1. (a) No Class II commercial disposal well, as defined in 15 CAR § 275-801(a)(1), hereinafter referred to as “Class II commercial disposal well”, for which a permit has been issued in accordance with 15 CAR § 275-801, shall be operated until:

   1. (1) Well internal mechanical integrity has been established in accordance with subsection (o) of this section, below; and
   2. (2) An authority for initial commencement of injection operations is issued by the Director of Production and Conservation.

2. (b)

   1. (1) Notice shall be provided to the Oil and Gas Commission regional office where the Class II commercial disposal well is located, prior to performing any well servicing activity, cementing, or any wireline logging activities, so as to allow commission staff to be present to observe the activity.
   2. (2) Any well servicing which requires the resetting of the packer shall require an internal mechanical integrity test be run in accordance with subsection (o) of this section, below, prior to recommencement of injection.

3. (c)

   1. (1) All well records for newly drilled Class II commercial disposal wells shall be submitted in accordance with 15 CAR § 275-205.
   2. (2) Completion or recompletion reports and wireline logs for all subsequent well servicing, cementing, or wireline logging activity performed on the well shall be filed no later than fifteen (15) days after completion of these activities.
4. (d) Following issuance of the permit to drill and/or operator a Class II commercial disposal well, an annual fee of one hundred dollars ($100) per well shall be due each July 1 for the life of the well until the well is plugged.

5. (e) Surface and production casing requirements.

   1. (1) Class II commercial disposal wells shall be cased and cemented in such manner that damage will not be caused to oil and gas resources or any USDW, as defined in 15 CAR § 275-801(a)(5), hereinafter referred to as “USDW”.
   2. (2) Existing wells shall be prohibited for recompletion as a Class II commercial disposal well unless the well had been constructed at the time of original completion in accordance with subdivision (e)(3) of this section, below.

   3. (3) Newly drilled Class II commercial disposal wells.

      1. (A) Set and cement surface casing two hundred fifty feet (250’) below the base of the lowermost USDW, and cement production casing to at least five hundred feet (500’) above the proposed disposal zone or set and cement surface casing fifty feet (50’) below the base of the lowermost formation utilized for a public water system (see 40 C.F.R.) in the area of the Class II commercial disposal well, with a minimum of five hundred feet (500’) of surface casing required, and cement production casing back to the surface.
      2. (B)

6. (i) A cement bond (CBL), gamma ray (GR), and density log (VDL) shall be required to verify the presence of the required casing cement.

   1. (ii) The CBL should indicate at a minimum an eighty percent (80%) bond index over the five-hundred-foot cemented interval.

7. (f) Tubing and packer requirements.

   1. (1)

      1. (A) All injections shall be through tubing and packer.
      2. (B) The packer shall be placed no higher than one hundred feet (100’) above the uppermost perforations or the casing seat in an open hole completion, provided the packer is within the cemented portion of the production casing, provided the packer is no less than seven hundred fifty feet (750’) below the base of the lowermost USDW.
   2. (2) The permit holder shall contact the district office in which the well is located at least twenty-four (24) hours prior to the initial setting or any resetting of the packer in a Class II commercial disposal well to enable an inspector to be present when the packer is set.

8. (g)

   1. (1) The wellhead:

      1. (A) Shall be maintained in a leak-free condition; and
      2. (B) Must have a working pressure gauge in excess of the maximum discharge pressure of the pump.
   2. (2) The wellhead shall be configured to include a one-half-inch female fitting, with shut-off valve, to allow monitoring of the annulus between the production casing and the injection tubing and a one-half-inch female fitting, with shut-off valve, installed on the tubing to measure the injection pressure.

9. (h) The injection pressure shall not exceed the maximum injection pressure established in accordance with 15 CAR § 275-801(j)(8).

   1. (i) No change shall be made in the permitted injection zones unless the new zone is permitted in accordance with 15 CAR § 275-801.

10. (j)

    1. (1) Injection fluids shall be confined to the permitted injection zones.
    2. (2) If the director has reason to believe, based upon well records or field observations, that injection fluids are migrating into zones not permitted for injection or into USDWs, or to the surface, or is causing fluid migration into the USDWs, due to the operation of any Class II commercial disposal well or resulting from a failure of internal or external mechanical integrity of the well, the permit holder shall be required to shut in the well until all necessary corrective work, which may include plugging of the well, is completed.

11. (k) Internal mechanical integrity shall be maintained in accordance with subsection (o) of this section, below.

    1. (l) Only Class II fluids, as defined in 15 CAR § 275-801(a)(3), and/or freshwater can be injected into a Class II commercial disposal well.

       1. (m) Each well shall have a legible sign placed near the well showing the permit holder and the well name and number and permit number and section, township, and range as shown on the permit in the commission records and an emergency telephone number.

12. (n)

    1. (1) The permit holder of each Class II commercial disposal well shall file a Monthly Well Status Report on forms prescribed by the director.
    2. (2) The report shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the end of each month of a calendar year commencing on January 1 of each year.

    3. (3) The report shall include at a minimum:

       1. (A) Name and permit number of the well;
       2. (B) Names of all injection intervals;
       3. (C) Maximum daily injection rates and pressures; and
       4. (D) Monthly volumes of fluid injected.

    4. (4)

       1. (A) In addition, each Class II commercial disposal well facility must keep an accurate log of each shipment of fluids to be disposed.
       2. (B) This log shall include the generator (operator) of the fluid, well name, number, and location or permit number of the well, amount of fluid, and the date the shipment was received.
       3. (C) A copy of this log must accompany the above Monthly Well Status Report.

13. (o) Establishment of internal mechanical integrity.

    1. (1)

       1. (A) Internal mechanical integrity must be maintained at all times.

       2. (B) If internal mechanical integrity is lost, the permit holder shall shut in the well immediately and notify the regional office:

          1. (i) Where the well is located; and
          2. (ii) Of loss of internal mechanical integrity.
       3. (C) The well shall remain shut in until the necessary remedial action necessary to restore internal mechanical integrity is completed and a new internal mechanical integrity test run and successfully passed.

    2. (2) An internal mechanical integrity test shall be performed:

       1. (A) Prior to initial injection into a newly permitted Class II commercial disposal well;
       2. (B) Prior to initial injection into a Class II commercial disposal well after a change to a newly permitted injection zone;
       3. (C) Prior to resuming injection into any Class II commercial disposal well after any workover of the well involving the resetting or movement of a packer;
       4. (D) Whenever the director has reason to believe, based upon well records or field observation, that the Class II commercial disposal well may be leaking or improperly constructed; and
       5. (E) At least once every year measured from the date of the last successful test.

    3. (3) Internal mechanical integrity test.

       1. (A)

          1. (i) The following test shall be performed on Class II commercial disposal wells to establish the internal mechanical integrity of the tubing, casing, and packer of the well.
          2. (ii) The permit holder shall contact the regional office in which the well is located at least forty-eight (48) hours prior to conducting the test to enable an inspector to be present when the test is done.
          3. (iii) The casing-tubing annulus above the packer shall be tested under the supervision of a commission representative at a minimum pressure differential between the tubing and the annulus of fifty pounds per square inch gauge (50 psig) for a period of thirty (30) minutes and may vary no more than ten percent (10%) of the starting test pressure during the test.
          4. (iv) The pressure at which the mechanical integrity test is to be performed shall be fifty pounds per square inch gauge (50 psig) over the permitted injection pressure with a maximum of one thousand pounds per square inch gauge (1,000 psig).
          5. (v) The minimum test pressure shall be three hundred pounds per square inch gauge (300 psig).

       2. (B)

          1. (i) Any Class II commercial disposal well which fails an internal mechanical integrity test, or on which an internal mechanical integrity test has not been performed when required, shall be shut in until the well is successfully tested or remedial work is commenced and completed or the well is plugged.
          2. (ii) The necessary work shall be completed and an internal mechanical integrity test successfully completed within ninety (90) days.
          3. (iii) The director may approve up to an additional ninety (90) days, with any greater length of time to be established by the commission upon application by the operator.

14. (p)

    1. (1) All commercial facilities must have restricted entry to all nonessential traffic.
    2. (2) A lockable gate must be maintained and shall be locked during all unmanned hours.
    3. (3) Additionally, the director may require a fence to limit entry to the facility.

15. (q)

    1. (1) Permit holders may be required to take periodic samples of the injection fluid and have those samples analyzed at a certified lab.
    2. (2) Samples of the injection fluid may also be taken periodically by a commission representative.
    3. (3) Samples will be checked for compliance with Class II fluids as defined in 15 CAR § 275-801.
16. (r) If the director has reason to believe, based upon well records or field observation, that any Class II commercial disposal well is causing fluid migration into the USDWs resulting from a failure of internal or external mechanical integrity, the permit holder shall shut in the well until any necessary corrective work is commenced and completed and internal and external mechanical integrity is established.
17. (s) Class II commercial disposal wells no longer in service for periods greater than twelve (12) months shall be plugged in accordance with 15 CAR § 275-207.

Codification Notes: This section as promulgated prior to codification into the Code of Arkansas Rules provided as follows: "(Source: new rule July 17, 2009; amended October 24, 2009)"