(A) Authority. This chapter, to be cited as the Ground Water Protection Ordinance of Northampton County, Virginia, is hereby ordained, enacted, and published by the Board of Supervisors of Northampton County, Virginia pursuant to the provisions of Title 15.2, Chapter 22, Article VIII Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended.
(B) Intent and purposes.
(1) Intent. This chapter is intended to be in accord with and to implement the goals, objectives, and policies set forth in the Comprehensive Plan of Northampton County adopted by the Board of Supervisors of Northampton County.
(2) Purposes.
(a) The regulations that follow are part of a comprehensive and longrange program to implement reasonable provisions, not inconsistent with applicable state water quality standards, to protect surface and ground water as defined in VA Code § 62.1-255. More specifically, the purpose of these regulations is to require variations in the sizes of lots based on whether a public or community water supply or sewer system is available and used, as in accord with VA Code § 15.2-2283.
(b) The Eastern Shore of the state depends entirely on a limited supply of ground water for potable water demand, as well as for most non-potable demands. For this reason, the Eastern Shore of Virginia has been designated a Virginia Ground Water Management Area under the Ground Water Management Act of 1992, VA Code Title 62.1, Chapter 25. In 1997 the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency designated the aquifers beneath the Eastern Shore of Virginia, with the exception of Chincoteague Island and Tangier Island, as an EPA Sole Source Aquifer.
(c) Under the Ground Water Management Act of 1992, the state has adopted regulations that are implemented by the Department of Environmental Quality. These regulations apply only to individual ground water withdrawals in excess of 300,000 gallons in a single month. The Eastern Shore of Virginia Ground Water Supply Protection and Management Plan (1992) and the Technical Analysis for Ground Water Ordinances on the Eastern Shore of Virginia (2001) document the potential for multiple individual ground water withdrawals in close proximity to each other to exceed the 300,000 gallons per month threshold that would require a ground water withdrawal permit for a single well.
(d) Threats to ground water on the Eastern Shore may be placed into three general categories: (1) saltwater intrusion; (2) hydraulic head depression; and (3) contamination from surface sources. Certain residential developments, commercial businesses and industries that are served by individual private wells can have adverse effects on ground water levels and quality. Certain ground water withdrawals that individually do not exceed the state limit may, in aggregate with other nearby users, greatly exceed that amount. These aggregated withdrawals have the potential to have as much impact on the ground water resource as an individual permitted withdrawal. This ground water protection ordinance is intended to ensure protection and wise management of the ground water resource for both existing uses and future growth in the county.
(Ord. passed 6-23-03)