Section 534.420 - Plugging of well: General requirements1. Except as otherwise provided in NAC 534.422, a well other than a monitoring well must be plugged in the manner prescribed in this section by a well driller licensed by the State Engineer to: (a) If feasible, restore the controlling hydrological conditions that existed before the well was drilled and constructed;(b) Eliminate physical hazards;(c) Prevent contamination of groundwater and the movement of contaminants inside or outside the well casing;(d) Conserve the yield and hydrostatic head of aquifers; and(e) Prevent the movement of surface or groundwater into unsaturated zones, another aquifer or between aquifers.2. A well driller shall:(a) Ensure that in accordance with NAC 534.320 a notice of intent is received by the Division not less than 3 working days before the drill rig is moved to the location where the well will be plugged; and(b) Notify the Division in writing not less than 24 hours before beginning to plug the well.3. Before the well driller begins to plug the well, he or she shall: (a) If possible, obtain the Well Driller's Report for that well from the Division or the owner of the well.(b) Visually inspect the area around the well and examine Well Driller's Reports in the database maintained on the Division's website to identify any well in the area in which the well to be plugged is located that may be impacted by the plugging activities. If such a well is identified, the well driller shall request an alternative plan for plugging the well pursuant to NAC 534.422.4. A well must be plugged pursuant to this section by:(a) Removing the pump or debris from the borehole with appropriate equipment; and(b) If an annular cement seal was not installed, attempting to break the casing free with appropriate equipment so that the casing may be pulled from the well.5. When plugging a well in which the casing in the well does not break free and there is evidence of a sanitary seal around the well casing: (a) The well driller shall perforate that portion of the casing which extends from the bottom of the well to not less than 50 feet above the top of the highest known preexisting static water level or to the level of the annular seal. That portion of the casing must be perforated with not less than four equidistant cuts per each 2 linear feet to allow the plugging fluid to penetrate the annular space and the geologic formation. The perforations made in each 2 linear feet of the casing must be made along a horizontal plane of the borehole. A well with a diameter of more than 8 inches in nominal size must be perforated a sufficient number of additional times per linear foot to ensure that the plugging fluid penetrates into the annular space and formation. If authorized under an alternative plan pursuant to NAC 534.422, the well driller may use bentonite grout or uncontaminated fill from the top of the plug installed 50 feet above the highest known preexisting static water level to within 20 feet of the surface of the well.(b) The following materials may be used to plug the well from: (1) The total depth to the top of the highest known preexisting static water level: (2) The top of the highest known preexisting static water level to 50 feet above the highest known preexisting static water level:(3) Fifty feet above the highest known preexisting static water level to 20 feet below the surface: (4) Twenty feet below the surface to the surface:6. When plugging a well in which the casing of the well does not break free and there is no evidence of a sanitary seal around the well casing :(a) The well driller shall perforate the casing from the bottom of the well to not less than 50 feet above the highest known preexisting static water level and from a depth of at least 50 feet to the surface of the well. The casing must be perforated with not less than four equidistant cuts per each 2 linear feet to allow the plugging fluid to penetrate the annular space and the geologic formation. The perforations made in each 2 linear feet of the casing must be made along a horizontal plane of the borehole. A well with a diameter of more than 8 inches in nominal size must be perforated a sufficient number of additional times per linear foot to ensure that the plugging fluid penetrates into the annular space and the geologic formation. If authorized under an alternative plan pursuant to NAC 534.422, the well driller may use bentonite grout or uncontaminated fill from the top of the plug installed 50 feet above the highest known preexisting static water level to within 20 feet of the surface of the well.(b) The following materials may be used to plug the well from: (1) The total depth to the top of the highest known preexisting static water level: (2) The top of the highest known preexisting static water level to 50 feet above the highest known preexisting static water level:(3) Fifty feet above the highest known preexisting static water level to 50 feet below the surface: (4) Fifty feet below the surface to the surface:7. When plugging a well in which the casing breaks free or, except as otherwise provided in NAC 534.4371, when plugging a geotechnical soil boring: (a) If the highest known preexisting static water level is at or above the bottom of the borehole, the following plugging materials may be used from: (1) The total depth to the highest known preexisting static water level: (2) The top of the highest known preexisting static water level to 20 feet below the surface: (3) Twenty feet below the surface to the surface:(b) If the highest known preexisting static water level is below the bottom of the borehole, the following plugging materials may be used from: (1) The total depth to within 20 feet of the surface:(V) Clean uncontaminated fill.(2) Twenty feet below the surface to the surface:(III) Concrete grout. If the preexisting static water level in the well cannot be determined, the preexisting static water level shall be deemed to be the bottom of the borehole.
8. A well driller shall submit a Well Driller's Report to the State Engineer within 30 days after a water well has been plugged. The Well Driller's Report must contain the location of the well by public land survey and county assessor's parcel number, the name of the owner of the well, the condition of the well, the static water level before plugging and a detailed description of the method of plugging, including, but not limited to:(a) The depth of the well;(b) The depth to which the materials used to plug the well were placed;(c) The type, size and location of the perforations which were made in the casing;(d) The debris encountered in, milled out of or retrieved from the well; and(e) The materials used to plug the well.9. If there is any standing liquid in the interval of the borehole that is being plugged, all grout materials used pursuant to this section must be placed by tremie pipe in an upward direction.Nev. Admin. Code § 534.420
St. Engineer, Drilling Wells Reg. Part 14, eff. 5-19-81-NAC A 1-9-90; 12-30-97; R009-06, 6-1-2006; R039-12, 6-29-2012; A by R044-14, eff. 10/24/2014; A by R068-20A, eff. 12/29/2020; A by R068-20CAP, eff. 6/23/2021NRS 534.020, 534.060, 534.110