SECTION 76.101. Technical Requirements--Standards of Completion for Water Wells Encountering Water Injurious to Vegetation, Land or Other Water

(a) Upon encountering water injurious to vegetation, land, or other water, a driller or installer shall:

(1) comply with the notification requirements of §1901.254 and §1902.252 of the Code; and

(2) as quickly as possible, plug, repair or properly complete the well pursuant to the standards adopted by the commission in order to avoid injury or pollution.

(b) The driller may, subject to the consent of the landowner or person having the well drilled, make the well into a completed monitoring well or into a well otherwise producing injurious water in accordance with §76.102.

(c) If a driller encounters injurious water and the well is not plugged or made into a completed monitoring well producing injurious water, the driller shall ensure that the well drilled, deepened or altered is completed as quickly as possible as follows:

(1) When injurious water is encountered in a water well, the injurious water shall be sealed off and confined to the zone(s) of origin.

(2) When injurious water is encountered in a zone overlying fresh water, the driller shall case the water well from the production zone back to the land surface to ensure the protection of water quality.

(3) The annular space between the casing and the wall of the borehole shall be pressure grouted with positive displacement technique or the well is tremie pressured filled provided the annular space is three inches larger than the casing with cement or bentonite grout from the production zone to the land surface to ensure the protection of groundwater. Bentonite grout may not be used if a water zone contains chlorides above one thousand five hundred (1,500) parts per million (milligrams per liter) or if hydrocarbons are present.

(4) When injurious water is encountered in a zone underlying a fresh water zone, the part of the wellbore opposite the injurious water zone shall be filled with pressured cement or bentonite grout to the bottom of the production zone to prevent the entrance of the injurious water into the water well. Bentonite grout may not be used if a water zone contains chlorides above one thousand five hundred (1,500) parts per million (milligrams per liter) or if hydrocarbons are present.

(5) For class V injection wells that encounter injurious water, the driller must comply with applicable requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 30 TAC Chapter 331.

(d) Upon encountering water that may not be injurious to vegetation, land or other water but has the potential to cause pollution if commingled with fresh water or water from a different production zone, a driller or installer shall, as soon as possible, notify the landowner, or person having the well drilled, and ensure that the water is sealed off and confined to the zone of origin.

Source Note: The provisions of this §76.101 adopted to be effective March 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 1142; amended to be effective September 15, 2014, 39 TexReg 7090; amended to be effective April 1, 2018, 43 TexReg 1635