Part III. Destruction of Monitoring Wells

A. Monitoring Wells. Monitoring wells shall be destroyed in accordance with the following requirements and Section 23 of the Water Well Standards, irrespective of their original date of construction:

• 1. Preliminary Work. A monitoring well shall be investigated before it is destroyed to determine its condition and details of its construction. The well shall be sounded immediately before it is destroyed to make sure no obstructions exist that will interfere with filing and sealing. The well shall be cleaned before destruction as needed so that all undesirable materials, including obstructions to filling and sealing, debris, oil from oil-lubricated pumps, or pollutants and contaminants that could interfere with well destruction, are removed for disposal. The enforcing agency shall be notified as soon as possible if pollutants or contaminants are known or suspected to be present in a well to be destroyed. Well destruction operations may then proceed only at the approval of the enforcing agency. The enforcing agency should be contacted to determine requirements for proper disposal of all materials removed from a well to be destroyed.

• 2. Sealing Conditions. The following minimum requirements shall be followed when various conditions are encountered:

  • a. The monitoring well casing, and any other significant voids within the well, shall, at a minimum, be completely filled with sealing material, if the following conditions exist:

    • The monitoring well is located in an area of known or potential pollution or contamination, and,
    • The well was constructed and maintained in accordance with these standards.
    • Sealing material may have to be placed under pressure to ensure that the monitoring well is properly filled and sealed.

  • b. A monitoring well shall be destroyed by removing all material within the original borehole, including the well casing, filter pack, and annular seal; and the created hole completely filled with appropriate sealing material, if the following conditions exist:

    • The well is located in an area of known or potential pollution or contamination, and,
    • The well's annular seal, casing, screen, filter pack, or other components were not constructed or maintained according to these standards so that well destruction be merely filling the well casing with sealing material, as in "a" above, would not prevent potential water-quality degradation from the movement of poor-quality water, pollutants, or contaminants through the destroyed well structure.

    Material to be extracted from the original borehole shall be removed by means of drilling, including overdrilling, if necessary. The enforcing agency should be contacted to determine requirements for proper disposal of removed materials. Casing, filter pack, and annular seal materials may be left in place during sealing operations, if the enforcing agency agrees they cannot or should not be removed. In such a case, appropriate sealing material shall be placed in the well casing, filter pack, and all other significant voids within the entire well boring. Casing left in place may require perforation or puncturing to allow proper placement of sealing materials. Sealing material may have to be applied under pressure to ensure its proper distribution.

  • c. Monitoring wells shall, at a minimum, be destroyed in accordance with the requirements of Section 23 of the Water Well Standards if located in an area free of any known or potential contamination or pollution.

B. Exploratory Borings. Exploratory borings shall be completely filled with appropriate sealing material from bottom to top, if located in areas of known or suspected contamination or pollution. Borings located outside such areas shall, at a minimum, be filled with sealing material from ground surface to the minimum depths specified in Section 23 of the Water Well standards. Additional sealing material shall be placed below the minimum surface seal where needed to prevent the interchange if poor-quality water, pollutants, or contaminants between strata penetrated by the boring.

Appropriate fill or sealing material shall be placed below and between intervals containing sealing material. Sealing material is often economical to use as fill material. The boring shall be inspected immediately prior to filling and sealing operations. All obstructions and pollutants and contaminants that could interfere with filling and sealing operations shall be removed prior to filling and sealing. The enforcing agency shall be notified as soon as possible if pollutants or contaminants are known or suspected to be in a boring to be destroyed. Well destruction operations may then proceed only at the approval of the enforcing agency. The enforcing agency should be contacted to determine requirements for proper disposal of removed materials.

C. Placement of Material. The placement of sealing material for monitoring wells and exploratory borings is generally described in Section 23 of the Water Well Standards and Appendix B. The following additional requirements shall be observed when placing sealing material for monitoring well or exploratory boring destruction.

• 1. Placement Method. The well or exploratory boring shall be filled with appropriate sealing, and fill material where allowed, using a tremie pipe or equivalent, proceeding upward from the bottom of the well or boring. Sealing material shall be placed by methods (such as the use of a tremie pipe or equivalent) that prevent freefall, bridging, and dilution of sealing materials, and/or prevent separation of aggregate from sealants. Sealing material may be placed by freefall only where the interval to be sealed is dry and no more than 30 feet in depth. Fill material shall be placed by methods that prevent bridging and voids.
• 2. Timing and Placement. Sealing material shall be placed in one continuous operation (or "pour") from the bottom to the top of the well or boring, unless conditions in the well or boring dictate that sealing operations be conducted in a staged manner, and prior approval is obtained from the enforcing agency.
• 3. Groundwater Flow. Special care shall be used to restrict the flow of groundwater into a well or boring while placing sealing and fill material, if subsurface pressure producing the flow is significant.
• 4. Sealing Pressure. Pressure required for the placement of cement-based sealing materials shall be maintained long enough for cement-based sealing materials to properly set.
• 5. Verification. It shall be verified that the volume of sealing and fill material placed during destruction operations equals or exceeds the volume to be filled and sealed. This is to help determine whether the well or boring has been properly destroyed and that no jamming or bridging of the fill or sealing material has occurred.

D. Sealing and Fill Materials. Materials used for sealing exploratory borings and monitoring wells shall have low permeabilities so that the volume of water and possible pollutants and contaminants passing through them will be of minimal consequence. Sealing material shall be compatible with the chemical environment into which it is placed, and shall have mechanical properties consistent with present and future site uses. Suitable sealing materials include neat cement, sand-cement, and bentonite, all of which are described in Section 9 of these standards. Bentonite shall not be used as a sealing material opposite zones of fractured rock, unless otherwise approved by the enforcing agency. Drilling mud or drill cuttings are not acceptable as any part of sealing material for well destruction. Concrete may be used as a sealing material at the approval of the enforcing agency. Fill material, if any, shall meet the requirements of Section 23 of the Water Well Standards. Fill material shall be free of pollutants and contaminants and shall not be subject to decomposition or consolidation after placement. Drilling mud or cuttings are not acceptable as any part of fill material.

E. Additional Requirements for Monitoring Wells and Exploratory Borings in Urban Areas. The following additional requirements shall be met for destroying wells and exploratory borings in urban areas, unless otherwise approved by the enforcing agency:

• 1. The upper surface of the sealing material shall end at the depth of 5 feet below ground surface; and,
• 2. If the well casing was not extracted during destruction and sealing operations, a hole shall be excavated around the well casing to a depth of 5 feet below ground surface after sealing operations have been completed and the sealing material has adequately set and cured. The exposed well casing shall then be removed by cutting the casing at the bottom of the excavation. The excavation shall be backfilled with clean, native soil or other suitable material.

F. Temporary Cover. The well or borehole opening and any associated excavations shall be covered at the surface to ensure public safety and to prevent the entry of foreign material, water, pollutants, and contaminants; whenever work is interrupted by such events as overnight shutdown, poor weather, and required waiting periods to allow setting of sealing materials and the performance of tests. The cover shall be held in place or weighted down in such a manner that it cannot be removed, except by equipment or tools.