    (B) The owner or operator shall not inject at a pressure which will 
initiate fractures in the confining zone or cause the movement of 
injection or formation fluids into an underground source of drinking 
water.
    (ii) For Class II wells:
    (A) The owner or operator shall not exceed a maximum injection 
pressure at the wellhead which shall be calculated so as to assure that 
the pressure during injection does not initiate new fractures of 
propagate existing fractures in the confining zone adjacent to the 
USDWs; and
    (B) The owner or operator shall not inject at a pressure which will 
cause the movement of injection or formation fluids into an underground 
source of drinking water.
    (g) Monitoring requirements. The owner or operator shall perform the 
monitoring as described in this paragraph. For EPA administered 
programs, monitoring of the nature of the injected fluids shall comply 
with applicable analytical methods cited and described in table I of 40 
CFR 136.3 or in appendix III of 40 CFR part 261 or by other methods that 
have been approved by the Regional Administrator.
    (1) The owner or operator of a Class I well shall:
    (i) Analyze the nature of the injected fluids with sufficient 
frequency to yield data representative of their characteristics;
    (ii) Install and use continuous recording devices to monitor 
injection pressure, flow rate and volume, and the pressure on the 
annulus between the tubing and the long string of casing;
    (iii) Install and use monitoring wells within the area of review if 
required by the Director, to monitor any migration of fluids into and 
pressure in the underground sources of drinking water. The type, number 
and location of the wells, the parameters to be measured, and the 
frequency of monitoring must be approved by the Director.
    (2) For Class II wells:
    (i) The owner or operator shall monitor the nature of the injected 
fluids with sufficient frequency to yield data representative of their 
characteristics. For EPA administered programs, this frequency shall be 
at least once within the first year of the authorization and thereafter 
when changes are made to the fluid.

[[Page 716]]

    (ii) The owner or operator shall observe the injection pressure, 
flow rate, and cumulative volume at least with the following 
frequencies:
    (A) Weekly for produced fluid disposal operations;
    (B) Monthly for enhanced recovery operations;
    (C) Daily during the injection of liquid hydrocarbons and injection 
for withdrawal of stored hydrocarbons; and
    (D) Daily during the injection phase of cyclic steam operations.
    (iii) The owner or operator shall record one observation of 
injection pressure, flow rate and cumulative volume at reasonable 
intervals no greater than thirty days.
    (iv) For enhanced recovery and hydrocarbon storage wells:
    (A) The owner or operator shall demonstrate mechanical integrity 
pursuant to Sec. 146.8 of this chapter at least once every five years 
during the life of the injection well.
    (B) For EPA administered programs, the Regional Administrator by 
written notice may require the owner or operator to comply with a 
schedule describing when such demonstrations shall be made.
    (C) For EPA administered programs, the owner or operator of any well 
required to be tested for mechanical integrity shall notify the Regional 
Administrator at least 30 days prior to any required mechanical 
integrity test. The Regional Administrator may allow a shorter 
notification period if it would be sufficient to enable EPA to witness 
the mechanical integrity testing if it chose. Notification may be in the 
form of a yearly or quarterly schedule of planned mechanical integrity 
tests, or it may be on an individual basis.
    (v) The owner or operator of a hydrocarbon storage or enhanced 
recovery wells may monitor them by manifold monitoring on a field or 
project basis rather than on an individual well basis if such facilities 
consist of more than one injection well, operate with a common manifold, 
and provided the owner or operator demonstrates to the Director that 
manifold monitoring is comparable to individual well monitoring.
    (3)(i) For Class III wells the owner or operator shall provide to 
the Director a qualitative analysis and ranges in concentrations of all 
constituents of injected fluids at least once within the first year of 
authorization and thereafter whenever the injection fluid is modified to 
the extent that the initial data are incorrect or incomplete. The owner 
or operator may request Federal confidentiality as specified in 40 CFR 
part 2. If the information is proprietary the owner or operator may in 
lieu of the ranges in concentrations choose to submit maximum 
concentrations which shall not be exceeded. In such a case the owner or 
operator shall retain records of the undisclosed concentrations and 
provide them upon request to the Regional Administrator as part of any 
enforcement investigation; and
    (ii) Monitor injection pressure and either flow rate or volume semi-
monthly, or meter and record daily injected and produced fluid volumes 
as appropriate;
    (iii) Monitor the fluid level in the injection zone semi-monthly, 
where appropriate;
    (iv) All Class III wells may be monitored on a field or project 
basis rather than an individual well basis by manifold monitoring. 
Manifold monitoring may be used in cases of facilities consisting of 
more than one injection well, operating with a common manifold. Separate 
monitoring systems for each well are not required provided the owner or 
operator demonstrates to the Director that manifold monitoring is 
comparable to individual well monitoring.
    (h) Reporting requirements. The owner or operator shall submit 
reports to the Director as follows:
    (1) For Class I wells, quarterly reports on:
    (i) The physical, chemical, and other relevant characteristics of 
the injection fluids;
    (ii) Monthly average, maximum, and minimum values for injection 
pressure, flow rate and volume, and annular pressure;
    (iii) The results from ground-water monitoring wells prescribed in 
paragraph (g)(1)(iii) of this section;
    (iv) The results of any test of the injection well conducted by the 
owner or operator during the reported quarter if required by the 
Director; and
    (v) Any well work over performed during the reported quarter.

[[Page 717]]

    (2) For Class II wells:
    (i) An annual report to the Director summarizing the results of all 
monitoring, as required in paragraph (g)(2) of this section. Such 
summary shall include monthly records of injected fluids, and any major 
changes in characteristics or sources of injected fluids. Previously 
submitted information may be included by reference.
    (ii) The owner or operator of hydrocarbon storage and enhanced 
recovery projects may report on a field or project basis rather than on 
an individual well basis where manifold monitoring is used.
    (3) For Class III wells:
    (i) Quarterly reporting on all monitoring, as required in paragraph 
(g)(3) of this section;
    (ii) Quarterly reporting of the results of any periodic tests 
required by the Director that are performed during the reported quarter;
    (iii) Monitoring may be reported on a project or field basis rather 
than an individual well basis where manifold monitoring is used.
    (i) Retention of records. The owner or operator shall retain records 
of all monitoring information, including the following:
    (1) Calibration and maintenance records and all original strip chart 
recordings for continuous monitoring instrumentation, and copies of all 
reports required by this section, for a period of at least three years 
from the date of the sample, measurement, or report. This period may be 
extended by request of the Director at any time; and
    (2) The nature and composition of all injected fluids until three 
years after the completion of any plugging and abandonment procedures 
specified under Sec. 144.52(l)(6). The Director may require the owner 
or operator to deliver the records to the Director at the conclusion of 
the retention period. For EPA administered programs, the owner or 
operator shall continue to retain the records after the three year 
retention period unless he delivers the records to the Regional 
Administrator or obtains written approval from the Regional 
Administrator to discard the records.
    (j) Notice of abandonment. (1) The owner or operator shall notify 
the Director, according to a time period required by the Director, 
before conversion or abandonment of the well.
    (2) For EPA-administered programs, the owner or operator shall 
notify the Regional Administrator at least 45 days before plugging and 
abandonment. The Regional Administrator, at his discretion, may allow a 
shorter notice period.
    (k) Plugging and abandonment report. For EPA-administered programs, 
within 60 days after plugging a well or at the time of the next 
quarterly report (whichever is less) the owner or operator shall submit 
a report to the Regional Administrator. If the quarterly report is due 
less than 15 days before completion of plugging, then the report shall 
be submitted within 60 days. The report shall be certified as accurate 
by the person who performed the plugging operation. Such report shall 
consist of either:
    (1) A statement that the well was plugged in accordance with the 
plan previously submitted to the Regional Administrator; or
    (2) Where actual plugging differed from the plan previously 
submitted, an updated version of the plan, on the form supplied by the 
Regional Administrator, specifying the different procedures used.
    (l) Change of ownership or operational control. For EPA-administered 
programs:
    (1) The transferor of a Class I, II or III well authorized by rule 
shall notify the Regional Administrator of a transfer of ownership or 
operational control of the well at least 30 days in advance of the 
proposed transfer.
    (2) The notice shall include a written agreement between the 
transferor and the transferee containing a specific date for transfer of 
ownership or operational control of the well; and a specific date when 
the financial responsibility demonstration of Sec. 144.28(d) will be 
met by the transferee.
    (3) The transferee is authorized to inject unless he receives 
notification from the Director that the transferee has not demonstrated 
financial responsibility pursuant to Sec. 144.28(d).
    (m) Requirements for Class I hazardous waste wells. The owner or 
operator of any Class I well injecting hazardous

[[Page 718]]

waste shall comply with Sec. 144.14(c). In addition, for EPA-
administered programs the owner or operator shall properly dispose of, 
or decontaminate by removing all hazardous waste residues, all injection 
well equipment.

[49 FR 20182, May 11, 1984, as amended at 58 FR 63897, Dec. 3, 1993]