01-22-1990 Council Packet - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

• _t zoninc? AdHiinistrstor P. Gaffron, Asst Planning & Zoning3, 1990ion of toeal wall Pern,i«ing Authority 1 Memo from ': r/o^l -nrc?;r/j^a/s«tlon^UWater Well Construct c*-atute Chapter 1C3(D*■ BoTngf anrSnaer,round Uses (Wow)". ,sota Department of Health “rot^^^^^^ o'|lleThi%t«l authority to reflate- ?na local units of government f-om^i legislation etlon or aOanaomnent^ per drillers notify ;\\s 'be'ing constructed or ahandoned. 4. that the majority o sed by Health Department staff permitting or :°ties and cities ^“^'eoin County, Orono is ,“|S?e ”;4rn^ a“ieVtith"a''?ela?ively high degree of review the 1®““ ^’’p^Tsion^ f'Env tor of the staff perceives this noted in that 1®^^®^' ahtlitv to control rural ,s a severe City^ Orono has terLn Orono. t^Ivoid potential ground v.atery with well drillers to avoia p . ^ our ability ;Vohlems due “^anco^^ectJ.1 1^ ;e?ii"or notification system in place. , Pegu 1 ations a 1 1c« for Permi11W 1"s^pe=t ^\%%*T5r%n\*reVno\\ave a local^^B^rd oj •ities within Hennepin “^““"‘^/Environmental Health rlsln of the Hennepin convince the county /aS^thi creatiln oS^^newnoVairards of Health. same time this authority 3^", option aerogram in rSro^^n%e ’c*■t^Vl^“. The State has only a handful 4 Memo-MPG Elimination of Well Permitting Authority January 3, 1990 Page 2of inspectors and is hiring 20 more, but their goal, as expressed by Jim Nye, head of their Groundwater Quality Control Unit, even at full manpower is to inspect only l/4th of the new well Installations. It is unreasonable to expect that the State will do any pre-drilling site inspections, nor can we expect them to stop in the City office for every well that gets drilled in Orono to verify where the well can and can't be safely located on a given lot in a given subdivision.Minimui Heeds for Adequate Control -Staff feels that the following procedures must continue in one form or another if the City is to maintain adequate controls over rural residential development in the City; 1. Require that all well drillers call for a site inspection or appear at the office for a site plan verification to insure that wells get drilled in appropriate locations. 2. Well drillers should be required to continue to provide a copy of the State Water Well Record for each well drilled and abandoned (sealed) in the City. The City has maintained permanent records of all wells drilled and abandoned in the City since 1978. Well information is often requested by realtors, homeowners, and well drillers and if they have to go to the State for this information, it is doubtful they will be given the same degree of service provided by Orono. Proposed Interim Controls - Until such time that the State or County have a functional inspection program in effect, which may be a period of years, staff is recommending the following interim well control requirements: 1. Although State Statutes appear to expressly prohibit it, require that well drillers call for a site inspection or at a minimum stop in the City office to review on paper the appropriate well locations based on nearby septic system/sewer line locations. Without this authority, the few "problem well drillers whom we normally watch will not have to notify us they are drilling. 2. If a site inspection is needed, we would charge the normal "site inspection" fee of $30.00. 3. Require that well drillers submit a copy of the State Well Record to us for all wells drilled in the City, and all wells abandoned in the City. We propose to withhold Occupancy for new houses until a copy of the State Well Record has been received.