S.D. Admin. R. 74:55:01:01

Current through Register Vol. 51, page 67, December 16, 2024

Section 74:55:01:01 - Definitions

Terms used in this chapter mean:

(1) "Abandoned well," a well whose use has been permanently discontinued or which is in such a state of disrepair that it cannot be used for its intended purpose or for observation purposes, or which is abandoned pursuant to SDCL 46-6-27;

(2) "Aquifer," a geologic formation, group of geologic formations, or part of a geologic formation that contains sufficient saturated permeable material to yield economical quantities of water to wells and springs;

(3) "Aquifer restoration," the process of achieving or exceeding the water quality levels established by the secretary for any production area;

(4) "Area permit," a well permit which authorizes the construction and operation of two or more similar wells within a specified area;

(5) "Area of review," that area within one-quarter mile radius of the injection well;

(6) "Baseline," a pre-existing condition, concentration, quantity, or quality that is set as a specific value or guideline against which future values are compared;

(7) "Baseline well," a well from which groundwater is analyzed to define baseline quality in the mine area (a regional baseline well) or in the production area (a production area baseline well);

(8) "Best practicable technology," a technology-based process justifiable in terms of existing performance and achievability in relation to health and safety which minimizes, to the extent safe and practicable, disturbances and adverse impacts of the operation on human or animal life, fish, wildlife, plant life, and related environmental values;

(9) "Board," the South Dakota Board of Water Management;

(10) "Casing," a tubular structure, generally of metal, concrete, or thermoplastic, which is installed in a well bore to maintain the well opening;

(11) "Catastrophic collapse," the sudden and utter failure of overlying strata caused by removal of underlying materials;

(12) "Cementing," the process of mixing and placing cement grout in a hole to prevent the vertical movement of fluids in the hole or the annulus;

(13) "Class III well," under the federal Underground Injection Control (UIC) program promulgated under Part C of the Safe Drinking Water Act, 42 U.S.C. 300 et seq (2003), a well that injects fluids for extraction of minerals, including solution mining of minerals. The term includes any well used in:

(a) Mining of sulfur by the Frasch process;

(b) In situ leach mining of uranium or other metals. This category includes only in situ production from ore bodies that have not been conventionally mined. Wells used for solution mining, such as stope leaching, are classified as Class V wells; or

(c) In situ mining of salts, trona, or potash;

(14) "Confining zone," a geological formation of slight or moderate permeability stratigraphically adjacent to one or more aquifers; and that restricts the movement of ground water into and out of the aquifer or aquifers it confines;

(15) "Contaminant," any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance or matter in water, soil, or air that is potentially harmful to human health or the health of animals or plants;

(16) "Control parameter," a chemical constituent of groundwater monitored on a routine basis and used to detect or confirm the presence of recovery fluids in a designated monitor well;

(17) "Excursion," any unwanted and unauthorized movement of recovery fluid out of the production zone as a result of in situ leach mining activities;

(18) "Exempted aquifer," an aquifer or portion of an aquifer that meets the criteria in the definition of "underground source of drinking water" but which has been exempted according to § 74:55:01:24;

(19) "Facility," all contiguous land, structures, and improvements on the land used for underground injection activities associated with Class III wells;

(20) "Flow rate," the volume per time unit given to the flow of gases or other fluids which emerges from an orifice, pump, or turbine or which passes along a conduit or channel;

(21) "Fluid," a substance which flows whether in a semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas, or other form;

(22) "Formation," a body of consolidated or unconsolidated rock characterized by a degree of lithologic homogeneity that is prevailingly, but not necessarily, tabular and is mapable on the earth's surface or traceable in the subsurface;

(23) "Formation fluid," fluid present in a formation under natural conditions as opposed to introduced fluids;

(24) "Groundwater," water below the land surface in a zone of saturation;

(25) "Ground water restoration," the condition achieved when the quality of ground water affected by the injection of mining solution in production and nonproduction zones is returned to restoration table values;

(26) "Grout," a slurry that is used to form a permanent, impervious seal in the annular space or to fill and seal abandoned holes or wells;

(27) "Injection well," a well into which fluids are injected, a Class III well;

(28) "Injection zone or production zone," a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation receiving fluids through a well for the purposes of mineral recovery;

(29) "In situ leach mining," a method of in-place surface mining in which limited quantities of overburden are disturbed to install a conduit or well and the mineral is mined by injecting or recovering a liquid, solid, sludge, or gas that causes the leaching, dissolution, gasification, liquefaction, or extraction of the mineral. In situ leach mining does not include the primary or enhanced recovery of naturally-occurring oil and gas;

(30) "Lithology," the description of rocks on the basis of their physical and chemical characteristics;

(31) "Mechanical integrity," the condition of an injection well, when there is no significant leak in the casing, tubing, or packer, and there is no significant fluid movement into an unauthorized zone or underground source of drinking water through vertical channels adjacent to the injection well bore. The determination that there are no significant leaks or fluid movement is based on the results of the mechanical integrity testing;

(32) "Mine area," a production area and that area encompassed by a radius around the production area not more than 400 feet out from the closest injection wells;

(33) "Mining solution," for an in situ leach mine, the injected fluid containing the chemicals used to mobilize the ore minerals into solution;

(34) "Monitor well," a well used for the sampling or measurement of a chemical or physical property of groundwater;

(35) "Negative pressure gradient," the condition that results from the creation of a localized hydrological cone of depression or pressure sink within the production zone caused by the production of more fluid than was injected. This pressure gradient provides containment of the recovery fluid by causing natural ground water to move from the surrounding area toward the production zone;

(36) "New injection well," a well or group of wells not in existence on December 24, 1981;

(37) "Nonproduction zone," an aquifer which is above or below the active production zone;

(38) "Owner or operator," a person who owns or operates a facility or activity subject to regulation under this chapter;

(39) "Permit area," the area, including the affected lands, within specified boundaries approved by the board;

(40) "Plugging," the process of filling a borehole or a well to restore hydrologic conditions and to prevent migration of ground water between formations;

(41) "Plugging record," a systematic listing of permanent or temporary abandonment of water, oil, gas, test, exploration, and waste injection wells which may contain a well log, description of amounts and types of plugging material used, the method employed for plugging, a description of formations which are sealed, and a graphic log of the well showing formation location, formation thickness, and location of plugging structures;

(42) "Postclosure Period," for each Class III injection well operation, the operator shall begin postclosure care period immediately following the determination by the board that the operator has achieved restoration of the aquifier(s) and continue postclosure care for thirty years. The board may modify the permit to reduce the length of the postclosure care period at any time after aquifer restoration has been achieved if a reduced period ensures compliance with all applicable performance standards. The board may modify the permit to extend the period beyond thirty years if necessary to ensure compliance with all applicable performance standards or design and operating criteria;

(43) "Pressure," the total force per unit area acting on a surface;

(44) "Production area," the plan view showing the area in which mineral extraction is taking place;

(45) "Production well," a well or conduit through which a recovery fluid, mineral, or product is produced from the subsurface. If a well is used for both injection and recovery, it is considered an injection well for the purposes of this chapter until the operator has adequately demonstrated to the department that the well has been converted to uses other than injection;

(46) "Production zone," the geologic interval into which mining solutions are to be injected and recovery fluids extracted;

(47) "Receiving strata," the geologic units within which the production zones are contained;

(48) "Recovery fluid," the fluid resulting from the injection of mining solution that has dissolved or mobilized ore minerals from the production zone for extraction and recovery;

(49) "Restored aquifer," an aquifer whose local average water quality has, by natural or artificial processes, returned to at least restoration table values;

(50) "Restoration table," a list of parameters with assigned ground water quality restoration values that are the compliance requirements for restoration of the production and nonproduction zones;

(51) "Secretary," the secretary of the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources or the secretary's designee;

(52) "Stratum, (plural strata)," a single sedimentary bed or layer, regardless of thickness, that consists of generally the same kind of rock material;

(53) "Unauthorized zone," the area outside the production zone that is not permitted for the injection of mining solution or extraction of recovery fluid, or authorized for any excursion of recovery fluid out of the production zone;

(54) "Underground source of drinking water or USDW," an aquifer or part of an aquifer that meets any one of the following criteria. The aquifer or part of an aquifer:

(a) Supplies any public water system;

(b) Contains sufficient quantities of ground water to supply a public water system;

(c) Currently supplies drinking water for human consumption;

(d) Contains fewer than 10,000 milligrams per liter of total dissolved solids; and

(e) Is not an exempted aquifer;

(55) "Upper limit value," a value greater than the maximum value of a chemical or physical parameter that can be attributed to natural fluctuations and analytical variability. Upper limit values are determined from the baseline sampling and agreed upon by the department and the operator prior to initiation of mining. Upper limit values are used to determine when there is movement of recovery fluid out of authorized areas or unapproved changes to a chemical or physical parameter. For certain parameters, such as pH, an upper limit value may be defined as an acceptable range of values;

(56) "Verifying analysis," a second sampling and analysis of control parameters for the purpose of confirming a routine sample analysis which indicates an increase in a control parameter to a level exceeding the upper limit value;

(57) "Well," an artificial excavation or opening in the ground, made by digging, boring, drilling, jetting, or another artificial method and often walled or cased to prevent the sides from caving in;

(58) "Well injection" or "underground injection," the subsurface emplacement of fluids through a bored, drilled, or driven well or through a dug well where the depth of the dug well is greater than the largest surface dimension;

(59) "Well log," a record of physical parameters of a borehole obtained by techniques of borehole geophysics that can be interpreted in terms of the characteristics of the rocks, the fluids contained in the rocks, and the construction of the well; lithologic or driller's records derived from drill cuttings;

(60) "Well plug," a watertight and gastight seal installed in a borehole or well to prevent movement of fluids; and

(61) "Well monitoring," the measurement, by on-site instruments or laboratory methods, of the quality of water in a well.

S.D. Admin. R. 74:55:01:01

8 SDR 71, effective 12/24/1981; 11 SDR 30, effective 8/30/1984; 13 SDR 129, 13 SDR 141, effective 7/1/1987; transferred from

General Authority: SDCL 34A-2-93(15).

Law Implemented: SDCL 34A-2-12, 34A-2-28.