74:55:01:59. Requirements for plugging wells, drill holes,
and the repair and conversion of wells. The requirements for plugging drill
holes and repair, conversion, and plugging of wells are as follows:
(1) A plan for drill hole
plugging and well repair, plugging, and conversion shall be included in the
permit application and constitutes a condition of the permit;
(2) All drill holes shall
be plugged in accordance with § 74:02:04:67, 74:02:04:69, or 74:02:04:70,
as applicable, in a manner that will not allow the movement of fluids either
into or between water-bearing strata, including underground sources of drinking
water;
(3) The operator shall
notify the secretary 45 days before a well within a production area is
converted to other uses than injection;
(4) The operator shall
notify the secretary 10 days prior to plugging a well so the secretary can
witness the plugging;
(5) All abandoned wells
shall be plugged or converted, in accordance with the plugging/conversion plan
in the permit, to ensure that ground water is protected and preserved for
future use and to eliminate any potential physical hazard. A well is considered
abandoned if it has not been used for a period of two years, unless the
operator submits to the secretary and receives approval for a technical
revision demonstrating the operator's intention to use the well again and the
actions and specifying procedures that will be taken to ensure that mechanical
integrity of the well is maintained and the well will not endanger any unauthorized
zone, underground source of drinking water, or water-bearing strata;
(6) All wells completed in
confined aquifers or encountering more than one aquifer shall be plugged in
accordance with § 74:02:04:67;
(7) All wells completed in
unconfined aquifers or with only one aquifer encountered shall be plugged in
accordance with § 74:02:04:69;
(8) To ensure that the
locations of the abandoned wells are adequately identified:
(a) The boundaries of
each wellfield and the location of the monitor wells around each wellfield
shall be recorded as a deed notice with the appropriate county; and
(b) The top of the
plugging mixture in each abandoned well shall clearly show on a steel plate
placed atop the sealing mixture the permit number, well identification number,
and information required by the secretary. All marking devices shall be
installed at a minimum depth of two feet below the land surface; and
(c) All abandoned
wells shall be surveyed using global positioning system equipment that has an
accuracy of at least one meter;
(9) Plugging and conversion
activities shall be reported in accordance with the requirements in subdivision
74:55:01:49(3)(d).
Source:
8 SDR 71, effective December 24, 1981; 13 SDR 129, 13 SDR 141, effective July
1, 1987; transferred from § 74:03:11:59, July 1, 1996; 34 SDR 279,
effective May 12, 2008.
General
Authority: SDCL 34A-2-93(15).
Law
Implemented: SDCL 34A-2-44.
74:55:01:59.01. Well plugging records. For any well
abandoned and plugged at an in situ leach mine, well drillers shall prepare and
file well plugging records as required by § 74:02:04:71. The plugging
records shall be submitted to the secretary within 60 days after plugging the
well or at the time of the next quarterly report (whichever is less). For other
wells, well plugging records shall be submitted to the secretary within one
year after the abandonment of any well.
Source:
34 SDR 279, effective May 12, 2008.
General
Authority: SDCL 34A-2-93(15).
Law
Implemented: SDCL 34A-2-44.
74:55:01:59.02. Maintenance and retention of records. The
operator shall retain records of all monitoring information at the mine site,
including the following:
(1) Laboratory analyses,
including a description of or reference for the procedures and methods used for
sample collection, preservation, and quality control and the name, address,
telephone number, and laboratory identification number of the laboratory
performing the analyses;
(2) Records of all data
used to complete permit and license applications and any supplemental
information;
(3) Calibration and
maintenance records and all original records of continuous monitoring
instrumentation, copies of all reports required by the permit, and records of
all data used to complete the permit application;
(4) The nature and
composition of all injected fluids until three years after the completion of
any plugging and abandonment procedures; and
(5) Information requested
by the secretary for inclusion in the annual report.
Records shall be retained 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 secretary at any time. The
secretary may require the operator to deliver the records to the secretary at
the conclusion of the retention period.
Source:
34 SDR 279, effective May 12, 2008.
General
Authority: SDCL 34A-2-93(15).
Law
Implemented: SDCL 34A-2-44.
74:55:01:59.03. Corrective actions for improperly sealed wells.
Corrective actions shall be done on wells that are improperly sealed,
completed, or abandoned. The operator shall submit a corrective action plan,
for secretary review and approval, for wells that are improperly sealed,
completed, or abandoned, consisting of the proposed actions to be taken to
prevent movement of fluid into unauthorized zones. The plan shall provide
information on each well to be remediated including whether it is a production,
monitoring, or abandoned well, the well name or number, and a description of
the condition of the well.
In determining the adequacy of
corrective actions proposed by the operator to prevent fluid movement between
or into water-bearing strata, including underground sources of drinking water,
the secretary shall consider the following criteria and factors:
(1) Nature and volume of
injected fluid;
(2) Nature of native fluids
or by-products of injection;
(3) Geology;
(4) Hydrology;
(5) History of the
injection operation;
(6) Completion and plugging
records;
(7) Abandonment procedures
in effect at the time the well was abandoned; and
(8) Hydraulic connections
between water-bearing strata, including underground sources of drinking water.
Source:
34 SDR 279, effective May 12, 2008.
General
Authority: SDCL 34A-2-93(15).
Law
Implemented: SDCL 34A-2-48.
