This chapter shall be known and referred to and cited as the
"Source Water Protection Ordinance."
Sussex County residents rely exclusively on groundwater as their
source of drinking water for both large public water supply systems
and individual domestic wells. Although the County is blessed with
an abundance of groundwater, small amounts of pollution may contaminate
large quantities of groundwater making it unfit for human consumption,
putting our citizens at greater risk of illness and disease, and imposing
huge costs on residents and rate payers who will be called upon to
finance treatment systems or to secure alternative sources of drinking
water. While a number of state environmental programs regulate various
types of facilities and activities that are potential sources of contamination,
county and municipal governments are responsible for controlling land
use that can assist in providing some long- term groundwater protection.
The purpose of this chapter is to ensure that land use activities
are conducted in such a way as to minimize the impact on and reduce
the risk of contamination of excellent groundwater recharge areas
and wellhead protection areas which are the source of public drinking
water throughout the County. This chapter does not impose any new
requirements or restrictions on residential wells serving individual
households or wells used for agricultural purposes; however, it indirectly
affords them added protection. The chapter is intended to satisfy
the requirements of the Delaware Source Water Protection Law of 2001
as codified in 7 Del. C. 60, Subchapter VI.
The following definitions apply only to this chapter:
AGRICULTURAL WELL
A well used for the watering of livestock, poultry, aquaculture
uses, or solely for the watering of household yards and gardens or
for other purposes related to farming in general, but not including
the irrigation of lands or crops. Water is not used for human consumption
or to service a dwelling.
APPLICANT
The owner of a property or the legally authorized agent of
the owner that executes the necessary forms to obtain approval or
a permit for any zoning, subdivision, land development, building,
land disturbance, or other regulated activity.
AQUIFER
A water-bearing geological formation that will yield water
to a well or spring. Aquifers can be classified as confined, semiconfined,
or unconfined.
COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM
A public water system which serves at least 15 service connections
used by year-round residents or regularly serves at least 25 year-round
residents.
CONFINED AQUIFER
An aquifer bounded above and below by impermeable beds, such
as silt or clay, or beds of distinctly lower permeability than that
of the aquifer itself and containing groundwater which is everywhere
at a pressure greater than atmospheric and from which water in a well
will rise to a level above the top of the aquifer.
CONTAMINANT
Any substance, either man-made or natural, which is concentrated
enough to degrade water quality to a degree that renders such water
harmful to public health and safety, or to the environment.
DELINEATION
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.
DEPARTMENT
The Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control
(DNREC).
DOMESTIC WELL
A well primarily used for potable nonpublic water supply
purposes, which serves three or fewer dwelling units.
EXCELLENT (GROUNDWATER) RECHARGE AREA
Those areas with high percentages of sand and gravel that
have excellent potential for recharge as determined through a Stack
Unit Mapping Analysis performed originally by the Delaware Geological
Survey and presented in the Report of Investigations No. 66, Groundwater
Recharge Potential Mapping in Kent and Sussex Counties, Delaware,
Geological Survey, 2004.
GROUNDWATER
Any water naturally found under the surface of the earth.
IMPERVIOUS COVER
The sum of parking lots, roads, buildings, sidewalks or other
created surfaces that do not allow significant amounts of rainwater
to pass or infiltrate the soil.
IRRIGATION WELL
A well which is used for the watering of lands or crops other
than household lawns and gardens.
LAND DEVELOPMENT
A proposed development of land which may involve one or more
tax parcels for any residential, commercial or industrial use or combination
thereof, which is proposed within an area that is designated as a
"well head protection area" or an "excellent groundwater recharge
area."
MISCELLANEOUS PUBLIC WELL
A well which supplies water for potable and other beneficial
uses to service stations, stores, small offices, businesses, etc.,
with fewer than 25 employees; and from which the water is not used
in the manufacture or preparation of food or beverages for sale to
or use by the public in general.
MITIGATION
Any action taken to lessen the specified undesirable impacts
of a proposed land use or land disturbance activity, including those
which would adversely affect the health or longevity of a natural
feature, pose a visual intrusion or conflict, or otherwise be deemed
incompatible with surrounding properties.
PERSON
Any individual, firm, association, organization, partnership,
business trust, corporation, company, contractor, supplier, installer,
user, or owner, or any federal, state or local governmental agency
or public district or any officer or employee thereof.
POTABLE WATER
Any water which is in compliance with all the primary health-related
drinking water standards specified in the Delaware Regulations Governing
Public Drinking Water Systems and the US EPA Safe Drinking Water Act,
and is acceptable for human consumption.
PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SYSTEM
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.
PUBLIC WATER SUPPLY WELL
A 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.
RECHARGE AREA
Land area over which precipitation infiltrates into the soil
and percolates downward to replenish an aquifer.
SAFE ZONE
An area that shall be free of any structures which would require a County building permit, excluding structures related to the well, water distribution or water treatment facilities. Vehicular traffic should be limited in this area to include only emergency or maintenance vehicles, and this area shall be maintained in a grass or natural vegetative state, except where additional surface improvements are specifically approved by the Commission or Council as identified in §
89-6C(1) and
D(1).
STORMWATER MANAGEMENT
The mitigation of the hydrologic impacts of lost natural
runoff storage by the use of constructed storage facilities.
A.
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
B.
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.
UNCONFINED AQUIFER
An aquifer in which no relatively impermeable layer exists
between the water table and the ground surface and an aquifer in which
the water surface is at atmospheric pressure.
VARIANCE
Relief from the standards of this chapter.
WELL
Any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven,
dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such
excavation is for the location, testing, acquisition, use, for extracting
water from, or for the artificial recharge of subsurface fluids, and
where the depth is greater than the diameter or width. For the purpose
of this regulation, this definition does not include geotechnical
test; soil, telephone, and construction piling borings; fence posts,
test pits, or horizontal closed loop heat pump circulation systems
constructed within 20 feet of the ground surface.
WELLHEAD
The upper terminus of a well, including adapters, ports,
seals, valves, and other attachments.
WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREAS
The wellhead protection areas are surface and subsurface
areas surrounding public water supply wells or well fields where the
quantity or quality of groundwater moving toward such wells or well
fields may be 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 (wellhead).
County Council shall be authorized to appoint a Source Water
Protection Technical Advisory Committee to be appointed by Council
with two Committee members to be appointed by each member of Council,
to serve for terms of two years each, with 1/2 of the Committee members
being lay persons and possessing a basic knowledge of groundwater
hydrology and the other 1/2 being licensed Delaware professional engineers,
geologists or hydrologists. The purpose of such Committee shall be
to provide technical assistance to Council and/or any of its departments
that may be involved in the implementation and oversight of this chapter.
If Council is unable, after diligent inquiry, to locate a sufficient
number of licensed engineers, geologists or hydrologists to serve
as Committee members, more than 1/2 the Committee may consist of lay
persons possessing a basic knowledge of groundwater hydrology; provided
however, that at least 1/3 of the Committee members shall be licensed
professional engineers, geologists or hydrologists. The Committee
shall act as a standing committee that will meet, as the need arises,
for the purposes described in this chapter.
Any requests for a variance from the terms of this chapter shall be addressed to and decided by County Council. On receipt of any such application, the County Administrator or his designee shall refer the request to the County Engineering Department and to the Technical Advisory Committee referred to in §
89-10. After consultation with such Committee, the County Engineer's Office shall advise Council within 60 days of receiving the referral of the recommendation of the Engineer's Office and the Technical Advisory Committee in respect to the application. If the recommendation is to grant the requested variance, County Council may approve that request without holding a hearing. Council shall issue its decision within 30 days after receiving the Engineer's recommendation. If the recommendation is to deny that request, the County Administrator or his designee shall notify the landowner of that recommendation in writing and after being so notified, the landowner shall have a period of 10 business days in which to request in writing that the matter be scheduled for a public hearing before Council. Council shall issue its decision within 30 days following the hearing. Notice of said hearing shall be advertised in the same manner in which other Council hearings are currently advertised. Upon the submission of a variance request, the landowner shall remit and pay a fee to Sussex County in the same amount as provided for a Board of Adjustment hearing under Chapter
62, §
62-7D(3).
The following are exempt from the requirements of this chapter:
A. Private residential wells serving individual households;
B. Wells used for agricultural purposes;
F. Revisions to recorded subdivision plans that do not result in the
creation of additional lots;
G. Minor changes or alterations to approve site plans in accordance with §
99-35 of Chapter
99;
H. Improvements to existing residential lots, including additions to
existing single-family dwellings, the placement of sheds and fences;
and
I. Subdivision and land development projects that have received preliminary
plan approval by the Planning and Zoning Commission, conditional use
site plans that have received approval by the Commission, conditional
use site plans for public water supply in an existing recorded subdivision
or concept plan approval in the case of residential planned communities
and cluster subdivisions shall not be subject to the provisions of
this chapter for as long as their approval remains valid.
This chapter shall become effective on the 91st day from the
date of its adoption.