Underground Injection Control in EPA Region 8 (CO, MT, ND, SD, UT, and WY)

We are asking everyone to please use electronic communications (e.g., email) to send all correspondence and documents.

EPA R8 UIC Permitting, Compliance and Financial Responsibility contacts may be found at the following link. 

EPA Region 8 serves Colorado, Montana, North Dakota, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming, and 27 tribal nations.

• Announcements and Public Notice of Proposed Actions
• Regional Guidance Documents
• Resources for Owners and Operators
• Class V Program Documents
• Primary Enforcement Authority
• Tribal Programs
• Contact Information

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Announcements and Public Notice of Proposed Actions

EPA Region 8 solicits public comment on issuance of permit-related actions under the authority of the Safe Drinking Water Act and UIC Program regulations for a minimum of 30 calendar days on this website and publishes a courtesy announcement in one or more local newspapers.

All comments received by the end of the comment period will be considered in the formulation of any final decision. Notification and any details of a public comment period extension will be provided at the web links below and will not be published in local newspapers. Interested parties on our email list will be notified of any extension of the public comment period by email.

If you wish to be added to our email list, please notify the EPA staff listed for the proposed action. After the comment period has closed, the Director intends to issue a Final UIC Permit, Permit Modification and/or Aquifer Exemption decision. EPA will hold a public hearing if the response to a specific action indicates significant public interest, or if requested.

For additional information on a specific action, please contact the EPA staff listed for that proposed action.

• EPA Dewey-Burdock Class III and Class V Injection Well Final Area Permits

• Public Notice: MOGO-Jody Field 34-1 & 34-2 Disposal Well, Pondera County, Montana, Permit #’s ​ MT52443-12513 & MT52439-12514​

• Underground Injection Control Program Aquifer Exemption Denial for Aethon Energy Operating LLC, Marlin 29-21 WDW, Fremont County, Wyoming

• Public Notice: Ovintiv USA Inc Enforcement Action

Public Notices at U.S. EPA

Top of Page

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Regional Guidance Documents

EPA Region 8 directly implements the Underground Injection Control Program under the SDWA in Indian country and the UIC programs for non-oil and gas related activities in Colorado, Montana, and South Dakota. These guidance assist the regulated community - which consists of hundreds of drinking waters systems and injection well operators, many of which are small and in rural areas – in complying with program requirements.

• Guidance No. 34: Cement Bond Logging Techniques and Interpretation
• Guidance No. 36: Completing, Operating, Monitoring, and Testing Wells that have Tubing Cemented in Place.
• Guidance No. 37: Demonstrating Part II Mechanical Integrity for a Class II Injection Well Permit
• Guidance No. 39: Pressure Testing Wells for Part I (Internal) Mechanical Integrity
• Guidance No. 40: Plugging and Abandonment Requirements for Class II Injection Wells
• Temperature Logging Guidelines
• Radioactive Tracer Survey Guidelines
• Step Rate Testing Guidelines

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Resources for Owners and Operators

• 7520 reporting forms for owners or operators
• Class II Permit Application Checklist & Spreadsheet
• Mechanical Integrity Test (MIT) Form
• UIC Inspector Training 2018
• UIC Inspector Training 2019

• Permit Applicant:

  The Class II Permit Application Completeness Review Checklist is intended to assist EPA staff’s review of the permit application during the Administrative Review process. This checklist can also serve as a useful guide as you prepare your Class II permit application and can be used for other well class applications.

  Attachment K lists additional federal laws that EPA must comply with before a new permit can be issued. The National Historic Preservation Act and Endangered Species Act requirements will apply to most permits issued by EPA Region 8. If the applicant is willing and able to initiate and complete the cultural resource and endangered or threatened species surveys, inclusion of the survey and/or consultant’s reports with the permit application can significantly expedite the permitting process. If previous, recent surveys have already been conducted, the results of those surveys are acceptable to include with the application.

  In addition to the permit application, Region 8 also requests that the applicant complete the attached spreadsheet to assist the EPA in technical review of the permit application.

• Transferring Operational Control of Class II UIC Injection Wells (pdf) (134.29 KB)

Financial Responsibility Documents

• Guidance Documents for Underground Injection Control Financial Responsibilities
• Schedule A and B (pdf) (120.06 KB)
• Standby Trust Agreement (pdf) (167.39 KB)

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Class V Program Documents

• EPA Region 8 UIC Class V Aquifer Storage and Recovery (ASR) Q & A Document

• Fact Sheets for Class V Well Types

• Aquifer Recharge and Aquifer Storage and Recovery Wells Information for Authorization

• Class V Inventory Form (EPA Region 8) (pdf) (226.38 KB)

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Primary Enforcement Authority

Well Class	Colorado	Montana	North Dakota	South Dakota	Utah	Wyoming
Class I	EPA	EPA	North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality	EPA	Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality	Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Class II	Colorado Oil and Gas Conservation Commission	Montana Board of Oil and Gas Conservation	North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division	South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources	Utah Division of Oil, Gas and Mining	Wyoming Oil and Gas Conservation Commission
Class III	EPA	EPA	North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality	EPA	Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality	Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Class IV	EPA	EPA	North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality	EPA	Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality	Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Class V	EPA	EPA	North Dakota Department of Environmental Quality	EPA	Utah Department of Environmental Quality, Division of Water Quality	Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality
Class VI	EPA	EPA	North Dakota Industrial Commission, Department of Mineral Resources, Oil and Gas Division	EPA	EPA	Wyoming Department of Environmental Quality

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Tribal Programs

EPA Region 8 directly implements the UIC Program on 26 Indian Reservations. The Fort Peck Indian Reservation has been delegated primacy for Class II injection wells.

Fort Peck Program Manager: Martina Wilson (martinawilson@fortpecktribes.net) (406) 768-2329

Questions about underground injection wells on Indian Reservations other than Fort Peck should be directed to EPA Region 8.

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Contact Information

Procedures for Submitting Required Reports and Notifications

After receiving authorization to inject, please submit all tests, reports, and notifications under your permit or rule-authorization to the Region 8 UIC mailbox R8UICMailbox@EPA.gov.

For shallow Class V well (e.g. septic systems, dry wells, etc.)

• Please submit all the Class V inventory forms and questions to the Region 8 UIC Mailbox R8UICMailbox@EPA.gov.

UIC Permitting Staff

Section Supervisor

Wendy Cheung (cheung.wendy@epa.gov), 303-312-6242

Permitting Staff	Areas of Focus	Email	Phone
Linda Bowling Engineer	Aquifer Storage & Recovery (ASR) Team Lead; Class I Permit Writer; Class II Permit Writer for the Wind River Indian Reservation; State Oversight for MBOGCC	bowling.linda@epa.gov	303-312-6254
Omar Sierra-Lopez Environmental Scientist	Class I, Class II and Class V deep wells Permitting; State Oversight for UDEQ	sierra-lopez.omar@epa.gov	303-312-7045
Craig Boomgaard Environmental Scientist	Class V Shallow Well Program Team Lead	boomgaard.craig@epa.gov	303-312-6794
Rick Arnold Environmental Scientist	Groundwater Modeling; Hydrogeology; Aquifer Exemptions; State Oversight for WOGCC	arnold.rick@epa.gov	303-312-6788
VelRey Lozano Environmental Scientist	Class II Permitting; State Oversight for COGCC	lozano.velrey@epa.gov	303-312-6128
Fraser Evans Environmental Scientist	Class II Permitting; State Oversight for UDOGM; UIC Grants Project Officer	evans.fraser@epa.gov	303-312-6299
Douglas Tebo Environmental Scientist	Class II Permitting in Indian Country Colorado and Utah; State Oversight for ND-DEQ	tebo.douglas@epa.gov	303-312-6274
Bill Gallant Senior Environmental Employee	Class II/III Permitting in Indian Country and Colorado	gallant.william@epa.gov	303-312-6455
Lise Marie Bisson Senior Environmental Employee	Class V Aquifer Storage and Recovery Permitting	bisson.lisemarie@epa.gov	303-312-6266

UIC Enforcement Staff

Section Supervisor

Tiffany Cantor (cantor.tiffany@epa.gov), 303-312-6521
Communications related to testing, monitoring, or other items associated with compliance and enforcement, should follow the “Procedures for Submitting Required Test, Reports, and Notifications” above.

Enforcement Staff	Areas of Focus	Email	Phone
Gary Wang	Class I, II, III, and Class V Deep Wells (inspections, compliance and enforcement)	wang.gary@epa.gov	303-312-6469
Matthew Findley	Class I, II, III and Class V deep wells (inspections, compliance)	findley.matthew@epa.gov	303-312-6553
Larry Granato	Class I, II, III and Class V wells (inspections, compliance)	granato.lawrence@epa.gov	303-312-6541
Don Breffle	Class I, II, III and Class V deep wells (inspections, compliance)	breffle.don@epa.gov	303-312-6198

Financial Responsibility Staff

Section Supervisor

Karren Johnson (johnson.karren@epa.gov), 303-312-6159

Enforcement Staff	Areas of Focus	Email	Phone
Ben D'Innocenzo	Financial Responsibility Coordinator	dinnocenzo.benjamin@epa.gov	303-312-6342

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