SECTION 76.10. Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this chapter, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

(1) Altering--The process of changing the original design or intent of a completed well.

(2) Abandoned well--A well that is not in use. A well is considered to be in use if:

(A) the well is not a deteriorated well and contains the casing, pump, and pump column in good condition;

(B) the well is not a deteriorated well and has been capped;

(C) the water from the well has been put to an authorized beneficial use, as defined by the Texas Water Code;

(D) the well is used in the normal course and scope and with the intensity and frequency of other similar users in the general community; or

(E) the owner is participating in the Conservation Reserve Program authorized by Sections 1231 - 1236, Food Security Act of 1985 (16 U.S.C. §§3831 - 3836), or a similar governmental program.

(3) Annular space--The space between the casing and borehole wall.

(4) Apprentice--An individual registered by the department to act or offer to act as a driller or installer under the supervision of, and pursuant to a training program developed by the supervising licensed driller or pump installer.

(5) Atmospheric barrier--A section of cement placed from two feet below land surface to the land surface when using granular sodium bentonite as a casing sealant or plugging sealant in lieu of cement.

(6) Bentonite--A sodium hydrous aluminum silicate clay mineral (montmorillonite) commercially available in powdered, granular, or pellet form which is mixed with potable water and used for a variety of purposes including the stabilization of borehole walls during drilling, the control of potential or existing high fluid pressures encountered during drilling below a water table, and to provide a seal in the annular space between the well casing and borehole wall.

(7) Bentonite grout--A fluid mixture of sodium bentonite and potable water mixed at manufacturers' specifications to a slurry consistency that can be pumped through a pipe directly into the annular space between the casing and the borehole wall. Its primary function is to seal the borehole in order to prevent the subsurface migration or communication of fluids.

(8) Borehole or well bore--The drilled hole.

(9) Capped well--A well that is closed or capped with a covering capable of preventing surface pollutants from entering the well and sustaining weight of at least 400 pounds and constructed in such a way that the covering cannot be easily removed by hand.

(10) Casing--A watertight pipe which is installed in an excavated or drilled hole, temporarily or permanently, to maintain the hole sidewalls against caving, advance the borehole, and in conjunction with cementing and/or bentonite grouting, to confine the ground waters to their respective zones of origin, and to prevent surface contaminant infiltration.

(11) Cement--A neat portland or construction cement mixture of not more than seven gallons of water per 94-pound sack of dry cement, or a cement slurry which contains cement along with bentonite, gypsum or other additives.

(12) Cessation of drilling--When the borehole has been drilled to total depth and casing has been placed in the borehole.

(13) Chemigation--A process whereby pesticides, fertilizers or other chemicals, or effluents from animal wastes is added to irrigation water applied to land or crop, or both, through an irrigation distribution system.

(14) Closed Loop Geothermal Well--A vertical closed system well used to circulate water, and other fluids or gases through the earth as a heat source or heat sink.

(15) Code--Refers to Texas Occupations Code, Chapters 1901 and 1902.

(16) Commingling--The mixing, mingling, blending or combining through the borehole casing annulus or the filter pack of waters that differ in chemical quality, which causes quality degradation of any aquifer or zone.

(17) Completed monitoring well--A monitoring well which allows water from a single water-producing zone to enter the well bore, but isolates the single water-producing zone from the surface and from all other water-bearing zones by proper casing and/or cementing procedures. Annular space positive displacement or pressure tremie tube grouting or cementing (sealing) method shall be used when encountering injurious water or constituents above or below the zone to be monitored or if the monitoring well is greater than twenty (20) feet in total depth. The single water-producing zone shall not include more than one continuous water-producing unit unless a qualified geologist or a groundwater hydrologist has determined that all the units screened or sampled by the well are interconnected naturally.

(18) Completed to produce undesirable water--A completed well which is designed to extract water from a zone which contains injurious water.

(19) Completed water well--A water well, which has sealed off access of injurious water or constituents to the well bore by utilizing proper casing and annular space positive displacement or pressure tremie tube grouting or cementing (sealing) methods.

(20) Constituents--Elements, ions, compounds, or substances which may cause the degradation of the soil or ground water.

(21) Deteriorated well--A well that, because of its condition, will cause or is likely to cause pollution of any water in this state, including groundwater.

(22) Dry litter poultry facility--Fully enclosed poultry operation where wood shavings or similar material is used as litter.

(23) Easy access--Access is not obstructed by other equipment and the fitting can be removed and replaced with a minimum of tools without risk of breakage of the attachment parts.

(24) Edwards aquifer--That portion of an arcuate belt of porous, water bearing, predominantly carbonate rocks known as the Edwards and Associated Limestones in the Balcones Fault Zone trending from west to east to northeast in Kinney, Uvalde, Medina, Bexar, Comal, Hays, Travis, Williamson, and Bell Counties; and composed of the Salmon Peak Limestone, McKnight Formation, West Nueces Formation, Devil's River Limestone, Person Formation, Kainer Formation, Edwards Formation and Georgetown Formation. The permeable aquifer units generally overlie the less-permeable Glen Rose Formation to the south, overlie the less-permeable Comanche Peak and Walnut formations north of the Colorado River, and underlie the less-permeable Del Rio Clay regionally.

(25) Environmental soil boring--An artificial excavation constructed to measure or monitor the quality and quantity or movement of substances, elements, chemicals, or fluids beneath the surface of the ground. The term shall not include any well that is used in conjunction with the production of oil, gas, or any other minerals.

(26) Filter pack--The media that is used in the annular space around the well screen to create a filter to prevent sand or sediment from entering the well.

(27) Flapper--The clapper, closing, or checking device within the body of the check valve.

(28) Foreign substance--Constituents that include recirculated tailwater and open-ditch water when a pump discharge pipe is submerged in the ditch.

(29) Freshwater--Water whose bacteriological, physical, and chemical properties are such that it is suitable and feasible for beneficial use.

(30) Granular sodium bentonite--Sized, coarse ground, untreated, sodium based bentonite (montmorillonite) which has the specific characteristic of swelling in freshwater.

(31) Grout--This term shall include cement or bentonite mixed with water, or a combination of bentonite and cement mixed with water and/or department-approved additives.

(32) Injection well--This term includes:

(A) an air-conditioning return flow well used to return water that has been used for heating or cooling in a heat pump to the aquifer that supplied the water;

(B) a cooling water return flow well used to inject water that has been used for cooling;

(C) a drainage well used to drain surface fluid into a subsurface formation;

(D) a recharge well used to replenish water in an aquifer;

(E) a saltwater intrusion barrier well used to inject water into a freshwater aquifer to prevent the

intrusion of salt water into fresh water;

(F) a sand backfill well used to inject a mixture of water and sand, mill tailings, or other solids into subsurface mines;

(G) a subsidence control well used to inject fluids into a non-oil-producing or non-gas-producing zone to reduce or eliminate subsidence associated with the overdraft of fresh water; and

(H) a closed system geothermal well used to circulate water, other fluids, or gases through the earth as a heat source or heat sink.

(33) Injurious water--Water that is harmful to vegetation, land or other water as set forth in §1901.254(a) and §1902.252(a) of the Code.

(34) Irrigation distribution system--A device or combination of devices having a hose, pipe, or other conduit which connects directly to any water well or reservoir connected to the well, through which water or a mixture of water and chemicals is drawn and applied to land. The term does not include any hand held hose sprayer or other similar device, which is constructed so that an interruption in water flow automatically prevents any backflow to the water source.

(35) Monitoring well--An artificial excavation that is constructed to measure or monitor the quantity or movement of substances below the surface of the ground, and that is not used in conjunction with the production of oil, gas, or other minerals.

(36) Mud for drilling--A relatively homogenous, viscous fluid produced by the suspension of clay-size particles in water or the additives of bentonite or polymers.

(37) Offering to act--Making a written or oral proposal, contracting in writing or orally to perform well drilling or pump installing work, or advertising in any form through any medium that a person or business entity is a well driller or pump installer, or that implies in any way that a person or business entity is available to contract for, act as a driller or installer, or perform well drilling or pump installing work.

(38) Piezometer--A device so constructed and sealed as to measure hydraulic head at a point in the subsurface.

(39) Piezometer well--A well of a temporary nature constructed to monitor well standards for the purpose of measuring water levels or used for the installation of piezometer resulting in the determination of locations and depths of permanent monitor wells.

(40) Placement and preparation for operation of equipment and materials--Includes but is not limited to removing the pump.

(41) Plugging--An absolute sealing of the well bore.

(42) Pollution--The alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, or biological quality of, or the contamination of, any water that renders the water harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, animals, vegetation, or property, or to public health, safety, or welfare, or impairs the usefulness or the public enjoyment of the water for any or reasonable purpose.

(43) Positive Displacement method--The process in which the cement, bentonite or a combination of the two sealing materials is forced through the well casing followed by water or drilling fluids, via a mechanical pump and out through relief holes in the casing at the maximum depth of the zone to be grouted. The grout then returns under pressure to the surface through the annular space and upon curing or setting causing an annular seal.

(44) Potable water--Water which is safe for human consumption in that it is free from impurities in amounts sufficient to cause disease or harmful physiological effects.

(45) Public water system--A system supplying water to a number of connections or individuals, as defined by current rules and regulations of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, 30 TAC Chapter 290.

(46) Recharge zone--Generally, that area where the stratigraphic units constituting the Edward Aquifer crop out, including the outcrops of other geologic formations in proximity to the Edwards Aquifer, where caves, sinkholes, faults, fractures, or other permeable features would create a potential for recharge of surface waters into the Edwards Aquifer. The recharge zone is identified as that area designated as such in official maps in the appropriate regional office of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

(47) Reconditioning--The process where a well is cleaned out to original depth and the water production is restored. This term shall include any procedures that make the well operable.

(48) Re-completion--The process to bring an existing well into compliance with §76.100 or §76.105 by installing any and all sanitary seals, safeguards, casing, grouting, and the re-setting of well screens as required.

(49) Recovery well--A well constructed for the purpose of recovering injurious groundwater for treatment or removal of contamination.

(50) Sanitary well seal--A watertight device to maintain a junction between the casing and the pump column.

(51) Test well--A well drilled to explore for groundwater.

(52) Tremie pipe method--The process in which a small diameter pipe or tubing is inserted in the annular space of the well to the maximum depth of the zone to be sealed, before the grouting procedure is commenced to pump sealing material through. The tubing or pipe may be retrieved during the grouting process, causing an annular seal.

(53) Water or waters in the state--Groundwater, percolating or otherwise, lakes, bays, ponds, impounding reservoirs, springs, rivers, streams, creeks, estuaries, marshes, inlets, canals, the Gulf of Mexico inside the territorial limits of the state, and all other bodies of surface water, natural or artificial, inland or coastal, fresh or salt, navigable or non-navigable, and including the beds and banks of all watercourses and bodies of surface water, that are wholly or partially inside or bordering the state or inside the jurisdiction of the state.

(54) State of Texas Well Report (Well Log)--A log recorded on forms prescribed by the department, at the time of drilling showing the depth, thickness, character of the different strata penetrated, location of water-bearing strata, depth, size, and character of casing installed, together with any other data or information required by the executive director.

Source Note: The provisions of this §76.10 adopted to be effective November 8, 2001, 26 TexReg 8814; amended to be effective December 1, 2003, 28 TexReg 10468; amended to be effective October 1, 2004, 29 TexReg 9183; amended to be effective December 1, 2006, 31 TexReg 9604; amended to be effective March 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 1142; amended to be effective September 15, 2014, 39 TexReg 7090; amended to be effective January 1, 2016, 40 TexReg 8756; amended to be effective April 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 1635