020-24 Wyo. Code R. § 24-2
The following definitions supplement those definitions contained in Section 35-11-103 of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act.
(a) "Administrator" means the administrator of the Water Quality Division of the Department of Environmental Quality.
(b) "Aquifer" means a zone, stratum or group of strata that can store and transmit water in sufficient quantities for a specific use.
(c) "Area of review" means the subsurface three-dimensional extent of the carbon dioxide plume, associated pressure front, and displaced fluids, as well as the overlying formations and surface area above that delineated region.
(d) "Background" means the constituents or parameters and the concentrations or measurements which describe water quality and water quality variability prior to the subsurface discharge.
(e) "Bore/casing annulus" means the space between the well bore and the well casing.
(f) "Carbon dioxide plume" means the underground extent, in three dimensions, of an injected carbon dioxide stream.
(g) "Carbon dioxide stream" means carbon dioxide, plus associated substances derived from the source materials and any processing, and any substances added to the stream to enable or improve the injection process. This chapter does not apply to any carbon dioxide stream that meets the definition of a hazardous waste under 40 CFR Part 261.
(h) "Casing/tubing annulus" means the space between the well casing and the tubing.
(i) "Cementing" means to seal the annular space around the outside of a casing string using a specially formulated mixture to hold the casing in place and prevent any movement of fluid in this annular space. Cementing also includes operations to seal the well at the time of abandonment.
(j) "Class VI well" means a well injecting a carbon dioxide stream for geologic sequestration, beneath the lowermost formation containing a USDW; or a well used for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide that has been granted a waiver of the injection depth requirements pursuant to requirements of Section 10 of this chapter; or, a well used for geologic sequestration of carbon dioxide that has received an expansion to the areal extent of an existing Class II enhanced oil recovery or enhanced gas recovery aquifer exemption pursuant to Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission Rules and Regulations, Chapter 4, Section 12 and federal regulation § 144.7(d). Class VI wells are regulated under this chapter.
(k) "Confining zone" means a geological formation, group of formations, or part of a formation stratigraphically overlying the injection zone(s) that acts as barrier to fluid movement. For Class VI wells operating under an injection depth waiver, confining zone means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation stratigraphically overlying and underlying the injection zone(s).
(l) "Corrective action" means the use of administrator-approved methods to ensure that wells within the area of review do not serve as conduits for the movement of fluids into geologic formations other than those to be authorized under the permit.
(m) "Director" means the director of the Department of Environmental Quality.
(n) "Draft permit" means a document indicating the tentative decision by the department to issue or deny, modify, revoke and reissue, or terminate a permit. A notice of intent to terminate a permit and a notice of intent to deny a permit are types of draft permits. A denial of a request for modification, revocation and reissuance, or termination is not a draft permit. A draft permit for issuance shall contain all conditions and content, compliance schedules and monitoring requirements required by this chapter.
(o) "Duly authorized representative" means a specific individual or a position having responsibility for the overall operation of the regulated facility or activity. The authorization shall be made in writing by a responsible corporate officer and shall be submitted to the administrator.
(p) "Endangerment" means exposure to actions or activities which could pollute an Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW).
(q) "Excursion detection" means the detection of migrating carbon dioxide at or beyond the boundary of the geologic sequestration site.
(r) "Fact sheet" means a document briefly setting forth the principal facts and the significant factual, legal, methodological, and policy questions considered in preparing the draft permit. Fact sheets for Class VI wells are incorporated into the public notice.
(s) "Fluid" means any material which flows or moves, whether semisolid, liquid, sludge, gas or any other form or state.
(t) "Geologic sequestration project" means an injection well or wells used to emplace a carbon dioxide stream into an injection zone for geologic sequestration. It includes the subsurface three-dimensional extent of the carbon dioxide plume, associated pressure front, and displaced brine, as well as the surface area above that delineated region. (Reference Section 35-11-103(c) of the Wyoming Environmental Quality Act for definitions of geologic sequestration, geologic sequestration site, and geologic sequestration facilities.)
(u) "Groundwater" means subsurface water that fills available openings in rock or soil materials such that they may be considered water saturated under hydrostatic pressure.
(v) "Groundwaters of the state" are all bodies of underground water which are wholly or partially within the boundaries of the state.
(w) "Hazardous waste" means a hazardous waste as defined in 40 CFR 261.3.
(x) "Individual permit" means a permit issued for a specific facility operated by an individual operator, company, municipality, or agency. An individual permit may be established as an area permit and include multiple points of discharge that are all operated by the same person.
(y) "Injectate" means the material being disposed of through any underground injection facility after it has received whatever pretreatment is done.
(z) "Injection zone" means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is of sufficient areal extent, thickness, porosity, and permeability to receive carbon dioxide through a well or wells associated with a geologic sequestration project.
(aa) "Lithology" means the description of rocks on the basis of their physical and chemical characteristics.
(bb) "Log" means to make a written record progressively describing the strata and geologic and hydrologic character thereof to include electrical, radioactivity, radioactive tracer, temperature, cement bond and similar surveys, a lithologic description of all cores, and test data.
(cc) "Long string casing" means a casing that is continuous from at least the top of the injection interval to the surface and that is cemented in place.
(dd) "Long-term stewardship" means after release of financial assurance, upon site closure, where the sequestration site may require periodic monitoring, measurement, or verification of plume stabilization over an indefinite period of time.
(ee) "Mechanical integrity" means the sound and unimpaired condition of all components of the well or facility or system for control of a subsurface discharge and associated activities.
(ff) "Permit" means a Wyoming Underground Injection Control permit, unless otherwise specified.
(gg) "Permittee" means the named permit holder.
(hh) "Plume stabilization" means the carbon dioxide that has been injected subsurface essentially no longer expands vertically or horizontally and poses no threat to USDWs, human health, safety, or the environment, as demonstrated by a minimum of three (3) consecutive years of monitoring data.
(ii) "Point of compliance" means a point at which the permittee shall meet all permit and regulatory requirements.
(jj) "Point of injection" means the last accessible sampling point prior to a fluid being released into the subsurface environment through a Class VI injection well.
(kk) "Post-injection site care" means monitoring, measurement, verification, and other actions (including corrective action) following closure of injection wells until plume stabilization has been achieved and certified by the administrator, as required under Section 17 of this chapter.
(ll) "Pressure front" means the zone of elevated pressure that is created by the injection of the carbon dioxide stream into the subsurface. The pressure front of a carbon dioxide plume refers to a zone where there is a pressure differential sufficient to cause movement of injected fluids or formation fluid if a migration pathway or conduit were to exist.
(mm) "Public hearing" means a non-adversary hearing held by the administrator or director of the department. The hearing is conducted pursuant to Chapter 3 of the Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality Rules of Practice and Procedure.
(nn) "Radioactive waste" means any waste that contains radioactive material in concentrations that exceed those listed in 10 CFR Part 20, Appendix B, Table II, Column 2 as of December 22, 1993.
(oo) "Receiver" means any zone, interval, formation or unit in the subsurface into which a carbon dioxide stream is injected.
(pp) "Responsible corporate officer" means a president, secretary, treasurer, or vice president of the corporation in charge of a principal business function, or any other person who performs similar policy- or decision-making functions for the corporation.
(qq) "Secondarily affected aquifer" means any aquifer affected by migration of fluids from an injection facility, when the aquifer is not directly discharged into.
(rr) "Site closure" means the point/time, as certified by the administrator following the requirements of Section 17, at which time the owner or operator of a geologic sequestration project is released from post-injection site care responsibilities.
(ss) "Subsurface discharge" means a discharge into a receiver.
(tt) "Transmissive fault or fracture" means a fault or fracture that has sufficient permeability and vertical extent to allow fluids to move beyond the confining zone.
(uu) "USDW" or "Underground source of drinking water" means those aquifers or portions thereof that have a total dissolved solids content of less than 10,000 mg/L, and are classified as either Class I, II, III, IV (a), or Special (A), pursuant to Chapter 8, Quality Standards for Wyoming Groundwaters, Water Quality Rules and Regulations.
(vv) "US EPA regional administrator" means the regional administrator of the US EPA's Region 8 office in Denver, Colorado.
(ww) "Vadose Zone" means the unsaturated zone in the earth, between the land surface and the top of the first saturated aquifer. The vadose zone contains water at less than saturated conditions.
(xx) "Water quality management area" means the area delineated for the protection of water quality under a department approved plan developed under Sections 303, 208 and/or 201 of the Federal Clean Water Act, as amended.
(yy) "Well" means an opening, excavation, shaft or hole in the ground allowing or used for an underground injection, or for monitoring.
(zz) "Workover" means to pull the tubing, packer, or any downhole hardware from the well and inspect, replace, or refurbish it prior to placing that hardware back in service, or to enter the hole with any drilling tool.
(aaa) "Wellhead protection area" means the area delineated for the protection of a public water supply utilizing a groundwater source under a department approved plan developed pursuant to Section 1528 of the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.
020-24 Wyo. Code R. § 24-2
Amended, Eff. 7/25/2016.