Section 730.133  Operating, Monitoring, and Reporting Requirements

a)         Operating Requirements.  Operating requirements prescribed must, at a minimum, specify each of the following:

1)         That, except during well stimulation, the injection pressure at the wellhead must be calculated so as to assure that the pressure in the injection zone during injection does not initiate new fractures or propagate existing fractures in the injection zone.  In no case must injection pressure initiate fractures in the confining zone or cause the migration of injection or formation fluids into an underground source of drinking water; and

2)         That injection between the outermost casing protecting underground sources of drinking water and the well bore is prohibited.

b)         Monitoring Requirements 

1)         Monitoring requirements must, at a minimum, specify the following information:

A)        Monitoring of the nature of injected fluids with sufficient frequency to yield representative data on its characteristics.  Whenever the injection fluid is modified to the extent that the analysis required by Section 730.134 (a)(7)(C) is incorrect or incomplete, the owner or operator must provide the Agency with a new analysis as required by Section 730.134 (a)(7)(C);

B)        Monitoring of injection pressure and either flow rate or volume semimonthly, or metering and daily recording of injected and produced fluid volumes, as appropriate;

C)        Demonstration of mechanical integrity pursuant to Section 730.108 at least once every five years during the life of the well for salt solution mining;

D)        Monitoring of the fluid level in the injection zone semi-monthly, where appropriate, and monitoring of the parameters chosen to measure water quality in the monitoring wells required by Section 730.132(e) semi-monthly; and

E)        Quarterly monitoring of wells required by Section 730.132(g).

2)         A Class III injection well may be monitored on a field or project basis, rather than on an individual well basis, by manifold monitoring.  Manifold monitoring may be used in cases of facilities consisting of more than one injection well operating with a common manifold.  Separate monitoring systems for each well are not required provided the owner or operator demonstrates that manifold monitoring is comparable to individual well monitoring.

c)         Reporting Requirements  

1)         Reporting requirements must, at a minimum, include the following information set forth in subsections (c)(1) and (c)(2):

A)        Quarterly reporting to the Agency on required monitoring; and

B)        Results of mechanical integrity and any other periodic test required by the Agency reported with the first regular quarterly report after the completion of the test.

2)         Monitoring may be reported on a project or field basis rather than individual well basis where manifold monitoring is used.

(Source:  Amended at 42 Ill. Reg. 24145, effective November 19, 2018)