In February 2014, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) released, “Permitting Guidance for Oil and Gas Hydraulic Fracturing Activities Using Diesel Fuels: Underground Injection Control Program Guidance #84” to help protect drinking water and expedite the permitting process. Below is a review of recommendations made by the EPA for permitting agencies and what they mean to companies seeking Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class II permits.

1) EPA UIC Program Directors should establish a process for the timely submission and review of permit applications consistent with 40 CFR 144.31 that allows sufficient time to review and authorize the permit to initiating HF activities using diesel fuels.

This recommendation is meant to help both expedite the permitting process and ensure that preliminary evaluations of fuels, proposed construction, operating and monitoring plans, and public notice and comment are of sufficient duration to protect underground sources of drinking water (USDW). Toward that end, the EPA will provide owners/operators with helpful tools such as checklists to aid in the process.

2) EPA UIC Program Directors should consider requesting the following information from the owner or operator, per their authorized discretion.

In addition to information already required under 40 CFR parts 124 and 144 to 147, owners/operators may be asked to provide:

  • Information that can help calculate and delineate the extent and orientation of the planned fracture network, nearby USDWs and surface connections, and results from nearby HF operations and other empirical information, models, and published reports or studies,
  •  A pre-permit-expiration monitoring plan for permits of duration shorter than the full life of the well,
  •  Information about seismic history, including presence and depth of known events in the area,
  •  Baseline geochemical information on accessible USDWs and other subsurface formations within the area of review (AoR), and
  •  Information about the anticipated true vertical depth of the intended formation and pressure range for the proposed HF treatment.

3) EPA UIC Permit writers should consider issuing area permits for Class II wells using diesel fuels for HF provided that all applicable requirements, including any applicable public notification requirements, are satisfied.

HF well owners/operators may benefit from improved permitting efficiency with an area permit when they seek permits for multiple wells within a well-defined, localized geologic setting. However, the guidance also recommends that permit writers consider the total number of wells covered when determining the appropriate financial responsibility demonstration required.

4) EPA UIC Program Directors should consider the following ways of setting the permit duration for an individual well using diesel fuels for HF:

  •  Set a short duration for the permit, as permissible under 40 CFR 144.36(c) that concludes after injection ceases and a nonendangerment demonstration is made,
  • Manage the well as temporarily abandoned during periods of oil or gas production (e.g., when no injecting is occurring).

Under the first option, permit compliance would have to be confirmed before the permit expires and the well is released from UIC requirements. Any subsequent HF activities at the well would require a new UIC permit. The second option is more appropriate for owners/operators that intend to use diesel fuel to refracture the formation in the future, and may allow authorization of reduced requirements during temporary cessation. Both options could occur when a well is producing, but no injection is occurring.

For area permits, the EPA UIC Program Directors should ensure that wells are in compliance with all aspects of the UIC area permit before releasing any from UIC program requirements.

Wells that have been released from the UIC program by being fully converted to production would require a new UIC permit to resume diesel fuel HF activities.

5) EPA UIC Program Directors should modify the one-quarter (1/4) mile fixed radius approach to delineating the AoR so that it prevents endangerment of USDWs.

AoRs will be determined using site-specific information in consultation with owners/operators. Information for multiple wells colocated on one well pad should also include length and angle of each directional completion, fracture length, and an estimation of how closely the fracture zone approximates a porous medium. Calculation methods and other recommendations are provided in Appendix B of the Guidance

For additional information or assistance with your environmental and health & Safety (EHS) regulatory compliance needs, contact Ralph Carito at rcarito@TotalEnvironmental.com or 908-442-8599.