[Added 5-13-2008 by Ord. No. 457]
A.
The purpose of the Source Water Protection Area Ordinance
is to ensure the protection of the public drinking water supply from
contamination. The City of New Castle hereby adopts the overlay maps
delineating, as source water protection areas, the following zoning
classifications:
B.
To ensure the protection of drinking water supplies,
this article establishes a zoning overlay to be known as the Source
Water Protection Overlay. The purpose of the Source Water Protection
Overlay is to protect public health and safety by minimizing contamination
of aquifers and preserving and protecting existing and potential sources
of drinking water supplies. It is the intent to accomplish this through
both public education and public cooperation, as well as by creating
appropriate land use regulations that may be imposed in addition to
those currently imposed by existing zoning district or other federal,
state and county regulations.
C.
The regulations shall apply to all new construction,
redevelopment or expansion of existing buildings and new or expanded
uses. Activities and uses allowed in a portion of one of the underlying
zoning districts that fall within the Source Water Protection Overlay
must additionally comply with the requirements of those set forth
for either the AWRP or CWRP, as applicable.
D.
Any well in existence prior to the adoption of this
article (nonconforming use) may be replaced or modified, and the replacement
or modified well(s) is exempt from the conditions of this article.
This section defines words, terms, and phrases
found in this article.
An AST is a single containment vessel greater than 500 gallons
as defined in the Delaware Regulations Governing Aboveground Storage
Tanks.
A person, firm, or government agency that executes the necessary
forms to obtain approval or a permit for any zoning, subdivision,
land development, building, land disturbance, or other activity regulated.
A geological formation, group of formations or part of a
formation composed of rock, sand, or gravel capable of storing and
yielding groundwater to wells.
Are defined in terms of either those substances specifically
designated as hazardous under the Comprehensive Environmental Response,
Compensation, and Liability Act (CERCLA), otherwise known as the Superfund
Law, or those substances identified under other laws. In all, the
Superfund Law includes references to four other laws to designate
more than 800 substances as hazardous, and identify many more as potentially
hazardous due to their characteristics and the circumstances of their
release. See: http://www.epa.gov/superfund/programs/er/hazsubs/ceresubs.htm
The surface area extending to a minimum three-hundred-foot
radius around the wellhead.
The remaining surface area of the delineated wellhead protection
area outside the AWRP.
Any physical, chemical, biological, or radiological substance
that enters the hydrological cycle through human action and may cause
a deleterious effect on groundwater resources; it shall include but
is not limited to hazardous waste, limiting nutrients, and sanitary
sewage.
The process of defining and/or mapping a boundary that approximates
the areas that contribute water to a particular water source used
as a public water supply.
A report required by this article that assesses the environmental
characteristics of a source water protection area and determines what
effects or impacts will result if the area is altered or disturbed
by a proposed action that would increase impervious cover beyond the
recommended twenty-percent threshold.
An individual who is registered in the State of Delaware
to practice the profession of geology.
The water contained in interconnected pores located below
the water table in an unconfined aquifer or located in a confined
aquifer.
An underground storage tank system that contains a hazardous
substance defined in Section 101(14) of the CERCLA[1] (but not including any substance regulated as a hazardous
waste under RCRA Subtitle C) or any mixture of such substances and
petroleum, and which is not a petroleum UST system.
A solid waste, or combination of solid wastes, which because
of its quantity, concentration, or physical, chemical, or infectious
characteristics may cause or significantly contribute to an increase
in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating
irreversible, illness, or pose a substantial present or potential
hazard to human health or the environment when improperly treated,
stored, transported, or disposed of, or otherwise managed. Without
limitation, included within this definition are those hazardous wastes
described in Sections 261.31, 261.32, and 261.33 of the Delaware Regulations
Governing Hazardous Waste.
Surfaces providing negligible infiltration such as pavement,
buildings, recreation facilities (e.g., tennis courts, swimming pools,
etc.), and covered driveways.
An existing use of a lot or a building that was legal at
the time of its creation that is not permitted by this chapter in
the district in which it is located.
Open space that is essentially unimproved and set aside,
dedicated, designated, or reserved for public or private use.
Refers to recreation that involves existing natural resources
and has a minimal impact because they do not require the alteration
of existing topography. Such passive recreation shall include but
not be limited to nonmotorized vehicles, hiking, bicycling, picnicking,
and bird-watching.
Any well from which the water is used to serve a community
water system by Section 22.146 (Public Water Systems) in the Delaware
State Regulations Governing Public Drinking Water Systems.
A community, noncommunity, or nontransient noncommunity water
system, which provides piped water to the public for human consumption.
The system must have at least 15 service connections or regularly
serve at least 25 individuals daily for at least 60 days.
Conventional or alternative wastewater treatment and disposal
systems installed or proposed to be installed on land of the owner
or on other land to which the owner has the legal right to install
the system.
Any proposed expansion, addition, or major facade change
to an existing building, structure, or parking facility.
That portion of precipitation or snowmelt that has not evaporated
or infiltrated into the soil, but flows on land or impervious surfaces.
A land site at which solid waste is deposited on or into
the land as fill for the purpose of permanent disposal, except that
it will not include any facility that has been approved for the disposal
of hazardous waste under the Delaware Regulations Governing Hazardous
Waste.
A process for the review and approval of a development plan
prior to the issuance of a development.
Refers to any aquifer from which water is drawn either periodically
or continuously by a public water system.
The area delineated by DNREC Source Water Assessment and
Protection Program that contributes water to a public water supply
system.
The October 1999 U.S. EPA approved plan for evaluating the
sources of public drinking water in Delaware for their vulnerability
and susceptibility to contamination.
The identification and evaluation of the sources of water
within the state used by public water systems in an effort to determine
the vulnerability and susceptibility to contamination.
Encompasses Class A and Class C Water Resource Protection
areas.
The runoff of water from the surface of the land resulting
from precipitation or snow or ice melts.
For water quantity control, a system of vegetative,
structural, and other measures that may control the volume and rate
of stormwater runoff which may be caused by land-disturbing activities
or activities upon the land; and
For water quality control, a system of vegetative,
structural, and other measures that control adverse effects on water
quality that may be caused by land-disturbing activities or activities
upon the land.
Lands or buildings that are not actively used for any purpose
as designated in the underlying zoning district/overlay for one year.
An UST is one or a combination of tanks including underground
pipes, the volume of which is 10% or more belowground, as defined
in the Delaware Regulations Governing Underground Storage Tank Systems.
The following USTs are not subject to the design, construction, operation,
and maintenance requirements of the Delaware UST Regulations: residential
heating fuel, agricultural, and residential motor fuel USTs less than
1,100 gallons and any UST less than 110 gallons.
Water-carried waste from septic tanks, water closets, residences,
building, industrial establishments, or other places, together with
such groundwater infiltration, subsurface water, and mixtures of industrial
wastes or other wastes as may be present.
Those characteristics of stormwater runoff from an impervious
surface or a land-disturbing activity that relate to the chemical,
physical, biological, or radiological integrity of water.
Those characteristics of stormwater runoff that
relate to the volume of stormwater runoff to downstream-gradient areas
resulting from land-disturbing activities.
Those characteristics of stormwater that relate
to the volume of stormwater that infiltrates the land surface and
enters the underlying aquifer.
The upper terminal of a well, including adapters, ports,
seals, valves, and other attachments.
Surface and subsurface areas surrounding public water supply
wells or well fields where the quantity or quality of groundwater
moving toward the wells or well fields may be adversely affected by
land use activity.
The March 1990 U.S. EPA approved plan for protecting the
quality of drinking water derived from public water supply wells in
Delaware.
Surface and subsurface areas surrounding public water supply
wells or wellfields where the quantity or quality of groundwater moving
toward such wells or wellfields may be adversely affected by land
use activity. Such activity may result in a reduction of recharge
or may lead to introduction of contaminants to groundwater used for
public supply.
[1]
Editor's Note: See 42 U.S.C. § 9601.
A.
Source water protection areas (CWRPAs) encompass Class
A and Class C Water Resource Protection areas. All such areas are
as depicted on the three-map series, specifically Sheet 1, "Water
Resource Protection Areas for...New Castle County, Delaware," prepared
by the Water Resources Agency for New Castle County, dated 1993, or
as amended. These maps are available in GIS overlays from the Delaware
Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control, Division
of Water Resources, Source Water Assessment and Protection Program.
B.
These areas shall be managed as required by the following
sections to protect public drinking water resources from activities
and substances that may harm water quality and subtract from overall
water quantity.
A.
Land use restrictions and uses in source water protections
areas. Activities shall be subject to the land use restrictions contained
within this article that will protect the quality and quantity of
groundwater supplies.
|
Well Head Protection Area
| |||
|---|---|---|---|
|
Land Use
|
Class A
|
Class C
| |
|
Aboveground storage tanks
|
No
|
1
| |
|
Automobile body/repair shop
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Chemical processing/storage facility
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Dry cleaner
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Dry wells/sumps2
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Electrical/electronic manufacturing facility
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Equipment maintenance/fueling areas
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Fleet/trucking/bus terminal
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Gas station
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Hazardous Waste
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Injection wells3
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Irrigated nursery/greenhouse stock
|
No
|
Yes
| |
|
Junk/scrap/salvage yard
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Machine shop
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Manure storage
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Metal plating/finishing/fabricating facility
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Mines/gravel pit
|
No
|
No
| |
|
On-site wastewater treatment and disposal systems
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Underground storage tanks
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Vessel storage
|
No
|
No
| |
|
Wood preserving/treating facility
|
No
|
No
| |
|
NOTES:
| |
|
Conditional:
| |
|
1See narrative section.
| |
|
2Dry wells/sumps,
except for single-family residences directing gutter downspouts to
a drywell.
| |
|
3Injection wells
other than those used in the remediation of groundwater contamination
that inject oxygen-releasing compounds.
|
A.
The DNREC Source Water Assessment and Protection Program
delineates wellhead protection areas (WHPAs) to ensure the integrity
of public drinking water. Deep wells drilled into confined aquifers
and low-volume wells in unconfined aquifers have, at minimum, a three-hundred-foot
radius wellhead protection area. The wellhead protection area surrounding
public supply wells in unconfined aquifers that pump more than 50,000
gallons per day are delineated using a mathematical model. This type
of well draws large quantities of water and can have much larger wellhead
protection areas. Classifications have been created to manage land
use within the wellhead protection area. They are defined as:
(1)
Class A water resource protection area is the
surface area extending in a three-hundred-foot radius around the wellhead.
The protection area around the well may be reduced to a one-hundred-fifty-foot
radius, provided a hydrogeological report, prepared by a Delaware
Registered Geologist and submitted to the satisfaction of the Delaware
Geological Survey and the DNREC, is prepared. The report must certify
that the minimum sixty-day time of travel from a point to the public
water supply well is maintained; and the well draws from a confined
aquifer.
(2)
Class C water resource protection area is the
remaining surface area of the wellhead protection area outside the
Class A Water Resource Protection area. Land use restrictions within
the CWRP area are required to ensure adequate protection of the public
drinking water supply.
B.
AWRP area requirements.
(1)
Parcels of land within the AWRP and wellhead
protection area will be preserved in a natural condition with the
exception of impervious surface limited to building and access associated
with the well and distribution and treatment facilities and their
maintenance.
(2)
Aboveground storage tanks for materials used
in the treatment facility operation are permitted.
(3)
Underground storage tanks are prohibited.
(4)
Stormwater runoff will be diverted away from
the wellhead.
(5)
Stormwater infiltration practices designed to
handle runoff are prohibited.
C.
CWRP area requirements.
(1)
Impervious cover. Impervious cover shall not
exceed 20% per parcel within the CWRP area.
(2)
Stormwater.
(a)
Stormwater shall be treated by an approved stormwater
quality management practice in accordance with current requirements
of the Delaware Sediment and Stormwater Regulations dated October
11, 2006 or as later revised.
(b)
For all new construction, all structures shall
be required to discharge roof drains into recharge systems. Recharge
systems shall be in accordance with Section 10.0 of the Delaware Sediment
and Stormwater Regulations dated October 11, 2006 or as later revised.
(3)
Underground storage tanks.
(a)
Underground storage tanks with a capacity greater
than 110 gallons containing petroleum, and residential and agricultural
USTs with a capacity greater than 1,100 gallons containing heating
fuel or motor fuel shall not be permitted within a one-thousand-five-hundred-foot
radius of a delineated wellhead protection area.
(4)
Aboveground storage tanks. Aboveground storage
tanks (ASTs) may not be permitted in delineated wellhead areas. Requests
for siting of ASTs shall be subject to review by the Municipal Services
Commission, who shall provide a recommendation for action by the City
Council.
(5)
Wastewater treatment and disposal systems. On-site
wastewater treatment and disposal systems shall not be permitted.
A.
All subdivision and land development plans depicting
development or land disturbance submitted for City review shall be
evaluated for the existence of source water protection areas. Source
water protection areas encompass Class A and Class C Water Resource
Protection areas. All such areas are as depicted on the three-map
series, specifically Sheet 1, "Water Resource Protection Areas for...New
Castle County, Delaware," prepared by the Water Resources Agency for
New Castle County, dated 1993, or as amended. These maps are available
in GIS overlays from the Delaware Department of Natural Resources
and Environmental Control, Division of Water Resources, Source Water
Assessment and Protection Program. If a CWRPA exists within a proposed
development site, the boundaries of these areas shall be delineated
on the plan by the applicant's State of Delaware professional engineer
or professional geologist.
B.
DNREC SWAPP may, when based on sound science and information,
revise and update the overlay maps of wellhead protection areas.
C.
When there appears to be a conflict between the mapped
boundary and actual site conditions, the applicant may engage the
services of professional geologist to prepare a report intended to
determine more accurately the precise boundary of the source water
protection area. The report shall include:
(1)
A detailed topographic layout of the subdivision
and/or area to be developed and prepared by a state-registered professional
land surveyor or professional geologist;
(2)
Evidence derived from a site-specific investigation
that may include aquifer testing, test borings, test pits, observation
wells, groundwater elevations, and topography surveys as appropriate
for the type of source water protection area that clearly demonstrate
that the area in question does not meet the definition of a source
water protection area as defined;
(3)
Notwithstanding any other section of this chapter,
if an owner initiates a precise boundary delineation pursuant to this
section, any and all time review limitations shall be stayed pending
the submission of the complete report contemplated by this section.
Following submission of the report and all supporting documents, the
Department shall have 90 days to finally approve or disapprove the
exploratory sketch plan submission or such further time as deemed
necessary by the Department, but not to exceed an additional 90 days.
A.
Impervious cover restrictions.
(1)
Site modifications that require site plan approval
must create a fifteen-percent reduction in the amount of impervious
cover on the site when compared to pre-redevelopment conditions.
(2)
If the fifteen-percent reduction would require
a site to go below the twenty-percent maximum impervious cover provisions
of source water protection areas, then the maximum impervious surface
cover for the site is 20%.
B.
Stormwater.
(1)
Sites that do not meet the twenty-percent impervious
cover threshold must employ rooftop infiltration practices. Stormwater
shall be treated by an approved stormwater quality management practice
in accordance with current requirements of the Delaware Sediment and
Stormwater Regulations dated October 11, 2006 or as later revised.
A.
Nonconforming uses may continue in wellhead protection
areas, in the form in which they existed at the time of the adoption
of this article, unless they pose a direct hazard to the City's water
supply, as determined by the Municipal Services Commission Water Department
upon advice from the Delaware Division of Public Health, or are causing
some foreign substances (oil, salts, chemicals, or other substances)
to be introduced into the City's water supply, as determined by the
water department upon advice from DNREC's Division of Air and Waste
Management and/or Division of Water Resources. In the latter case,
the building department shall issue a mandatory cease and desist to
stop the offending activity within the area. Nonconforming existing
underground or aboveground storage of oil, petroleum, and petroleum
products shall require secondary containment pursuant to the State
of Delaware regulations governing underground storage tanks or for
aboveground storage of petroleum products secondary containment facilities
capable of capturing the material stored on the site, for existing
facilities that are proposed either to be upgraded or replaced.
B.
Any well in existence prior to the adoption of this
article (nonconforming use) may be replaced or modified, and the replacement
or modified well(s) is exempt from the conditions of this article.
