Section 312IAC16-5-15. Mechanical integrity

   (a) A Class II well has mechanical integrity if there is the following:

(1) No significant leak in the casing, tubing, or packer.

(2) No significant fluid movement into an underground source of drinking water through vertical channels adjacent to the injection well bore.

  (b) One (1) of the following methods must be used to evaluate mechanical integrity under subsection (a)(1):

(1) After an initial pressure test, monthly monitoring of annulus pressure (at a positive value) by the owner or operator to be reported to the division no less frequently than quarterly.

(2) Pressure testing with liquid.

  (c) Where pressure testing is performed under subsection (b)(2), the casing-tubing annulus above the packer must be filled with fluid and tested, with no more than a three percent (3%) pressure differential over a thirty (30) minute period, not less than once every five (5) years under the supervision of a division representative at a pressure of no less than three hundred (300) pounds per square inch.

  (d) One (1) of the following methods must be used to evaluate mechanical integrity under subsection (a)(2):

(1) The results of a temperature or noise log.

(2) Records demonstrating the presence of cement adequate to prevent the migration of fluids in the well bore.

(3) A radioactive tracer survey.

  (e) The division director may authorize a test to demonstrate mechanical integrity other than those listed in subsections (b) and (d). The division director may authorize an alternative test only where the test reliably demonstrates the mechanical integrity of a well.

  (f) In conducting and evaluating a test authorized by this section, the owner or operator and the director shall apply methods and standards generally accepted in the petroleum industry. When reporting the results of a mechanical integrity test to the director, an owner or operator shall include a description of any test and method used. When evaluating a mechanical integrity test, the division director shall review monitoring and other test data submitted since the previous evaluation. (Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 16-5-15; filed Feb 23, 1998, 11:30 a.m.: 21 IR 2342; filed Aug 6, 2004, 12:00 p.m.: 27 IR 3881; readopted filed Nov 17, 2004, 11:00 a.m.: 28 IR 1315; readopted filed Mar 25, 2010, 2:57 p.m.: 20100421-IR-312100033RFA; readopted filed Sep 30, 2015, 12:13 p.m.: 20151028-IR-312150224RFA)