No. 28859 (Amendment): R317-7. Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program

DAR File No.: 28859
Filed: 06/29/2006, 04:26
Received by: NL

 

RULE ANALYSIS

Purpose of the rule or reason for the change:

The purpose of the proposed rule change is to align the definition of underground injection control (UIC)-regulated large capacity underground domestic wastewater disposal systems under the administrative rules for the UIC Program with the definition for those systems under the administrative rule for Large Underground Wastewater Disposal Systems. The reason for this change is to simplify the integration of the performance-based UIC Program regulations (Rule R317-7) with the prescriptive Large Underground Wastewater Disposal Systems regulations (Rule R317-5) governing their siting, construction, and operation.

 

Summary of the rule or change:

Currently under Subsection R317-7-3(3.5)(I), septic systems regulated under the UIC Program are defined as those that inject waste or effluent from a multiple dwelling, community, or business septic tank and have the capacity to serve 20 or more persons per day. The proposed rule change clarifies that the disposal of effluent from a multi-dwelling, business, or community sanitary waste treatment system, consisting of a septic tank or any other treatment mechanism, into a subsurface fluid distribution system with a design flow rate of greater than 5,000 gallons per day qualifies as a UIC-regulated activity. The rule change adds a definition to Subsection R317-7-2(2.35) for large underground domestic wastewater disposal systems and ties it to the definition of those systems in Subsection R317-1-1(1.16) and emphasizes the fact that these systems are only for the disposal of treated domestic waste. The inclusionary language for the classification of UIC-regulated septic systems in Subsection R317-7-3(3.5)(I) is changed from "septic systems" to "large underground domestic wastewater disposal systems". The exclusionary language in Subsection R317-7-3(3.5)(I) is changed from "the capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons" to "a design flow rate of less than or equal to 5,000 gallons per day". Subsection R317-7-3(3.5)(I) is further expanded to clarify that any subsurface fluid distribution systems, regardless of flow rate, used to dispose of industrial waste is not an underground wastewater disposal system as defined in Subsection R317-1-1(1.32). Any subsurface fluid distribution system used to dispose of industrial waste is defined as an Industrial Process Water and Waste Disposal well. Wastewater discharged into these wells must meet MCLs at the point of discharge. It is the inclusion of the term "large underground domestic wastewater disposal systems" and the change to a flow rate of 5,000 gallons per day that facilitate the alignment of the UIC rules with the Large Underground Wastewater Disposal System rules.

 

State statutory or constitutional authorization for this rule:

Section 19-5-104

 

Anticipated cost or savings to:

the state budget:

The proposed rule changes are of a technical nature and are not anticipated to impact staff resources or state budget.

 

local governments:

The proposed rule change will reduce costs to the local health departments by eliminating the time required to ensure that owner/operators of UIC-regulated onsite wastewater disposal systems are complying with the UIC regulations by filling out and submitting the Utah UIC Inventory Information Form.

 

other persons:

The proposed rule change will reduce costs to owner/operators of systems with flow rates less than 5,000 gallons per day, but which meet the other UIC inclusionary criteria, by eliminating the time required to comply with the UIC regulations by filling out and submitting the Utah UIC Inventory Information Form.

 

Compliance costs for affected persons:

The proposed rule change will reduce compliance costs associated with filing the UIC inventory information form for UIC facilities designed with a flow rate of less than 5,000 gallons per day.

 

Comments by the department head on the fiscal impact the rule may have on businesses:

The proposed rule change will reduce compliance costs associated with filing the UIC inventory information form for UIC facilities designed with a flow rate of less than 5,000 gallons per day. No other impacts to businesses are anticipated. Dianne R. Neilson, Executive Director

 

The full text of this rule may be inspected, during regular business hours, at the Division of Administrative Rules, or at:

Environmental Quality
Water Quality
CANNON HEALTH BLDG
288 N 1460 W
SALT LAKE CITY UT 84116-3231

 

Direct questions regarding this rule to:

Dave Wham at the above address, by phone at 801-538-6052, by FAX at 801-538-6016, or by Internet E-mail at [e-mail]

 

Interested persons may present their views on this rule by submitting written comments to the address above no later than 5:00 p.m. on:

08/14/2006

 

This rule may become effective on:

09/01/2006

 

Authorized by:

Walter Baker, Director

 

 

RULE TEXT

R317. Environmental Quality, Water Quality.

R317-7. Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program.

R317-7-2. Definitions.

2.1 "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.

2.2 "Application" means standard forms for applying for a permit, including any additions, revisions or modifications.

2.3 "Aquifer" means a geologic formation or any part thereof that is capable of yielding significant water to a well or spring.

2.4 "Area of Review" means the zone of endangering influence or fixed area radius determined in accordance with the provisions of 40 C.F.R. 146.6.

2.5 "Background Data" means the constituents or parameters and the concentrations or measurements which describe water quality and water quality variability prior to surface or subsurface discharge.

2.6 "Barrel" means 42 (U.S.) gallons at 60 degrees F and atmospheric pressure.

2.7 "Casing" means a pipe or tubing of appropriate material, of varying diameter and weight, lowered into a borehole during or after drilling in order to support the sides of the hole and thus prevent the walls from caving, to prevent loss of drilling mud into porous ground, or to prevent water, gas, or other fluid from entering or leaving the hole.

2.8 "Casing Pressure" means the pressure within the casing or between the casing and tubing at the wellhead.

2.9 "Catastrophic Collapse" means the sudden and utter failure of overlying "strata" caused by removal of underlying materials.

2.10 "Cementing" means the operation whereby a cement slurry is pumped into a drilled hole and/or forced behind the casing.

2.11 "Cesspool" means a "drywell" that receives untreated sanitary waste containing human excreta, and which sometimes has an open bottom and/or perforated sides.

2.12 "Confining Bed" means a body of impermeable or distinctly less permeable material stratigraphically adjacent to one or more aquifers.

2.13 "Confining Zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is capable of limiting fluid movement above an injection zone.

2.14 "Contaminant" means any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water.

2.15 "Conventional Mine" means an open pit or underground excavation for the production of minerals.

2.16 "Disposal Well" means a well used for the disposal of fluids into a subsurface stratum.

2.17 "Drilling Mud" means mud of not less than 36 viscosity (A.P.I. Full Funnel Method) and a weight of not less than nine pounds per gallon.

2.18 "Drywell" means a well, other than an improved sinkhole or subsurface fluid distribution system, completed above the water table so that its bottom and sides are typically dry except when receiving fluids.

2.19 "Exempted Aquifer" means an aquifer or its portion that meets the criteria in the definition of "underground source of drinking water" but which has been exempted according to the procedures of 40 C.F.R. 144.7.

2.20 "Existing Injection Well" means an "injection well" other than a "new injection well."

2.21 "Experimental Technology" means a technology which has not been proven feasible under the conditions in which it is being tested.

2.22 "Fault" means a surface or zone of rock fracture along which there has been a displacement.

2.23 "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.

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

2.25 "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.

2.26 "Formation Fluid" means "fluid" present in a "formation" under natural conditions as opposed to introduced fluids, such as drilling mud.

2.27 "Generator" means any person, by site location, whose act or process produces hazardous waste identified or listed in 40 C.F.R. Part 261.

2.28 "Groundwater" means water below the ground surface in a zone of saturation.

2.29 "Ground water protection area" refers to the drinking water source protection zones for ground water sources delineated by the Utah Division of Drinking Water according to Utah Administrative Code R309-600 - Drinking Water Source Protection For Ground-Water Sources.

2.30 "Hazardous Waste" means a hazardous waste as defined in R315-2-3.

2.31 "Hazardous Waste Management Facility" means all contiguous land, structures, other appurtenances, and improvements on the land used for treating, storing, or disposing of hazardous waste. A facility may consist of several treatment, storage, or disposal operational units (for example, one or more landfills, surface impoundments, or combination of them).

2.32 "Improved sinkhole" means a naturally occurring karst depression or other natural crevice found in volcanic terrain and other geologic settings which have been modified by man for the purpose of directing and emplacing fluids into the subsurface.

2.33 "Injection Well" means a well into which fluids are being injected for subsurface emplacement of the fluids.

2.34 "Injection Zone" means a geological "formation," group of formations, or part of a formation receiving fluids through a well.

2.35 "Large underground domestic wastewater disposal system" means a large underground domestic wastewater disposal system (as defined in R317-1-1.16) for emplacing treated domestic wastewater into the subsurface and which is designed for a capacity of greater than 5,000 gallons per day

2.3[5]6 "Lithology" means the description of rocks on the basis of their physical and chemical characteristics.

2.3[6]7 "Monitoring Well" means a well used to measure groundwater levels and to obtain water samples for water quality analysis.

2.3[7]8 "New Injection Well" means an injection well which began injection after January 19, 1983.

2.3[8]9 "Packer" means a device lowered into a well to produce a fluid-tight seal within the casing.

2.[39]40 "Plugging" means the act or process of stopping the flow of water, oil, or gas into or out of a formation through a borehole or well penetrating that formation.

2.4[0]1 "Plugging Record" means a systematic listing of permanent or temporary abandonment of water, oil, gas, test, exploration and waste injection wells, and may contain a well log, description of amounts and types of plugging material used, the method employed for plugging, a description of formations which are sealed and a graphic log of the well showing formation location, formation thickness, and location of plugging structures.

2.4[1]2 "Point of injection" means the last accessible sampling point prior to waste fluids being released into the subsurface environment through a Class V injection well. For example, the point of injection of a Class V septic system might be the distribution box - the last accessible sampling point before the waste fluids drain into the underlying soils. For a dry well, it is likely to be the well bore itself.

2.4[2]3 "Pressure" means the total load or force per unit area acting on a surface.

2.4[3]4 "Project" means a group of wells in a single operation.

2.4[4]5 "Professional Engineer" means any person qualified to practice engineering before the public in the state of Utah and professionally registered as required under the Professional Engineers and Professional Land Surveyors Licensing Act Rules (UAC R156-22).

2.4[5]6 "Professional Geologist" means any person qualified to practice geology before the public in the state of Utah and professionally registered as required under the Professional Geologist Licensing Act Rules (UAC R156-76).

2.4[6]7 "Radioactive Waste" means any waste which contains radioactive material in concentrations which exceed those listed in 10 C.F.R. Part 20, Appendix B, Table II Column 2.

2.4[7]8 "Sanitary waste" means liquid or solid wastes originating solely from humans and human activities, such as wastes collected from toilets, showers, wash basins, sinks used for cleaning domestic areas, sinks used for food preparation, clothes washing operations, and sinks or washing machines where food and beverage serving dishes, glasses, and utensils are cleaned. Sources of these wastes may include single or multiple residences, hotels and motels, restaurants, bunkhouses, schools, ranger stations, crew quarters, guard stations, campgrounds, picnic grounds, day-use recreation areas, other commercial facilities, and industrial facilities provided the waste is not mixed with industrial waste.

2.4[8]9 "Septic system" means a "well" that is used to emplace sanitary waste below the surface and is typically comprised of a septic tank and subsurface fluid distribution system or disposal system.

2.[49]50 "Stratum" (plural strata) means a single sedimentary bed or layer, regardless of thickness, that consists of generally the same kind of rock material.

2.5[0]1 "Subsidence" means the lowering of the natural land surface in response to earth movements; lowering of fluid pressure; removal of underlying supporting material by mining or solution of solids, either artificially or from natural causes; compaction due to wetting (Hydrocompaction); oxidation of organic matter in soils; or added load on the land surface.

2.5[1]2 "Subsurface fluid distribution system" means an assemblage of perforated pipes, drain tiles, or other similar mechanisms intended to distribute fluids below the surface of the ground.

2.5[2]3 "Surface Casing" means the first string of well casing to be installed in the well.

2.5[3]4 "Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)" means the total residue (filterable) as determined by use of the method specified in 40 C.F.R. Part 136 Table 1B.

2.5[4]5 "Transferee" means the owner or operator receiving ownership and/or operational control of the well.

2.5[5]6 "Transferor" means the owner or operator transferring ownership and/or operational control of the well.

2.5[6]7 "Underground Injection" means a "well injection".

2.5[7]8 "Underground Sources of Drinking Water (USDW)" means an aquifer or its portion which:

A. Supplies any public water system, or which contains a sufficient quantity of ground water to supply a public water system; and

1. currently supplies drinking water for human consumption; or

2. contains fewer than 10,000 mg/l total dissolved solids (TDS); and

B. is not an exempted aquifer. (See Section 7-4).

2.5[8]9 "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.

2.[59]60 "Well Injection" means the subsurface emplacement of fluids through a well.

2.6[0]1 "Well Monitoring" means the measurement, by on-site instruments or laboratory methods, of the quality of water in a well.

2.6[1]2 "Well Plug" means a watertight and gas-tight seal installed in a borehole or well to prevent movement of fluids.

2.6[2]3 "Well Stimulation" means several processes used to clean the well bore, enlarge channels, and increase pore space in the interval to be injected thus making it possible for wastewater to move more readily into the formation, and includes:

(1) surging;

(2) jetting;

(3) blasting;

(4) acidizing; and

(5) hydraulic fracturing.

 

R317-7-3. Classification of Injection Wells.

Injection wells are classified as follows:

3.1 Class I

A. Hazardous Waste Injection Wells: wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or owners or operators of hazardous waste management facilities to inject hazardous waste beneath the lowermost formation containing, within two miles of the well bore, an underground source of drinking water;

B. Nonhazardous Injection Wells: other industrial and municipal waste disposal wells which inject nonhazardous fluids beneath the lowermost formation containing, within two miles of the well bore, an underground source of drinking water; this category includes disposal wells operated in conjunction with uranium mining activities.

C. Radioactive waste disposal wells which inject fluids below the lowermost formation containing an underground source of drinking water within two miles of the well bore.

3.2 Class II. Wells which inject fluids:

A. which are brought to the surface in connection with conventional oil or natural gas production and may be commingled with wastewaters from gas plants which are an integral part of production operations, unless those waters are classified as a hazardous waste at the time of injection;

B. for enhanced recovery of oil or natural gas; and

C. for storage of hydrocarbons which are liquid at standard temperature and pressure.

Class II injection wells are regulated by the Division of Oil, Gas and Mining under Oil and Gas Conservation General Rules, R649-5.

3.3 Class III. Wells which inject for extraction of minerals, including:

A. mining of sulfur by the Frasch process;

B. in situ production of uranium or other metals. This category includes only in situ production from ore bodies which have not been conventionally mined. Solution mining of conventional mines such as stopes leaching is included in Class V; and

C. solution mining of salts or potash.

3.4 Class IV

A. Wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or of radioactive wastes, by owners or operators of hazardous waste management facilities, or by owners or operators of radioactive waste disposal sites to dispose of hazardous wastes or radioactive wastes into a formation which, within two miles of the well, contains an underground source of drinking water;

B. wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or of radioactive wastes, by owners or operators of hazardous waste management facilities, or by owners or operators of radioactive waste disposal sites to dispose of hazardous wastes or radioactive wastes above a formation which, within two miles of the well, contains an underground source of drinking water;

C. wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or by owners or operators of hazardous waste management facilities, to dispose of hazardous wastes which cannot be classified under Section 7-3.1(A) or 7-3.4(A) and (B) of these rules (e.g. wells used to dispose of hazardous wastes into or above a formation which contains an aquifer which has been exempted).

3.5 Class V. Injection wells not included in Classes I, II, III, or IV. Class V wells include:

A. air conditioning return flow wells used to return to the supply aquifer the water used for heating or cooling in a heat pump;

B. large capacity cesspools, including multiple dwelling, community or regional cesspools, or other devices that receive untreated sanitary wastes, containing human excreta, which have an open bottom and sometimes have perforated sides. The UIC requirements do not apply to single family residential cesspools nor to non-residential cesspools which receive solely sanitary wastes and have a design flow rate of less than or equal to 5,000 gallons[the capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons] per day;

C. cooling water return flow wells used to inject water previously used for cooling;

D. drainage wells used to drain surface fluid, primarily storm runoff, into a subsurface formation;

E. dry wells used for the injection of wastes into a subsurface formation;

F. recharge wells used to replenish the water in an aquifer;

G. salt water intrusion barrier wells used to inject water into a fresh water aquifer to prevent the intrusion of salt water into the fresh water;

H. sand backfill and other backfill wells used to inject a mixture of water and sand, mill tailings or other solids into mined out portions of subsurface mines, whether what is injected is radioactive waste or not;

I. large underground domestic wastewater disposal systems (as defined in R317-1-1.16)[septic systems] used to inject effluent from a domestic wastewater treatment system associated with[the waste or effluent from] a multiple family dwelling, business establishment, community, or regional business establishment[ septic tank]. The UIC requirements do not apply to single family residential onsite wastewater systems[septic system wells] (as defined in R317-1-1.13), nor to non-residential onsite wastewater systems[septic system wells] which are used solely for the disposal of treated domestic[sanitary] waste and have [the capacity to serve fewer than 20 persons]a design flow rate of less than or equal to 5,000 gallons per day[;]. Any subsurface fluid distribution system or other type of injection well designed for any flow rate and used to dispose of industrial wastewater is not an underground wastewater disposal system as defined by R317-1-1.32.

J. subsidence control wells (not used for the purpose of oil or natural gas production) used to inject fluids into a non-oil or gas producing zone to reduce or eliminate subsidence associated with the overdraft of fresh water;

K. stopes leaching, geothermal and experimental wells;

L. brine disposal wells for halogen recovery processes;

M. injection wells associated with the recovery of geothermal energy for heating, aquaculture and production of electric power; and

N. injection wells used for in situ recovery of lignite, coal, tar sands, and oil shale.

O. motor vehicle waste disposal wells that receive or have received fluids from vehicular repair or maintenance activities, such as an auto body repair shop, automotive repair shop, new and used car dealership, specialty repair shop (e.g., transmission and muffler repair shop), or any facility that does any vehicular repair work. Fluids disposed in these wells may contain organic and inorganic chemicals in concentrations that exceed the maximum contaminant levels (MCLs) established by the primary drinking water regulations (see 40 CFR Part 141 and Utah Primary Drinking Water Standards R309-200-5). These fluids also may include waste petroleum products and may contain contaminants, such as heavy metals and volatile organic compounds, which pose risks to human health.

 

KEY: water quality, underground injection control

Date of Enactment or Last Substantive Amendment: [October 26, 2004]2006

Notice of Continuation: November 13, 2001

Authorizing, and Implemented or Interpreted Law: 19-5