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Class I: Wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or owners or operators of <br />hazardous waste management facilities to inject hazardous waste, other <br />than Class IV wells. other industrial and municipal disposal wells which <br />inject fluids beneath the lowermost formation containing, within one <br />quarter mile of the well bore, an underground source of drinking water. <br />Class II: Wells which inject fluids (1) which are brought to the surface in <br />connection with conventional oil or natural gas production (2) which are <br />used for enhanced recovery of oil or natural gas and (3) which are used for <br />storage of hydrocarbons which are liquid at standard temperature and <br />pressure. <br />Class III: Wells which inject for e.xtraction of minerals or energy, including: <br />mining of sulfur by the Frasch process; solution mining of minerals; in- <br />situ combustion of fossil fuel, and recovery of geothermal energy. <br />Class IV: Wells used by generators of hazardous wastes or of radioactive wastes, by <br />owners or operators of hazardous wasce management facilities or by <br />owners or operators of radioactive wastes disposal sites to dispose of <br />hazardous wastes into or above a formation which within one quarter mile <br />of the well contains an underground source of drinking water. <br />Class V: Injection wells not included in Classes I, II, III, or IV. <br />In formulating these classifications, EPA gave substantial weight to a number of <br />considerations. First the Agency concluded that wells which inject into strata nearest the land <br />surface should, as a general matter, be classified separately from those which inject into strata at <br />greater depth. The method of injection which wells use is frequently dependent upon the <br />injection horizon into which they deposit fluids. Wells which inject into strata near the land <br />surface often inject by use of simple gravity. often crudely constructed, they can simply be holes <br />dug or bored into the ground, the sides of which may be stabilized by brick, stone, timber, or <br />other materials in the well. They can function as convenient dumping sites for wastes, or, in <br />other instances, can serve beneficial purposes, such as recharging groundwater supplies or <br />creating a subsurface barrier to saltwater intrusion? <br />j See Generally The Report to Congress, Waste Disposal Practices and Their Effects on <br />Ground Water, U. S. Environmental Protection Agency (January, 1977), Sections V, VIII, XIII <br />("Report to Congress"); A Manual of Laws, Regulations, and Institutions-for Control of <br />Groundwater Pollution, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, (June, 1976), Chapter I <br />("Manual'). Underground Injection Control Regulations, Subpart F, Injection Well Practices. <br />Draft Final Report, Geraghty and Miller, Inc. and Temple, Barker and Sloane, Inc. March, 1978 <br />("Subpart F"). Preliminary Evaluation of- Well Injection Practices, Geraghty and Miller, <br />("Preliminary Evaluation"). <br />Page 3 of 20