Virtual Resource Room Navigation
Home
In 1974, the U.S. Environmental Protection established the Underground Injection Control (UIC) Program following the enactment of the Safe Drinking Water in order to protect the drinking water supply from contamination by regulating underground injection wells.
Underground injection wells are used for a variety of purposes and are classified under six categories based on their uses. In recent years, there has been a lot of talk about Class II wells as they are used for oil and gas production and serve to either dispose of produced waters or flowback waters following oil and gas extraction or inject hydraulic fracturing to further enhance oil and gas recovery efficiency.
According to the agency, the UIC Program regulated in 2018 740,000 injection wells in the United States and 6,528 injection wells in U.S. territories and tribal lands. Class II (Oil and Gas Related Injection Wells) and V (Wells for Injection of Non-Hazardous Fluids into or Above Underground Sources of Drinking Water) wells account for the majority of the regulated wells.
Source: UIC Fact Sheet, U.S. EPA (Updated April 2020)
This guide is intended to present a collection of legal resources relating to underground injection control well regulations and programs. While the Center for Agricultural and Shale Law makes every effort to maintain and update the content furnished in this guide, no warranty or other guarantee is made regarding the timeliness or accuracy of any information provided.
