Current through Register Vol. XLI, No. 24, June 14, 2024
Section 47-60-3 - Definitions3.1. "Abandonment" means the sealing of a monitoring well or borehole in accordance with section 19 of this rule in order to restore original hydrogeologic conditions and/or to prevent contamination.3.2. "Air rotary drilling" means a drilling method whereby the borehole is advanced using a circular rotating action applied to a string of drilling rods that have a diffused discharge bit attached to the bottom of the rods. Pressurized air is forced through the drilling rods that cools the drilling tools and removes the cuttings from the borehole.3.3. "Annular space" (Annulus) means the space between two well casings or between the casing and the borehole sidewall.3.4. "Annular space seal" means the following: 3.4.a. For wells constructed with filter packs, it is the material placed above the top of the filter pack or the filter pack seal up to the surface seal and between the well casing and the adjacent formation; or3.4.b. For wells constructed into bedrock formations and without well screens, it is the material placed from the bottom of the enlarged borehole up to the surface seal, between the well casing and the adjacent formation.3.5. "Appropriate groundwater regulatory agency" means the groundwater regulatory agency that has primary regulatory oversight of a particular facility or activity. Where primary regulatory oversight is unassigned or shared, the Secretary shall determine which groundwater regulatory agency is to be the appropriate groundwater regulatory agency.3.6. "Aquifer test well" means a monitoring well installed to provide information on the hydraulic conductivity, transmissivity, storage coefficient, capture zone, specific capacity, radius of influence or other physical parameters of an aquifer, defined geologic unit, or water bearing formation.3.7. "ASTM" means American Society for Testing and Materials.3.8. "Bedrock" means the continuous solid rock underlying any loose surface material such as soil, alluvium or boulders. Bedrock includes, but is not limited to, limestone, dolomite, sandstone, shale, coal, igneous, and metamorphic rock.3.9. "Bentonite" means a clay consisting of at least eighty-five percent (85%) montmorillonite. Bentonite is available in the following forms:3.9.a. "Bentonite powder" means two hundred (200) mesh pure bentonite, without additives.3.9.b. "Bentonite granules" means eight (8) mesh pure bentonite, without additives.3.9.c. "Bentonite pellets" means commercially manufactured tablets made by compressing pure bentonite, without additives, into forms greater than one-quarter inch (1/4") in size.3.9.d. "Bentonite chips" means commercially processed angular fragments of pure bentonite, without additives.3.10. "Bentonite-cement grout" means a mixture with the ratio not to exceed five (5) pounds of bentonite with ninety-four (94) pounds of Portland cement and approximately eight and six-tenths (8.6) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source.3.11. "Bentonite-fine sand slurry" means a mixture with the minimum ratio of fifty (50) pounds of bentonite with one hundred (100) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source and ten to twenty-five percent (10-25%) sand by volume for a mud weight of eleven (11) pounds per gallon.3.12. "Bentonite granular slurry" means a thoroughly blended mixture of up to thirty (30) pounds of untreated bentonite powder added to one hundred (100) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source with a minimum of one hundred (100) pounds of untreated bentonite granules mixed together by a Venturi hopper mud mixer or other equivalent high shear mixer.3.13. "Bentonite high-solids grout" means a thoroughly blended mixture of water from an uncontaminated source with untreated bentonite, without additives. The mixture by weight shall contain a minimum of twenty percent (20%) bentonite solids.3.14. "Borehole" means a circular hole, deeper than it is wide, constructed in earth material for the purpose of obtaining geologic or groundwater related data. Boreholes are also referred to as drill holes.3.15. "Certified monitoring well driller" means an individual granted a written certificate by the Secretary to drill, construct, alter or abandon monitoring wells or boreholes, except those defined as low-risk in subdivision 19.2.a below, and who meets the requirements of 47CSR59, "Monitoring Well Regulations."3.16. "Clay" means a fine grained inorganic soil with a grain size less than seventy-five micrometers (75 [MICRO]m) and having a plasticity index equal to or greater than four (4).3.17. "Clustered monitoring wells" means individual monitoring wells situated close together, but not in the same borehole. Clustered wells are most often used for monitoring ground water conditions at various depths in roughly the same area.3.18. "Coarse sand" means a well sorted sand with a predominant grain size between four and seventy-six hundredths millimeters (4.76 mm) and two millimeters (2.0 mm) as established by the unified soil classification system.3.19. "Concrete" means a slurry mixture with a ratio of ninety-four (94) pounds of cement, equal volumes of dry sand and gravel, and five (5) to six (6) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source. The ratio of sand and gravel to cement may not exceed three (3) parts to one (1).3.20. "Contaminant" means any material in a solid, liquid or gaseous state that has the potential to cause contamination.3.21. "Contamination" means any manmade or man-induced alteration of the chemical, physical or biological integrity of the groundwater resulting from activities regulated under the West Virginia Groundwater Protection Act in excess of existing groundwater quality, unless that site has been granted a deviation or variance from existing quality as provided for in the West Virginia Groundwater Protection Act, or is subject to an order, permit, or other regulatory action that requires restoration or maintenance of groundwater quality at a different concentration or level.3.22. "Driven-point well" means a well constructed by joining a drive point with lengths of pipe and driving the assembly into the ground with percussion equipment or by hand, without first removing material below the ten (10) foot depth.3.23. "Excavated well" means any monitoring well that is constructed by backfilling appropriately sized unconsolidated material around the well screen. Excavated wells will be installed in accordance with sections 6, 7, and 8, subdivision 11.4.c, and subsection 11.5 of this rule. Excavated wells include, but are not limited to, any tank pit observation well.3.24. "Filter pack" means the sand, gravel or both placed in direct contact with the well screen.3.25. "Filter pack seal" means the sealing material placed in the annular space above the filter pack and below the annular space seal to prevent the migration of annular space sealant into the filter pack.3.26. "Fine sand" means a well sorted sand with a predominant grain size between 0.42 mm and 0.074 mm, as established by the Unified Soil Classification System.3.27. "Gravel" means an unconsolidated material with the predominant grain size being between 76.2 mm and 4.76 mm, as established by the Unified Soil Classification System.3.28. "Groundwater" means the water occurring in the zone of saturation beneath the seasonal high water table, or any perched water zones.3.29. "Groundwater observation well" means any monitoring well in which the screened interval intersects the water table.3.30. "Groundwater Regulatory Agency" means the Department of Environmental Protection, the Bureau for Public Health, the Department of Agriculture, or any other political subdivision that has received approval from the Secretary to regulate facilities or activities for groundwater protection.3.31. "Hollow stem auger drilling" means a drilling method where continuous flighting is welded to a hollow stem pipe. The flighting carries drill cuttings to the surface as the flighting is rotated and pushed down into the earth.3.32. "Inside diameter" means the horizontal distance between the inner walls of a well casing, hollow stem auger or tremie pipe.3.33. "Medium sand" means a well sorted sand with a predominant grain size between 2.0 mm and 0.42 mm, as established by the Unified Soil Classification System.3.34. "Monitoring well" means any cased excavation or opening into the ground made by digging, boring, drilling, driving, jetting, or other methods for the purpose of determining the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological properties of groundwater. The term "monitoring well" includes piezometers and observation wells that are installed for purposes other than those listed above, but does not include wells whose primary purpose is to provide a supply of potable water.3.35. "Montmorillonite" means a group of expanding lattice clay minerals of the general formula: R0.33Al2Si4O10(OH)2.H 2O, where R means one or more cations of sodium, potassium, magnesium or calcium and where Al means aluminum, Si means silicon, O means oxygen and H means hydrogen.3.36. "Mud rotary drilling" means a drilling method whereby a borehole is advanced by using a circular rotating action applied to a string of drilling rods that have a diffused discharge bit attached to the bottom of the string. A bentonite and water mud slurry is used to provide borehole stability, to cool the bit and to carry cuttings to the ground surface.3.37. "Neat cement grout" means a slurry mixture with a ratio of ninety-four (94) pounds of Portland cement mixed with five (5) to six (6) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source.3.38. "Nested monitoring wells" means two (2) or more casing strings within the same borehole. The screened interval of each casing string is designed to monitor water from different zones.3.39. "Percussion drilling" means a drilling method using a cable tool drilling machine or a drilling method whereby the permanent or temporary well casing is driven, or is set into a borehole and then driven.3.40. "Permanent monitoring well" means any monitoring well in place for sixty (60) days or longer.3.41. "Person" means any industrial user, public or private corporation, institution, association, firm or company organized or existing under the laws of this or any other state or country; state of West Virginia; governmental agency, including federal facilities; political subdivision; county commission; municipal corporation; industry; sanitary district; public service district; soil conservation district; watershed improvement district; partnership; trust; estate; person or individual; group of persons or individuals acting individually or as a group; or any legal entity whatever.3.42. "Piezometer" means a monitoring well sealed below the water table that is installed for the specific purpose of determining the potentiometric surface or the physical, chemical, biological, or radiological properties of groundwater, or both.3.43. "Potentiometric surface" or "piezometric surface" means an imaginary surface representing the total head of groundwater and is the level to which water will rise in a well.3.44. "PSI" means pounds per square inch.3.45. "Purge" means an action that removes water from the well, commonly accomplished by using a pump or bailer.3.46. "Recovery well" means a well intended and designed to capture and remove contaminants from the subsurface.3.47. "Rotary wash drilling" means a drilling method whereby metal temporary casing is advanced into the borehole by driving. At selected intervals, the temporary casing is cleaned out using rotary drilling tools by pumping clean water through the rod to flush out accumulated cuttings. This drilling method is also known as wash bore or wash down drilling.3.48. "Sand-cement grout" means a mixture of cement, sand and water in the proportion of ninety-four (94) pounds of Portland cement, one (1) cubic foot of dry sand, and five (5) to (6) gallons of water from an uncontaminated source.3.49. "Secretary" means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her authorized designee.3.50. "Sediment" means any unconsolidated material including, but not limited to, clay, silt, sand, gravel, and rock particles.3.51. "Solid stem auger drilling" means a drilling method where continuous flighting is welded onto a solid stem pipe. The flighting carries drill cuttings to the surface as the flighting is rotated and pushed down into the earth. The borehole is created by a cutting bit located at the tip of the lead auger.3.52. "Specific gravity" means the weight of a particular volume of substance compared to the weight of an equal volume of water at a reference temperature.3.53. "Surge" means an action causing water to move rapidly in and out of the well screen, thereby removing fine material from the surrounding aquifer.3.54. "Tank pit observation well" means any vapor observation well or groundwater observation well or both installed in an underground storage tank excavation for release detection purposes.3.55. "Temporary monitoring well" means any monitoring well in place for less than sixty (60) days.3.56. "Top of bedrock" or "top of firm rock" means at least seventy percent (70%) of the drill cuttings being either: 3.56.a. Angular rock fragments, as in the case of crystalline rock; or3.56.b. Rock fragments composed of individual grains or rock particles that are cemented together to form an aggregate, as opposed to a single sediment particle.3.57. "Tremie pipe" means a pipe or hose used to install well construction materials in an annular space or a borehole.3.58. "Unconsolidated material" means that material found above bedrock, composed of single sediment particles, individual grains or rock fragments. Unconsolidated material includes but is not limited to clay, silt, sand, gravel, loess, peat and organic soil.3.59. "Unified Soil Classification System" means the soil designation system based on the physical properties of the soil developed from the airfield classification system in 1952 and adopted by the American Society for Testing and Materials in standard test method D2487-83. Note: A copy of this publication is available from the American Society for Testing and Materials, 100 Bar Harbor Drive, West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania 19428.
3.60. "Vapor observation well" means any excavated well in which the screened interval intersects the backfill or unconsolidated material that is sufficiently porous to readily allow diffusion of vapors into the well.3.61. "Water table" means the surface of unconfined groundwater where the water pressure is equal to atmospheric pressure.3.62. "Water table observation well" means any monitoring well in which the screen or open borehole intersects a water table that is installed for the specific purpose of determining either the elevation of the water table or the physical, chemical, biological or radiological properties of groundwater, or both.3.63. "Well" means any borehole or other excavation or opening in the ground, deeper than it is wide, constructed for the purpose of obtaining or monitoring the surrounding media, including groundwater. This definition does not include water wells whose sole purpose is to provide: a supply of water, for exploration of water, for dewatering, or for functioning as heat pump wells.3.64. "Well depth" means the distance from the ground surface to the bottom of the well screen or to the bottom of the open hole when a well screen is not used.3.65. "Well riser" means the impervious portion of pipe extending from the top of the well screen or open borehole to the top of the monitoring well. The well riser prevents undesirable fluids and materials from entering the monitoring well and provides access to the zone or the interval being monitored.3.66. "Well screen" means the filtering device that allows groundwater to flow freely into a monitoring well from an adjacent formation.3.67. "Well volume" means the volume of water contained in the well casing and the filter pack.