Laserfiche WebLink
/ ~ , • • <br />~~~ <br />completed into the Detroit River Group. Use of this stratigraphic <br />interval is now limited to the disposal of brines, although industrial <br />process wastes would be permitted by MOE to be injected into deeper <br />formations. Operating wellhead pressures of MOE-regulated wells are now <br />limited to atmospheric pressure, or zero gauge pressure, which is also <br />termed gravity drive. Static or shut-in water levels are required by <br />MOE to be measured monthly and must be 10 feet (3 m) below the lowest <br />occurrence of fresh water. No disposal into the Detroit River Group is <br />permitted within five miles (8,050 km) of the St. Clair River. The <br />government has encouraged investigations to identify deeper injection <br />horizons where it is possible that higher pressures could be safely <br />applied. This review document includes an assessment of the adequacy of <br />present rules based on a review of the available geologic and hydrologic <br />data. <br />The information that exists today includes data accumulated through <br />regulatory reporting requirements, published literature on the geology, <br />natural resources, and injection wells in southwestern Ontario, and the <br />personal experience of many individuals both in government and in indus- <br />try. Some existing information, primarily written records and personal <br />experience of private industry, is not readily available. We have noted <br />deficiencies in our knowledge throughout this report. In the course of <br />this study, we have relied heavily for historical perspective on previ- <br />ous reports and memoranda written by personnel of MOE and MNR, and their <br />predecessor agencies. Visits were made by URM staff to oil wells, <br />disposal facilities, and an outcrop of the Detroit River Group. <br />Previously unpublished well-test data were obtained and analyzed. This <br />document is intended to be a guide to the available data, a summary of <br />historical events, and a review of present knowledge. The behavior of <br />underground fluids in the vicinity of wells has been reviewed in the <br />context of the Devonian carbonate formations in southwestern Ontario. <br />2 <br />