020-11 Wyo. Code R. § 11-1

Current through April 27, 2019

Section 11-1 - Definitions

(a) "Abandoned well" means a well whose use has been permanently discontinued or which is in a state of disrepair such that it cannot be used for its intended purpose or for observation purposes.

(b) "Affected Land or Affected Area" means as defined in Wyoming Statute (W.S.) § 35-11-103(e)(xvi).

(c) "Annular space" means the space between the well casing and the borehole or the space between two or more strings of well casing.

(d) "Area Permit" means that, for the purposes of this Chapter, the Administrator may issue a permit on an area basis, rather than for each well individually, provided that the permit is for UIC Class III wells:

• (i) Described and identified by location in permit application(s) if the wells are existing wells, except that the Administrator may accept a single description of wells with substantially the same characteristics;

• (ii) Within the same well field, facility site, reservoir, project, or similar unit in the same state;

• (iii) Operated by a single owner or operator; and

• (iv) That are not used to inject hazardous waste.

(e) "Baseline" means the constituents or parameters and the concentrations or measurements which describe water quality and water quality variability prior to the injection of recovery fluid.

(f) "Best Practicable Technology" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(i).

(g) "Catastrophic collapse" means the sudden and utter failure of overlying strata caused by removal of underlying materials. This can occur in salt solution mining and other processes that remove reservoir material to recover product.

(h) "Class III well" means a well used for in situ mining for the injection of recovery fluid for the purpose of extracting minerals, or products, including a well used in:

• (i) Mining of sulfur by the Frasch process;

• (ii) In situ mining of uranium or other metals; this category includes only in situ production from ore bodies which have not been conventionally mined. Wells used for solution mining (such as stope leaching) of conventional mines are classified as Class V wells;

• (iii) In situ mining of salts, trona, or potash. With the exception that wells, used in reclamation activities, to inject into previously mined areas of underground trona mines will be classified as Class V wells rather than Class III wells (and therefore not regulated under this Chapter), regardless of whether such wells are used for secondary recovery of trona;

• (iv) Fossil fuel recovery, including oil shale and tar sands; or

• (v) Experimental technologies, such as pilot scale in situ mining wells in previously unmined areas.

(i) "Compliance schedule" means a schedule of remedial measures included in a permit, including an enforceable sequence of interim requirements (for example, actions, operations, or milestone events) leading to compliance with the applicable statutes and regulations.

(j) "Confining zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of significantly limiting fluid movement above or below an injection zone.

(k) "Contaminant" means any unwanted or unauthorized physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.

(l) "Excursion" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(ii).

(m) "Exempted aquifer" means an aquifer or its portion that meets the criteria in the definition of "Underground Source of Water" but which has been exempted according to the procedures of Section 11 of this Chapter.

(n) "Fact sheet" means that for every in situ class III draft permit a fact sheet must be created that briefly sets forth the principal facts and the significant factual, legal, methodological and policy questions considered in preparing the draft permit. The Administrator shall send this fact sheet to the applicant and, on request to any other person. The fact sheet shall include, when applicable:

• (i) A brief description of the type of facility or activity which is the subject of the draft permit;

• (ii) The type and quantity of wastes, fluids, or pollutants which are proposed to be or are being treated, stored, disposed of, injected, emitted, or discharged;

• (iii) Reasons why any requested variances or alternatives to required standards do or do not appear justified;

• (iv) A description of the procedures for reaching a final decision on the draft permit including:
  • (A) The beginning and ending dates of the comment period and the address where comments will be received;
  • (B) Procedures for requesting a hearing and the nature of that hearing; and
  • (C) Any other procedures by which the public may participate in the final decision.

• (v) Name and telephone number of a person to contact for additional information.

(o) "Flow rate" means the volume per time unit given to the flow of gases or other fluid substance which emerges from an orifice, pump, turbine or passes along a conduit or channel.

(p) "Fluid" means material or substance which flows or moves whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas, or any other form or state.

(q) "Formation" means a body of rock characterized by a degree of lithologic homogeneity which is prevailingly, but not necessarily, tabular and is mappable on the earth's surface or traceable in the subsurface.

(r) "Formation fluid" means "fluid" present in a "formation" under natural conditions as opposed to introduced fluids.

(s) "Groundwater restoration" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(iii).

(t) "Injection well" means a well or conduit through which recovery fluid is introduced into the subsurface. If a well is used for both injection and recovery, it is considered an injection well for the purposes of this Chapter until the operator has adequately demonstrated to the Administrator that the well has been converted to a use other than injection, per the requirements of Section 10 of this Chapter.

(u) "In situ mining" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(iv).

(v) "License area" means, with respect to an In Situ Research and Development License, an area described in the license application within which all affected land and water is contained.

(w) "Mechanical integrity" means, an injection well, a production well, or monitor well where there is no significant leak in the casing, tubing or packer, and there is no significant fluid movement into an unauthorized zone through vertical channels adjacent to the injection orrecovery well bore.

(x) "Mechanical Integrity Testing" (MIT) means the testing used to determine that a well has mechanical integrity as required in Section 9 of this Chapter. A schedule and methods for Mechanical Integrity Testing shall be approved by the Administrator and included in the permit or Research and Development License application (per Section 5(a)(xvi) of this Chapter) and shall constitute requirements of the permit.

(y) "Mining permit or permit" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(e)(xi).

(z) "Monitor well" means a well constructed or utilized to measure static water levels or to obtain liquid, solid, or gaseous analytical samples or other physical data that would be used for controlling the operations or to indicate potential circumstances that could affect the environment.

(aa) "Monitor well ring" means the series of monitor wells surrounding a wellfield used to assess possible chemical and physical changes in groundwater due to ISR development.

(ab) "Production well or Recovery well" means a well through which a recovery fluid or soluble mineral is produced or recovered from the subsurface. If a well is used for both injection and recovery, it is considered an injection well for the purposes of this chapter until the operator adequately demonstrates to the Department that the well has been converted to use as a Production or Recovery Well.

(ac) "Production zone" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(v).

(ad) "Public water supply" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(c)(viii).

(ae) "Receiving strata" means the geologic units within which the production zones are contained.

(af) "Recovery fluid" means any material which flows or moves, whether semi-solid, liquid, sludge, gas or other form or state, used to dissolve, leach, gasify or extract a mineral. This may also include restoration fluid.

(ag) "Research and Development License" means the permitting vehicle issued by the Administrator, per W.S. § 35-11-431 et seq., approving research and development testing as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(f)(viii).

(ah) "Sealing" means the operation whereby a cement slurry or other approved material is pumped into a drilled hole and/or forced into a well's annulus between the borehole and the casing. "Sealant materials" are materials that are stable, have very low to no permeability and possesses minimum shrinking properties such that they are optimal sealing materials for well plugging and drill hole abandonment.

(ai) "Target Restoration Values" means the numerical groundwater protection standards, developed on a parameter-by-parameter basis for water quality constituents, used to assess the success of groundwater restoration within the production zone.

(aj) "The Division" means the Land Quality Division of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality.

(ak) "Topsoil" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(e)(xiv).

(al) "Underground Injection Control" (UIC) means the Underground Injection Control program under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act ( 42 USC 300h et seq. (2005)), including an "approved State program."

(am) "Underground Source of Water" (USW) means:

• (i) Those aquifers or portions thereof which have a total dissolved solids content of less than 10,000 milligrams per liter (mg/l) and which contain a sufficient quantity of water to supply a public water supply as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(c)(viii);

• (ii) Those that can classified as a "known source of supply" pursuant to Chapter 8, Section 4(c), Quality Standards for Wyoming Groundwaters, Water Quality Division Rules and Regulations.

(an) "Upper Control Limit" (UCL) means a value greater than the maximum value of a chemical or physical parameter that can be attributed to natural fluctuations and analytical variability. UCL parameters and amounts are determined from the baseline sampling and agreed upon by the Administrator and the operator prior to initiation of mining. UCLs are used to determine when there is movement of recovery fluid out of authorized areas or unapproved changes to a chemical or physical parameter.

(ao) "Waters of the State" means as defined in W.S. § 35-11-103(c)(vi).

(ap) "Well" means a bored, drilled, or driven shaft whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension; or, a dug hole whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension; or, an improved sinkhole, or a subsurface fluid distribution system, as codified in the UIC regulations at 40 CFR 144.3.

(aq) "Well field area" means the surface area overlying the injection and recovery zones. This area may be all or a portion of the entire area proposed for the injection and production of recovery fluid throughout the life of the mine.

(ar) "Well Stimulation" means a well mediation performed on an ISR well to increase production by improving the flow of injection fluids from the injection wells into the production well bore.

020-11 Wyo. Code R. § 11-1

Amended, Eff. 11/13/2018.