---
kind: "section"
citation: "36 C.F.R. § 9.170"
title: "36"
number: "9.170"
heading: "When must I plug my well?"
url: "https://uscodex.org/cfr/36/9.170"
---

# §9.170. When must I plug my well?


Except as provided in [§ 9.171](/cfr/36/9.171.md), 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.**

## Notes

### Authority

Authority: 16 U.S.C. 230a(a)(4), 459d-3, 460cc-2(i), 460ee(c)(4), 698c(b)(2), 698i(b)(2), and 698m-4; 18 U.S.C. 3571 and 3581; 31 U.S.C. 9701; 54 U.S.C. 100101, 100751, and 103104.

### Source

Source: 81 FR 77992, Nov. 4, 2016, unless otherwise noted.