City of Princeton, WI Water

Requirement. All wells located on premises served by the municipal water system shall be abandoned in accordance with the terms of this section and Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code, by 10 days or no later than one year from the date of connection to the municipal water system becomes available, whichever occurs last, unless a well operation permit has been obtained by the well owner from the City of Princeton Water and Electric Utility.[2]

[2]

Editor's Note: Amended at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. II).

Well operation permit. The City of Princeton Water and Electric Utility may grant a permit to a private well owner to operate a well for a period not to exceed five years providing the conditions of this section are met. An owner may request renewal of a well operation permit by submitting information verifying that the conditions of this section are met. The City of Princeton Water and Electric Utility, or its agent, may conduct inspections or have water quality tests conducted at the applicant's expense to obtain or verify information necessary for consideration of a permit application or renewal. Permit applications and renewals shall be made on forms provided by the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer. The following conditions must be met for issuance or renewal of a well operation permit:

The well and pump installation meet or are upgraded to meet the requirements of Ch. NR 812, Wis. Adm. Code.

The well has a history of producing bacteriologically safe water and presently produces bacteriologically safe water as demonstrated by providing a copy of the results of a waste sample analyzed at a state-certified laboratory within three months preceding the request for the well operation permit or permit renewal. No exception to this condition may be made for unsafe wells, unless the Department of Natural Resources approves, in writing, the continued used of the well.

There are no cross-connections between the well and pump installation and the municipal water system.

The proposed use of the well and pump installation can be justified as being necessary in addition to water provided by the municipal water system.

Abandonment procedures.

All wells abandoned under the jurisdiction of this section or rule shall be abandoned according to the procedures and methods of Ch. NR 812.26, Wis. Adm. Code. All debris, pump, piping, unsealed liners and any other obstructions which may interfere with sealing operations shall be removed prior to abandonment.

The owner of the well, or the owner's agent, shall notify the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer at least 48 hours prior to commencement of any well abandonment activities. The abandonment of the well shall be observed by Utilities Superintendent or his/her agent.

An abandonment report form, supplied by the Department of Natural Resources, shall be submitted by the well owner to the City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer and the Department of Natural Resources within 10 days of the completion of the well abandonment.

Penalties. Any person, firm, or well owner, violating any provision of this section shall, upon conviction, be punished by forfeiture as prescribed in § 1-3 of Chapter 1, Article I, Construction and Penalties, and the cost of prosecution. Each twenty-four-hour period during which a violation exists shall be deemed and constitute a separate offense. If any person fails to comply with this section for more than 10 days after receiving written notice of the violation, the municipality may impose a penalty and cause the well abandonment to be performed and the expense to be assessed as a special tax against the property.

§ 380-4 Wellhead protection.

[Added 5-24-2022 by Ord. No. 03-2022]

Statement of purpose. City residents depend exclusively on groundwater for a safe drinking water supply. Certain land use practices and activities can seriously threaten or degrade groundwater quality. The purpose of this section is to institute land use regulations and restrictions to protect the City's municipal water supply, and to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the residents of the City.

Authority. Statutory authority of the City to enact this section was established by the Wisconsin Legislature in § 62.23(7)(a) and (c), Wis. Stats. Under these statutes, the City has the authority to enact this section, effective in the incorporated areas of the City, to encourage the protection of groundwater resources.

Wellhead Protection Overlay District.

This section, which may be cited and referred to as the "City of Princeton Wellhead Protection Ordinance," institutes land use regulation and restrictions in the Wellhead Protection Overlay District in order to protect the portion of the recharge area for the City wells that lies within the City limits. The recharge area for the City wells is that land area which contributes water to the City wells by infiltration of water into the subsurface and movement with groundwater toward the wells.

It is further intended that the Wellhead Protection Overlay District shall be operated in conjunction with the regulations governing the underlying zoning districts and other overlay districts in the subject area. Uses permitted in such other districts but subject to the provisions of this section may not be undertaken unless permitted by such other districts, but, subject to the provisions of this section, may not be undertaken unless they are also permitted by the terms of this section. In the event of conflicting standards between the underlying zoning and these wellhead protection regulations, the more restrictive will apply. If conditional use permits are required for both this overlay district and the underlying zoning district for a proposed use, the processing of the two permits shall be treated separately under the terms applicable to each district.

WELLHEAD PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT

The boundary of the Wellhead Protection Overlay District is described in the City's wellhead protection plan as the "Wellhead Protection Area," and is incorporated into the City of Princeton Zoning Map.

Definitions. The following definitions shall be applicable in this section:

AQUIFER

A saturated, permeable, geologic formation that contains, and will yield, significant quantities of water.

CONDITIONAL USES

In addition to permitted and prohibited uses, this section identifies the requirements for getting approval of certain conditional (or provisional) uses. If an activity isn't identified as permitted or prohibited, a conditional use otherwise not allowed. This section could also be called "other permitted uses."

EXISTING FACILITIES

Current facilities, practices and activities which may cause or threaten to cause environmental pollution within that portion of the City's wellhead protection area that lies within the corporate limits of the City.

RECHARGE AREA

For a City well is land area which contributes water to the well by infiltration of water into the subsurface and movement with groundwater toward the well.

WELLHEAD

A well that provides the source of public drinking water, along with the structures built on, to, and around the well.

WELLHEAD PROTECTION AREA

The surface or subsurface area surrounding a public water supply well or wellhead supplying a public water system, through which contaminants are reasonably likely to move toward and reach such well or wellhead. The wellhead protection area for the City of Princeton is designated in the City's wellhead protection plan.

That area described as the "Wellhead Protection Area" by the City's wellhead protection plan.

Prohibited uses. The uses prohibited by this district have been identified as risks for groundwater contamination. Prohibition provides the greatest assurance that inadvertent discharge of the pollutants into the groundwater supply will not occur. The following are prohibited uses within the Groundwater Protection Overlay District:

Private on-site sewage treatment system or septic drain fields.

Wells, private, production, injection or other.

Animal waste storage areas and facilities.

Petroleum products storage, except those that meet the most restrictive installation requirements of § Comm 10.260, Wis. Adm. Code.

Underground petroleum products storage tanks for industrial, commercial, residential or other uses.

(6)

Automobile or truck fuel sales or service stations.

(7)

Shops for repair, servicing, or assembling of machinery, motors or motor vehicles, including body repair, painting or engine rebuilding.

(8)

Junk, recycling yards, motor vehicle salvage yards.

(9)

Landfills, areas for dumping or disposal of garbage, refuse, trash or demolition material.

(10)

Septage and municipal sewage sludge disposal sites.

(11)

Metallic, nonmetallic or other mining operations.

(12)

Highway salt storage areas.

(13)

Cemeteries.

(14)

Dry-cleaning establishments.

(15)

Printing and publishing establishments.

(16)

Storage, sale, processing or manufacturing of fertilizer, chemicals, toxic or hazardous materials.

(17)

Manufacturing of paint products, plastics, or pulp and paper products.

(18)

Industrial liquid waste storage areas.

(19)

Electroplating operations.

(20)

Exterminating supply, storage, or application shops.

(21)

Foundries and forge or metal reduction and refinement plants.

(22)

Any other use determined by the Common Council to be similar in nature to the above listed items.

Separation distances from well. Uses within the Wellhead Protection Overlay District shall maintain the following minimum separation distances as specified in § NR 811.12(5), Wis. Adm. Code:

Fifty feet between a well and a storm sewer main or sanitary sewer main where the sanitary sewer main is constructed of water main class materials and joints.

Two hundred feet between a well and any sanitary sewer main not constructed of water main class materials, sanitary sewer manhole, lift station, one- or two-family residential heating fuel oil underground storage tank or aboveground storage tank or private on-site wastewater treatment system (POWTS) treatment tank or holding tank component and associated piping.

Three hundred feet between a well and any farm underground storage tank system or other underground storage tank system with double wall and with electronic interstitial monitoring for the system, which means the tank and any piping connected to it. These installations shall meet the most restrictive installation requirements of § Comm 10.260, Wis. Adm. Code, and receive written approval from the Department of Commerce or its designated local program operator under § Comm 10.110, Wis. Adm. Code. These requirements apply to tanks containing gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, other alternative fuel, fuel oil, petroleum product, motor fuel, burner fuel, lubricant, waste oil, or hazardous substances.

Three hundred feet between a well and any farm aboveground storage tank with double wall, or single wall tank with secondary containment and under a canopy and with electronic interstitial monitoring for a double-wall tank or electronic leakage monitoring for a single-wall tank secondary containment structure. These installations shall meet the most restrictive installation requirements of § Comm 10.260, Wis. Adm. Code, and receive written approval from the Department of Commerce or its designated local program operator under § Comm 10.110, Wis. Adm. Code. These requirements apply to tanks containing gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, other alternative fuel, fuel oil, petroleum products, motor fuel burner fuel, lubricant, waste oil, or hazardous substances.

Four hundred feet between a well and a POWTS dispersal component with a design capacity of less than 12,000 gallons per day, a cemetery or a stormwater retention or detention pond.

(6)

Six hundred feet between a well and any farm underground storage tank system or other storage tank system with double wall and with electronic interstitial monitoring for the system, which means the tank and any piping connected to it; any farm aboveground storage tank with double wall, or single-wall tank with other secondary containment and under a canopy or other aboveground storage tank system with double wall or single-wall tank with secondary containment and under a canopy; and with electronic interstitial monitoring for double-wall tank or electronic leakage monitoring for a single-wall tank secondary containment structure. These installations shall meet the standard double-wall tank or single-wall tank secondary containment installation requirements of § Comm 10.260 Wis. Adm. Code, and receive written approval from the Department of Commerce or its designated local program operator under § Comm 10.260, Wis. Adm. Code, and receive written approval from the Department of Commerce or its designated local program operator under § Comm 10.110, Wis. Adm. Code. These requirements apply to tanks containing gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, other alternative fuel, fuel oil, petroleum product, motor fuel burner fuel, lubricant, waste oil or hazardous substances.

(7)

One thousand feet between a well and land application of municipal, commercial, or industrial waste: the boundaries of land spreading facility for spreading of petroleum-contaminated soil regulated under state administrative regulations while that facility is in operation; agricultural, industrial, commercial or municipal wastewater treatment plant treatment units, lagoons, or storage structures; manure stacks or storage structures; or POWTS dispersal component with a design capacity of 12,000 gallons per day or more.

(8)

Twelve hundred feet between a well and any solid waste storage, transportation, transfer, incineration, air curtain destructor, processing, wood burning, one-time disposal or small demolition facility, sanitary landfill, coal storage area, salt or deicing material storage area, any single-wall farm underground storage tank or single-wall farm aboveground storage tank or other single-wall underground storage tank or aboveground storage tank that has not received written approval from the Department of Commerce or its designated local program operator under § Comm 10.110, Wis. Adm. Code, for a single-wall tank installation. These requirements apply to tanks containing gasoline, diesel, biodiesel, ethanol, other alternative fuel, fuel oil, petroleum product, motor fuel burner fuel, lubricant, waste oil or hazardous substances, and bulk pesticide or fertilizer handling or storage facilities.

Conditional use applications. Individuals and/or facilities may request the City, in writing, to permit additional land uses in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District.

Required application materials.

All requests shall be in writing, whether on or in substantial compliance with forms to be provided by the City, and may require an environmental assessment report prepared by a licensed environmental engineer. Said report shall be forwarded to the City and/or designee(s) for recommendation and final decision by the Common Council.

The individual/facility shall reimburse the City for all consultant fees associated with this review at the invoiced amount, plus administrative costs.

Any exemptions granted shall be conditional and may include required environmental and safety monitoring consistent with local, state and federal requirements, and/or bonds or securities satisfactory to the city.

Referral to Plan Commission. A properly filed application shall be referred to the City Plan Commission for its review and recommendation. The Plan Commission shall review the application and make its recommendation, if any. The Plan Commission shall forward the recommendations to the City Council. Upon receipt of the recommendations of the Plan Commission, the City Council shall hold a public hearing.

Standards for conditional use. The City Council shall apply the following factors:

The City's responsibility, as a public water supplier, to protect and preserve the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.

The degree to which the proposed land use's practice, activity or facility may threaten or degrade groundwater quality in the City or the City's recharge area.

The economic hardship which may be faced by the landowner if the application is denied.

(d)

The availability of alternative options to the applicant and the cost, effect and extent of availability of such alternative options.

(e)

The proximity of the applicant's property to other potential sources of contamination.

(f)

The then-existing condition of the City's groundwater public water wells and well fields, and the vulnerability to further contamination.

(g)

The direction of flow of groundwater and other factors in the area of the applicant's property which may affect the speed of the groundwater flow, including topography, depth of soil, extent of aquifer, depth to water table and location of private wells.

(h)

Any other hydrogeological data or information which is available from any public or private agency or organization.

(i)

The potential benefit, both economic and social, from the approval of the applicant's request for a permit.

Types of conditions which the Board may require.

The City Council may stipulate conditions and restrictions, including but not limited to the following:

[1]

A requirement for periodic environmental and safety sampling, testing and reporting to establish the continued protection of the public water supply. The City may require an application to install one or more groundwater monitoring wells, at the expense of the applicant.

[2]

The establishment of safety structures to prevent groundwater contamination.

[3]

The establishment of an operational safety plan to define process and procedures for material containment, operations monitoring, best management practices, and stormwater runoff management to prevent groundwater contamination.

[4]

Written policies and procedures for reporting and cleaning up any spill of a hazardous material.

[5]

The provision of copies of all federal, state and local facility operation approval or certificates, and ongoing environmental monitoring results to the City.

[6]

A written agreement pursuant to which the applicant agrees to be held financially responsible for all environmental cleanup costs in the event of groundwater contamination.

[7]

Bonds and/or securities satisfactory to the City for future monitoring and cleanup costs if groundwater contamination occurs in the future.

The foregoing conditions are listed for illustration purposes and are not exclusive.

Transfers of interest in property. Conditional use permits issued under this section are nontransferable to successor owners of the property subject to the permit without the express written consent of the City Council. The City Council may set conditions and restrictions on the transfer, including but not limited to a stipulation that the permit shall not be transferred unless the new owner expressly, and in writing, assumes the same terms, if any, for personal liability as were required of the former owner in the conditional use permit to be transferred. Written permission shall be obtained prior to the voluntary transfer of the subject property. When an involuntary transfer occurs, the new owner, trustee, or other successor to an interest in the real property shall apply to the City within 60 days for permission to continue the use granted by the conditional use permit.

(6)

Payment of costs. The applicant shall be solely and exclusively responsible for any and all costs associated with the application. The conditional use will become effective only after any costs incurred by the City during the conditional use application review process and billed to the applicant are paid by the applicant. Those costs may include:

The City's expenses, including consultant's and attorney's fees, publication costs, if any, associated with the review at the invoiced amount plus administrative costs.

The cost of an environmental impact study if required by the City or its designee.

The cost of groundwater monitoring or groundwater wells if required by the City or its designee.

(d)

The costs of an appraisal for the property or other property evaluation expense if required by the City or its designee.

Existing nonconforming uses. Nonconforming uses lawfully in existence within the Groundwater Protection Overlay District at the adoption of this section may continue to exist in form and scope in which they existed at that time subject to the following provisions:

Existing facilities shall provide copies of all federal, state and local facility operation approvals or certificate and ongoing environmental monitoring results to the City upon request.

Existing facilities shall replace equipment or expand in a manner that improves the existing environmental and safety technologies already in existence.

In the event a lawful nonconforming use poses a direct hazard to the City's public water supply, the City may take any action permitted by law to abate the hazard.

Existing facilities shall have the responsibility of drafting and/or filing with the City a contingency plan satisfactory to the Utility Commission for the immediate notification of the appropriate City officers in the event of an emergency.

No acceptance of liability by City. Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that the City has accepted any of an owner or operator's liability if a facility or use, whether permitted as of right or pursuant to a conditional use permit, contaminates groundwater in any aquifer.

Enforcement and penalties.

In the event an individual and/or facility causes the release of any contaminants which endanger the Wellhead Protection Overlay District, the individual/facility causing said release shall immediately cease and desist and provide cleanup satisfactory to the City of Princeton.

The individual/facility shall be responsible for all costs of cleanup and the City of Princeton consultant fees at the invoice amount, plus administrative costs for oversight, review and documentation, which includes all of the cost of City employees' time associated in any way with the cleanup, the cost of City equipment employed and the cost of mileage reimbursed to the City employees attributed to the cleanup.

Following any such discharge, the City may require additional test monitoring or other requirements as outlined in Subsections E and F herein.

Violations. It shall be unlawful to construct or use any structure, land or water in violation of this section. Any person who is specifically damaged by such violations may institute appropriate action or proceeding to enjoin a violation of this section.