Well Abandonment & Forms

In the event any injection or associated monitoring well is abandoned, either temporarily or permanently, the well owner shall notify the Director within 15 days and the well(s) shall be abandoned in accordance with one of the following procedures or other alternatives approved by the Director based on a demonstration of not adversely affecting human health or the environment:

Procedures for Temporarily Abandoned Wells

• Upon temporary removal from service, or prior to being put into service, the well shall be sealed with a water tight cap or seal compatible with the casing and installed so that it cannot be removed without the use of hand or powers tools.
• The well shall be maintained whereby it is not a source or channel of contamination to an underground source of drinking water during its temporary status.
• The well shall be repaired, to achieve compliance with the Rules in this Section, or permanently abandoned within 30 days of receipt of notice from the department, upon finding that a well is acting as a source or channel of contamination to an underground source of drinking water.

Procedures for Permanently Abandoned Wells

• All casing and materials may be removed prior to initiation of abandonment procedures if the Director finds such removal will not be responsible for, or contribute to, the contamination of an underground source of drinking water. Any casing not grouted in accordance with 15A NCAC 2C .0113 shall be removed or properly grouted.
• The entire depth of the well shall be sounded before it is sealed to ensure freedom from obstructions that may interfere with sealing operations.
• The well shall be thoroughly disinfected, prior to sealing, if the Director determines that failure to do so could lead to the contamination of an underground source of drinking water.
• Drilled wells shall be completely filled with cement grout, which shall be introduced into the well through a pipe which extends to the bottom of the well and is raised as the well is filled. "Bored" or hand dug wells over 24 inches in diameter may be filled with an alternative material approved by the Director based on a demonstration of not adversely affecting human health or the environment.
• In the case of gravel packed wells in which the casing and screens have not been removed, neat-cement shall be injected into the well completely filling it from the bottom of the casing to the top.
• In those cases when, as a result of the injection operations, a subsurface cavity has been created, the well shall be abandoned in such a manner that will prevent the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of drinking water and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the permit.

Exploratory or test wells, constructed for the purposes of obtaining information regarding an injection well site, shall be permanently abandoned in accordance with Subparagraph (2) of this Rule upon completion of their exploratory or testing status.

An injection well shall be permanently abandoned by the drilling contractor before removing his equipment from the site if the well casing has not been installed or has been removed from the well bore.