| (1) |
The primary responsibility for identifying, assessing and mitigating well hazards rests with the holder. |
| (2) |
An applicant or holder must ensure that the following specific design and operational risks are considered as part of the well-related risk assessment process: |
| (b) |
permeable zones must be assessed to achieve adequate isolation by casing with cement; |
| (c) |
the holder must protect potable groundwater and prevent migration of high salinity groundwater into the stimulation well or other aquifers and the final well decommissioning of the stimulation well design must be considered at the well design phase; |
| (d) |
casing deformation and cement degradation; |
| (e) |
fracturing containment; |
| (f) |
seismicity induced by hydraulic fracturing; |
| (g) |
deformation of aquifers and geological strata due to injection or extraction of fluids or gas; and |
| (h) |
surface subsidence due to deformation of aquifer and geological during fluid or gas extraction. |
| (3) |
Control measures must— |
| (a) |
be based on well design risk assessments and the environmental risk assessments; |
| (b) |
be documented in the well's basis of design documentation and well operations programmes or equivalent documents. |
| (4) |
The well design risk assessment contemplated in subregulation (2), which includes the proposed control measures contemplated in subregulation (3), must be submitted to the competent authority, for consideration, as part of the application for an Environmental Authorisation. |
[Regulation 94 inserted by section 2 of Notice No. R. 466 dated 3 June 2015]
Special Investigating Units and Special Tribunals Act, 1996
