Section 1724.10 - Filing, Notification, Operating, and Testing Requirements for Underground Injection Projects(a) The appropriate Division district deputy shall be notified of any anticipated changes in an underground injection project resulting in inconsistency with the current conditions of approval, such as: expansion of the project, change of injection interval, or increase in maximum allowable surface injection pressure. Such changes shall not be carried out without prior written approval of the Division in accordance with Section 1724.6.(b) In addition to the notice of intention that may be required under Public Resources Code section 3203, any addition of an injection well to an underground injection project, including the conversion of a well without alteration of casing, requires the prior written approval of the Division in accordance with Section 1724.6. The operator shall notify the Division and conduct testing as required under Section 1724.10.1 if the packer or tubing in an injection well is set, reset, moved, or changed.(c) An injection report on a current Division form or in a digital format acceptable to the Division shall be filed with the Division on or before the last day of each month, for the preceding month.(d) A representative chemical analysis of the liquid being injected, as specified in Section 1724.7.2, shall be made and filed with the Division whenever the source of injection liquid is changed, or as requested by the Division. For the purposes of this subdivision, the source of injection is changed if a contributing source is added to or removed from the injection liquid, or if there is a significant change to the relative contribution of individual sources such that the last chemical analysis is not representative of the liquid being injected.(e) For each underground injection project that includes an injection well with open perforations located within 500 linear feet of the screen or perforations of a water supply well, the operator shall provide to the Division in digital format on a yearly basis all of the information listed in subdivisions (e)(1) through (e)(4). On a project-specific or well-specific basis, the Division may specify a distance greater than 500 feet as the distance that triggers the requirements of this subdivision if, in the Division's judgment, geological conditions or the relative location of any water supply well warrants the additional data collection listed in subdivisions (e)(1) through (4). The applicability of this subdivision shall be based on a diligent search by the operator, including consultation of public records, and is not triggered by water source wells. When applicable, the following information shall be provided: (1) A water treatment process flow diagram depicting all physical and chemical treatment processes applied to the injection fluid, from its source to the injection well;(2) The safety data sheet for each chemical additive emplaced in injection wells within the underground injection project, and for each chemical added to the fluid to be injected from the time the fluid is first obtained to the time it is injected;(3) The project-aggregate volume or weight of each additive reported under subdivision (e)(2); and(4) A brief description of the intended purpose of each additive reported under subdivision (e)(2).(f) All injection piping, valves, and facilities shall meet or exceed design standards for the maximum allowable injection pressure or the maximum pressure the equipment will be subjected to, and shall be maintained in a safe and leak-free condition.(g) Except as provided in this subdivision below, all injection wells shall be equipped with tubing and packer, with the packer isolating the injection zone set no more than 100 feet above the approved injection zone. The packer shall not be set below open perforations if the packer is set within the approved zone of injection. The operator may use a technical equivalent of a packer instead of a packer, provided that the Division has approved the alternative as an effective means to isolate the production tubing from the casing. Injection wells equipped with tubing and packer may inject through the tubing, but not through the casing-tubing annulus unless the operator has written approval from the Division. Tubing and packer are not required for the following: (1) Steamflood and cyclic steam injection wells;(2) Any injection well that the Division approves for operation without tubing and packer and for which the operator demonstrates based on documented evidence, that: (A) The well does not penetrate any USDW;(B) The well is completed with more than one string of casing cemented to the satisfaction of the Division below the base of the lowermost USDW penetrated by the well; or(C) There is other justification for a determination that all USDW, hydrocarbon, and anomalous zones can be protected without the use of tubing and packer.(3) An injection well that was not required to be equipped with tubing and packer prior to April 1, 2019, is not subject to the requirements of this subdivision until April 1, 2021.(h) Surface injection pressure of an injection well shall not exceed the maximum allowable surface pressure, as determined under Section 1724.10.3.(i) Mechanical integrity testing must be performed on all injection wells to ensure the injected fluid is confined to the approved injection zone. Mechanical integrity testing shall consist of a two-part demonstration in accordance with Sections 1724.10.1 and 1724.10.2. (1) The operator shall notify the appropriate Division district office at least 48 hours before performing any testing under Sections 1724.10.1 and 1724.10.2 so that Division staff may witness the operations, unless the Division approves shorter notice. This notification requirement also applies to subsequent schedule changes the operator may make for a previously noticed test.(2) Digital copies of surveys and test results shall be submitted to the Division within 60 days of the tests.(3) Injection wells shall be constructed and maintained to allow for compliance with the testing described in Sections 1724.10.1 and 1724.10.2.(4) Any injection well, including a well not actively injecting, that is not tested as required under Sections 1724.10.1 and 1724.10.2 shall automatically lose approval to inject, and subsequent written approval from the Division is required to reinitiate injection.(5) If testing conducted under Sections 1724.10.1 or 1724.10.2 is not successful, then the operator shall undertake remedial work or conduct further testing as necessary to satisfy the Division that the well will not damage life, health, property, or natural resources. In some instances, plugging and abandonment of the well may be necessary to ensure that the well will not damage life, health, property, or natural resources. The necessary remedial work or testing shall be completed within 180 days, unless a longer timeframe is approved by the Division. The requirements of this subdivision are in addition to any other penalty or remedial requirement that may be imposed by the Division.(j) Injection wells and related facilities shall be monitored, as specified in the Project Approval Letter for each underground injection control project, in order to allow for the discovery and correction of abnormal operating conditions.(k) Operators of cyclic steam injection wells shall maintain records in machine-readable format of the number, dates, duration, and volume of fluid injected of each injection cycle performed on each cyclic steam injection well. Such records shall be maintained as long as the underground injection project is approved for injection, and shall be provided to the Division upon request.(l) Additional requirements or modifications of the above requirements may be necessary to fit specific circumstances and types of projects. Examples of such additional requirements or modifications are: (2) Graphs of time vs. oil, water, and gas production rates, maintained for each pool in the project and available for periodic inspection by Division personnel.(3) Graphs of time vs. tubing pressure, casing pressure, and injection rate maintained for each injection well and available for periodic inspection by Division personnel.(4) List of all observation wells used to monitor the project, indicating what parameters each well is monitoring (i.e., pressure, temperature, etc.), submitted to the Division annually.(5) Isobaric maps of the injection zone, submitted to the Division annually.(6) Notification of any change in waste disposal methods.(7) Periodic land-surface elevation change measurements.Cal. Code Regs. Tit. 14, § 1724.10
1. New section filed 2-17-78; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 78, No. 7).
2. Amendment filed 6-30-80; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 80, No. 27).
3. Editorial correction of NOTE filed 12-28-84; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 84, No. 52).
4. Amendment of subsection (j), new subsections (j)(1)-(4) and amendment of NOTE filed 8-4-95; operative 9-3-95 (Register 95, No. 31).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (i) filed 9-3-96 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 96, No. 36).
6. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 12-26-2006 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2006, No. 52).
7. Amendment of section and NOTE filed 2-6-2019; operative 4-1-2019 (Register 2019, No. 6). Note: Authority cited: Sections 3013 and 3106, Public Resources Code. Reference: Section 3106, Public Resources Code.
1. New section filed 2-17-78; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 78, No. 7).
2. Amendment filed 6-30-80; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 80, No. 27).
3. Editorial correction of Note filed 12-28-84; effective thirtieth day thereafter (Register 84, No. 52).
4. Amendment of subsection (j), new subsections (j)(1)-(4) and amendment of Note filed 8-4-95; operative 9-3-95 (Register 95, No. 31).
5. Change without regulatory effect amending subsection (i) filed 9-3-96 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 96, No. 36).
6. Change without regulatory effect amending section filed 12-26-2006 pursuant to section 100, title 1, California Code of Regulations (Register 2006, No. 52).
7. Amendment of section and Note filed 2-6-2019; operative 4/1/2019 (Register 2019, No. 6).