how it works
Monitoring and Safety Systems
Protecting groundwater comes first. Everything else is designed around it.
EVERY VAULTED FACILITY IS BUILT AROUND ONE PRIORITY
Keeping organic waste permanently isolated from local land, air, and water
That means selecting geology that naturally traps fluids, building wells with redundant safeguards, and monitoring every site 24/7. Geology, engineering, regulatory oversight, and operational experience underpin our safe, secure storage.
higher bar for
safety
Our infrastructure that operates underground carries a higher bar for safety.
Before development, we thoroughly evaluate the geology to confirm that the site subsurface can safely store organic waste. During construction, we build our wells with multiple engineered barriers to protect containment. During operations, we continuously monitor flow, pressure, and other key operating conditions to make sure the facility is performing as designed.
Safety protocols
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01
Site location
Every location is screened for stressed faults and improperly plugged wells as part of the site selection process. Pressure and geomechanical modeling confirm the rock formations can permanently contain organic material before we build anything.
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02
Groundwater protection
We store waste thousands of feet away from drinking water, sealed between dense, impermeable rock layers that naturally block upward movement.
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03
Well integrity
Every well is constructed with layers of steel casing and cement, creating multiple engineered barriers between stored material and the surrounding rock. We use the highest standard of well integrity—including pipe-in-pipe design and cementing-to-surface. This proven approach draws on decades of oil and gas well engineering experience.
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04
Operational controls
We inject organic material into naturally porous formations that already have space and pathways for fluid movement. Disposal happens in controlled batches.
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05
Continuous oversight
24/7 monitoring detects even small pressure changes and triggers immediate shutdown if needed. We verify and transmit our operating data to regulators, who confirm that our operations stay within permitted limits throughout operations.
Get in touch
Have any questions about Monitoring and Safety Systems? Get in touch with our team to talk about your project.
TRACK RECORD BUILT ON
DECADES OF SAFETY
Vaulted uses engineering methods that have been deployed safely across the oil and gas industry for decades. The Terminal Island facility in Los Angeles has operated safely using our specific technology since 2008, and in 2019 the EPA issued a comfort letter confirming the safety of our approach. The permit was renewed for an additional 10-year term in 2022. Across all our sites, we’ve never had a leak, a regulatory violation, or a safety incident requiring regulator notification.
Regulatory
process
A multi-agency permitting review before we operate, and continuous oversight after.
The EPA Underground Injection Control (UIC) program regulates over 850,000 wells across the U.S. Alongside state and local permits, we prepare detailed analyses for EPA and state review under the Safe Drinking Water Act. This includes formal public comment periods and community meetings before a site is approved. Once operational, we have complex reporting protocols and are required to report data to regulators multiple times a year.
