Fraud Blocker Environmental Consulting Services Related to Well Abandonment and Site Restoration at State Route 195 – Weston Solutions

Environmental Consulting Services Related to Well Abandonment and Site Restoration at State Route 195

Project Overview

Solution:
Oil and Gas Well Plugging and Abandonment

Description

Weston was contracted by the Arizona Department of Transportation to abandon three deep irrigation wells to allow for the expansion of State Route 85 near Buckeye, AZ. Weston prepared and submitted Notice of Intent to Abandon permits with Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADWR) for each well. Following completion and approval of the well abandonment permits, Weston prepared and submitted Prepared Well Owner’s Notification of Abandonment forms and oversaw the abandonment of the wells, which ranged from 200 to 1,800 feet deep. Well abandonment activities involved perforating each steel well casing from total depth to 20 feet above the historic groundwater level for each well in accordance with the ADWR permit. The final steps of the abandonment activities included filling each well with cement grout; removing the top 10-feet of steel casing for each well; and demolishing, removing, and disposing of the well pad and surface infrastructure.

Weston overcame several challenges, including encountering obstructions in two well casings that prevented the casings from being perforated from the total depth as planned. The age and poor conditions of these wells prevented the safe removal of the obstructions, so Weston consulted with ADWR to gain approval to perforate these wells above the obstructions. Based on these changes, in collaboration with ADWR, Weston successfully abandoned each well. The abandonment and demolition activities of the top 10-feet of well casing, well pad, and surface infrastructure produced more than 38 tons of material that was transported and disposed at Southwest Regional Landfill. The timely completion of this project allowed ADOT to expand the traffic lanes on State Route 85 as part of their highway infrastructure improvements.