The following shall constitute violation(s) of this section:

(1)

Failure to comply with a properly issued order or directive from the County or Department.

(2)

Resisting, obstructing or interfering with actions of the Administrator, or an authorized assistant, or failure to allow these individuals access to a property, undertaken pursuant to this section.

(3)

Failure to comply with any of the following standards:

(a)

Criteria for Abandonment.

1.

The owner shall permanently abandon a well or a drillhole under any of the following conditions unless the Department approves the continued use of the well or drillhole:

a.

The well water is contaminated with biological agents - bacteriological, viral or parasitic—and three attempts at batch chlorination fail to eliminate the problem,

b.

The well (or drillhole) poses a hazard to health or safety, as determined by the Administrator,

c.

The well (or drillhole) construction or well location does not comply with the minimum standards of this chapter,

d.

The well (or drillhole) has been taken out of service or has not been used for three or more years and is not needed by the owner in the immediate future as a source of water for human consumption, sanitary purposes, commercial use or for stock watering. As an alternative, the owner may temporarily abandon the well according to subsecion (c), temporary abandonment requirements, below.

2.

The Department may require the owner to abandon a well or drillhole under the following conditions:

a.

The well water is contaminated with a substance in exceedence of the drinking water standards specified in Wis. Admin. Code section NR 812.06, or

b.

The well was not constructed by the well owner or by a licensed well driller, or

c.

The well has been temporarily abandoned for two or more years.

3.

A well driller or well constructor shall abandon a well or drillhole, which he or she constructed or reconstructed, under the following conditions, except when the Department approves the continued use of the well or drillhole:

a.

The well construction or well location does not comply with the minimum standards of this chapter that were in effect at the time the well was constructed, or

b.

The drillhole is an unsuccessful attempt to construct or reconstruct a well.

4.

The Department may require any person who has abandoned a well not in compliance with this section to return and take corrective action so that the well is abandoned by him or her in a complying manner.

(b)

Requirements for Wells Removed from Service. Any well or drillhole removed from service shall be properly abandoned according to the criteria and procedures in this section except as exempted by Wis. Admin. Code section NR 123.23(3)(c) or by the Department. Any well or drillhole removed from service shall be properly abandoned prior to any demolition or construction work on the property. A well driller or well constructor who removes a well from service shall inform the well owner that the Department requires that any well removed from service be permanently abandoned according to the requirements of this section. A well driller or well constructor shall report any well he or she removes from service on the well construction report for any replacement well he or she constructs on the property.

(c)

Temporary Abandonment Requirements. Any well to be temporarily abandoned shall meet the minimum requirements of this chapter and shall be able to produce a bacteriological safe water sample, if the well is potable. When a well is temporarily abandoned, the owner shall notify the County. To temporarily abandon a well, the top of the well casing pipe shall be sealed with a watertight cap threaded onto the top of the well casing pipe or drive pipe or with a steel plate welded watertight to the top of the well casing pipe. If the pump or well seal is watertight, the pump may be left in place.

(d)

Well or Drillhole Casing Pipe. The well casing pipe or drillhole casing pipe shall be left in place when a well or drillhole is permanently abandoned, except under section 1., 2., 3., 4. or 5. below, and only if the well or drillhole is sealed as the well casing pipe is pulled; and if any concrete or neat cement grout that settles in the drillhole is replaced.

1.

The well casing pipe may be removed from a dry drillhole and reinstalled in a well on the same property within 30 days of original drillhole construction.

2.

The well casing pipe may be removed from a well or drillhole as part of reconstruction ordered or requested by the Department. The well casing pipe may only be reinstalled on the same property, if the reconstruction takes place within 120 days of the original construction.

3.

The well casing pipe may be removed from a dewatering well or a drillhole. Such well casing pipe may only be reused for dewatering wells.

4.

The well casing pipe may be removed from a recently constructed well or drillhole and reused, if the well casing pipe is inspected and approved for reuse by a Department representative.

5.

The well casing pipe may be removed from a well or a drillhole, if the well or drillhole is completely filled with the abandonment material before the well casing pipe is pulled.

(e)

Pre-abandonment Requirements.

1.

All debris, pumps, piping, ungrouted liner pipe and any other obstruction, which can be presumed, or is known, to be in the well or drillhole, shall be removed, if possible before the well or drillhole is permanently abandoned.

2.

In a badly fractured or highly permeable geologic formation, sodium bentonite drilling mud may be circulated in the drillhole or in the well prior to commencement of permanent abandonment procedures.

3.

The sealing material to be used in permanently abandoning a well or drillhole between two and one-half inches and 30 inches in diameter shall be placed through a conductor (tremie) pipe or by means of a dump bailer except when approved chipped bentonite is used. Conductor (tremie) pipe used shall be any of the following:

a.

Metal pipe, or

b.

Rubber-covered hose reinforced with braided fiber or steel and rated for at least 300 psi, or

c.

For use at depths less than 100 feet, thermoplastic pipe rated for at least 100 psi including:

i.

Polyvinyl chloride (PVC),

ii.

Chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC),

iii.

Polyethylene (PE),

iv.

Polybutylene (PB), and

v.

Acrylonitrile butadiene styrene (ABS).

4.

The bottom end of the conductor pipe shall be submerged in the sealing material at all times. A conductor pipe shall also be used for wells or drillholes greater than 30 inches in diameter, if water remains trapped above the sealing material as it is applied.

5.

The flow from a flowing well or drillhole shall be reduced as much as possible with a packer, or by extending the well casing pipe, or by other approved means, before the well is permanently abandoned.

6.

Abandonment of wells or drillholes with inadequate grouting or sealing of the annular space outside the well casing pipe shall be performed to ensure complete sealing of the annular space. Techniques are situation dependent and may include reaming a new annular space outside the well casing pipe, use of pressure grouting methods or perforation of the well casing pipe.

7.

The well casing pipe and abandonment material may be terminated as much as three feet below the ground surface or to a depth below any future building foundation at the time of permanent abandonment.