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Managing Shallow Disposal Systems in Our Region

Para informacción en español, consulte Páginas en Español.
Example of a floor drain

An example of a typical shallow disposal system where the floor drain leads to a dry well or septic system.

Picture of a French drain in a garage floor

Picture of a French drain in a garage floor.

  1. Basic Information About These Systems
  2. List of Subtypes of Class V Wells
  3. How Many Are in Our Region?
  4. Our Priorities
  5. Working with States and Tribes
  6. Working with Local Governments
  7. Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal Wells
  8. How Do I Inventory My Shallow Disposal System?
  9. How Do I Close My Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal Well?
  10. Permitting These Systems
  11. Injection Wells Used for Site Clean-Up
  12. Frequently Asked Questions about Class V Wells
  13. Other Related Information
  14. Sampling & Analysis of Industrial and Automotive Class V Well Wastestreams

Our Priorities

Exclamation Point Close Endangering Shallow Disposal Systems

Exclamation Point Gather Inventory Information

Exclamation Point Educate, Inform, and Build Partnerships

Close Endangering Shallow Disposal Systems

These systems are most likely to cause a violation of primary drinking water standards or result in adverse impacts on public health or the environment.  Several factors determine the level of endangerment including the local geology of the area, distance from drinking water supplies, specific UIC requirements and applicable state/local laws, and type of waste fluids being disposed.  Waste fluids that exhibit hazardous characteristics, contain hazardous or radioactive constituents, exceed drinking water standards or can have potential adverse affects on human health are considered to be harmful. While many systems must be assessed case-by-case, those disposing of the following types of wastes have been documented as being particularly endangering.  

Closing these endangering systems does not mean that a business must shut down their daily operations.  It does mean that the company must immediately stop all disposal practices that allow harmful fluids to be released underground and begin a permanent and safer alternative method for disposal that the UIC program has approved.

Gather Inventory Information

Owners and operators must submit inventory information about any shallow disposal system located at their facilities.  This information helps us determine the type of system installed, the potential the system has for endangering underground sources of drinking water, and the regulatory approach we will follow.  The system may need to be closed, may qualify for rule-authorization, or may be eligible for a permit.  We collect inventory information through three main sources:  (1) businesses that follow the law and submit inventory on their own accord; (2) field inspectors that conduct county-by-county searches to locate these systems; and (3) other regulatory programs that submit referrals for follow-up. For more state-specific information, see working with States and Tribes.

Educate, Inform, and Build Partnerships

We reach out to state, tribal and local governments and the public to increase awareness about the UIC program, Class V well requirements and the potential for Class V wells to contaminate underground sources of drinking water. We have provided funding for these organizations through Cooperative Agreements, grants and other funded efforts to initiate programs that educate the local community and find Class V wells within their jurisdictions. We also investigate citizen complaints in addition to issues raised by states, tribes and local governments and participate in national workgroups related to Class V issues that could affect Region 5.

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Working With States and Tribes

Illinois The Illinois EPA exit EPA is responsbile for managing Class V wells. In a joint effort, our agencies have initiated a Mutual Benefits Project to control problem Class V wells in Illinois. (IL State Contact information)
Indian Lands We directly implement the Federal Class V Regulations in Indian Lands. William Sanville, Martin McCleary and Joe Wade are authorized representatives of EPA hired to inspect confirmed and potential Class V facilities on Indian Lands. (Get more information about our tribal program)
Indiana We directly implement the Federal Class V Regulations in Indiana. James Nowacki is an authorized representative of EPA hired to inspect confirmed and potential Class V facilities in Indiana. (IN State Contact information )
Michigan We directly implement the Federal Class V Regulations in Michigan. Robert Julianus and Glen Hare are authorized representatives of EPA hired to inspect confirmed and potential Class V facilities in Michigan. (MI State Contact information)
Minnesota We directly implement the Federal Class V Regulations in Minnesota. William Sanville, Martin McCleary and Joe Wade are authorized representatives of EPA hired to inspect confirmed and potential Class V facilities in Minnesota. (MN State Contact information )
Ohio The Ohio EPA exit EPA is reponsible for managing Class V wells in Ohio. (OH State Contact information)
Wisconsin The Wisconsin DNR exit EPA is responsbile for managing Class V wells in Wisconsin. (WI State Contact information)

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Working With Local Governments

Coordination and information sharing between Federal, State, and Local governments is crucial to protecting ground water. Local governments have the best knowledge about the businesses within their communities that have shallow disposal systems. We have formed partnerships with various local officials and have provided small grants along with training, technical assistance, outreach materials, and Best Management Practice (BMP) information. We have provided enforcement assistance to help local officials with facilities that are suspected of contaminating local ground water supplies and that fall under our requirements. We have also conducted workshops for local officials in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota on Federal requirements.

We encourage local officials to work with us. Here are a few things local officials can do. Contact us for additional information.

How Do I Inventory My Shallow Disposal System?

If you have a Class V well, it is your responsibility to submit inventory information to the UIC Program Director. Where you send this information depends on the state where the facility is located. For facilities located in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota or on Tribal Land, we have prepared an inventory sheet with instructions to make it simpler for well owners and operators to do this. You may download either a WordPerfect or a Microsoft Word version of this inventory sheet and instructions or view them onscreen and print them. For facilities located in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, please refer to the section on Working With States and Tribes.

Injection Wells Used for Site Clean-Up

Our program also regulates shallow disposal systems that are used as part of site cleanup activities. Such activities must be RCRA-approved, otherwise they are banned. For RCRA-approved projects in Illinois, Ohio and Wisconsin, see Working With States and Tribes for contact information. For RCRA-approved projects in Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota and on Tribal Lands, project managers, at a minimum, need to provide inventory information about the wells to the UIC program. This can be provided on our example inventory sheet. We will also need a brief description of the contamination being addressed, project duration and a map of the areal extent of the contamination. This can be from reports previously prepared for other programs or agencies that are overseeing the cleanup activities.

Because these cleanups are intended to benefit the environment and are already overseen by other federal and/or state programs, the UIC program does not wish to unnecessarily delay remediation activities. In most all situations, the above information is sufficient to allow the UIC program to "rule-authorize" these types of injection wells (they do not require a permit). If you would like to receive a letter or e-mail response back from EPA that the wells are authorized by rule, please include a cover letter with your inventory submittal requesting a response. After the injection activity has been completed, you need to notify the UIC program briefly describing when the wells have been plugged and how they were plugged.

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Other Related Information

You will need Adobe Acrobat Reader, available as a free download, to view some of the files on this page. See EPA's PDF page to learn more about PDF, and for a link to the free Acrobat Reader.

Educational software: EPA and Purdue University have prepared a variety of software covering environmental issues that you can download from the Software for Environmental Awareness web site. Of specific relevance to the UIC Class V program are:

Small and Disadvantaged Businesses:

EPA has several web pages related to Small Businesses which may be of interest to some Class V well owners and operators.

The Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assistance also has online help for small business owners.

Waste Sampling and Analysis: A presentation on the Analyses From Sampling at Class V Industrial and Motor Vehicle Waste Disposal Wells can be viewed on-line.

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Exit from EPA pages Important Notice: The links below will take you to non-EPA web sites that provide additonal information about shallow disposal systems. You will leave the EPA.gov domain and enter another page with more information. EPA cannot attest to the accuracy of information on that non-EPA page. Providing links to a non-EPA Web site is not an endorsement of the other site or the information it contains by EPA or any of its employees. Also, be aware that the privacy protection provided on the EPA.gov domain (see Privacy and Security Notice) may not be available at the external link.

Automotive Recyclers Assocation: U.S. EPA and the Automotive Recyclers Association have partnered to develop a compliance assistance website which brings together compliance assistance materials from each state, including fact sheets on many topics relevant to owners of shallow disposal systems, particularly the one on Floor Drains and the one on Septic Tanks and Disposal Wells. They cover:

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Helpful fact sheets: the Minnesota Pollution Control Agency has prepared several fact sheets that discuss different aspects of the shallow underground disposal program.

Explanation of floor drains: The Minnesota Technical Assistance Program (MnTAP) has prepared a handy explanation of floor drains

Ground Water Protection Council: The Ground Water Protection Council is a national association of state ground water and underground injection control agencies whose mission is to promote the protection and conservation of ground water resources for all beneficial use, recognizing ground water as a critical component of the ecosystem.

American Trucking Association: Get their fact sheet about the Class V rule.

CCAR-GreenLink®: This organization is the National Automotive Environmental Compliance Assistance Center for the automotive industry. It is operated by the Coordinating Committee For Automotive Repair in cooperation with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. All documents are created by Federal and State EPA and OSHA offices, as well as the automotive industry. This web site has a section devoted to Auto Service Virtual Shop and Virtual Collision Repair Shop which provide information on environmental requirements.

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