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SOP-006 Standard Operating Procedure Mud Rotary Drilling Page 2 of 5 REVISION NO. 0 March 2020 Sharpe Army Depot • Appropriate cuttings and other investigation-derived waste containment should be present on site before beginning drilling. 2.3 Drilling Procedures 2.3.1 Breaking Ground and Surface Hole Drilling Before starting drilling, all safety, sampling, and monitoring equipment will be appropriately calibrated as per the project work plans. The site geologist/engineer should inform the driller of the appropriate equipment (cookie-cutter, etc.) to be used for penetrating the specific surface cover (asphalt, concrete cement, etc.) at the drilling location. A hand auger will be used to advance the borehole from 0 to 5 ft bgs to check that underground utilities are not present at each borehole location. The driller should be informed of any known shallow subsurface hazards (unidentifiable utility, trapped vapors, etc.). Drilling of the surface hole should commence slowly to allow continuous visual inspection and, if necessary, any interruptions for probing until the anticipated maximum depth of any suspected obstructions is exceeded. The upper or "surface hole" portion (first 5-20 feet below ground surface) of a mud rotary borehole may be drilled with the auger or air rotary drilling method in order to set a temporary conductor casing. The conductor casing is used to keep the upper portion of the hole open and to prevent drilling mud from channeling to the surface through shallow unconsolidated soils. The length of the conductor casing depends in part on the consolidation and permeability of the shallow subsurface soils. If geophysical logging is planned, the conductor pipe should only be as long as necessary to keep the upper part of the hole open. Once the surface hole is drilled to the necessary depth, the conductor casing is then set in the borehole, and the mud rotary drilling equipment is then set up for further drilling. Before beginning drilling, the drilling fluid or mud should be "made up" in the mud pits. The drilling mud properties (as specified in the project work plans) should then be verified to the satisfaction of the site geologist/engineer before allowing drilling to proceed. These observations should also be documented by the site geologist/engineer on the Field Activity Daily Log. 2.3.2 Mud Rotary Borehole Drilling During mud rotary drilling operations, as the borehole is advanced beyond the conductor casing, the site geologist/engineer will generally: • Observe and monitor rig operations • Conduct health and safety monitoring and sampling, as applicable, and supervise health and safety compliance • Prepare a lithologic log from cuttings, core, or soil samples • Document drilling progress and other appropriate observations • Supervise the collection and preparation of any soil, soil vapor, or groundwater samples • Supervise any borehole geophysical logging conducted in the wellbore As drilling progresses, the site geologist/engineer should observe and be in frequent communication with the driller regarding drilling operations. Conditions noted should include relative rates of penetration (as