Section 20.07.02.502 - WELL PLUGGING01.Plugging Required. The operator or owner shall not permit any well drilled for oil, gas, saltwater disposal or any other purpose in connection with the production of oil and gas, to remain unplugged after such well is no longer used for the purpose for which it was drilled or converted.02.Notice of Intention to Abandon Well. Before beginning abandonment work on an oil or gas well, a Notice of Intention to Abandon shall be filed with the Department and approval obtained as to the method of abandonment before the work is started. The notice must show the reason for abandonment and must give a detailed statement of the proposed work, including such information as kind, location, and length of plugs (by depths), and plans for mudding, cementing, shooting, testing, and removing casing as well as any other pertinent information.03.Plugging Dry Holes. If a nonproductive well, or dry hole, is drilled and not needed for any specific purpose, it must be plugged and abandoned prior to removal of the drill rig. A verbal notification and approval may be used for dry holes in lieu of the written notification referenced in Subsection 502.02 of these rules. The standards in Subsections 502.04 through 502.06 of these rules will still apply.04.Plugging of Wells. The owner or operator of any well drilled for oil or gas, or any seismic, core, or other exploratory holes, whether cased or uncased, and regardless of diameter shall be responsible for the plugging of said hole in a manner sufficient to properly protect all freshwater-bearing and possible or probable oil- or gas-bearing formations. The material used in plugging, whether cement, mechanical plug, or some other equivalent method approved in writing by the Director, must be placed in the well in a manner to permanently prevent migration of oil, gas, water, or other substance from the formation or horizon in which it originally occurred. The preferred plugging cement slurry is that recommended in API Bulletin E3. Pozzolan, gel, and other approved extenders may be used if the owner or operator can document to the Department's satisfaction that the slurry design will achieve a minimum compressive strength of three hundred (300) psi after twenty-four (24) hours, and eight hundred (800) psi after seventy-two (72) hours measured at ninety-five (95) degrees F and at eight hundred (800) psi. No substances of any nature or description other than those normally used in plugging operations shall be placed in any well at any time during plugging operations.05.Plugged Intervals. The following plugging standards shall be followed for all wells: a. Cement must be placed for a length of at least one hundred (100) feet on either side of each casing shoe, or casing bottom if no shoe is present. If the bottom of the hole is less than one hundred (100) feet from the bottom of the lowest casing, then the entire length of the uncased hole below the casing will be cemented.b. In the uncased portions of a well, cement plugs must be placed to extend from one hundred (100) feet below the bottom up to one hundred (100) feet above the top of any oil, gas, and abnormally high pressure zones, so as to isolate fluids in the strata in which they are found and to prevent them from escaping into other strata.c. A cement plug shall be placed a minimum of one hundred (100) feet above all producing zones in uncased portions of a well.d. A cement plug shall be placed a minimum of fifty (50) feet above and below the following intervals: i. Where the casing is perforated or ruptured. If no cement is present behind the casing, then cement must also be squeezed out the perforations or ruptures and into the annular space between the casing and the borehole.ii. Top and bottom of fresh water zones. If fresh water zone is less than one hundred (100) feet thick, then continuous cement must be placed from fifty (50) feet below the zone upward to fifty (50) feet above the zone.e. The top of all cement plugs will be tagged to verify their depth.f. The owner or operator shall have the option as to the method of placing cement in the hole by: ii. Pumping a balanced cement plug through tubing or drill pipe;iv. Equivalent method approved by the Director prior to plugging.g. Unless prior approval is given, all wellbores shall have water based drilling muds, high viscosity pills, or other approved fluids between all plugs.h. All abandoned wells shall have a plug or seal placed at the surface of the ground or the bottom of the cellar in the hole in such manner as not to interfere with soil cultivation or other surface use. The top of the pipe must be sealed with either a cement plug and a screw cap, or cement plug and a steel plate welded in place or by other approved method, or in the alternative be marked with a permanent monument which shall consist of a piece of pipe not less than four (4) inches in diameter and not less than ten (10) feet in length, of which four (4) feet shall be above the general ground level, the remainder to be embedded in cement or to be welded to the surface casing.06.Subsequent Report of Abandonment. If a well is plugged or abandoned, a subsequent record of work done must be filed with the Department. This report shall be filed separately within thirty (30) days after the work is done. The report shall give a detailed account of the manner in which the abandonment of plugging work was carried out, including the weight of mud, the nature and quantities of materials used in plugging, the location and extent (by depths) of the plugs of different materials, and the records of any tests or measurements made and of the amount, size, and location (by depths) of casing left in the well. If an attempt was made to part any casing, a complete report of the method used and the results obtained must be included.07.Wells Used for Fresh Water (Cold Water < 85 degrees Fahrenheit), Low Temperature Geothermal (85 - 212 Degrees Fahrenheit) or Geothermal Wells (>212 Degrees Fahrenheit).a. Oil and gas wells, seismic, core or other exploratory holes no longer being used for their original purpose may not be converted into fresh water, low temperature geothermal, or geothermal wells unless the following actions occur:i. Owner, operator, or surface owner files an application with the IDWR describing the conversion and the proposed use for the water or geothermal resource and any modifications necessary to meet the applicable well construction standards;ii. The surface owner provides written documentation assuming responsibility for the converted well including, should it become necessary, decommissioning (plugging) of the converted well in accordance with applicable law;iii. IDWR issues a permit for a geothermal resource well, a water right, or recognizes a domestic exemption authorizing the withdrawal of water from the converted well; andiv. A licensed driller in Idaho inspects and certifies that the converted well meets all well construction standards for its intended purpose.b. The Department's bond may not be released, and the oil and gas permit cancelled, until all requirements in Paragraph 502.07.a. of these rules are met.Idaho Admin. Code r. 20.07.02.502