Ariz. Admin. Code § 18-9-D639

Current through Register Vol. 31, No. 1, January 3, 2025

Section R18-9-D639 - Corrective Action

A. Applicants for Class I, II, or III injection well permits shall identify the location of all known wells within the injection well's area of review that penetrates the injection zone, or in the case of Class II wells operating over the fracture pressure of the injection formation, all known wells within the area of review penetrating formations affected by the increase in pressure. For such wells that are improperly sealed, completed, or abandoned, the applicant shall also submit a plan consisting of such steps or modifications as are necessary to prevent movement of fluid into USDWs. Where the plan is adequate, the Director shall incorporate it into the permit as a condition. Where the Director's review of an application indicates that the permittee's plan is inadequate, the Director shall require the applicant to revise the plan, prescribe a plan for corrective action as a condition of the permit under subsection (B) through (E) of this Section, or deny the application. The Director may disregard the provisions of R18-9-B612 and this Section when reviewing an application to permit an existing Class II well.

B. Any permit issued for an existing injection well, other than Class II wells, requiring corrective action shall include a compliance schedule requiring any corrective action accepted or prescribed under subsection (A) of this Section to be completed as soon as possible.

C. No owner or operator of a new injection well may begin injection until all required corrective action has been taken.

D. The Director may require as a permit condition that injection pressure be so limited that pressure in the injection zone does not exceed hydrostatic pressure at the site of any improperly completed or abandoned well within the area of review. This pressure limitation shall satisfy the corrective action requirement. Alternatively, such injection pressure limitation can be part of a compliance schedule and last until all other required corrective action has been taken.

E. When setting corrective action requirements for Class III wells, the Director shall consider the overall effect of the project on the hydraulic gradient in potentially affected USDWs, and the corresponding changes in potentiometric surface or surfaces and flow direction or directions rather than the discrete effect of each well. If a decision is made that corrective action is not necessary based on the determinations above, the monitoring program required in R18-9-G647(B) shall be designed to verify the validity of such determinations.

F. In determining the adequacy of corrective action proposed by the applicant under this Section and in determining the additional steps needed to prevent fluid movement into USDWs, the following criteria and factors shall be considered by the Director:

1. Nature and volume of injected fluid;

2. Nature of native fluids or by-products of injection;

3. Potentially affected population;

4. Geology;

5. Hydrology;

6. History of the injection operation;

7. Completion and plugging records;

8. Abandonment procedures in effect at the time the well was abandoned; and

9. Hydraulic connections with USDWs.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R18-9-D639

New Section made by final rulemaking at 28 A.A.R. 1904, effective 9/6/2022.