[Ord. No. 11-008 §1, 3-7-2011]
The intent of the following provisions is to protect the quality of groundwater serving public alluvial wells by regulating and restricting land uses within boundary perimeters surrounding wellheads of such wells.
[1]
Editor's Note—The Peruque Creek Watershed above (upstream of) Lake St. Louis was established as a Watershed Protection Overlay District by St. Charles County Ordinance 02-123. A map showing the district as established by this ordinance is available from the County Information Systems Department or the County Registrar.
Editor's Note—Ord. no. 06-157 §2, adopted November 14, 2006, repealed sections 405.4021—405.4023 dealing with "watershed protection "wp" overlay district" in their entirety. Former sections 405.4021—405.4023 derived from ord. no. 02-122 §1, 7-30-2002.
Editor's Note—Subsequently, ord. no. 11-008 §1, adopted March 7, 2011, enacted the new provisions set out herein.
[Ord. No. 11-008 §1, 3-7-2011]
A.
Establishment Of Wellhead Protection Overlay Districts.
2.
All such rezoning applications shall include a legal description of the circular boundary perimeter of the proposed Wellhead Protection Overlay District meeting the requirements of Section 405.404(A) below.
3.
All notices and hearings relating to such rezoning applications shall be as provided by this Unified Development Ordinance, except as provided otherwise in Section 405.403(B) below.
B.
Modification Of Circular Boundary Perimeters Of Proposed Or Established Wellhead Protection Overlay Districts.
1.
Modification of circular boundary perimeters of a proposed or existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District may be sought only by application by owners of land, or by a water district, municipality or other unit of government having a well within such circular boundary perimeters.
2.
If such an application is made during proceedings to establish a Wellhead Protection Overlay District pursuant to Section 405.403(A) above, the following procedural regulations shall govern the application.
a.
Notice of intent required. The applicant must give notice of intent to file such an application by submitting to the Division of Planning and Zoning, on a form provided by the Division, an affidavit of intent to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed Wellhead Protection Overlay District, along with the deposit required in Section 405.403(B)(4) below.
b.
Time of notice of intent. Such notice of intent must be filed no later than the date of the Planning and Zoning Commission's initially scheduled public hearing to form a new district.
c.
Effect of notice timely filed. Provided such notice is filed on time, it will postpone for one hundred eighty (180) days the Commission's scheduled hearing on the proposed district.
d.
Completion of application. An applicant must complete an application to modify within ninety (90) days of the date of the filing of the notice of intent by filing the remaining required submittals enumerated in Section 405.403(B)(4). If an applicant fails to do so, the Division shall treat the application as withdrawn and refund the applicant's deposit, but the applicant is not barred from proceeding under Section 405.403(B)(3) to modify an existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District's boundary after the district's establishment.
3.
If an application to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a Wellhead Protection Overlay District is filed after its establishment, the following procedural regulations shall govern the application.
a.
Rezoning application. Such an application shall be treated as a separate rezoning application governed by this Unified Development Ordinance.
b.
Completeness of application. Such an application shall be accompanied by required submittals enumerated in Section 405.403(B)(4) below.
4.
All applications to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed or existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District shall be accompanied by the following submittals.
a.
A legal description of the proposed amendment to the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed and established Wellhead Protection Overlay District;
b.
A sealed engineer's report on ground water and subsoil conditions affecting the wellhead protected or to be protected by the Wellhead Protection Overlay District, and justifying the proposed amended boundary; and
c.
A deposit may be required to defray the costs of an engineering consultant engaged by the County to review that sealed engineer's report (deposit subject to refund to the extent it exceeds actual costs and to supplementation to the extent that it is insufficient to defray them).
5.
All applications to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed or existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District shall be subject to review and hearing as follows.
a.
Upon receipt of a complete application to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed or existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District, the Planning and Zoning Division and the County's engineering consultant shall have ninety (90) days in which to review that application.
b.
Based on that review the Division may also propose a modification of a circular boundary perimeter either to reduce or enlarge it.
c.
Upon completion of that review and issuance of all notices that may be required by this Unified Development Ordinance, the Planning and Zoning Commission shall conduct a hearing on that application to modify the circular boundary perimeter of a proposed or existing Wellhead Protection Overlay District and any related application by the Planning and Zoning Division. In no case may that hearing be scheduled at a meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission within ninety (90) days or later than one hundred fifty (150) days from the receipt of the applicant's complete application to modify. However, a hearing may be continued as provided in Section 405.535(B)(1)(d) of this Unified Development Ordinance.
[Ord. No. 11-008 §1, 3-7-2011]
A.
Boundary. Any Wellhead Protection Overlay District shall be enclosed by circular boundary perimeter defined by a radius of one thousand (1,000) feet surrounding any wellhead of a public alluvial well, unless that circular boundary perimeter is modified as provided in Section 405.403(B) above.
B.
Permitted And Conditionally Permitted Uses. Except as provided in Section 405.404(C) or (D) below, within any Wellhead Protection Overlay District, the district regulations for the underlying zoning district shall authorize permitted and conditional uses.
C.
Prohibited Uses. Notwithstanding any applicable district regulations in this Unified Development Ordinance, within any Wellhead Protection Overlay District, the following uses are prohibited:
1.
The production, use, handling, or storage of any extremely hazardous substance, greater than the exempted quantity.
2.
Landfills, including but not limited to industrial and municipal landfills; open dumps; or any other waste disposal facility.
3.
Waste transfer stations and incinerators.
4.
Waste disposal wells and underground injection of liquid wastes.
5.
Sewage lagoons.
6.
Wastewater treatment plants and/or wastewater pump stations.
7.
Cemeteries and graveyards for humans or domesticated animals.
8.
Scrap and junk yards.
9.
Uncovered salt, de-icer or chemical storage.
10.
Private potable water wells into known and potential sources of contamination.
11.
Ponds/lakes constructed deeper than fifteen (15) feet, in order to prohibit excavation below the upper cohesive solids into the underlying sand and gravel aquifer except at properties where site specific drilling data indicates deeper excavation, will not contact the sand and gravel aquifer to a maximum allowable excavation depth of five (5) feet above the base of the upper cohesive soils.
D.
Conditionally Permitted Uses. If permitted under applicable district regulations in this Unified Development Ordinance, the following uses are permitted within any Wellhead Protection Overlay District only as conditional uses that must be subject at a minimum to the conditions set out below:
1.
Uses permitted only conditionally:
a.
The production, use, handling, or storage of any hazardous substance or liquid petroleum product.
b.
Fleet storage, maintenance, repair and service facilities, including but not limited to mechanical services, transmission repair services and oil changing services in conjunction with and supplementary to a permitted business operation.
c.
Construction of new underground storage tanks, including new underground storage tanks that replace existing underground storage tanks, and associated pipes in compliance with applicable local, State and Federal laws and in conjunction with and supplementary to a permitted business operation.
d.
Dry cleaning business.
e.
Furniture stripping.
f.
Wastewater pretreatment facilities or other impoundments of waste material.
g.
Vehicle service stations and convenience stores which sell motor fuel.
h.
Electrical power generator and substations.
i.
Manufacturing of communications equipment.
j.
Manufacturing of electric and electronic equipment, including circuit boards.
k.
Manufacturing of fabricated metal products.
l.
Manufacturing of machinery.
m.
Manufacturing of plastic materials and synthetics.
n.
Primary metal industries, such as blast furnaces, steelworks and rolling mills.
o.
Trucking terminals.
2.
Required conditions of the foregoing conditionally permitted uses.
a.
Provide for the installation and maintenance of devices for secondary containment in case of inadvertent discharge from primary containers, ensure the proper storage of regulated substances, and ensure the integrity of impervious floor surfaces in storage areas.
b.
Submission of an emergency contingency plan for each facility to respond to unauthorized discharges.
c.
Posting of a bond or carrying of insurance which would pay for the cost of cleanup incurred as the result of inadvertent discharge, as required by applicable environmental laws and regulations.
d.
The three (3) previous requirements must be approved in writing by both the Community Development Director and the St. Charles County Local Emergency Planning Committee or their designees.
E.
Exemptions. The following substances are not subject to the provisions of this Section, so long as they are used, handled or stored in a manner that does not result in contamination of groundwater.
1.
Use of any regulated substance in an amount less than the exempted quantity for that substance.
2.
Any substance to the extent it is used for personal, family or household purposes, or is present in the same form and concentration as a product packaged for distribution and use by the general public. However, regulated substances used in the operation of a home business shall not be exempt from the provisions of these requirements.
3.
Any substance to the extent it is used in routine agricultural operations and not permanently stored out-of-doors.
4.
Any substance to the extent it is used in a research laboratory, hospital or other medical facility, and is under the direct supervision of a technically qualified individual.
5.
Regulated substances contained in properly operating sealed units (transformers, refrigeration units, etc.) which are not operated as part of routine use and which are in operable condition.
6.
Motor fuels, lubricants, and coolants which are in use within operable internal combustion engines and attached fuel tanks.
7.
Radioactive materials that are regulated by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
8.
Regulated substances in Continuous transit through a Wellhead Protection Overlay District.