149.03 PERMIT REQUIRED.

No person shall dig, bore, drill, replace, modify, repair, or destroy a geothermal well or any other excavation that may intersect ground water without first applying for and receiving a permit from the City. A permit is required for all closed loop horizontal and closed loop vertical systems.

149.04 APPLICATION PROCEDURE.

Applications for permits shall be made to the City Engineer on approved forms and shall contain all such information as required on the form. The application shall be applied for by the property owner, his/her representative, or the well driller and accompanied by the required filing fee.

149.05 PERMIT SUSPENSION AND REVOCATION.

The City Public Works Department may suspend or revoke any permit issued pursuant to this chapter whenever it finds that the permitee has violated any of the provisions of this chapter or has misrepresented any material fact in his/her/its application or, any supporting documents for such permit.

149.06 WELL PERMITS.

All proposed well drillers must obtain a permit from the Linn County Health Department and conform to Chapter 49 of the Iowa Administrative Code Section 567-49.29(455B). A site plan showing the generally proposed location, number of wells and proposed depth of the wells must be submitted to the City Engineer and Water Superintendent for approval. The plan must include the calculated anticipated volume of grout that will be required.

149.07 PERMIT FEE.

A permit fee of $500.00 must be submitted with the application along with an additional $20.00 for each well except that a permit fee of $25.00 will be charged for a closed horizontal loop geothermal well system.

149.08 OPEN LOOP SYSTEMS PROHIBITED.

Due to the serious potential adverse environmental impact with open loop systems, open loop systems are prohibited.

149.09 HORIZONTAL CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS PERMITTED.

Subject to obtaining a permit, closed loop systems less than twenty (20) feet deep are permitted subject to all zoning regulations including setbacks.

149.10 VERTICAL CLOSED LOOP SYSTEMS.

Vertical closed loop systems will only be allowed when it is shown that a horizontal loop system is not feasible due to lack of land area or to unique surface or subsurface geological conditions or unique topographical conditions as determined by the City Engineer.