Ohio Code 1521.05 – Well construction logs – well sealing reports
(A) As used in this section:
Terms Used In Ohio Code 1521.05
- Aquifer: means a consolidated or unconsolidated geologic formation or series of formations that are hydraulically interconnected and that have the ability to receive, store, or transmit water. See Ohio Code 1521.01
- Development: means any artificial change to improved or unimproved real estate, including the construction of buildings and other structures, any substantial improvement of a structure, mining, dredging, filling, grading, paving, excavating, and drilling operations, and storage of equipment or materials. See Ohio Code 1521.01
- Ground water: means all water occurring in an aquifer. See Ohio Code 1521.01
- Person: includes an individual, corporation, business trust, estate, trust, partnership, and association. See Ohio Code 1.59
- state: means the state of Ohio. See Ohio Code 1.59
- Water resources: means any waters of the state that are available or may be made available to agricultural, industrial, commercial, and domestic users. See Ohio Code 1521.01
- Well: means any excavation, regardless of design or method of construction, created for any of the following purposes:
(1) Removing ground water from or recharging water into an aquifer, excluding subsurface drainage systems installed to enhance agricultural crop production or urban or suburban landscape management or to control seepage in dams and levees;
(2) Determining the quantity, quality, level, or movement of ground water in or the stratigraphy of an aquifer, excluding borings for instrumentation in dams, levees, or highway embankments;
(3) Removing or exchanging heat from ground water, excluding horizontal trenches that are installed for water source heat pump systems. See Ohio Code 1521.01
(1) “Construct” or “construction” includes drilling, boring, digging, deepening, altering, and logging.
(2) “Altering” means changing the configuration of a well, including, without limitation, deepening a well, extending or replacing any portion of the inside or outside casing or wall of a well that extends below ground level, plugging a portion of a well back to a certain depth, and reaming out a well to enlarge its original diameter.
(3) “Logging” means describing the lithology, grain size, color, and texture of the formations encountered during the drilling, boring, digging, deepening, or altering of a well.
(4) “Grouting” means neat cement; bentonite products in slurry, granular, or pelletized form, excluding drilling mud or fluids; or any combination of neat cement and bentonite products that is placed within a well to seal the annular space or to seal an abandoned well and that is impervious to and capable of preventing the movement of water.
(5) “Abandoned well” means a well whose use has been permanently discontinued and that poses potential health and safety hazards or that has the potential to transmit surface contaminants into the aquifer in which the well has been constructed.
(6) “Sealing” means the complete filling of an abandoned well with grouting or other approved materials in order to permanently prevent the vertical movement of water in the well and thus prevent the contamination of ground water or the intermixing of water between aquifers.
(B) Any person that constructs a well shall keep a careful and accurate log of the construction of the well. The log shall show all of the following:
(1) The character, including, without limitation, the lithology, color, texture, and grain size, the name, if known, and the depth of all formations passed through or encountered;
(2) The depths at which water is encountered;
(3) The static water level of the completed well;
(4) A copy of the record of all pumping tests and analyses related to those tests, if any;
(5) Construction details, including lengths, diameters, and thicknesses of casing and screening and the volume, type of material, and method of introducing gravel packing and grouting into the well;
(6) The type of pumping equipment installed, if any;
(7) The name of the owner of the well, the address of the location where the well was constructed, and either the state plane coordinates or the latitude and longitude of the well;
(8) The signature of the individual who constructed the well and filed the well log;
(9) Any other information required by the chief of the division of water resources.
The log shall be filed with the division of water resources within thirty days after the completion of construction of the well on forms prescribed and prepared by the division. The log shall be kept on file by the division.
(C) Any person that seals a well shall keep a careful and accurate report of the sealing of the well. The sealing report shall show all of the following:
(1) The name of the owner of the well, the address of the location where the well was constructed, and either the state plane coordinates or the latitude and longitude of the well;
(2) The depth of the well, the size and length of its casing, and the static water level of the well;
(3) The sealing procedures, including the volume and type of sealing material or materials and the method and depth of placement of each material;
(4) The date on which the sealing was performed;
(5) The signature of the individual who sealed the well and filed the sealing report;
(6) Any other information required by the chief.
The sealing report shall be filed with the division within thirty days after the completion of the sealing of the well on forms prescribed and prepared by the division.
(D) In accordance with Chapter 119 of the Revised Code, the chief may adopt, amend, and rescind rules requiring other persons that are involved in the construction or subsequent development of a well to submit well logs under division (B) of this section containing any or all of the information specified in divisions (B)(1) to (9) of this section and specifying additional information to be included in sealing reports required under division (C) of this section. The chief shall adopt rules establishing procedures and requirements governing the payment and collection of water well log filing fees, including the amount of any filing fee to be imposed as an alternative to the twenty-dollar filing fee established in division (G) of this section and including procedures for the quarterly transfer of filing fees by boards of health and the director of environmental protection under that division.
(E)(1) No person shall fail to keep and file a well log or a sealing report as required by this section.
(2) No person shall make a false statement in any well log or sealing report required to be kept and filed under this section. Violation of division (E)(2) of this section is falsification under section 2921.13 of the Revised Code.
(F) For the purposes of prosecution of a violation of division (E)(1) of this section, a prima-facie case is established when the division obtains either of the following:
(1) A certified copy of a permit for a private water system issued in accordance with rules adopted under section 3701.344 of the Revised Code, or a certified copy of the invoice or a canceled check from the owner of a well indicating the construction or sealing services performed;
(2) A certified copy of any permit issued under Chapter 3734. or 6111. of the Revised Code or plan approval granted under Chapter 6109 of the Revised Code for any activity that includes the construction or sealing of a well as applicable.
(G) In accordance with rules adopted under this section, a person or entity that constructs a well for the purpose of extracting potable water as part of a private water system that is subject to rules adopted under section 3701.344 of the Revised Code or a public water system that is required to be licensed under Chapter 6109 of the Revised Code shall pay a well log filing fee of twenty dollars per well log or, if the chief has adopted rules establishing an alternative fee amount, the fee amount established under rules. The fee shall be collected by a board of health under section 3701.344 of the Revised Code or the environmental protection agency under section 6109.22 of the Revised Code, as applicable.
Each calendar quarter, a board of health or the environmental protection agency, as applicable, shall forward all well log filing fees collected during the previous calendar quarter to the division of water resources. The fees shall be forwarded in accordance with procedures established in rules adopted under this section.
Proceeds of well log filing fees shall be used by the division of water resources for the purposes of acquiring, maintaining, and dispensing digital and paper records of well logs that are filed with the division.