Kentucky
Underground Injection Control (UIC) Class II wells
The Division of Oil and Gas of Kentucky's Department for Natural Resources administers the Underground Injection Control (UIC) program for Class II wells. It was approved for Class II primacy under section 1425 of the Safe Drinking Water Act on March 21, 2017. Its authority is in KRS Chapter 353, at sections 353.590(2), 353.591, 353.592 and 353.593, and its regulation is 805 KAR 1:110.
In a Phase I ESA
ASTM E1527-21 does not name injection well records among its standard record sources. On a property with oil and gas history, a Class II well's file records the injection of produced fluids there. The pages read cover Class II wells only, and do not say which agency regulates other classes of injection well in Kentucky.
- Which wells are Class II. Under 805 KAR 1:110, Class II wells inject produced fluids from oil and gas operations. The division lists enhanced recovery wells, which it says are the majority of Class II wells in Kentucky, brine disposal wells, and hydrocarbon storage wells, not including natural gas storage wells.
- The permit maps nearby wells. A Class II permit application (Form OG-14) includes a wellbore schematic and an area of review showing all wells within one-quarter mile of the proposed injection well. For a property near an injection well, the area of review can show the wells around it.
- Integrity is tested on a schedule. Every Class II well must pass an internal mechanical integrity test showing no vertical fluid movement within the wellbore into an underground source of drinking water. Enhanced recovery wells are tested every five years and brine disposal wells every two years, or as the division directs. A division inspector witnesses the test, and the operator files a Certification of Mechanical Integrity (Form OG-22).
- Plugging is supervised. An operator must notify the division in writing within thirty days before plugging; the well is plugged under the direction of a division inspector, and the operator then submits the plugging affidavit (Form OG-38).
What the record shows
Operators record injection pressures and volumes at least monthly and report them on an Annual Disposal or Injection Well Monitoring Report (Form OG-18), due before January 28 for the previous year. Operators keep the records for five years. A permit modification is reported on a Well Rework Report (Form OG-4) within thirty days after the work, and a transfer of ownership on Form OG-26. A Class II well with outstanding noncompliance may not be transferred unless the successor will correct the deficiencies under a corrective action plan the division approves. The page says Class II wells in operation on the date primacy took effect must ask EPA Region 4 in writing to transfer their financial responsibility from EPA to the division.
Where to look a site up
The pages read link no list of Class II wells. The division's main office is at 300 Sower Blvd, 4th Floor, Frankfort, KY 40601, phone 502-573-0147.
Getting the file
The division's page links the Cabinet's Open Records page. The Cabinet takes requests by email to EEC.KORA@ky.gov, with as much detail as possible about the records sought. For an injection well, ask for the permit and area of review, the mechanical integrity certifications, the annual monitoring reports and any plugging affidavit. Only residents of the Commonwealth, as the Open Records page defines them, may request to inspect public records.
Sources
Kentucky Energy and Environment Cabinet pages, read October 12, 2026, no modified date shown: