This section specifically defines words associated with resource protection wells and geotechnical soil borings. To find the definitions of other words, see WAC 173-160-111.

(1) "Confining layer" or "confining formation" means a layer of low hydraulic conductivity material that significantly limits vertical movement of groundwater.

(2) "Environmental investigation well" means a cased hole intended or used to extract a sample or samples of groundwater, vapor, or soil from an underground formation and which is decommissioned immediately after the sample or samples are obtained. An environmental investigation well is typically installed using direct push technology or auger boring and uses the probe, stem, auger, or rod as casing. An environmental investigation well is not a geotechnical soil boring.

(3) "Geotechnical soil boring" or "boring" means a well drilled for the purpose of obtaining soil samples or information to ascertain structural properties of the subsurface.

(4) "Ground source heat pump boring" means a vertical boring constructed for the purpose of installing a closed loop heat exchange system for a ground source heat pump.

(5) "Grounding well" means a grounding electrode installed in the earth by the use of drilling equipment to prevent buildup of voltages that may result in undue hazards to persons or equipment. Examples are anode and cathode protection wells.

(6) "Instrumentation well" means a well in which pneumatic or electric geotechnical or hydrological instrumentation is permanently or periodically installed to measure or monitor subsurface strength and movement. Instrumentation well includes bore hole extensometers, slope indicators, pneumatic or electric pore pressure transducers, and load cells.

(7) "Monitoring well" means a well designed to obtain a representative groundwater sample or designed to measure the water level elevations in either clean or contaminated water or soil.

(8) "Nested well" means the installation of more than one cased resource protection well in one bore hole. This does not preclude casing reductions or installation of vibrating wire piezometers.

(9) "Observation well" means a well designed to measure the depth to the water or water level elevation in either clean or contaminated water or soil.

(10) "Piezometer" means a well designed to measure water level elevation at a specific depth beneath the water table.

(11) "PTFE" means polytetrafluoroethylene casing materials such as teflon. The use of the term teflon is not an endorsement for any specific PTFE product.

(12) "Remediation well" means a well intended or used to withdraw groundwater or inject water, air (for air sparging), or other solutions into the subsurface for the purpose of remediating, cleaning up, or controlling potential or actual groundwater contamination.

(13) "Resource protection well" means a cased boring intended or used to collect subsurface information or to determine the existence or migration of pollutants within an underground formation. Resource protection wells include monitoring wells, observation wells, piezometers, spill response wells, remediation wells, environmental investigation wells, vapor extraction wells, ground source heat pump boring, grounding wells, and instrumentation wells.

(14) "Resource protection well contractor" means any person, firm, partnership, copartnership, corporation, association, or other entity, licensed and bonded under chapter 18.27 RCW, engaged in the business of constructing resource protection wells or geotechnical soil borings.

(15) "Resource protection report" or "geotechnical soil boring report" means a document that describes how a resource protection well or geotechnical soil boring was constructed or decommissioned and identifies its components per the requirements of WAC 173-160-420.

(16) "Spill response well" means a well used to capture or recover any spilled or leaked fluid which has the potential to, or has contaminated the groundwater.

(17) "Structural properties" means subsurface engineering properties or geotechnical information used for the purpose of designing structures such as bridges, buildings, highways, pipelines, or for assessing slope stability samples.

(18) "Vapor extraction well" means a well used to withdraw gases or vapors from soil, rock, landfill, backfill or groundwater for the purpose of investigating or remediating soil or groundwater contamination or managing gases or vapors.

(19) "Vibrating wire piezometer" is a down hole instrument that measures water pore pressure and converts it to an electronic signal.

(20) "Well driller" or "driller" means a resource protection well contractor or operator and a water well contractor or operator.

(21) "Well" means water wells, resources protection wells, instrumentation wells, dewatering wells, and geotechnical soil borings. Well does not mean an excavation made for the purpose of obtaining or prospecting for oil or natural gas, geothermal resources, minerals, or products of mining, or quarrying, or for inserting media to repressure oil or natural gas bearing formations, or for storing petroleum, natural gas, or other products.