xvEPA
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
How to Comment
You may comment on the proposed
draft permits in writing. Please refer
to Waste Management draft permit
number MI-139-1I-0006.
Mail or email your comments to:
Andrew Greenhagen
U.S. EPA, Water Division
UIC Section (WP-16J)
77 W. Jackson Blvd.
Chicago, IL 60604-3590
Email: greenhagen.andrew@epa.gov
Phone:312-353-7648
Comment Period
EPA will accept written comments
until September 9, 2019 (midnight
postmark).
You may see the draft permit at
http://go.usa.gov/3JwFP.
Administrative Record
You may see the full administrative
record, including all data submitted
by Waste Management, at the EPA's
Chicago regional office (address
above), weekdays from 9am to 4pm.
For an appointment to see the files,
contact Andrew Greenhagen (see
above).
Right to Appeal
You have the right to appeal any
final permit decision if you make an
official comment during the
comment period or participate in a
public hearing. A public hearing is
not planned at this time. The first
appeal must be made to the
Environmental Appeals Board. The
final decision can be appealed in
federal court only after all agency
review procedures have been
exhausted.
To learn more about EPA's
Underground Injection Control
program, or to join our mailing list
visit http://go.usa.gov/3JwFP
EPA Seeks Comments on
Injection Well Permit
Waste Management of Michigan, Inc.
Ottawa County, Michigan
August 2019
The U. S. Environmental Protection Agency tentatively approved a request
from Waste Management of Michigan, Inc. for a Class I nonhazardous
injection well permit. Before EPA makes a final decision, the Agency is
providing the public an opportunity to comment on the draft permit (see
left-hand box on how to comment).
Waste Management plans to dispose of nonhazardous liquid waste from
the Autumn Hills Recycling and Disposal Facility. The injection well
would be located at the Waste Management Autumn Hills Recycling and
Disposal Facility at 700 56th Avenue in Zeeland, Michigan.
Federal law requires all Class I wells be built in a way that protects
drinking water supplies.1 That means waste must be injected into a rock
formation beneath the lowermost formation containing an underground
drinking water source. All Class I wells shall be cased and cemented to
prevent the movement of fluids into or between underground sources of
drinking water.
Text continued on back ...
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Location of Proposed Well# IW-1
Draft Permit Number: MI-139-11-0006

Ottawa Couiitv
Allegan County
Legend
Underground Injection Control Well
I	1 Area of Review
— Streets
I | County Line
Map shows location of the proposed injection well in Ottawa County, Michigan.
'Injection wells must meet the regulatory criteria of 40 Code of Federal Regulations, or
C.F.R., sections 124,144,146, and 147; and the Safe Drinking Water Act, or SDWA. To
view these regulations and laws, see https://www.epa.gov/laws-regulations/regulations.

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Public comments and requests for a
hearing
Send comments and requests for a hearing to EPA's
Andrew Greenhagen (greenhagen.andrew@epa.gov)
during the public comment period (see front-page box).
The public comment period includes 30 days for
comments as required by law, plus an additional three
days for any delay caused by mailing.
Requests for a hearing must be in writing and must
identify issues to be raised. EPA will hold a hearing if
there is significant public interest in the draft permit
decision based on written requests. If a hearing is
scheduled, EPA will publish a notice of the hearing at
least 30 days in advance.
EPA will consider all comments received during the
comment period and the hearing if held and then issue a
final decision along with a document that lists EPA
responses to significant comments.
Permit requirements
Federal regulations for underground injection wells list
standards for construction, geology, location (siting),
operating conditions and record keeping, to protect
supplies of underground drinking water from
contamination caused by injection wells.
EPA's preliminary review of the permit application for
this well concluded it would have no environmental
impact.
Below is an explanation of the some of the factors
involved in permitting injection wells:
Underground Source of Drinking Water (USDW):
An USDW is any aquifer or portion of an aquifer that
contains less than 10,000 milligrams per liter of total
dissolved solids and which can be used as a source of
drinking water.
An aquifer is an underground layer of water-bearing
rock or sand from which water can be extracted by a
well.
In the case of the Waste Management proposed well,
the base of the lowermost USDW sits at a depth of 350
feet. This formation is the Marshall Sandstone.
Site geology: The injection zone is the Trenton
Formation, Black River Formation, Prairie du Chien
Group, Trempealeau Formation, Franconia Formation,
Galesville Formation, Eau Claire Formation and Mount
Simon Formation from 3,853 and 6,570 feet relative to
Kelly bushing. The immediate overlying confining
zone is the Utica Shale. Adequate confining layers
exist between the injection zone and the base of the
lowermost Underground Source of Drinking Water.
Area of review (AOR): The AOR is the area within a
two-mile radius of the proposed injection wells. EPA
analyzed the AOR to identify wells that might allow
fluid to move out of the injection zone. In the AOR for
the proposed well, there are 0 producing, 0 injection, 0
temporarily abandoned, 1 plugged and abandoned, and
0 other wells that penetrate the confining zone. The
one plugged and abandoned well that penetrates the
confining zone does not require corrective action to
prevent fluid movement out of the injection zone.
Maximum injection pressure: EPA set an injection
pressure limit that will prevent the injection formations
from fracturing. The proposed maximum injection
pressure for this well is limited to 944 pounds per
square inch gauge.
Financial assurance: Waste Management has
demonstrated adequate financial resources to close,
plug and abandon this underground injection well.
Waste Management has established a bond with the
State of Michigan to cover these costs at the amount of
$109,500.
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