Oklahoma Water Well Guide
Oklahoma Water Resources Board rules

How to plug an abandoned water well in Oklahoma

Water well plugging in Oklahoma is set by Oklahoma Administrative Code 785:35. This page quotes the Board’s rules for a homeowner with an abandoned groundwater well: who is responsible, how the code says to fill the hole, and the plugging report. It is general information, not legal advice. This directory does not plug wells, publish prices, or review companies.

Read the plugging rules Who may plug it The 60-day report
Two different jobs

A temporary cap is not permanent abandonment.

The plugging subchapter starts with a well that is only taken out of service for a time. Permanent abandonment is a later subsection, and it uses a different method.

Temporary capping. When a groundwater well or fresh water observation well is temporarily removed from service, the top of the well casing will be properly sealed with a pitless adapter cap, sanitary well seal, or well casing cap that cannot easily be removed. A new well shall be properly capped before the well driller leaves the drilling site.

OAC 785:35-11-1(a)

Permanent abandonment. The following plugging requirements apply if a groundwater well, fresh water observation well, heat exchange well or water well test hole is permanently abandoned, was drilled by a person not holding a valid license or operator certification from the Board, or if the Board determines that the well or test hole was not drilled or completed in compliance with the applicable minimum standards set forth in this Chapter or may otherwise allow pollution to groundwater.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)

A water well test hole has its own clock in the same section. The well driller plugs it before the drilling equipment leaves, unless it is completed as an observation well for aquifer testing with surface casing and cement seals. The rule also allows a temporary casing method, and then says permanent completion or plugging becomes the landowner’s job.

Permanent completion or plugging shall become the responsibility of the landowner and shall be completed within 60 days of drilling equipment being removed from the site. A written statement from the landowner acknowledging such responsibility shall be obtained and submitted to the Board with the multipurpose completion report. The multi-purpose completion report shall be submitted to the Board within sixty (60) days after plugging or temporary completion of each water well test hole.

OAC 785:35-11-1(b)
Who may plug a well

The landowner is responsible after the rig leaves. Commercial plugging needs a license.

The abandonment rule and the license rule answer different parts of the question. Both are quoted here in the words of the code.

The well driller shall be responsible for plugging the well or test hole if the well drilling equipment is on the drilling site. If a well is abandoned after the well drilling equipment has been removed from the drilling site, the owner of the land where the well or test hole is located shall be responsible for plugging.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(1)

All persons engaged in the following categories of activities in this state shall make application for and obtain a license from the Board: Category 1: commercial drilling or plugging of groundwater wells including test drilling for groundwater, and commercial drilling or plugging of fresh water observation wells.

OAC 785:35-3-1(a)(1) and (a)(1)(A)

The license issued by the Board shall indicate on its face each category and specific activity or activities as described in (a)(1) of this section for which the licensee is certified to perform and conduct.

Each licensed firm shall have at least one operator who may also be the licensee. Each operator shall be required to obtain a certification from the Board. An operator shall not conduct types of activities not authorized for the licensee under whom the operator works.

To engage in activities for which certification is required, operators shall also have a valid license or shall be certified as an operator for a person having a valid license. An operator's certification by itself shall not constitute proper authority to engage in activities for which licensing is required.

OAC 785:35-3-1(a)(2), (a)(3), and (a)(4)

The code uses the word commercial for the license. These sections do not add a separate price, a company rating, or a list of firms. The Board’s public finder is the place to see who holds a license: Find a Water Well Driller or Pump Installer. On this directory, rows that carry a plugging category on that finder are at companies with a plugging tag. A tag is a finder category. Confirm the firm takes a private groundwater well at your land. This directory does not book the job.

The same license section lists other categories: monitoring wells and geotechnical borings, commercial installation of water well pumps, heat exchange and geothermal wells, and marginal water wells. Commercial plugging of a groundwater well is the Category 1 activity quoted above.

OAC 785:35-11-1

What the code requires when a groundwater well is permanently abandoned.

The default method applies only when the later paragraphs do not. Read the paragraph that matches the well before you treat any one fill method as the rule for every hole.

Uncontaminated groundwater well, when paragraphs 3 and 5 do not apply

If the well or test hole is uncontaminated and unless paragraph 3 or paragraph 5 below applies, fill such well or water well test hole with uncontaminated, compacted drill cuttings and/or uncontaminated surface clay, cement, bentonite pellets or granules, or high solids (a minimum of twenty percent (20%) solids by dry weight) bentonite grout to within fourteen (14) feet of the land surface, and a minimum of ten (10) feet of the annular space and interior of the well casing shall be filled with cement grout to at least four (4) feet below the land surface.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(2)

Uncontaminated wells in named river alluvium and terrace deposits

To plug uncontaminated groundwater wells, fresh water observation wells, or heat exchange wells in the alluvium and terrace deposits of the Arkansas, Cimarron, Salt Fork of the Arkansas, North Canadian, Canadian, Washita, North Fork of the Red, Salt Fork of the Red River, Red River, and other streams or rivers authorized by the Board, fill the well with clean, uncontaminated silica sand to within sixteen (16) feet of the land surface, then two (2) feet of bentonite pellets or granules shall be placed on the uncontaminated silica sand, and finally, a minimum of ten (10) feet of cement grout shall be installed in the annular space and interior of the well casing to at least four (4) feet below the land surface.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(3)

Hand-dug water wells

Hand dug water wells shall be filled with uncontaminated surface clay or grout to within six (6) feet of land surface. The lining of the well shall be removed from the top five (5) feet and a minimum of two (2) feet of cement grout shall be installed. The top four (4) feet shall be filled with compacted uncontaminated native soil, unless otherwise directed by the Board.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(4)

Contaminated wells, tank sites, and wastewater lagoons

If the well or water well test hole is contaminated, or if the well or test hole is located at an underground tank site or within 300 feet of the outside perimeter of an existing wastewater lagoon or is located on a tract of land where a wastewater lagoon is proposed, the casing shall be removed or perforated from the bottom of the casing to twenty (20) feet below land surface. The well or test hole shall be plugged with cement grout from the bottom to within four (4) feet of the land surface. If the total depth of the well is in excess of twenty feet (20') below land surface, the cement grout shall be placed by pumping from the bottom of the hole to within four (4) feet of the land surface. If the well does not meet current minimum construction standards for grouting and sealing the annulus, the casing shall be removed from twenty (20) feet below land surface to the surface.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(5)

Vertical closed-loop heat exchange wells

Vertical closed loop heat exchange wells shall be plugged according to standards set forth by Clause 10.9 of ANSI/CSA/IGSHPA C448.3.

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(6)

This page does not restate Clause 10.9. The sentence above is the whole of that paragraph in the code text that was checked.

A different method

A variance is a Board decision, filed before the work.

Variances from any of the minimum standards for plugging set forth in this subchapter may be granted by the Board when it is demonstrated that the plugging method or actions proposed will protect the quantity and quality of the groundwater from contamination and waste. Requests for variances must be completed on forms provided by the Board and submitted prior to beginning any work related to activities subject of the variance request, unless otherwise approved by the Executive Director as provided in this section.

OAC 785:35-11-3(a)

Requests for variances must be signed by the licensed well driller, contain a notarized signature from the landowner of the land where the work is being done, and contain a certification that activities subject of the variance request will not cause pollution.

OAC 785:35-11-3(c)

The Executive Director may approve the requested variance, deny the requested variance, or approve the requested variance subject to certain conditions being met.

OAC 785:35-11-3(e)

The Board’s form is the Application for Variance from Minimum Construction Standards.

Required report

The operator files a plugging report within 60 days.

Completion and plugging reports. Completion and plugging reports shall be filed on electronic or hardcopy forms provided by the Board and shall be filed within sixty (60) days after completion or plugging.

OAC 785:35-5-3(a)

The operator shall file a completion or plugging report for each groundwater well, groundwater well test hole, fresh water observation well, open-loop geothermal well, or marginal quality groundwater well completed or plugged.

OAC 785:35-5-3(b)

The plugging report for groundwater wells, groundwater well test holes, fresh water observation wells, marginal quality groundwater wells, geothermal wells, monitoring wells, site assessment observation wells, and geotechnical borings must contain the information in OAC 785:35-5-3(e):

  1. Plugging date.
  2. Latitude and longitude of the well, test hole, or boring.
  3. A description of the finding location for the well.
  4. The well owner’s name, address, and telephone number.
  5. The type of well construction.
  6. The former use purpose of the well.
  7. Casing removal or perforation interval.
  8. Backfill material and installation depth.
  9. Grout and sealing materials, methods, and installation depth.
  10. Well identification number, if known and applicable.
  11. Water right permit number, if applicable.
  12. Variance request number, if applicable.
  13. Proximity to the nearest potential pollution source and the type of pollution source.
  14. Certification from the operator verifying the accuracy of the information on the report.

The Board’s Plugging Report for Groundwater Wells and Water Well Test Holes is the hardcopy form linked from the forms and guidance page. The Board’s e-filing policy, a separate document from the code, says this:

Oklahoma Water Resources Board (OWRB) rules require licensed well drillers to submit a completion and plugging report (report) acceptable to the OWRB for each newly constructed well, each plugged well, and each reconditioned well, within 60 days after completion of the work. For convenience, the OWRB provides the option of electronic submission or “e-filing” of reports.

Well drillers may continue to submit reports to the OWRB by mail or fax. If a report is submitted electronically, a copy of the report is not required to be submitted by mail or fax unless otherwise determined by the OWRB.

Information submitted through the e-filing system will be public record.

OWRB Completion and Plugging Report E-Filing Policy, paragraphs 1, 2, and 7

Ask the operator for a copy for the house file. The same policy says:

Use of the PIN to access the system to e-file reports is considered conclusive proof that the operator/licensee has certified all information in the report is accurate upon submission. OWRB rules provide that failure to submit properly completed reports within 60 days after the work is completed constitutes grounds for revocation, suspension, denial or non-renewal of a license and operator certification, or for imposition of administrative penalties.

OWRB Completion and Plugging Report E-Filing Policy, paragraph 4

The full document is the e-filing policy PDF.

A different section

Monitoring wells and geotechnical borings are not this method.

Site assessment observation wells, monitoring wells, and geotechnical borings are plugged under OAC 785:35-11-2. That section sets its own time limits and fill methods. This page does not restate them. Use 785:35-11-1 for a groundwater well, a fresh water observation well, a heat exchange well, or a water well test hole.

If a site assessment observation well, monitoring well, or geotechnical boring is abandoned after the drilling equipment has left the site, read 785:35-11-2 before you assume the groundwater-well paragraph applies. The license category for commercial drilling or plugging of monitoring wells, site assessment wells, and geotechnical borings is Category 2 in OAC 785:35-3-1(a)(1)(B).

Sources

Official text checked for this page.

The code quotations above were read on October 19, 2026 from the Cornell Legal Information Institute publication of the Oklahoma Administrative Code and checked against the Justia publication of the same sections. Cornell’s notes list OAC 785:35-11-1 as amended effective September 11, 2020, and OAC 785:35-5-3 as amended effective August 11, 2023. Where a sentence is not in those texts, it is not on this page.

The Board’s forms page still links a fact sheet titled “Plugging Abandoned Well,” dated December 2010. That handout is older than the code amendments above. The quotations on this page are the code. Use the code when the 2010 fact sheet does not use the same words. One example: the current text of OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(5) says cement grout is placed to within four (4) feet of the land surface. This page does not copy a different endpoint from the 2010 handout.

  1. OAC 785:35-11-1 — plugging and capping of groundwater wells, fresh water observation wells, heat exchange wells, and water well test holes.
  2. OAC 785:35-11-2 — site assessment observation wells, monitoring wells, and geotechnical borings.
  3. OAC 785:35-11-3 — variances to plugging requirements.
  4. OAC 785:35-5-3 — completion and plugging reports.
  5. OAC 785:35-3-1 — who must obtain a license, including commercial plugging.
  6. Justia publication of OAC 785:35-11-1, used as the second reading of the plugging section.
  7. OWRB Wells & Licensing — 3800 North Classen Boulevard, Oklahoma City, OK 73118, phone 405-530-8800.
  8. OWRB finder for a licensed driller or pump installer.
  9. OWRB forms and guidance, including the plugging report, the variance application, and the e-filing policy.
  10. OWRB fact sheet, Plugging Abandoned Wells, December 2010.

Related pages on this site: what to ask before you book, and the company directory. A mailing city is not a coverage promise.

Quick answers

Who is responsible for plugging an abandoned water well in Oklahoma?

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(1) says the well driller is responsible if the drilling equipment is on the site. If the well is abandoned after the equipment has been removed, the owner of the land is responsible for plugging.

Who needs a license to plug a groundwater well in Oklahoma?

OAC 785:35-3-1(a)(1)(A) requires a Board license for commercial drilling or plugging of groundwater wells, including test drilling for groundwater, and commercial drilling or plugging of fresh water observation wells. An operator certification by itself is not authority to do the work.

How does the rule say to plug an uncontaminated groundwater well?

Unless paragraph 3 or paragraph 5 applies, OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(2) says to fill the well with uncontaminated compacted drill cuttings and/or uncontaminated surface clay, cement, bentonite pellets or granules, or high solids bentonite grout of at least 20 percent solids by dry weight, to within 14 feet of the land surface, and to fill at least 10 feet of the annular space and the interior of the casing with cement grout to at least 4 feet below the land surface.

When is the Oklahoma plugging report due?

OAC 785:35-5-3(a) says the report is filed on a Board form within sixty (60) days after completion or plugging. OAC 785:35-5-3(b) says the operator files a completion or plugging report for each groundwater well that is completed or plugged.

What if the abandoned well is contaminated or near a wastewater lagoon?

OAC 785:35-11-1(c)(5) covers a contaminated well or test hole, an underground tank site, a well within 300 feet of the outside perimeter of an existing wastewater lagoon, and a tract where a lagoon is proposed. The casing is removed or perforated from the bottom of the casing to 20 feet below land surface, and the well is plugged with cement grout from the bottom to within 4 feet of the land surface.

Can the Board allow a different plugging method?

OAC 785:35-11-3 says the Board may grant a variance when the proposed method will protect groundwater from contamination and waste. The request is on a Board form, signed by the licensed well driller, with a notarized landowner signature, and it is submitted before the work unless the Executive Director approves otherwise.

OWRB licensed-driller finder Plugging-tagged companies