Section 312IAC16-5-20. Temporary abandonment of wells

   (a) An owner or operator may defer plugging and abandonment under IC 14-37-8-1 for a well that has been drilled, completed, and cased for production if either of the following is satisfied:

(1) Abandonment is deferred under subsection (b).

(2) The requirements of subsection (c) are completed for temporary abandonment status.

  (b) An owner or operator may defer plugging and abandonment of a well for one (1) year, or for any lesser time prescribed by the division, if both of the following are satisfied:

(1) The owner or operator notifies the division, in writing, on a form provided by the division, that plugging and abandonment are being deferred. The notification must be filed with the division within sixty (60) days of the following:

(A) Well completion for a well not placed in operation.

(B) The termination of operations for a well placed in operation.

(2) The owner or operator complies with each of the following technical requirements:

(A) The well is provided with an intact, leak-free wellhead or is capped with a valve and configured to monitor casing or casing-tubing annulus pressure.

(B) The well site is kept free of unnecessary equipment, vegetation, and debris.

(C) The excavations associated with drilling are filled and leveled.

(D) Signs are posted and maintained under section 10 of this rule.

(E) A properly executed completion or recompletion report is submitted to the division under section 17 of this rule.

(F) The well is cased and cemented under this rule.

(G) Bond is maintained on the well as required under this rule.

(H) A demonstration is made under subsection (d) that the well does not threaten an underground source of drinking water.

  (c) An owner or operator of a well may seek temporary abandonment status for a well that conforms to the requirements of IC 14-37 and this rule. The owner or operator seeking temporary abandonment status must file a completed application on a division form within sixty (60) days of the following:

(1) For a well not placed in operation, the date on which drilling of the well is completed.

(2) For a well placed in operation, the date on which operation of the well is terminated.

(3) If the department has approved a deferral of plugging and abandonment under subsection (b), the date of expiration of the deferral.

  (d) The following governs the demonstration required under subsection (b)(2)(H) that a well does not threaten an underground source of drinking water:

(1) The owner or operator must notify an inspector at least forty-eight (48) hours before a demonstration is to be performed.

(2) The owner or operator must use one (1) of the following methods in performing the demonstration:

(A) Monitor the fluid level using acoustical or wire line measuring methods on an annual basis and report the results of monitoring on a form prescribed by the division. If the fluid level is closer than one hundred (100) feet to the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water, the owner or operator shall notify an inspector within twenty-four (24) hours and shall do one (1) of the following:

(i) Plug and abandon the well under section 19 of this rule.

(ii) Set a mechanical bridge, cement, or calseal plug within two hundred (200) feet above the perforated or open hole interval in the cemented portion of the casing, but no less than one hundred (100) feet below the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water. Remove any fluid to a level at least one hundred (100) feet below the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water.

(iii) Set a mechanical bridge, cement, or calseal plug within two hundred (200) feet above the perforated or open hole interval in the cemented portion of the casing, but no less than one hundred (100) feet below the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water. Pressure test the casing at least once every five (5) years during any period of temporary abandonment by filling the casing above the mechanical bridge, cement, or calseal plug with water and placing a pressure of at least three hundred (300) pounds per square inch gauge (which may vary no more than three percent (3%)) for a period of thirty (30) minutes. During the thirty (30) minute period of the test, additional pressure may not be applied to the casing.

(iv) Install tubing and packer within two hundred (200) feet above the perforated or open hole interval in cemented portion of the casing, but no less than one hundred (100) feet below the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water. Pressure test the casing tubing annulus at least once every five (5) years during any period of temporary abandonment by filling the annulus above the packer with water and placing a pressure of at least three hundred (300) pounds per square inch gauge (which may vary no more than three percent (3%)) for a period of thirty (30) minutes. During the thirty (30) minute period of the test, additional pressure may not be applied to the annulus.

(v) If a bridge, cement, or calseal plug was lawfully set before the effective date of this section, which is one hundred (100) feet below the base of the lowest underground source of drinking water, but no less than one hundred (100) feet below the calculated top of the cement, fluid level monitoring as described in item (iii) or a pressure test as described in item (iv) may be used to demonstrate the well does not threaten an underground source of drinking water.

(B) Perform a mechanical integrity test as described in clause (A)(ii), (A)(iii), or (A)(iv).

(C) For a gas well, with a minimum wellhead pressure of one hundred (100) pounds per square inch, each of the following standards apply:

(i) At least ten percent (10%) of the initial shut-in pressure shall be bled off, and the well shall be shut back in under the supervision of an inspector.

(ii) Once the well returns to the maximum shut-in pressure, the pressure must be maintained at a constant level for thirty (30) minutes in the pressure of an inspector.

(iii) A pressure measuring device displaying a readout of the shut-in pressure shall be attached to the wellhead and shall be accessible at all times for inspection by the inspector.

  (e) Temporary abandonment status may be granted for a period not to exceed five (5) consecutive years.

  (f) Upon the expiration of temporary abandonment status or its renewal, the owner or operator must do one (1) of the following:

(1) Operate the well for its permitted purpose.

(2) Plug and abandon the well under section 19 of this rule.

(3) Submit a request for temporary abandonment renewal, on a form prescribed by the division, which demonstrates that the engineering, geologic, or economic reasons for retaining a well on temporary abandonment status outweigh the potential benefit from operating, plugging, or abandoning the well. Demonstrate the well does not threaten an underground source of drinking water by using a method, as selected by the division, under subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii), (d)(2)(A)(iii), or (d)(2)(A)(iv).

  (g) If an owner or operator fails to file an annual report, as required under subsection (d)(2)(A), the division may require the owner or operator to do any of the following:

(1) Demonstrate the well has mechanical integrity using a method selected by the division under subsection (d)(2)(A)(ii), (d)(2)(A)(iii), or (d)(2)(A)(iv).

(2) Operate the well for the permitted purpose.

(3) Plug and abandon the well under section 19 of this rule.

  (h) An owner or operator must notify the division in writing within thirty (30) days of any change in the operational status of a well that has been granted temporary abandonment status under this section.

  (i) Operation of a well that is subject to this section removes the well from temporary abandonment status. (Natural Resources Commission; 312 IAC 16-5-20; filed Feb 23, 1998, 11:30 a.m.: 21 IR 2345; filed Oct 1, 1999, 1:12 p.m.: 23 IR 295; 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)