[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 20 (Tuesday, January 30, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8234-8236]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-2570]
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ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY
[FRL-6935-6]
Underground Injection Control Program: Substantial Modification
to an Existing State-Administered Underground Injection Control Program
AGENCY: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
ACTION: Notice; request for public comment on a substantial
modification to the Wyoming 1422 underground injection control program.
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SUMMARY: The Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) establishes the Underground
Injection Control (UIC) Program, which is designed to protect present
and future underground sources of drinking water (USDWs) and to prevent
underground injection through wells that may endanger these drinking
water sources. The SDWA provides for states to apply for and receive
approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to administer
their own UIC programs, if the State regulations and statutes meet
EPA's minimum requirements as specified in 40 CFR parts 144, 145, and
146 or the ``protective'' standard specified in section 1425 of the
SDWA for oil and gas related wells. One of these requirements specified
in 40 CFR 144.7 is the identification of USDWs. If an aquifer meets the
definition of a USDW as stated in 40 CFR 144.3, injection into it
through a Class I, II, or III injection well can occur only if the
aquifer is exempted. Exemption from classification as a USDW can take
place only if it is exempted from the classification as a USDW
according to the criteria in 40 CFR 146.4. Therefore, injection through
a Class I, II, or III injection well into any aquifer that meets the
classification as a USDW requires a demonstration that the aquifer is
not currently serving a drinking water system and is not expected to do
so in the future. Certain exemptions are considered substantial program
revisions. Once the State program receives final approval, subsequent
modifications to the programs can be requested by the State and
accomplished through the specifications under 40 CFR 145.32. Upon
receiving a request for modification of a State program, EPA determines
if the requested modification is ``substantial'' or ``non-
substantial.'' A request for an Aquifer Exemption is one type of
program modification that can be requested by the State. An Aquifer
Exemption request often accompanies a Draft Permit for an injection
well that
[[Page 8235]]
will inject into a USDW that can be proven to meet criteria specified
in 40 CFR 146.4. If the Aquifer Exemption is considered a ``non-
substantial'' modification to the existing State program, then it can
be evaluated and approved or disapproved by the EPA Regional
Administrator. However, if the aquifer proposed for exemption contains
formation fluids with less than 3,000 mg/l Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
which is related to any Class I well or is not related to action on a
permit (except in the case of rule authorized enhanced recovery
operations in oil fields), then the Aquifer Exemption represents a
``substantial'' modification to the State program. In this case,
according to 40 CFR 145.32, the proposed program revision shall be
published in the Federal Register to provide the public an opportunity
to comment for a period of at least 30 days. The authority to approve
or disapprove the proposed change lies with the EPA Administrator. The
proposed substantial revision to the Wyoming 1422 UIC program for which
public comments are being solicited is a request for the exemption of
approximately 1 square mile of the Lance Formation at an approximate
depth of 3,800 to 6,500 feet below ground surface surrounding two non-
hazardous Class I injection wells in the Powder River Basin within
Johnson County, Wyoming.
Public comments are encouraged and a public hearing will be held
upon request. A request for a public hearing should be made in writing
and should state the nature of the issues proposed to be raised at the
hearing. A public hearing will be held only if significant interest is
shown.
DATES: EPA must receive public comment, in writing, on the proposed
modification of the Wyoming 1422 program by March 1, 2001.
ADDRESSES: Send written comments to Valois Shea, Ground Water Unit (8P-
W-GW), Environmental Protection Agency, Region VIII, 999 18th Street,
Suite 300, Denver, Colorado, 80202-2466, by the deadlines provided
above. Copies of the application and pertinent materials are available
for review by the public between 8:30 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through
Friday at the following locations: Environmental Protection Agency,
Region VIII, Ground Water Unit, 4th Floor North Terrace, 999 18th
Street, Denver, CO 80202-2466; and Department of Environmental Quality,
Herschler Building, 122 West 25th Street, Cheyenne, WY 82002.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Valois Shea, US EPA Region VIII, 8P-W-
GW, 999 18th Street, Suite 300, Denver, CO 80202-2466, (303) 312-6276.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Introduction
On September 25, 2000, COGEMA Mining, Inc., (COGEMA) and the
Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality (WDEQ) submitted to EPA a
request to grant an Aquifer Exemption for the Lance Formation in the
areas contained within Township 44 North, Range 76 West, 6th P.M. ,
SW\1/4\ NW\1/4\ Section 5, SE\1/4\ NW\1/4\ Section 5, SW\1/4\ Section
5, NE\1/4\ Section 7, NW\1/4\ SE\1/4\ Section 7, NE\1/4\ SE\1/4\
Section 7, NW\1/4\ NW\1/4\ Section 8, NE\1/4\ NW\1/4\ Section 8, SW\1/
4\ NW\1/4\ Section 8, and NW\1/4\ SW\1/4\ Section 8, surrounding two
Class I Non-Hazardous deep injection wells, the COGEMA DW No. 3 and the
COGEMA DW No. 2, in Johnson County, WY. The total area of the Lance
Formation included in the proposed exemption is approximately 1 square
mile. The proposed injection intervals are approximately 3,800 to 6,500
feet in depth below ground surface for each well. The proposed
injection interval is based on the depth of the Lance Formation
intersected by adjacent Class I Non-Hazardous deep injection well,
COGEMA DW No. 1. A similar exemption of a portion of the Lance
Formation was proposed for the COGEMA DW No. 1 in the Federal Register
on August 27, 1998 (63 FR 45810). The notice also solicited public
comment of the proposed action. No public comments were received, and
the final notice of the Aquifer Exemption was included in the Federal
Register on March 26, 1999 (64 FR 14799).
The Lance Formation fluids contain less than 3,000 mg/l Total
Dissolved Solids (TDS), dictating that this Aquifer Exemption be a
substantial revision of the Wyoming Underground Injection Control (UIC)
program approved under section 1422 of the Safe Drinking Water Act.
Criteria for classification of a program revision as substantial or
not, are in UIC Guidance #34, Guidance for Review and Approval of State
UIC Programs and Revisions to Approved State Programs. The procedures
to follow to approve or disapprove substantial program revisions in the
UIC program are in Sec. 145.32 and in UIC guidance #34. The aquifer
proposed for exemption has been determined by WDEQ to be too deep to be
considered as an economically feasible source of drinking water. EPA
has examined the Aquifer Exemption request, the accompanying
information, and responses from WDEQ and COGEMA to EPA requests for
additional supporting information, and, for reasons described herein,
recommends approval of this request to exempt the designated portions
of the Lance Formation from classification as a USDW.
II. Background
COGEMA operates the Christensen Ranch in-situ leaching uranium mine
within the Wasatch Sandstone Formation in Johnson and Campbell
Counties, WY. The Wasatch Formation overlies the Lance Formation by
about 2,600 feet at the mine site. The mining operation has comprised
five well fields to date. The operation has reached the phase where
large scale restoration of the groundwater within all the well fields
is required to close the operation. Two Class I Non-Hazardous deep
injection wells are currently being used to inject the above-mentioned
waste stream into previously exempted portions of the Lance Formation.
However, with the current disposal capacity of the two existing wells,
the rate of the restoration process is limited. A large portion of the
mined aquifer is on ``standby'' until either (a) the disposal capacity
can be increased by the addition of two new wells, or (b) the
restoration process is completed in other mined-out areas. The
additional disposal rate capacity created by these two proposed wells
will increase the rate of the restoration process significantly,
restoring the Wasatch Formation water quality to its class of use
standards two years sooner than without the two additional wells. The
mined areas on ``standby'' awaiting restoration must require a
continuous bleed-off because a negative pressure regime must be
maintained in order to keep the underground water flow directed into
the mining area to prevent the contamination of adjacent areas of the
aquifers (the Wasatch Formation). To maintain the negative pressure,
water must continuously be pumped out of the mined areas in standby
mode. The additional two years required for complete restoration
without the two new wells would result in approximately 31 million
additional gallons of waste stream to be disposed of that could be
avoided by the construction of two new wells, increasing the disposal
capacity.
Groundwater restoration is conducted to return the groundwater
affected by mining to its baseline condition or to a condition
consistent with its pre-mining or potential use upon completion of
mining activities. After the restoration process is completed, the
concentrations of contaminants are reduced to levels below drinking
water standards. For the successful restoration of the
[[Page 8236]]
groundwater quality within the mined-out areas of the Wasatch
Formation, a wastewater disposal capacity of 300 to 500 gallons per
minute (gpm) will be required over the next 6 years.
III. Injectate
The injectate will consist of operational bleed streams from
commercial in-situ leaching uranium mining operations as well as fluids
from the restoration of the aquifer. The constituents on the injectate
include the following process and restoration bleed streams: normal
overproduction (well field bleed) streams, yellow cake wash water,
laboratory wastewater, reverse osmosis brine, and groundwater sweep
solutions. The bleed streams are defined as non-hazardous, and as
beneficiation wastes exempt from regulation under the Resource
Conservation and Recovery Act as stipulated by the Bevill Amendment (40
CFR 261.4(b)(7)).
IV. Basis for Approval of Proposed Aquifer Exemption
The information provided by COGEMA in the reports included in the
docket adequately addresses the requirements of 40 CFR 146.4 supporting
approval of the proposed Aquifer Exemption request for the Lance
Formation.
146. 4 Criteria for exempted aquifers
An aquifer or a portion thereof which meets the criteria for an
``underground source of drinking water'' in Sec. 146.3 may be
determined under 40 CFR 144.8 to be an ``exempted aquifer'' if it
meets the following criteria:
(a) It does not currently serve as a source for drinking water;
The nearest documented well completed in the Lance is over 24 miles
to the west of the site. The exact use of this well is unknown, but
appears to be associated with oil or gas development. Approximately 30
miles to the west, the Lance outcrops to the surface and wells
developed there are for livestock use. Where the Lance Formation occurs
near the surface at the western edge of the Powder River Basin 30 miles
southwest of the proposed exemption area, five wells jointly completed
in the Lance and Fox Hills formations formerly served as public water
supplies to the municipalities of Midwest and Edgerton, WY, until 1997.
At that time, the wells were abandoned because of low water
productivity (40 gpm sustainable flow) and the expense of treatment
that would be required to continue using these wells as a public water
supply. The towns of Midwest and Edgerton have determined that piping
in pre-treated water 50 miles from Casper is more economically feasible
than continuing operation of the wells completed in the Lance/Fox Hills
formations, even at the relatively shallow depth of 1,500 to 2,000
feet. Therefore, the Lance is no longer supplying water to a public
drinking water system within 30 miles of the proposed Aquifer Exemption
area.
(b) It cannot now and will not serve as a source of drinking
water because:
. . . (2) It is situated at a depth or location which makes
recovery of water for drinking water purposes economically or
technologically impractical.
The depth of the Lance Formation within the Aquifer Exemption area
ranges from 3,800 to 6,500 feet based on the information from the
COGEMA DW No. 1 well. The Powder River Basin consists of a deep
syncline. The Aquifer Exemption area occurs very near the deepest
occurrence of the Lance Formation within this syncline.
Alternatively, the Wasatch Formation overlies the Lance Formation
in the Aquifer Exemption area and provides a more shallow, potential
water supply source available for use in the area. According the USGS
publications referenced by COGEMA, any water supply wells (aside from
water flood wells related to oil production) in the proposed Aquifer
Exemption area are completed in the Wasatch Formation. The Wasatch
Formation is a high quality, prolific aquifer, located at approximately
1,200 feet in depth or shallower throughout the Powder River Basin,
including the proposed Aquifer Exemption area. The Wasatch Formation,
alone, contains a volume of water that would supply a population of
approximately 1.3 million people for 100 years. Given this abundant,
shallow supply of high quality groundwater, it is reasonable to
conclude that the deeper Lance Formation will never be required to
provide a source of drinking water in the area of the Aquifer
Exemption.
COGEMA provided a cost evaluation for the capital costs and
estimated operating costs for developing a private (50 gpm) and a
public (750 gpm) drinking water well, including treatment costs based
on the water quality analysis of samples collected from the Lance
Formation as a water supply source within the Aquifer Exemption area.
The costs to develop the Lance within the exemption area were compared
with estimated costs to develop the Wasatch Formation as an alternative
public water supply (at the 750 gpm rate). The incremental cost
increase for using the Lance Formation water versus Wasatch Formation
water as a drinking water source for the public water supply is
approximately $3,691,250. The incremental increase in operations and
maintenance cost of using the Lance water over the Wasatch water as a
drinking water source would be $2.40/1,000 gallons.
The Midwest-Edgerton public water supply scenario should be noted
as the most compelling support for the approval of this Aquifer
Exemption request and the feasibility of using the Lance Formation as a
public water supply. The five wells were abandoned in favor of piping
in an alternative water supply. The decision to abandon these wells was
based on the economic impact of the need to treat the water and the low
production rates of the wells, even though the costs of development had
already been expended. Furthermore, the wells tapped shallower portions
of the Lance Formation compared to the depth of the Lance within the
proposed Aquifer Exemption area.
In summary, the Lance Formation probably will never be considered
to be an economically feasible source of drinking water in the area of
the Aquifer Exemption because of the great depth, low water production
capacity, and treatment costs that will be necessary based on the
Midwest-Edgerton wells. The cost of developing the Lance Formation as a
drinking water supply within the proposed Aquifer Exemption area is
high compared to that of developing shallow, more prolific, and higher
quality sources of drinking water, such as the Wasatch Formation. The
Wasatch is better suited for development in this area as a source of
drinking water due to higher producing capability, significantly better
water quality, and no water treatment costs.
V. Regulatory Impact
There will be no modification of regulations in the Wyoming DEQ
Water Quality Rules and Regulations as a result of this proposed
program modification. The Code of Federal Regulations 40 CFR part 147,
subpart ZZ, which codifies the State of Wyoming UIC 1442 and 1445
program within the Federal regulations, will be modified to include
this program modification once approval has been granted by the EPA
Administrator.
Dated: January 11, 2001.
D. Edwin Hogle,
Director, Ground Water Program, Office of Partnerships and Regulatory
Assistance, Region VIII.
[FR Doc. 01-2570 Filed 1-29-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 6560-50-U