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Subsurface Disposal of Liquid Industrial Wastes in Alabama—A Current Status Report a
Author(s) -
Tucker William E.
Publication year - 1971
Publication title -
groundwater
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.84
H-Index - 94
eISSN - 1745-6584
pISSN - 0017-467X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1745-6584.1971.tb03571.x
Subject(s) - geological survey , drilling , water well , groundwater , waste disposal , archaeology , waste management , mining engineering , geology , engineering , geography , geotechnical engineering , mechanical engineering , paleontology
Four subsurface disposal wells have been drilled and completed in Alabama. These are: Stauffer Chemical Company, Mobile County; Ciba‐Geigy, Inc., Washington County; U. S. Steel Corp., Jefferson County; and Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., Tuscaloosa County. The Geological Survey of Alabama has been directly involved in all four projects. The Survey served as a consultant to the Alabama Water Improvement Commission, the State agency responsible for protection of surface and ground water in Alabama, on the Stauffer and Ciba‐Geigy projects, and as consultant and supervisor on the U. S. Steel Corporation and Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., projects. These projects were undertaken as a research effort to insure that the responsible State agencies are fully cognizant of all aspects of this method of waste disposal. It is a policy in Alabama that subsurface disposal is permissible for some wastes if the well is properly designed and completed in an appropriate geologic environment and if conventional methods of waste treatment have been evaluated and proved to be inadequate. The Stauffer well, operating at 75 gallons per minute and 500 psi, is the only subsurface disposal system, other than oilfield brine disposal wells, that is currently in operation. The Stauffer and Ciba‐Geigy wells are in the Coastal Plains geological province and the U. S. Steel and Reichhold Chemicals, Inc., wells are in Paleozoic sediments of the Warrior Basin. A general discussion of the geology, drilling, completion, and testing techniques is presented for the two geologic provinces involved.