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Underground Injection Control Branch Enforcement Activities
Contents:
Inspections and Violations
The Region 5 Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program maintains a strong field presence in the direct implementation states in our region. Our contract field inspectors conduct Class I, Class II, Class III and Class 5X16 inspections in Michigan and Class I inspections in Indiana. Most of these inspections are to witness Mechanical Integrity Tests (MITs) and others are periodic routine inspections or investigations related to citizen complaints. The MIT is the cornerstone of the UIC program, because it tests for leaks in injection wells which can lead to direct contamination of USDWs. Failed MITs are significant noncompliance. Shallow Class V inspections are conducted by Senior Environmental Employees and interns in Indiana, Michigan and Minnesota.Note: In these tables, "NA" represents well classes which are not found in that state. "P" indicates a well class for which the state implements the UIC program ("primacy" states versus "direct implementation states"). The Region 5 UIC program also directly implements the UIC program on Tribal land in the region. The results are tabulated by Federal Fiscal Year, which runs from October 1 to September 30. As an example, FY2006 ran from 10/1/05 to 9/30/06.
| Numbers of Wells Inspected | ||||||
| Fiscal Year | State | Class I | Class II | Class III | Class 5X16 | Shallow Class V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Indiana | 9 | P | NA | NA | 531 |
| Michigan | 24 | 258 | 5 | 8 | 417 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 269 | |
| 2005 | Indiana | 8 | P | NA | NA | 521 |
| Michigan | 25 | 277 | 15 | 9 | 432 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 1217 | |
| 2004 | Indiana | 12 | P | NA | NA | 930 |
| Michigan | 34 | 308 | 11 | 7 | 454 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 721 | |
| 2003 | Indiana | 9 | P | NA | NA | 697 |
| Michigan | 27 | 366 | 9 | 9 | 428 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 536 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands only) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 77 | |
| 2002 | Indiana | 4 | P | NA | NA | 63 |
| Michigan | 22 | 330 | 8 | 3 | 125 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 482 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands only) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 110 | |
| 2001 | Indiana | 11 | P | NA | NA | 1 |
| Michigan | 19 | 353 | 1 | 8 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 25 | |
| 2000 | Indiana | 12 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 30 | 394 | 7 | 12 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 25 | |
| Numbers of Wells with Violations | ||||||
| Fiscal Year | State | Class I | Class II | Class III | Class 5X16 | Shallow Class V |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | Indiana | 2 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 5 | 78 | 18 | 3 | 15 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2005 | Indiana | 0 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 1 | 16 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2004 | Indiana | ? | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | ? | ? | ? | ? | ? | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2003 | Indiana | 1 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 2 | 110 | 4 | 3 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| Wisconsin (Tribal Lands) | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2002 | Indiana | 0 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 2 | 76 | 1 | 1 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2001 | Indiana | 0 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 0 | 14 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
| 2000 | Indiana | 0 | P | NA | NA | 0 |
| Michigan | 1 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Minnesota | NA | NA | NA | NA | 0 | |
Cease Injection Letters
Because injection well operators know that mechanical integrity tests will be witnessed, most will test wells themselves prior to the inspector's arrival or if they have any reason to believe that the well has lost mechanical integrity. If the well fails the mechanical integrity test, the operator must report it to the UIC Program within 24 hours and is supposed to shut down the well. We send out "cease injection letters" to document our receiving the company's information and to ensure that the operator knows that the well must be shut down. The operator is given a deadline by which the well must be fixed. Once the problem is solved, the well's mechanical integrity must be retested. The retest is witnessed by an inspector. Authorization to re-commence injection is not given until the well passes the MIT.
| Cease Injection Letters | |
| Fiscal Year | Number of Letters |
| 2006 | 61 |
| 2005 | 58 |
| 2004 | 59 |
| 2003 | 63 |
| 2002 | 53 |
Settlement of Enforcement Actions
UIC violations are violations of the Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) or the parts of the Code of Federal Regulations which implement the SDWA. The U.S. EPA Region 5 Office of Regional Counsel (ORC) maintains databases of enforcement actions which have been settled. Each database covers one Federal fiscal year (FY). Results for FY2006 are not yet available on the Region 5 website.
| Supplemental Environmental Projects | Injunctive Relief/Compliance Orders | Administrative and Judicial Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| 1992 | ||
| 1993 | 1993 | 1993 |
| 1994 | 1994 | 1994 |
| 1995 | 1995 | 1995 |
| 1996 | 1996 | 1996 |
| 1997 (none) | 1997 | 1997 |
| 1998 (none) | 1998 | 1998* |
| 1999 | 1999 | 1999 |
| 2000 (none) | 2000** | 2000* |
| 2001 (none)*** | 2001 (none)*** | 2001 (none)*** |
| 2002 (none)*** | 2002 (none)*** | 2002 (none)*** |
| 2003 (none)*** | 2003 (none)*** | 2003 (none)*** |
| 2004 (none)*** | 2004 (none)*** | 2004 (none)*** |
| 2005 (none)*** | 2005 (none)*** | 2005 (none)*** |
| 2006 (none)*** | 2006 (none)*** | 2006 (none)*** |
|
* Format of reports changed: scroll through list to find "SDWA" in "Violated Statute"
or "Statute" column. ** UIC cases on pages 87, 90, 96, 101 and 106. *** None listed on Region 5's Office of Regional Counsel web page. |
||
For more information about general enforcement activities, please visit the Region 5 ORC home page. For more information about ORC databases and reports, please visit the ORC Enforcement Reports page.