B08_ATT_5_CONTAMINATION_ASSESSMENT_PROTOCOL_OCT_21_22.pdf

10/20/2022 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

(BIL)

Energy Communities

Revitalization Program

(ECRP)

Orphaned Well Surface Water and Groundwater Contamination Protocol

A. Introduction

This Protocol is intended to guide agency staff and contractors in the implementation of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Section 40601 (Methane Emission Reduction), which directs that the federal orphaned well plugging program shall, among other requirements, “measure or estimate and track contamination of groundwater or surface water associated with orphaned wells.”

Because of the complexities in accurately measuring and attributing contamination to a particular well, this Protocol presents a two-step process for reviewing the history and current condition of a well site and identifying whether there are indicators or evidence of groundwater or surface water contamination attributable to the orphaned well. If the first two steps in this Protocol do not result in indications or evidence of surface water or groundwater contamination, or if they reveal limited contamination such as brines and crude oil that can be removed during the plugging and reclamation project, the third step should not be followed.

If, however, the first two steps reveal indicators or evidence that the well is contaminating groundwater or surface water, it will be necessary to follow the third step in this Protocol.

This Protocol is based on the recognition that the information about and conditions of each well site can and do vary significantly. Therefore, this Protocol focuses on consistency of process.

The three steps of this Protocol are:

Step 1: Information Collection The collection of available information from applicable state/federal regulatory agencies and other sources about the orphaned well;

Step 2: Site Visit A site visit to inspect the orphaned well to assess site status and condition, including identification of visible evidence of contamination, actual contamination, or no indicators or evidence of contamination. No actual soil or water testing is carried out at this step;

Step 3: Measuring or Estimating and Tracking via Sampling and Analysis

If contamination of surface water or groundwater is indicated, arrange for an appropriate level of sampling and analysis by federal staff, state agency staff, and/or contractors to measure or estimate the extent of the contamination, and to track its pathway if feasible.

B. Qualifications of Personnel

The teams implementing this Protocol should be composed of one or more individuals possessing the following:

an appropriate combination of formal education, knowledge, skills and experience to conduct the requisite evaluation;

knowledge and experience in identifying indicators or evidence of resource impacts and/or contaminant releases; and training in oil and gas operations (or analogous types of operations), such as a petroleum engineer, petroleum technician, or geologist.

C. Step 1 – Collection of Relevant Information

The goal of Step 1 is to gather available information about the overall well site, including the history and the types and location of groundwater and surface water contamination that may be associated with the well. The information generated in Step 1 can be used to make informed decisions about the scope of the well site visit (Step 2).

i. Information Collection

This Step requires contacting federal regulators, state oil and gas commission, and state water regulatory environmental regulatory agencies to discuss the upcoming site visit and invite their participation, and collect all available information relating to the wellsite, including, but not limited to:

Mineral owner (Federal, State, Tribe, or private) Drilling date Drilling records (including well depth, casing depth, notes, etc.)

Production history Last known operator, if known Current well status under state/federal law Details of state/federal permits, bonds, and oversight Documentation of spills or leaks, if any Presence, use and current status of drinking water sources, water wells, springs, and/or monitoring wells in proximity to the wellsite Available surface water and groundwater quality data in the area (USGS NWIS, State

OGCC, etc.) to determine if contamination is known, or to establish regional baseline conditions

Issues posed by both surface and subsurface geology and hydrology

Proximity to aquifers that are utilized for drinking water

Records of concern (notices of violation, spill reports, complaints, etc.)

Aerial photos

Review the site in the ArcGIS map here: https://arcg.is/Hby101, noting in particular the hydrology, topography, access, habitat and landcover factors.

The applicable federal/state environmental regulatory agency must be consulted for documentation of spills which may have occurred over the life of the well and which may require further investigation. Although sites for which known spills have been documented in a spill database may be of greater concern, sites without documented spills cannot be excluded as free of this type of impact.

Groundwater usage in the vicinity of each site may be established by reviewing state/federal water well records.

General information about the physical properties of a site is desired. This information can be obtained from published information such as soil, surficial geology, bedrock topography, and bedrock geology maps.

ii. Photo Review

A thorough photo review should be conducted. Aerial photos may be obtained from federal land staff, state/federal entities, Google Earth, and online articles and blogs relating to the area. Information that may be collected and documented from the photo review includes:

equipment, buildings, pits/sumps on the site;

evidence of spills or attributable vegetation stress and/or changes on/off the well site;

proximity of the well to surface water bodies;

onsite and adjacent land use, vegetation cover; and topography and surface drainage direction.

If possible, this information should be uploaded into the Department of the Interior data application before the site visit.

D. Step 2 -- Site Visit

i. Pre-Visit Planning

Site visits should be carefully pre-planned to be efficient and thorough. See Appendix 1 for a list of common features at oil and gas sites. The oil and gas subject matter expert should discuss the upcoming visit with local federal land staff, the state/federal agency representative (if possible), and/or adjacent landowners/occupants if relevant to identify specific features and concerns, including:

location of backfilled and/or previously remediated drilling sumps and pits;

location, characteristics, and extent of unproductive land (e.g., compacted, salt, sterilant or hydrocarbon damaged soil);

location of underground storage tanks or pipelines;

location of drinking water wells and any known or suspected issues with water quality or gas emissions; and details of past spills, the cleanup/remediation procedures implemented, and the agencies/contractors involved.

ii. Visit

During the visit, the team should identify or verify:

location of the well site (e.g., lat/long);

photodocumentation of the site (to establish pre-plugging conditions if the site is eventually addressed) including repeat photography at existing historic photo points;

methane production, and if so, the rate of emissions;

whether the well site is satisfactorily plugged, abandoned and reclaimed such that no action is needed, or, conversely, whether some action (plugging, remediation, removal of equipment, etc.) is appropriate;

visual evidence of on-site and off-site resource impacts, including indicators or evidence of contamination (e.g., surface staining, reduced vegetative growth, visible salt crystals, polluted water wells, contaminated groundwater seeping out of the ground, oil/gas-related sheen on surface water, oil on the ground, hydrocarbon odor, etc.) that are attributable to the well bore or equipment or other human activity;

nearby surface water bodies, water wells, and monitoring wells;

potential sources of spills, leaks, or other releases;

natural and cultural resources at risk; and any equipment, infrastructure or underground utilities that may be affected during a subsurface investigation/remediation/plugging.

The site visit information about the orphaned well and well site should be uploaded into the Department of the Interior data application and agency records during or immediately after the site visit. At this point, the agency should have enough information to identify any needed actions at the site, including plugging and/or reclamation. In addition, the agency should note whether there is visual or other evidence of contamination at the site, and whether sampling and analysis are needed to determine the nature and extent of such contamination.

iii. Findings and Reporting

If Steps 1 and 2 in this Protocol do not indicate or reveal evidence of surface water or groundwater contamination, the bureau may enter a finding of “no surface water or groundwater contamination indicated” in the Department of the Interior orphaned well database.

If Steps 1 and 2 in this Protocol reveal contaminated soils or other media but do not indicate or reveal evidence of surface water or groundwater contamination, the agency must remove the contaminated media and ensure that such removal achieves the reclamation standards applicable to the particular land unit. A finding of contaminated soils or other media should be entered into the Department of the Interior orphaned well database along with a finding of “no surface water or groundwater contamination indicated.”

If Steps 1 and 2 in this Protocol do indicate or reveal evidence of surface water or groundwater contamination, the bureau must conduct Step 3 of the Protocol, below.

E. Step 3: Measuring or Estimating and Tracking

i. Sampling and Analysis

If, based on Steps 1 and 2, there are indicators or evidence of contamination attributable to the orphaned well, state and federal oil and gas regulators and the appropriate federal bureauburea staff responsible for hazardous substance/contaminants releases should be contacted immediately.

The most common types of contamination at orphaned wells are brines and crude oil spills which can be removed during the plugging and/or reclamation process. On the other hand, if the type or extent of contamination is unknown or the contaminated materials or resources cannot be readily removed, a site-appropriate sampling and analysis plan should be developed to identify the type of contaminant(s) and measure or estimate and track the contamination. A suggested reference, EPA’s Sampling and Analysis Plan - Guidance and Template v.4 - General Projects - 04/2014, is provided in Appendix 2.

To minimize impacts, sampling should be limited to grab samples or hand augers. Because of natural resource or archeological resource concerns, it may be necessary to obtain state and/or federal permits prior to any ground disturbance activities related to sampling. Permits may be necessary in, for example, tribal, archeological, wilderness, and critical habitat areas.

The following provides suggested sampling media for those orphaned well sites which have evidence of contamination. The number of samples and types of analyses should be commensurate with the magnitude and type of contamination found. Apply the more stringent applicable state or federal requirements.

Groundwater and Surface Water: In many cases, it may be prohibitively expensive or infeasible to obtain precise measurements of surface water or groundwater contamination.

For example, it may be prudent to drill monitoring wells in remote areas only if the contamination caused by an orphaned well cannot be addressed via the plugging and reclamation project and natural attenuation processes, and it therefore becomes necessary for the bureau or agency to pursue a more extensive cleanup project. In such situations, the presence of contamination will be estimated and tracked using best available information.

Subsurface Soils: Soil borings may be made to provide data about downward vertical migration in areas suspected of releases where oil and/or produced water may have pooled for some period of time and there are visual signs of potential impacts. This will include known and suspected former pit sites. If pits and soil borings exhibiting hydrocarbon contamination are present, the likelihood that shallow groundwater has been impacted is elevated. All borehole samples will be analyzed for TPH. Consult with bureau or agency resource staff about the need for compliance and permits prior to boring.

Background Sample: A reference site should be selected to represent natural or baseline conditions outside of the well area and sampled for salinity, TPH, and any other chemicals that are markers for contamination. However, many orphaned wells were drilled in areas with natural oil seeps or in proximity to other wellbores, which may affect the relevance of any background hydrocarbon samples. Reference site selection and sampling must be consistent with the agency’s established contaminated site protocols to ensure technical defensibility and reproducibility.

ii. Reporting

Sampling results and estimates obtained from Step 3 should be entered into the Department of the Interior orphaned well database. Data about any surface water and groundwater contamination associated with orphaned wells will be included in the annual reports to Congress.

APPENDIX 1. COMMON FEATURES AT OIL AND GAS SITES

Wellsites Well head

Storage tank and area

Flare pit

Emergency earthen pit (brine)

Pits of unknown origin

Drilling waste sumps / Drilling waste disposal sites Batteries, compressors, treatment and processing facilities

Flowline/pipeline

Gas pipeline

Blow down tank and area

Metering equipment

Pig trap (flowline)

Pig trap (pipeline)

Treater and separator

Dehydrator

Produced water storage tank

Crude oil storage tank

Other storage tanks

Tankfarm area

Ecology pit

Desand pit

Flare knock out tank

Flare line

Flare pit

Emergency earthen pit (brine)

Ponds

Pits of unknown origin

Spills Saltwater (indicated by salt stain)

Crude oil

Emulsion

Condensate

Refined products

APPENDIX 2.

EXAMPLES OF SAMPLING AND ANALYSIS RECORDS

Contaminants of Concern, Laboratory and Action Levels (Matrix = xx)

Analytical Parameter

(Contaminants of Concern)

Laborator y Reporting or Quantitati on Limits

Action Levels

Sampling Design and Rationale Matrix = Soil

Sampling Location/ID

Number

Depth

(ft)

Analytical Parameter

Rationale *

* Include rationale for location, depth, and analysis

Sampling Design and Rationale Matrix = Groundwater

Sampling

Location/ID

Analytical Parameter

Rationale *

* Include rationale for location and analysis.

Analytical Services Matrix = Soil

Sample

Sample Location

Dept h (ft)

Special Designation

Analytical Methods

Total number of Soil Samples, excluding QC:

Total number of Soil Samples, including QC: