36 CFR § 9.170 - When must I plug my well?

---
identifier: "/us/cfr/t36/s9.170"
source: "ecfr"
legal_status: "authoritative_unofficial"
title: "36 CFR § 9.170 - When must I plug my well?"
title_number: 36
title_name: "Parks, Forests, and Public Property"
section_number: "9.170"
section_name: "When must I plug my well?"
chapter_name: "NATIONAL PARK SERVICE, DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR"
part_number: "9"
part_name: "MINERALS MANAGEMENT"
positive_law: false
currency: "2026-04-05"
last_updated: "2026-04-05"
format_version: "1.1.0"
generator: "[email protected]"
cfr_part: "9"
---


# 9.170 When must I plug my well?

Except as provided in § 9.171, you must plug your well when any of the following occurs:

(a) Your drilling operations have ended and you have taken no further action to produce the well within 60 days;

(b) Your well, which has been completed for production operations, has no measureable production quantities for 12 consecutive months; or

(c) The period approved in your operations permit to maintain your well in shut-in status has expired.