Regulators propose timetable for closing injection wells

Emergency rules proposed by California regulators Thursday spell out a series of timetables for closing more than 2,000 wells, most of them in Kern County, that inject oil field wastewater into federally protected aquifers.
Although the rules could take effect by the end of this month, the soonest they would probably shut in any wells is Oct. 15, depending on the quality of the target aquifer's groundwater, whether it produces petroleum and how regulators have historically treated the undergroun