If a well driller encounters undesirable water or constituents and the well is not plugged or made into a completed monitoring well as defined in §76.10(33), the licensed well driller shall ensure that the well drilled, deepened, or altered is forthwith completed in accordance with the following:
- (1) When undesirable water or constituents are encountered in a water well, the undesirable water or constituents shall be sealed off and confined to the zone(s) of origin. It is a defense to prosecution for violation of this section that the driller reasonably was not aware of having encountered undesirable water or constituents.
- (2) When undesirable water or constituents are encountered in a zone overlying fresh water, the driller shall case the water well from an adequate depth below the undesirable water or constituent zone to the land surface to ensure the protection of water quality.
- (3) The annular space between the casing and the wall of the borehole shall be pressure grouted with positive displacement technique or the well is tremie pressured filled provided the annular space is three inches larger than the casing with cement or bentonite grout from an adequate depth below the undesirable water or constituent zone to the land surface to ensure the protection of groundwater. Bentonite grout may not be used if a water zone contains chlorides above one thousand five hundred (1,500) parts per million (milligrams per liter) or if hydrocarbons are present.
- (4) When undesirable water or constituents are encountered in a zone underlying a fresh water zone, the part of the wellbore opposite the undesirable water or constituent zone shall be filled with pressured cement or bentonite grout to a height that will prevent the entrance of the undesirable water or constituents into the water well. Bentonite grout may not be used if a water zone contains chlorides above one thousand five hundred (1,500) parts per million (milligrams per liter) or if hydrocarbons are present.
- (5) For Class V injection wells, which encounter undesirable water or constituents, the driller must comply with applicable requirements of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality 30 TAC Chapter 331.
Source Note:The provisions of this §76.101 adopted to be effective March 1, 2013, 38 TexReg 1142.