Section R12-15-816. Abandonment

A.      Well abandonment shall be performed only by a licensed well drilling contractor or single well licensee.

B.       Except as provided in subsection (F) of this Section, the owner of a well shall file a notice of intent to abandon the well prior

to abandonment, on a form prescribed and furnished by the Director, which shall include:

1.        The name and mailing address of the person filing the notice.

2.        The legal description of the land upon which the well pro- posed to be abandoned is located and the name and mail- ing address of the owner of the land.

3.        The legal description of the location of the well on the land.

4.        The depth, diameter and type of casing of the well.

5.        The well registration number.

6.        The materials and methods to be used to abandon the well.

7.        When abandonment is to begin.

8.        The name and well drilling license number of the well drilling contractor or single well licensee who is to aban- don the well.

9.        The reason for the abandonment.

10.     Such other information as the Director may require.

C.      The Director shall, upon receipt of a proper notice of intent to abandon, mail a well abandonment authorization card to the designated well drilling contractor or single well licensee.

D.      Except as described in subsection (F) of this Section, a well drilling contractor or single well licensee may commence abandoning a well only if the driller has possession of an aban- donment card at the well site, issued by the Director in the name of the driller, authorizing the abandonment of that spe- cific well or wells in that specific location.

E.       Within 30 days after a well is abandoned pursuant to this Sec- tion, the well drilling contractor or single well licensee shall file with the Director a Well Abandonment Completion Report on a form prescribed and furnished by the Director which shall include the date the abandonment of the well was completed and such other information as the Director may require.

F.       In the course of drilling a new well, the well may be aban- doned without first filing a notice of intent to abandon and without an abandonment card. If the well is abandoned pursu- ant to this subsection without first filing a notice of intent to abandon and without an abandonment card, the well drilling contractor or single well licensee shall provide the following information in the Well Abandonment Completion Report:

1.        The legal description of the land upon which the well was abandoned and the name and mailing address of the owner of the land.

2.        The legal description of the location of the well on the land.

3.        The depth, diameter and type of casing of the well prior to abandonment.

4.        The well registration number.

5.        The materials and methods used to abandon the well.

6.        The name and well drilling license number of the well drilling contractor or single well licensee who abandoned the well.

7.        The date of completion of the abandonment of the well.

8.        The reason for the abandonment.

9.        Such other information as the Director may require.

G.      The abandonment of a well shall be accomplished through fill- ing or sealing the well so as to prevent the well, including the annular space outside the casing, from being a channel allow- ing the vertical movement of water.

H.      A well drilling contractor or single well licensee shall con- struct a surface seal for a well that does not penetrate an aqui- fer, as follows:

1.        If the casing is removed from the top 20 feet of the well, a cement grout plug shall be set extending from two feet below the land surface to a minimum of 20 feet below the

land surface, and the well shall be backfilled above the top of the cement grout plug to the original land surface.

2.        If the casing is not removed from the top 20 feet of the well, a cement grout plug shall be set extending from the top of the casing to a minimum of 20 feet below the land surface and the annular space outside the casing shall be filled with cement from the land surface to a minimum of 20 feet below the land surface.

I.        In addition to the surface seal required in subsection (H):

1.        A well penetrating a single aquifer system with no verti- cal flow components shall be filled with cement grout, concrete, bentonite drilling muds, clean sand with ben- tonite, or cuttings from the well.

2.        A well penetrating a single or multiple aquifer system with vertical flow components shall be sealed with cement grout or a column of bentonite drilling mud of sufficient volume, density, and viscosity to prevent fluid communication between aquifers.

J.        Materials containing organic or toxic matter shall not be used in the abandonment of a well.

K.      The owner or operator of the well shall notify the Director in writing no later than 30 days after abandonment has been com- pleted. The notification shall include the well owner’s name, the location of the well, and the method of abandonment.

Historical Note

Adopted effective March 5, 1984 (Supp. 84-2). Amended

effective June 18, 1990 (Supp. 90-2). Amended by final

rulemaking at 13 A.A.R. 3022, effective October 6, 2007

(Supp. 07-3).