The State Department of Public Health, working under the EPA’s Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, being 42 U.S.C. §§ 300f et seq., has enacted the Wellhead Protection Program (Minn. Administrative Rules parts 4720.5100 to 4720.5590, as it may be amended from time to time). This Program requires all public water suppliers to develop local wellhead protection programs. The city’s Wellhead Protection Team, with assistance from the State Department of Health, State Rural Water Association, and Bayerl Water Resources (a private consulting company), completed its plan in August of 2012.
(A) The city’s Wellhead Protection Plan, hereafter referred to as WHP Plan, was officially adopted by the City Council on April 10, 2012 and approved by the State Department of Health on July 12, 2012.
(B) The WHP Plan, with its maps, shall be the basis for this chapter. The Plan and maps shall be displayed and available for viewing at the City Clerk/Treasurer’s office in the City Hall. The WHP Plan may be amended from time to time as needed or required by the State Department of Health.
There are two basic techniques that will be used to protect the city’s WHP area. The first is non-regulatory. The WHP Plan contains a list of objectives and a timeline that will educate and encourage people in the WHP area to voluntarily do things to help reduce or eliminate potential contamination of our drinking water aquifer. The second is regulatory. By the establishment of this chapter, there will be oversight and control of potential contamination sources in the “Drinking Water Supply Management Area,” hereafter referred to as the DWSMA.
All wells that are installed within the DWSMA are to be installed by a licensed well driller. The wells must meet all the construction criteria and set back requirements that are set out in Minnesota Administrative Rules Chapter 4725, as it may be amended from time to time. Section 53.04 sites as a violation, any possible connection between a private well and the city water supply.
(A) Any application for a site permit, a conditional use permit, or a variance request for parcels of land within the DWSMA must be accompanied by a completed supplementary environmental checklist.
(B) The WHP Manager(s) and the Zoning Officer shall review the application and the environmental checklist. They must determine if the information presented adequately identifies any federal, state, or county permits that may be required and any potential sources of contamination have been identified and mitigated.
(C) When the WHP committee formulated the Plan, they identified and established a list of potential contamination sources in the DWSMA. Most of them were classed as non-regulatory and will be addressed with education. Some of them will fall under the regulatory heading and will be classified upon the passage of this chapter as existing non-conformities. They may be brought into compliance voluntarily. If not, these non-conformities shall be brought into compliance at such time a site permit, conditional use permit, or variance is requested for the parcel.
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