OAR 340-044-0015: Prohibited Underground Injection

(1) No person shall cause or allow the following types of Class I–IV underground injection activities: (a) Class I injection systems. (b) Class II injection systems injecting fluids for liquid hydrocarbon storage. This does not prohibit the injection of fluids for conventional or enhanced oil or natural gas production, or fluids such as saltwater produced during oil or natural gas recovery. (c) Class III injection systems injecting fluids for mineral or natural resource extraction. (d) Class IV injection systems, except for wells reinjecting treated groundwater into the same formation from which it was drawn as part of a removal or remedial action if the injection has prior approval from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) or the Director under the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA) or the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA). (2) No person shall cause or allow the following types of Class V injection systems injecting: (a) Fluids into residential cesspools, or non-residential cesspools designed to serve 20 or more people per day or with a design flow of 2,500 gallons or more per day after April 5, 2005. Construction of new cesspools of any capacity is prohibited by OAR 340-071. (b) Fluids from industrial or commercial processes that use hazardous substances or toxic materials including petroleum products. The Director may grant exceptions to this prohibition and issue a permit if: (A) No other reasonable alternative to injection is available; (B) Treatment of wastewater will remove hazardous substances and toxic materials to background groundwater quality levels prior to injection of wastewater; and (C) Reliable and adequate treatment can be demonstrated with effluent monitoring and sampling prior to each batch injection of wastewater, and with groundwater monitoring for immediate detection of releases of inadequately treated wastewater. (c) Fluids from industrial or commercial operation areas where hazardous substances or toxic materials including petroleum products are stored, used or handled, except as allowed in OAR 340-044-0018(3). (d) Fluids directly from floor pits or floor drains at industrial or commercial facilities, including injection into subsurface fluid distribution systems. (e) Motor vehicle waste from vehicle repair or maintenance activities. (f) Industrial or municipal wastewater directly into an underground source of drinking water. (g) Agricultural drainage. (3) No person shall cause or allow Class V injection systems injecting sanitary waste, sewage, or industrial or commercial waste into sewage drain holes or sewage drill holes, except as allowed under OAR 340-044-0015(3)(b), 340-044-0017, or 340-044-0018(3). (a) New sewage drain holes or sewage drill holes are prohibited. (b) After January 1, 1983, use of existing sewage drain holes or sewage drill holes is prohibited unless municipal sanitary sewer service is not available to the property. Except for single family residences, use of an existing sewage drain hole must be authorized by a permit. (A) Sanitary sewer service shall be deemed available to a property when: (i) A sanitary sewer is extended to within 300 feet from the property boundary for a single family dwelling or other establishment with a maximum design flow of not more than 450 gallons per day, or 200 feet multiplied by the number of dwellings or dwelling equivalents for other establishments or greater flows; and (ii) A sanitary sewer system is not under a connection permit moratorium and the system owner is willing or obligated to provide sewer service. (B) Within 90 days after sanitary sewer service is available to a property, the owner of that property shall make connection to the sewer and shall abandon and decommission the sewage drain hole in accordance with OAR 340-044-0040. On a case-by-case basis, the Director may waive the requirement to connect to sewer if the Director determines that connection to the sewer is impracticable or unreasonably burdensome. (c) No person shall modify any structure or change or expand any use of a structure or property that utilizes a sewage drain hole. (4) After the effective date of these rules, no person shall construct, place in operation or operate any allowable injection system without first obtaining a permit from the Director, unless the injection system is authorized by rule under OAR 340-044-0018.