CIRCULAR
Provisions on the handling and plugging of unused wells

Based on the Water Resources Law No. 17/2012/QH13dated June 21, 2013;

Based on Decree No. 201/2013/NĐ-CP dated November 27, 2013 of the Government detailing the implementation of certain provisions of the Water Resources Law;

On the basis of Decision No. 36/2017/NĐ-CP dated April 4, 2017, of the Government stipulating the functions, tasks, powers, and organizational structure of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment;

At the proposal of the Director of the National Water Resources Management Agency and the Department of Natural ResourcesinThis Circular does not apply to organizations and individuals engaged in activities specified in Clause 2, Article 3 of the Chemical Law dated November 21, 2007.

The Minister of Natural Resources and Environment promulgates this Circular on the handling and plugging of unused wells.

PART I
GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1. Scope of Regulation

Article 1. This Circular stipulates the handling and plugging of various types of drilled wells, boreholes, dug wells after they have been used up or become damaged (hereinafter referred to as unused wells) in activities such as groundwater exploration, exploitation, geological survey drilling, geological exploration, mineral exploration and exploitation, foundation treatment for construction projects, mine dewatering, groundwater research, investigation, evaluation, and other drilling and excavation activities.

Article 2. The handling and plugging of exploration and production oil and gas wells and geothermal wells are not within the scope of regulation of this Circular.

Article 2. Applicability

This Circular applies to state management agencies for water resources, organizations, individuals, and households related to the handling and plugging of unused wells.

Article 3. Principles for handling and plugging unused wells

Clause 1. Handling and plugging must be carried out promptly to prevent surface water and contaminants from infiltrating aquifers and circulating between different aquifer layers through the wells.

Clause 2. Compliance with technical standards and regulations on safety, prevention of degradation and depletion of groundwater resources.

Article 4. Classification of unused wells for handling and plugging

Clause 1. For groundwater extraction wells that do not require permission under the laws on water resources, including unused wells falling into any of the following cases:

Point a. Wells that can continue to be exploited but the well owner does not have the need to continue exploiting or using water and has no plans to use them for other purposes;
Point b. Unused wells located within areas subject to land recovery and clearance where the organization or individual receiving the cleared land does not use it;

Point c. Wells that are irreparably damaged; wells that cannot continue to be exploited due to pollution, water quality not meeting usage requirements, or other reasons;

Point d. Wells where the well owner violates the laws on water resources and has been ordered by competent state authorities to plug the well according to the law.

Clause 2. For groundwater extraction wells of exploitation works that require permission to exploit and use water (hereinafter referred to as permits) under the laws on water resources, including unused wells falling into any of the following cases:

Point a. Wells belonging to groundwater exploitation works that already have permits, but the permit holder returns the permit or adjusts the permit, including adjustments to extraction wells or monitoring wells, or permits revoked for national defense, security reasons, or national interest and public interest, and have been compensated by the State according to the law;

In the case provided for in this point, the handling and plugging of the well shall be carried out after completing the return, revocation, or adjustment of the permit according to the law.

Point b. Wells belonging to the cases specified in Clause 1 of this Article of exploitation works that require permits under the laws on water resources but do not have permits and have been ordered by competent state authorities to plug the well according to the law;

Point c. Wells belonging to exploitation works that require permits under the laws on water resources but do not meet the conditions for obtaining or extending permits and are required to plug the well according to the laws on water resources.

Clause 3. For unused wells not covered by Clauses 1 and 2 of this Article, including:

Point a. Drilled wells for groundwater exploration determined by the permit holder to have completed their mission and are not used for exploitation or monitoring;

Point b. Drilled monitoring wells for groundwater networks managed and operated by units that determine them to be irreparable or must change location or for other reasons and cannot continue monitoring;

Point c. Drilled wells belonging to research, investigation, and evaluation projects of groundwater determined by project implementing units to have been fully utilized and have no need or plan to use for other purposes;

Point d. Wells used for mine dewatering, foundation pits, drilling wells for geological surveys and mineral exploration projects; drilling wells for geological engineering surveys (excluding drilling wells within foundation pits and immediately constructed thereafter) determined by the well owner to have been fully utilized and have no need or plan to use for other purposes or are damaged and cannot be used further;

Point đ. Wells existing in reality but not used and the well owner cannot be identified;

Point e. Drilled wells causing subsidence, collapse of the ground, affecting the quantity and quality of groundwater or causing other abnormal incidents affecting construction projects and the lives of nearby residents;

Point g. Drilled wells experiencing accidents during drilling and cannot be repaired or drilled wells that have not been completed but must change drilling locations.

g) A drilled well encounters an incident during the drilling process that cannot be remedied, or a well that has not been completed but must change its drilling location.

Chapter II
SPECIFIC PROVISIONS

Article 5. Handling and Plugging of Underground Water Wells that Do Not Require an Extraction and Utilization Permit for Water Resources

1. For wells falling under the cases specified in Points a and c Clause 1 Article 4 of this Circular, after the well owner determines that the well will not be used, the well owner shall have the responsibility to notify in writing the time and location of plugging the well to the People's Committee of the commune, ward, town (hereinafter referred to collectively as the People's Committee of the commune) and organize the construction of plugging their own well.

2. For wells falling under the case specified in Point b Clause 1 Article 4 of this Circular, within a period not exceeding ten (10) working days from the date of completing compensation and land clearance according to the law, the organization or individual receiving the handover of the land surface shall have the responsibility to plug the well in accordance with this Circular.

3. For wells falling under the case specified in Point d Clause 1 Article 4 of this Circular, within a period not exceeding ten (10) working days from the date of the administrative violation handling decision which includes the measure of plugging the well, the well owner shall have the responsibility to notify in writing the time and location of plugging the well to the People's Committee of the commune and organize the construction of plugging their own well. In cases where the administrative violation handling decision specifies a specific deadline for completing the well plugging work, it shall be implemented according to such decision.

4. Within a period not exceeding ten (10) working days from the date of completing the construction of plugging unused wells as stipulated in this Article, the well owner shall have the responsibility to notify in writing to the People's Committee of the commune about the completion of plugging unused wells for monitoring and consolidation.

Article 6. Handling and Plugging of Underground Water Wells that Require an Extraction and Utilization Permit for Underground Water

The handling and plugging of unused wells falling under the case specified in Clause 2 Article 4 of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

1. After receiving the decision on revoking, adjusting the permit, handling administrative violations including the measure of plugging the well, or a notification terminating the validity of the permit for the case of returning the permit or a notification of not meeting the conditions for issuance or extension of the permit by the competent state agency, the well owner must develop a plan for plugging the well in accordance with the Appendix issued together with this Circular.

Within ninety (90) days from the date of the decision or notification, the well owner must complete the well plugging work. If the decisions or notifications specify a specific deadline for completing the well plugging work, it shall be implemented according to these decisions or notifications.

2. Within a period not exceeding ten (10) working days from the date of the decision or notification as stipulated in Clause 1 of this Article, the well owner shall have the responsibility to notify in writing the time and location of carrying out the construction of plugging the well to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment of the provinces and centrally-run cities (hereinafter referred to as the Department of Natural Resources and Environment) for monitoring and inspection (if necessary).

3. Within a period not exceeding ten (10) working days from the date of completing the construction of plugging unused wells, the well owner shall have the responsibility to report to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment on the results of the well plugging construction.

The main content of the report on the results of the well plugging construction includes: general information about the well to be plugged; the content and volume of work completed during the construction of plugging; assessment of the degree of compliance with technical requirements in the well plugging process as prescribed; issues arising during the well plugging process (if any).

Article 7. Handling and Plugging of Underground Water Exploration Wells

The handling and plugging of wells as prescribed in Point a Clause 3 Article 4 of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

1. Within no more than ten (10) working days before the construction of underground water exploration wells, the permit holder shall notify in writing to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment at the location of the exploration project about the list of planned wells to be plugged and sealed, along with the proposed time and location for the construction work of plugging and sealing wells for monitoring and inspection (if necessary).

2. After completing the plugging work, the permit holder shall be responsible for reporting the results of the well plugging construction, including the technical requirements met during the well plugging process as stipulated in this Circular, any issues arising during the well plugging process (if any), and these shall be reflected in the report on the results of the underground water resource survey and assessment or the report on the completion of exploitation well construction as required by the law on natural resources.

Article 8. Handling and Plugging of Underground Water Monitoring Wells, Wells in Research, Investigation, and Assessment Projects of Underground Water, Dewatered Mine Wells, Foundation Pits, and Wells in Research, Investigation, Exploration, and Geological and Mineral Resource Prospecting Projects

The handling and plugging of wells as prescribed in Points b, c, and d Clause 3 Article 4 of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

1. The well owner shall be responsible for developing the well plugging plan according to the annex issued together with this Circular. Within no more than ten (10) working days before the start of the well plugging construction, the well owner shall notify in writing the time and location of the well plugging construction to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment for monitoring and inspection (if necessary).

2. After completing the well plugging work, the well owner shall be responsible for reporting the results of the well plugging construction according to Clause 3 Article 6 of this Circular. The report on the results of the well plugging construction is part of the project result product documentation.

Article 9. Handling and Plugging of Wells in Case of Accidents

The handling and plugging of wells as prescribed in Points e and g Clause 3 Article 4 of this Circular shall be carried out as follows:

1. In the case prescribed in Point e Clause 3 Article 4 of this Circular, based on the degree and nature of the hazard of the accident, the well owner or the drilling organization or individual must immediately implement measures to ensure safety for people, construction projects, and other activities; rectify the accident and plug the well; and simultaneously promptly notify the People's Committee of the commune and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the well causing the accident is located.

Within ten (10) working days from the date of completing the accident rectification, the well owner shall report the results of the accident rectification to the People's Committee of the commune and the Department of Natural Resources and Environment, detailing the safety measures taken, the results of the well plugging and subsidence area, and compensation results according to the law (if any).

2. In the case prescribed in Point g Clause 3 Article 4 of this Circular, based on the actual condition of the well, the well owner shall cooperate with the drilling organization or individual to implement well plugging measures; and simultaneously immediately notify the accident occurring during the drilling process to the Department of Natural Resources and Environment where the well is located. Within ten (10) working days from the date of completing the well plugging work, the well owner shall be responsible for reporting the results of the well plugging construction according to Clause 3 Article 6 of this Circular.

Article 10. Technical requirements for construction of well plugging and sealing of unused boreholes

1. The construction of well plugging for underground water wells as stipulated in Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular must meet the following requirements:

a) Fill the well with cement mortar mixture; if it is impossible to fill the well completely, then measures must be taken to seal the well's mouth; pour concrete around the well mouth with a size not less than 0.3 meters from the well mouth;

b) Encourage the implementation of well plugging construction as prescribed in Clause 2 of this Article.

2. The construction of well plugging and sealing of unused boreholes as stipulated in Clauses 2 and 3, Article 4 of this Circular must meet the following requirements:

a) Plugging materials must have poor water permeability or be impermeable, including mortar mixtures or granular materials as follows:

Mortar mixture, including: cement mortar; cement mortar mixed with natural clay or bentonite; bentonite and natural clay mortar; mortar mixed with other materials having similar properties to natural clay in terms of setting and swelling;

Granular material, including: natural clay pellets; other granular materials having similar properties to natural clay in terms of water permeability and swelling. Granular materials must ensure spherical shape and size not larger than 0.25 times the smallest diameter of the well or the inner diameter of the smallest pipe section.

b) Preparation for well plugging:

Based on specific conditions of each well, select appropriate plugging materials and construction methods, technologies, and equipment;

Inspect and evaluate the current condition of the well; measure depth, diameter, determine the smallest diameter, and assess the degree of well ventilation;

Inspect and evaluate the ability to pull out the well casing. If the well casing can be pulled out, prepare suitable equipment and tools to ensure that the plugging process is carried out simultaneously with the pulling out of the well casing;

Prepare conditions to ensure that the well plugging process is continuous without interruption.

c) Construction of well plugging:

The construction of well plugging must ensure that the well is filled with plugging materials in a set state; carry out plugging in sections from bottom to top, starting from the bottom of the well; at least the top 10 meters of the well must be plugged with mortar mixture; pour concrete around the well mouth with a size not less than 0.3 meters from the well mouth;

In case liquid mortar mixture is used, ensure that the mortar is conveyed through the pipe to the depth of each plugging section using appropriate tools and equipment, do not pour mortar directly through the well mouth; the length of each plugging section depends on the specific conditions of the well and the actual capacity of the plugging equipment;

In case granular materials are used, ensure that no "plug" forms inside the well; materials should be poured gradually in appropriate quantities corresponding to the volume of each section; after completing each section, compact and compress the materials using appropriate tools and equipment; the length of each section should not exceed 10 meters;

In case the well casing can be pulled out, it must be pulled out during the plugging process. Pulling out the well casing must be done in sections, consistent with the length of each plugging section, the base of the well casing must always remain within the layer of plugging materials and ensure that soil and rock do not collapse into the well before the filling material fills the well section.

Article 11Technical requirements for construction of well plugging for dug wells

1. Materials used include soil and natural clay with better water-retaining properties or equivalent to the surrounding rock layers of the dug well.

2. Well plugging construction must be carried out in sections; materials should be poured in layers and compacted; at least the top 1 meter of the well must be plugged with natural clay or other materials with similar properties.

Chapter III
IMPLEMENTATION AND EFFECTIVE PROVISIONS

Article 12. Reporting System

1. Every six (06) months, the People's Committee of the commune shall compile a list of plugged wells in its jurisdiction and report to the District Natural Resources and Environment Office (hereinafter referred to as the District Natural Resources and Environment Office).

2. Every six (06) months, the District Natural Resources and Environment Office shall compile and establish a list of plugged wells in its jurisdiction and report to the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment.

3. Annually, before December 15th, the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall report to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment (through the Water Resources Management Agency) and the People's Committee of the province on the implementation of the handling and plugging of unused wells in its jurisdiction.

Article 13. Transitional Provisions

1. For cases where unused wells requiring plugging have been approved by competent authorities according to Decision No. 14/2007/QĐ-BTNMT dated September 4, 2007 of the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment before the effective date of this Circular, continue to implement according to the approved decision.

2. For unused underground water extraction wells requiring plugging under Clause 1 and Point d, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular that have not been plugged before the effective date of this Circular, the plugging will be carried out as follows:

a) Based on specific conditions in each locality, the Provincial Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead, coordinate with the District Natural Resources and Environment Office and the People's Committee of the commune to organize investigations, statistics, reviews, classifications, and establish lists of unused wells requiring plugging;

b) The list of unused wells requiring plugging includes a list of individual wells requiring plugging, classified according to Clause 1 and Point d, Clause 3, Article 4 of this Circular. Each well includes main contents: name and address of the well owner and the well to be plugged; type of well (drilled well, borehole, dug well); diameter and depth of the well; actual condition of the well; reasons for plugging and plugging plan; other information related to well plugging (if any);

c) The Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall send the draft list of unused wells that must be plugged to the People's Committee at the commune level for public display at its office within thirty (30) working days. In cases stipulated in Point a, Clause 1, Article 4 of this Circular, they must also notify the well owner in writing about the plugging. During the period of public display, the well owner has the right to request removal from the list and provide reasons. If a well is not included in the list of unused wells that must be plugged but the well owner determines it is not in use, then the well owner may request inclusion in the list;

Based on the results of the public display and notification as prescribed in Point c of this Clause and the requests of the well owners, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall review and finalize the list of unused wells that must be plugged, and submit it to the People's Committee at the provincial level for consideration and approval;

Based on the approved list of unused wells that must be plugged, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the People's Committee at the commune level to notify the well owners to carry out the plugging of the wells according to this Circular;

For wells that must be plugged in the list of unused wells that must be plugged but whose owners cannot be identified, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment shall take the lead and coordinate with the People's Committees at the district and commune levels to organize the plugging work. The plugging work must be completed before December 31, 2022;

Article 14. Effective Date

1. This Circular takes effect from the date of      month      year 2018;

2. Decree No. 14/2007/QĐ-BTNMT dated September 4, 2007 of the Minister of Natural Resources and Environment on the handling and plugging of unused wells is abolished from the date this Circular takes effect;

3. The National Water Resources Management Agency shall be responsible for inspecting and guiding the implementation of this Circular;

4. Ministries, agencies equivalent to ministries, People's Committees at all levels, Departments of Natural Resources and Environment of provinces and centrally governed cities, and organizations, individuals, and households related to this matter shall be responsible for implementing this Circular;

During the implementation of this Circular, if there are difficulties or obstacles, organizations and individuals are requested to report them to the Ministry of Natural Resources and Environment for examination and study to amend and supplement appropriately./.