Section 4.        Definitions

Section 5. Well Registration and Permitting

5.1              Well Registration

5.1.1        As of the effective date of these rules, all wells within the District are required to be registered with the District on District forms. Information on the form shall include the owner’s name, mailing address, well location, well size, use and any other information the District may determine to be needed.  The District well registration form is attached to these rules as Form #1. 

5.1.2        No person shall construct, drill, modify, complete, change type of use, plug, abandon or alter the size of a well in the District without District authorization. Prior to conducting any of the above activities on any well or aquifer penetration in the District, the owner must complete and submit to the District a notice of intent to drill or modify a well form and pay the applicable fee. Information on the form shall include the owner’s name, mailing address, phone number, well location, well size, use, production rates, distance from nearest property line, building, road, stream, existing well, or septic tank, and any other information the District may determine to be of need.  The District’s notice of intent to drill or modify a well form is attached to these rules as Form #2.  District authorization to drill or modify a well is evidenced by the issuance a certificate of authorization to drill or modify a well in the form attached to these rules as Form #3.   District personnel shall be given access to the property to inspect the well and complete the well inventory.

a)                  The following activities are not considered to be well modifications that require the filing of a notice of intent:

i)                    replacing a pump or pump motor of equal size;

ii)                   repair or replacing pipe and fittings;

iii)                 normal maintenance and repairs that do not increase the productive capacity of the well.

b)                  In an emergency situation in which immediate action is required to bring a well back into service, such as replacing a pump or pump motor (even if the replacement motor has a greater horsepower), the lowering of a pump, the deepening of a well, or other activity required to bring a well that is in service back into service, the notice of intent shall be filed as soon as reasonably possible after the emergency activities are completed.

5.1.3        All wells registered with the District shall be classified by the District according to use.  The well will be identified by the State numbering system along with longitude and latitude and identified on a USGS quadrangle map.

5.1.4.      The District reserves the right, to the extent allowed by law, to adopt, revise, and supercede rules applicable to registered wells and to require the owner of a registered well to obtain a permit if the well is not exempt from the District’s permitting requirements.  The receipt of the well registration by the District or the issuance of authority to drill or modify a well shall not limit the District’s authority to regulate a well or the production of water from a well, unless the well is otherwise exempt from such authority.

Section 6. Well Completion and Construction Standards

Section 6.1 Definitions

The following words and terms, when used in this section, shall have the following meanings, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) Abandoned well - A well that has not been in use for six (6) consecutive months. A well is considered to be in use if:

 

(A) the well is not a deteriorated well, contains the casing, pump, and pump column in good condition and, where required, is properly registered with the District; or

(B) the well is not a deteriorated well, has been capped and, where required, is properly registered with the District.

(2) Annular space - The space between the casing and borehole wall.

(3) Artesian well – A well where the groundwater level or potentiometric surface is above the top of the geologic unit containing the aquifer.

(4) Atmospheric barrier - A section of cement placed from two feet below land surface to the land surface when using granular sodium bentonite as a casing sealant or plugging sealant in lieu of cement.

(5) Bentonite - A sodium hydrous aluminum silicate clay mineral (montmorillonite) commercially available in powdered, granular, or pellet form that is mixed with potable water and used for a variety of purposes including the stabilization of borehole walls during drilling, the control of potential or existing high fluid pressures encountered during drilling below a water table, and to provide a seal in the annular space between the well casing and borehole wall.

(6) Capped well - A well that is closed or capped with a covering capable of preventing surface pollutants from entering the well. The cap must be able to sustain weight of at least 400 pounds per square inch and constructed in such a way that it cannot be easily removed by hand.

(7) Casing - A watertight pipe installed in an excavated or drilled hole, temporarily or permanently, to maintain the hole sidewalls against caving, and in conjunction with grouting, to confine the groundwaters to their respective zones of origin, and to prevent surface contaminant infiltration.

 

(A) Plastic casing - shall be National Sanitation Foundation (NSF); or American Society of Testing Material (ASTM) F-480 minimum SDR 26 approved water well casing.

(B) Steel casing - shall be ASTM A-53 Grade B or better and have a minimum weight and thickness of American National Standards Institute (ANSI) schedule 40.

(C) Monitoring wells may use other materials, such as fluoropolymer, glassfiber-reinforced epoxy, or various stainless steel alloys.

(8) Chemigation - A process whereby pesticides, fertilizers or other chemicals, or effluent from animal wastes are added to irrigation water applied to land or crops, or both, through an irrigation distribution system.

(9) Closed system geothermal well – A well used to circulate water, other fluids, or gases through the earth as a heat source or heat sink.

(10) Completed monitoring well - A monitoring well that allows water from a single water-producing zone to enter the well bore, but isolates the single water-producing zone from the surface and from all other water-bearing zones by proper casing or grouting procedures. The single water-producing zone shall not include more than one continuous water-producing unit unless a qualified geologist or groundwater hydrologist has determined that all the units screened or sampled by the well are interconnected naturally.

(11) Completed to produce undesirable water - A completed well designed to extract water from a zone that contains undesirable water.

(12) Completed water well - A water well that has sealed off access of undesirable water to the well bore by proper casing or grouting procedures.

(13) Constituents - Elements, ions, compounds, or substances that may cause the degradation of the soil or ground water.

(14) Continuous injection method – A grout placement method whereby grout is placed by float shoe continuous injection method, after water or other drilling fluid has been circulated in the annular space sufficient to clear obstructions. The bottom of the casing shall be fitted with a suitable drillable float shoe equipped with a backpressure valve. Tubing or pipe shall be run to the float shoe to which it shall be connected by a bayonet fitting, left hand thread coupling, or similar release mechanism. Water or other drilling fluid shall be circulated through the tubing and up through the annular space surrounding the casing. When the annular space surrounding the casing is clean and open, grout shall be pumped down the pipe or tubing and forced by continual pumping out into the annular space surrounding the casing. Pumping shall continue until the entire annular space surrounding the casing is filled. The grouting pipe shall then be detached from the float shoe and raised to the surface for flushing. After the grout has set, the float shoe, backpressure valve, and any plug remaining in the bottom of the casing shall be drilled out.

(15) Department - The Texas Department of Licensing & Regulation.

(16) Deteriorated well - A well that, because of its condition, will cause, or is likely to cause, pollution of any water in the state, including any groundwater, or cause a public nuisance.

(17) Dewatering well - An artificial excavation constructed to produce groundwater to cause a lowering of the water table or potentiometric surface. The term shall not include any dewatering well used for the production of, or to facilitate the production of, any mineral under a state regulatory program.

(18) Dewatering well driller - A person who drills, bores, cores, or constructs a dewatering well. The term includes the owner or operator of a well or the contractor or drilling supervisor. The term does not include a person who acts under the direct supervision of a dewatering well driller and is not primarily responsible for the drilling operation.

(19) Driller - A water well driller, injection well driller, dewatering well driller, or monitoring well driller.

(20) Dry litter poultry facility - Fully enclosed poultry operation where wood shavings or similar material is used as litter.

(21) Edwards Aquifer well – Any water well, injection well, dewatering well, or monitoring well located within the boundaries of the District that:

 

(A) is constructed for the purpose of exploring for or producing groundwater from the Edwards Aquifer; or

(B) passes through the Edwards Aquifer and is constructed for the purpose of exploring for or producing groundwater from an aquifer other than the Edwards Aquifer.

(22) Environmental soil borings - An artificial excavation constructed to measure or monitor the quality and quantity or movement of substances, elements, chemicals, or fluids beneath the surface of the ground. The term shall not include any well used in conjunction with the production of oil, gas, or any other minerals.

(23) Flapper - The clapper, closing or checking device within the body of a check valve.

(24) Foreign substance - Constituents that may include recirculated tailwater and open ditch water when a pump discharge pipe is submerged in the ditch.

(25) Freshwater - Water whose bacteriological, physical, and chemical properties are such that it is suitable and feasible for beneficial use.

(26) Granular sodium bentonite - Sized, coarse ground, untreated, sodium based bentonite (montmorillonite) that has the specific characteristic of swelling in freshwater.

(27) Grout – A fluid mixture of the following types of materials of a consistency that can be forced through a pipe and placed in the annular space between the borehole and the casing to form an impermeable seal:

 

(A) Cement grout - A neat portland or construction cement mixture of not more than seven gallons of water per 94-pound sack of dry cement, or a cement that contains cement along with bentonite, gypsum or other additives.

(B) Bentonite grout - A fluid mixture of sodium bentonite and potable water mixed at manufacturer’s specifications to a slurry consistency that can be pumped through a pipe directly into the annular space between the casing and the borehole wall. Its primary function is to seal the annular space in order to prevent the vertical subsurface migration or communication of fluids in the annular space.

(C) Cement-bentonite grout – A mixture of one (1) 94-pound sack of dry cement to 7 ½ gallons of clean water and 2% to 6% bentonite (by weight 2 to 6 pounds) to increase fluidity and to control shrinkage.

(28) Injection well - Includes:

 

(A) An air conditioning return flow well used to return water used for heating or cooling in a heat pump to the aquifer that supplied the water;

(B) A cooling water return flow well used to inject water previously used for cooling;

(C) A drainage well used to drain surface fluid into a subsurface formation;

(D) A recharge well used to replenish the water in an aquifer;

(E) A saltwater intrusion barrier well used to inject water into a freshwater aquifer to prevent the intrusion of salt water into the freshwater;

(F) A sand backfill well used to inject a mixture of water and sand, mill tailings, or other solids into subsurface mines;

(G) A subsidence control well used to inject fluids into a non-oil producing or non-gas producing zone to reduce or eliminate subsidence associated with the overdraft of freshwater; and

(H) A closed system geothermal well used to circulate water, other fluids, or gases through the earth as a heat source or heat sink.

(29) Injection well driller - A person who drills, bores, cores, or constructs an injection well. The term includes the owner or operator of a well or the contractor or drilling supervisor. The term does not include a person who acts under the direct supervision of an injection well driller and is not primarily responsible for the drilling operation.

(30) Installer - A person who installs or repairs well pumps and equipment. The term does not include a person who:

 

(A) installs or repairs well pumps and equipment on the person’s own property for the person’s own use; or

(B) assists in pump installation under the direct supervision of an installer and is not primarily responsible for the installation.

(31) Irrigation distribution system - A device or combination of devices having a hose, pipe, or other conduit that connects directly to any water well or reservoir connected to the well, through which water or a mixture of water and chemicals is drawn and applied to land. The term does not include any hand held hose sprayer or other similar device constructed so that an interruption in water flow automatically prevents any backflow to the water source.

(32) Licensed driller - Any person who holds a license issued pursuant to the provisions of Chapter 32, TEXAS WATER CODE or Chapter 1901, TEXAS OCCUPATIONS CODE.

(33) Licensed installer - A person who holds a license issued under Chapter 33, TEXAS WATER CODE or Chapter 1902, TEXAS OCCUPATIONS CODE.

(34) Monitoring well - An artificial excavation constructed to measure or monitor the quality, quantity or movement of substances, elements, chemicals, or fluids beneath the surface of the ground. Included within this definition are environmental soil borings, piezometer wells, observation wells, and recovery wells. The term shall not include any well used in conjunction with the production of oil, gas, coal, lignite, or any other minerals.

(35) Monitoring well driller - A person who drills, bores, cores, or constructs a monitoring well. The term includes the owner or operator of a well or the contractor or drilling supervisor.

(36) Mud - A relatively homogenous, viscous fluid produced by the suspension of clay-size particles in water or the additives of bentonite or polymers.

(37) Packer - A short expandable-retractable device deliberately set in a well bore to prevent upward or downward fluid movement. The device may be either permanent or removable.

(38) Plugging - An absolute sealing of the well bore.

(39) Pollution - The alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, or biological quality of any water in the state, or the contamination of any water in the state, that renders the water harmful, detrimental, or injurious to humans, animal life, vegetation, property, or public health, safety, or welfare or that impairs the usefulness of the public enjoyment of the water for any lawful or reasonable purpose.

(40) Positive displacement exterior method - A grout placement method whereby grout is placed by a positive displacement method such as pumping or forced injection after water or other drilling fluid has been circulated in the annular space sufficient to clear obstructions. A grout placement pipe shall be lowered to the bottom of the annular space or zone being grouted and raised slowly as the grout is introduced. The pipe shall be kept full continuously from start to finish of the grouting procedure, with the discharge end of the pipe being continuously submerged in the grout until the annular space is completely filled. In the event of interruption in the grouting operations, the bottom of the pipe shall be raised above the grout level and shall not be re-submerged until all air or water has been displaced from the pipe and the pipe flushed clean with clear water.

(41) Positive displacement interior method – A grout placement method whereby a measured quantity of grout, sufficient to fill the annular space shall be pumped into the casing, after water or other drilling fluid has been circulated in the annular space sufficient to clear obstructions. A drillable plug constructed of plastic or other suitable material shall be inserted on top of the grout. The plug will be forced down the casing using either water or drilling rods and therefore forcing the plug to the bottom of the casing. Pressure shall be maintained for a minimum of 24 hours or until such time as the sample of the grout indicates a satisfactory set.

(42) Public water system - A system supplying water to a number of connections or individuals, as defined by current rules and regulations of the commission in chapter 290, 30 TEX. ADMIN. CODE.

(43) Pump installation - The procedures employed in the placement, and preparation for operation, of equipment and materials used to obtain water from a well, including construction involved in establishing seals and safeguards as necessary to protect the water from contamination. The term includes repairs to an existing pump.

(44) Recovery well - A well constructed for the purpose of recovering undesirable groundwater for treatment or removal of contamination.

(45) Sanitary well seal - A watertight device to maintain a junction between the casing and the piping used for the delivery of water.

(46) State Well Report - A well log recorded on forms prescribed by the Department, at the time of drilling showing the depth, thickness, character of the different strata penetrated, location of water-bearing strata, depth, size, and character of casing installed, and well grouting/sealing information, together with any other data or information required by the Department.

(47) Steel or PVC Sleeve – A protective covering, generally a pipe, that is placed over the casing of a well.

(48) Tremie method – A grout placement method whereby a tremie pipe is lowered to the bottom of the annular space or zone being grouted and raised slowly as the grout is introduced. The tremie pipe shall be kept full continuously from start to finish of the grouting procedure, with the discharge end of the tremie pipe being continuously submerged in the grout until the annular space is completely filled.

(49) Tremie pipe – A string of pipe that is lowered into the annular space to place a filter pack or grouting material.

(50) Undesirable water - Water that is injurious to human health and the environment or water that can cause pollution to land or the waters in the state.

(51) Water table well – A well where the groundwater level or potentiometric surface is below the top of the geologic unit containing the aquifer.

(52) Water well - Any artificial excavation constructed for the purpose of exploring for or producing groundwater. The term, however, shall not include any test or blast holes in quarries or mines, or any well or excavation constructed for the purpose of exploring for, or producing oil, gas, or any other minerals unless the holes are also used to produce groundwater. The term shall not include any injection water source well regulated by the Railroad Commission of Texas.

(53) Water well driller - A person who drills, bores, cores, or constructs a water well. The term includes the owner or operator of a well or the contractor or drilling supervisor. The term does not include a person who:

 

(A) drills, bores, cores, or constructs a water well on the person’s own property for the person’s own use; or

(B) assists in constructing a water well under the direct supervision of a driller and is not primarily responsible for the drilling operation.

(54) Well - A water well, injection well, dewatering well, monitoring well, open or closed loop geothermal well, recovery well, or a well completed to produce undesirable water.

(55) Well pit - An excavation near the well head used for the installation of buried pump discharge or suction lines from the well below grade construction.

(56) Well pumps and equipment - Pumps, equipment and associated materials used to obtain water from a well, including the seals and safeguards necessary to protect the water from contamination.

(57) Natural Gamma-Ray Log - Natural Gamma-Ray log recording the naturally occurring radiation emitted from sediments in the well bore.

 

Section 6.2 Well Construction and Completion Process

6.2.1. Powers and duties of the District relating to well construction and completion.

The District, its employees and agents shall have the following powers:

 

1. to make or have made examinations of all wells, privately owned or otherwise, within the limits of the District;

2. to make or have made at any time the necessary analyses or tests of water there from;

3. to go upon the land and property of the owner of a well for any purpose allowed in this section;

4. to require the owner to furnish all information requested concerning a well, including, in the case of new wells, complete logs of the well showing depth to and depth through all geologic formations encountered;

5. to supervise the construction, repair, and plugging of wells and the operation of such wells. The District or its duly authorized agent shall keep a register of all wells within the limits of the District. This register shall show for each well the name of the owner, exact location, date of construction, depth and diameter, the purpose for which the well was constructed, and, if applicable, date of plugging.

It shall be a violation for any person to refuse or otherwise fail to comply with any requirement of this section, or with any order of the District in conformity with and under the authority of this section.

6.2.2. Inspection.

It shall be the duty of the District to inspect the property where any well will be drilled, sunk, dug, or bored.

6.2.3 Nuisance of defective or contaminating wells, abatement.

 

(a) Any defective or contaminating well, as described herein, is hereby found to be a threat to the water supply of the District, a potential source of disease, injurious to the public health, and is hereby declared a nuisance.

(b) For the purpose of this section a contaminating well is considered to be any well or other opening which penetrates the underground water supply and which in any way pollutes or contaminates any other well or the District water supply.

(c) For the purpose of this section a defective well is considered to be: any well, whether dug or drilled, which for any reason does not completely prevent, or which has the potential to allow, the mixing of water or other liquid from above and below the groundwater aquifers, or any water well that was constructed without a permit and associated inspections.

(d) District on its own initiative or upon information or complaint from any source, make an examination of any well suspected of being defective. If such examination indicates in the opinion of the District that the well is a contaminating or defective well or that the water from such well is unsafe for human consumption, then the director, or his authorized representative shall issue an order or written instructions to the owner of his agent in charge of such well or the property upon which it is situated to plug this well in such a manner as prescribed by the District and in compliance with TCEQ regulations and District Permitting Procedures.

6.2.4 Abandoned Wells.

 

(a) For the purpose of this section a well is considered to be an abandoned well if it has not been used for a period of six (6) consecutive months or longer. A well is considered to be in use in the following cases:

 

(i) A non-deteriorated, non-defective or non-contaminating well which contains the casing, pump and pump column in good condition, and which is connected to an active electrical or other power source; or

(ii) A non-deteriorated, non-defective or non-contaminating well which has been properly capped.

(b) It is hereby declared that an abandoned well, as defined in subsection (a) above, has the potential to pollute the water supply or be otherwise injurious to the public health, and, pursuant to Tex. Loc. Govt. Code Ann. §§ 217.042 and 401.002 (Vernon’s 1994), is hereby declared a nuisance, for which the District, acting through the District Board, pursuant to the Code, may require the abatement of such nuisance.

(c) The Owner, operator, or agent in charge of an abandoned well shall notify the District of that condition. Every abandoned well shall be filled and plugged in accordance with all applicable TCEQ regulations and District Permitting Procedures and with such materials and in such manner as in the judgment of the District will prevent the pollution and contamination of the District water supply or of any other well within the limits of the District.

(d) Whenever the District shall receive notice from any source of the existence of an abandoned well which has not been plugged and filled in accordance with the provisions of this section, the District shall notify the owner, operator, or agent in charge of such well or of the property upon which it is situated that such well is abandoned and shall order such person to fill and plug the well in accordance with this section of the Code.

(e) The District may require any owner of a capped well to take any action necessary or to provide any information or materials necessary to establish that such a capped well is not defective, contaminating, or deteriorated.

6.2.5 Failure to abate nuisance, remedies.

Should the owner, operator, or agent in charge responsible for the contaminating, defective, or abandoned well which has been declared a nuisance, or for the property on which it is situated, fail to abate such nuisance within the prescribed time from the date of issuance of notice of nuisance or order issued pursuant to the District rules, or if, after exercising reasonable diligence, the District is unable to locate the owner, operator, or agent in charge, the District, shall have the right to go on the property upon which the well is situated and abate such nuisance in the manner provided, and the owner thereof shall be liable to the District for the cost of such work and shall pay such cost upon demand, and the District, shall have the right to file a lien on the property to secure payment of the costs of such work.

6.2.6 Variance and appeal

 

(a) All requests for variances shall be made in writing to the District and shall include:

 

(i) The subject of the requested variance, and
(ii) The justification for granting a variance.

(b) The party requesting a variance has the burden of demonstrating that sufficient evidence exists for the granting of a variance of these rules, and the District shall consider and provide a written response to all such variance requests.

Section 6.3 Well Construction and Completion Standards

6.3.1 Purpose:
A completed TGR notice of intent to drill or modify a well is required to drill, modify (including the capping or plugging of a well), or otherwise construct any new water well, or any other artificial excavation to explore for or produce groundwater, or injection wells for the purpose of earth coupled heat exchange. All procedures set forth by TGR shall meet or exceed standards set by the TGR, State and local regulatory agencies.

All wells shall be drilled, equipped, and completed so as to comply with the standards set by the Texas Department of Health, Texas Commission on Environmental Quality,Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation, and additional rules established by this District.

6.3.2 Responsibility:
The TGR is given the responsibility to oversee the construction, modification and plugging of wells within the TGR District Boundaries, except as provided by the District’s Enabling Act. The board or its duly authorized agent shall also maintain a register of all wells with the TGRGCD. The register shall include but not be limited to the name of the owner, location of the well, its depth and diameter and other pertinent data. The owner of a well is required to furnish all information available concerning such well, including but not limited to, in the case of a new well, complete logs of the well showing depths to each consecutive geological formation encountered.

6.3.3 PROCEDURES:

 

6.3.3.1 Notification of Intent to Drill or Modify a Well:
Notices / Inspection Fees are established under TGR Rules. All notifications shall be executed in triplicate, one copy to be issued to the applicant and two copies to be retained in the office of the TGR. Applications shall be completed and fees paid prior to drilling, plugging or modifying a well.

6.3.3.2 Notification Process:
Notification forms for well activities are available through the TGR. Once a notification is received the assigned inspector will contact the owner or representative to schedule an inspection of the proposed well location. Upon completion of the inspection the field file is forwarded to the TGR agent. The field file must contain the following: The original completed application; survey and or plat with the proposed location of the well, Edwards Aquifer Authority approval letter if applicable and all required variances. Approved well applications are valid for a period of no longer than six (6) months.
It shall be the duty of the TGR to inspect the property where any water well is to be drilled, and to observe if the operations to drill or modify a well meet with all the applicable codes.

6.3.4 Drilling Guidelines

 

6.3.4.1 Drilling guidelines within the Edwards Aquifer Formation:
Drilling operations which involve drilling or plugging operations in the Edwards Aquifer formations shall comply with the Edwards Aquifer Authority rules.

6.3.4.2 Drilling Guidelines for Non-Edwards Wells:
Each proposed well application is evaluated individually in order to determine the applicable method(s) required to satisfactorily drill the well.

A 1 1/2” annulus must be provided between the borehole and the casing: diameter of the borehole must be a minimum of 3” larger than the outside of the casing.

 

a. The diameter of the drilled hole shall be a minimum of three (3”) inches larger than the outside diameter of the casing to be used down to a minimum depth of forty feet (40’).

b. Either steel pipe or polyvinyl chloride (PVC) casing may be used. PVC casing shall meet minimum specifications as defined by the Department of Licensing and Regulations Water Well Drillers and Pump Installers. Wells completed with steel casing must meet all specifications set forth by the Water Well Driller and Pump Installers Rules. Completed at the surface with the annular space filled with cement slurry or bentonite. If more than forty feet (40’) of casing is set, it shall be grouted using the interior or exterior positive displacement method.

c. The borehole casing annulus shall be filled with cement slurry or bentonite from ground level to a depth of not less than forty feet (40’) below the land surface. All wells must satisfy all State and local water well completion and annular space sealing requirements.

d. The casing shall extend at least eighteen inches (18”) above land surface at a site not generally subject to flooding; provided however, that if a well must be placed in a flood prone area, it shall be completed with a water tight sanitary well seal and steel casing extending a minimum of thirty six inches (36”) above known flood levels.

e. All wells completed with PVC casing shall be completed according to one of the three surface completion methods as described by the following:

 

1. Slab – The slab or block shall extend at least two feet (2’) from the well in all directions and have a minimum thickness of four inches (4”), and should be separated from the well casing by a plastic or mastic coating or sleeve to prevent bonding of the slab to the casing. The surface of the slab shall be sloped to drain away from the well. The top of the casing shall extend a minimum of on foot (1’) above the top of the slab.

2. Steel and PVC Sleeve – The steel sleeve shall be a minimum of 3/16” in thickness and/or the plastic sleeve shall be a minimum of schedule 80 sun resistant and twenty four inches (24”) in length and shall extend twelve inches (12”) into the cement, except when steel casing or a pitless adapter is used. The casing shall extend a minimum of one and one half foot (1.5’) above the original ground surface, and the steel sleeve shall be two inches (2”), larger in diameter than the plastic casing being used.

3. Pitless Adapters – In wells with Steel or Plastic Casings completed with pitless adapters, the adapters shall be welded to the casing or fitted with another suitably effective seal, and the borehole-casing annulus filled with cement slurry or bentonite to a depth of not less than forty feet (40’) below land surface, or to the top of the first potable water bearing strata above forty feet (40’). All wells completed with pitless adapters must satisfy all State Water well completion and annular space sealing requirements that pertain to pitless adapters.

6.3.4.2 Drilling Guidelines for Non-Edwards Wells:

 

f. All wells shall be completed so that aquifers or zones containing waters that differ significantly in chemical quality are not allowed to commingle through the borehole and cause quality degradation of any aquifer or zone. At no time shall the Upper and Lower Glen Rose be allowed to commingle. In all cases where penetrating into the Lower Glen Rose, the well casing and cementing shall extend a minimum of twenty-five feet (25’) into the Lower Glen Rose.

 

A Natural Gamma-ray Log to determine the location of the Lower Glen Rose/Upper Glen Rose contact shall be required.  A copy of the log shall be provided to the TGR and/or their agent.  The TGR copy of the Natural Gamma-Ray Log shall be printed at a scale of 1” every 20 feet. The Well Driller shall identify the Formation contact(s) and determine the proper length of casing needed.

 

g. All wells shall be equipped with a water tight sanitary well seal with a ¾” diameter id inspection port, located on top of the well seal which allows for free access to the water table for the purpose of water level measurement and disinfection. Any well presently not equipped in the future shall be so equipped when that well is serviced. On those wells with odd sized casing, which cannot be fitted with a factory made water tight sanitary well seal, the completion must be done in a manner that will prevent any pollutants (waste, insects, chemicals, etc.) from entering the well.

A minimum of forty feet (40’) of casing shall be required unless any undesirable waters are encountered. (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. (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 bore hole shall be grouted with a state approved grouting material an adequate depth below the undesirable water or constituent zone to the land surface to ensure the protection of groundwater, by the interior or exterior positive displacement method or tremie method. Wells encountering zones of differing water quality shall be grouted within five business days to prevent any commingling or degradation.

6.3.5 Plugging of Non-Edwards Aquifer Wells:
Any plugging of wells, casing, liner, or bore hole will require notification, completion of the application form, and payment of fees to the TGR.
All removable casing shall be removed. The contractor, after pulling the pump and pump column from the well, must ensure the well is free of any obstructions to the bottom of the borehole. The well will be logged or tagged by the TGR agent to determine necessary information such as total depth, casing depth and formations depths to properly complete the plugging. The well must be plugged by filling the uncased borehole to the water level with washed and disinfected pea gravel. Then the entire casing from the top of the gravel to the surface shall be filled with cement slurry.

6.3.6 Modifications:
Any modification of well depth, casing, liner, depth or diameter of bore hole will require notification, completion of the application form, and payment of fees to the TGR.

6.3.7 Well Reports:
Every well driller who drills, deepens, or otherwise alters a Trinity Aquifer well, shall be properly licensed and shall make and keep a legible and accurate State Well Report.
Every well driller shall deliver or transmit by first-class mail a photocopy of the State Well Report, and any other forms required by the District, to the TGR Agent and a copy to the owner or person for whom the well was drilled, deepened, or otherwise altered within 60 days from the completion or cessation of drilling, deepening, or otherwise altering a well.
6.3.8 Reporting Undesirable Water or Constituents:
Each well driller shall inform, within 24 hours, the landowner or person having a Trinity Aquifer well drilled, deepened, or otherwise altered or their agent when undesirable water or constituents have been encountered.

 

The well driller shall, within thirty (30) days of encountering undesirable water or constituents, submit to the District, and the landowner or person having the well drilled, deepened, or otherwise altered, on forms authorized by the District:

 

1. A statement signed by the well driller indicating that the landowner or person having the well drilled, deepened, or otherwise altered, has been informed that undesirable water or constituents have been encountered; and

2. A copy of the Undesirable Water or Constituents Report required pursuant to 16 TEX. ADMIN. CODE § 76.701, as may be amended.