--> Class I and Class II Wells in Kentucky–A New Map Service of Waste-Disposal, Brine-Injection, and Enhanced-Recovery Wells in Kentucky

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Class I and Class II Wells in Kentucky–A New Map Service of Waste-Disposal, Brine-Injection, and Enhanced-Recovery Wells in Kentucky

Abstract

A new map service provides information on Kentucky's Class I and Class II injection wells. This catalog was compiled from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's well database. These wells are regulated for the safe disposal of industrial wastewater, hazardous chemicals, and brines produced in the petroleum, chemical, and limestone mining industries; and many others are used for injection in enhanced recovery projects.

Class I wells inject hazardous and nonhazardous industrial waste into deep rock formations below the lowest underground sources of drinking water. Eleven Class I disposal wells have been documented in Kentucky; however, no hazardous disposal wells are currently active in the state. Class II wells inject fluids associated with oil and natural gas production. There are two types of Class II wells in Kentucky: 135 saltwater disposal wells, which inject produced brines brought to the surface with oil and gas back into the same or similar underground formation, and 2,937 enhanced-recovery wells, which inject brine, water, and other fluids into oil-bearing formations to recover residual hydrocarbons.

A geodatabase of more than 3,000 injection wells was developed through mapping software and most were linked to the KGS oil-and-gas records database utilizing a buffered search. The wells were symbolized by type (disposal or recovery) and activity (active, inactive, or pending). The geodatabase was uploaded to an online GIS mapping template. The service conveys pertinent information about the injection well (type, status, location, formation, depth), and can display a detailed attribute table of selected wells.