D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 21, r. 21-1899
When used in this chapter, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed (definitions that are codified in the relevant Acts are indicated as [Statutory], and are reprinted below for regulatory efficiency):
Abandonment - the act of properly sealing a well.
Annulus - the space between two cylindrical objects one of which surrounds the other, such as the space between a drill hole and a well casing pipe or between two well casings.
Aquifer - a geologic unit or formation that is water bearing and yields water.
Aquifer cross-contamination - a condition in which contaminates have migrated from one aquifer to another via any hydraulic connection or hydraulic mechanism.
ASTM - the American Society for Testing Materials.
Casing - the pipe or tubing, constructed of specific materials with specified dimensions and weights, which is installed in a borehole during or after completion of a well, to prevent formation material from entering the well, and to prevent entry of undesirable substances into the well.
Closed-loop ground source heat pump system - a ground source heat pump system that utilizes closed-loop ground source heat pump wells.
Closed-loop ground source heat pump well - a well in which fluid is circulated in a continuous closed-loop fluid system, installed beneath the surface of the earth or in a medium where the system can obtain sufficient cooling or heat exchange.
Confined aquifer - an aquifer bounded above and below by confining units.
Confining unit - a body of impermeable or distinctly less permeable material above or below an aquifer.
Consolidated formation - any geologic formation in which the earth materials have become firm and coherent through natural rock forming processes.
Contaminant - a biological, chemical, physical, or radiological material that poses a hazard to public health and safety or the environment, or interferes with a designated or beneficial use of the District of Columbia's waters.
DCRA - the District of Columbia Department of Consumer and Regulatory Affairs.
Department - the Department of Energy and Environment.
Department regulatory action - a Department action(s), including remedial or removal actions, performed under the Voluntary Remedial Action Program, pursuant to Section 6213 of Title 20 (Environment) of the District of Columbia Municipal Regulations (DCMR); the District of Columbia Underground Storage Tank Management Act of 1990, as amended (D.C. Official Code §§ 8-113.01et seq.), and its implementing regulations in Chapters 55-70 of Title 20 DCMR; the Voluntary Cleanup Program, pursuant to D.C. Official Code §§ 8-633.01 et seq.; or the District of Columbia Brownfield Revitalization Amendment Act of 2000, as amended (D.C. Official Code §§ 8-631et seq.).
Derived waste - any unwanted, or discarded material, solid, liquid, or gas, that is derived from well construction, operations, maintenance, and abandonment activities including drill cuttings, drilling fluids, mud slurries, or well decontamination, development or purge waters.
Dewatering well - a well used to lower groundwater levels for construction such as for footings, sewer lines, building foundations, elevator shafts, or parking garages.
Discharge - spilling, leaking, releasing, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, or dumping of any pollutant or hazardous substance, including a discharge from a storm sewer, into or so that it may enter District of Columbia waters. [Statutory]
District - the District of Columbia. [Statutory]
Domestic supply well - a water supply well used for potable water supply purposes, including drinking, bathing, showering, cooking, dishwashing, and maintaining oral hygiene.
Drill cuttings - any material, typically solids, removed from a borehole during drilling activities.
Drilling fluid - water or air-based fluid used in a well drilling operation.
EPA - the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Filter pack - clean, well-rounded, smooth, uniform sand or gravel, which is placed in the annulus of the well between the borehole wall and the well screen to prevent formation material from entering the well.
Floodplain - a relatively flat or low land area which is subject to partial or complete inundation from an adjoining or nearby stream, river, or watercourse; or any area subject to the usual and rapid accumulation of surface waters from any source; as depicted in the Flood Insurance Rate Map and Flood Insurance Study for the District prepared by the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Formation - a distinct assemblage of earth materials, consolidated or unconsolidated, grouped together into a unit that is convenient for description or mapping.
Gravel - any loose rock that is larger than two millimeters (2 mm).
Ground freeze well - a well constructed for the installation of subsurface freeze pipes designed to freeze the surrounding soil and groundwater to increase their combined strength and create an impervious strata; ground freezing is typically used for construction of shafts, deep excavations, tunnels, groundwater control, structural underpinning, and containment of hazardous waste.
Ground source heat pump system - a mechanical system for heating and cooling that utilizes the naturally occurring, ambient ground temperature and the transfer of thermal energy to or from the earth.
Groundwater - underground water, except for water in pipes, tanks, and other containers created or set up by people.
Grout - any stable, impervious, bonding material reasonably free of shrinkage which is capable of providing a water-tight seal in the annular spaces of a well.
Hazardous Substance - any toxic pollutant referenced in or designated in or pursuant to § 307(a) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; any substance designated pursuant to § 311(b)(2)(A) of the Federal Water Pollution Control Act; or any hazardous waste having the characteristics of those identified under or listed pursuant to the District of Columbia Hazardous Waste Management Act of 1977, as amended.
Hazardous waste - any waste or combination of wastes of a solid, liquid, contained gaseous, or semisolid form which, because of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious characteristics may cause, or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible, or incapacitating reversible, illness; or pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. Such wastes include, but are not limited to, those which are toxic, carcinogenic, flammable, irritants, strong sensitizers, or which generate pressure through decomposition, heat or other means, as well as containers and receptacles previously used in the transportation, storage, use or application of the substances described as a hazardous waste.
Industrial supply well - a non-potable water supply well used to supply water to an industrial or commercial facility for use in the production of goods and services.
Infiltration test - any method used to measure the rate that stormwater may move vertically through the soil profile.
Infiltration/Exfiltration well - below ground surface device primarily used to detain stormwater runoff before allowing it to infiltrate the device's sidewalls and bottom prior to treatment and release to the surrounding soil.
Injection well - a well through which liquid or gas is injected, under pressure or gravity flow, into the subsurface for the purpose of maintaining formation pressure, recharging the aquifer, or the treatment of contaminants.
Installation - any structure, equipment, facility, or appurtenances thereto, operation, or activity which may be a source of pollution. Irrigation supply well - a non-potable water supply well used for irrigating land, crops, or other plants other than household lawns and gardens.
Licensed well driller - a person licensed by a state or federal district to be responsible for on-site work relating to the drilling, construction, development, testing, maintenance or abandonment of a well; well rehabilitation and repair; and the installation, modification, or repair of a well pump or related equipment.
Lot - a lot recorded on the records of the Surveyor of the District of Columbia.
Maintenance - any action undertaken to prevent the deterioration of a well from its original permitted and registered specifications or any action undertaken to restore a well to its original permitted and registered specifications, enabling a well to operate according to its intended use.
Modification - the alteration or rework of a well involving a material change in the original permitted design or construction, including but not limited to deepening, increasing the diameter, casing, perforating, and screen removal.
Monitoring well - a well installed for the sole purpose of assessing subsurface conditions and collecting groundwater samples.
Multi-layer aquifer - an aquifer containing unconsolidated units of varying permeability or zones bound by confining units.
Non-point source - any source from which pollutants are or may be discharged other than a point source.
Observation well - a well used for the sole purpose of determining groundwater levels.
Open-loop ground source heat pump system - a ground source heat pump system that withdraws groundwater from a well for use in the heat exchange unit of the system and then discharges the groundwater to the aquifer via a return well or standing column well or to a surface water body.
Person - any individual, including any owner or operator as defined in this chapter; partnership; corporation, including a government corporation; trust association; firm; joint stock company; organization; commission; the District or federal government; or any other entity. [Statutory]
Piezometer - a non-pumping, non-potable well used for measuring ground water levels or potentiometric surface.
Point source - any discrete source of quantifiable pollutants, including but not limited to a municipal treatment facility discharge, residential, commercial or industrial waste discharge or a combined sewer overflow; or any discernible, confined, and discrete conveyance, including but not limited to any pipe, ditch, channel, tunnel, conduit, well, discrete fissure, container, rolling stock, concentrated animal feeding operation, or vessel or other floating craft, from which pollutants are or may be discharged. [Statutory]
Pollutant - any substance which may alter or interfere with the restoration or maintenance of the chemical, physical, radiological, and biological integrity of the waters of the District; or any dredged spoil, solid waste, incinerator residue, sewage, garbage, sewage sludge, munitions, chemicals, chemical wastes, hazardous wastes, biological materials, radioactive materials, heat, wrecked or discarded equipment, rock, sand, cellar dirt, oil, gasoline and related petroleum products, and industrial, municipal, and agricultural wastes. [Statutory]
Potable - water that is free from impurities in amounts sufficient to cause disease or harmful physiological effects and that conforms with the National Primary Drinking Water Standards as listed in 40 C.F.R. Part 141.
Potentiometric surface - a surface representing the hydraulic head of ground water, represented by the water-table altitude in an unconfined aquifer or by the altitude to which water will rise in a properly constructed well in a confined aquifer.
Pressure grouting - a process by which grout is confined within the borehole or casing and by which sufficient pressure is applied to drive the grout into and within the annular space or zone to be grouted.
Property owner - a person listed as the legal titleholder of record of real property.
Purge - the act of removing groundwater from a well to collect groundwater samples that are representative of aquifer conditions, commonly accomplished by using a pump, prior to collecting accurate, reproducible, and representative groundwater samples for field and/or laboratory analysis.
Recognized environmental condition - the presence or likely presence of any hazardous substances or petroleum products in, on, or at a property due to any release to the environment, under conditions indicative of a release to the environment or, under conditions that pose a material threat of future release to the environment. The term includes hazardous substances or petroleum products even under conditions in compliance with laws and regulations.
Recovery well - a well used to withdraw groundwater for disposal or treatment of contaminants contained within the groundwater. Remediation - an activity performed with the intent to recover, dispose of, clean up, or treat pollutants or contaminants.
Sanitary protection - any means of protecting groundwater from contaminants from entering a well.
Separate stormwater sewer - a system of pipes or other conduits, including road drainage systems, catch basins, curbs, gutters, ditches, man-made channels, and storm drains, used to convey untreated stormwater directly to waters of the District and not part of a combined or sanitary sewer systems.
Site - a tract, lot, or parcel of land, or a combination of tracts, lots, or parcels of land for which development is undertaken as part of a unit, sub-division, or project.
Sodium-based bentonite - a plastic, colloidal clay derived from volcanic ash consisting of at least eighty-five percent (85%) montmorillonite, with an ability to absorb fresh water and swell in volume.
Soil Boring - a well constructed without the installation of a well casing, well screen, or the placement of other construction materials down hole, for the purpose of determining the physical or chemical characteristics of soil or groundwater.
Standard Dimension Ratio (SDR) - the quotient obtained when the outside diameter of thermoplastic well casing is divided by the wall thickness.
Stormwater Management Guidebook - the current manual published by the Department containing design criteria, specifications, and equations to be used for planning, design, and construction, operations, and maintenance of stormwater and best management practices.
Surface water - all of the rivers, lakes, ponds, wetlands, inland waters, streams, and all other water and water courses within the jurisdiction of the District of Columbia.
Temporary well casing - a durable pipe placed or driven into a borehole to maintain an open annular space around the permanent casing during construction of a well.
Unconfined aquifer - an aquifer in which no relatively impermeable layer exists between the water table and the ground surface and an aquifer in which the water surface is at atmospheric pressure.
Unconsolidated formation or aquifer - any loosely cemented or poorly indurated earth material including such materials as uncompacted gravel, sand, silt and clay. Alluvium, soil, and overburden are terms frequently used to describe such formations.
Waters of the District - flowing and still bodies of water, whether artificial or natural, whether underground or on land, so long as in the District of Columbia, but excludes water on private property prevented from reaching underground or land watercourses, and also excludes water in closed collection or distribution systems. [Statutory]
Water Quality or Quality of Water - refers to the chemical, physical, biological, and radiological characteristics of water.
Water supply well - a potable or non-potable well used to supply water for industrial, irrigation, or domestic purposes.
Well - any test hole, shaft, or soil excavation created by any means including, but not limited to, drilling, coring, boring, washing, driving, digging, or jetting, for purposes including, but not limited to, locating, testing, diverting, artificially recharging, or withdrawing fluids, or for the purpose of underground injection. [Statutory]
Well casing - a pipe placed in a borehole to provide unobstructed access to the subsurface or to provide protection of groundwater during and after well installation, or both. Inner well casing (also known as riser pipe) which extends from the well screen to or above the ground surface provides access to groundwater from the surface and outer well casing is used to prevent migration of contaminants from one aquifer to another.
Well construction building permit - a building permit issued by DCRA with a well construction work plan approved by the Department.
Well development - the act of removing fine particulate matter or fluids used during the construction of a well to clear the well and establish a good hydraulic connection with the surrounding aquifer by any means, including surging, jetting, overpumping, and bailing.
Well owner - a person who has the legal right to construct a well for personal use or for the use of another person. [Statutory]
Well screen - a structural device which supports the well excavation, allows entrance of sub-surface fluids into a well or exit from a recharge well, and which acts as a filter to keep sediment from entering a well.
Wetland - a marsh, swamp or other area periodically inundated by tides or having saturated soil conditions for prolonged periods of time and capable of supporting aquatic vegetation. [Statutory]
D.C. Mun. Regs. tit. 21, r. 21-1899