It is the purpose of the ordinance codified in this chapter to provide for the construction, repair, modification and destruction of wells in such a manner that the groundwater of this county will not be contaminated or polluted, and that water obtained from wells will be suitable for beneficial use and will not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the people of this county.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Words used in this chapter shall have the definitions set forth in this section:
"Board of supervisors"
means the board of supervisors of Inyo County.
"Cathodic protection well"
means any artificial excavation in excess of fifty feet constructed by any method for the purpose of installing equipment or facilities for the protection electrically of metallic equipment in contact with the ground, commonly referred to as cathodic protection.
"Community water supply well"
means a water well for domestic purposes in systems subject to Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 5 of the California Health and Safety Code.
"Completion" or "completion operation"
means any work conducted after artificial excavation to include:
1. 
Placement of well casing;
2. 
Gravel packing;
3. 
Sealing;
4. 
Casing perforation; or
5. 
Other operations deemed necessary by the health officer.
"Contamination"
means an impairment of the quality of water to a degree which creates a hazard to the public health through poisoning, or through spread of disease.
"Destruction" or "destroy"
means the proper filling of a well that is no longer useful so as to assure that the groundwater is protected and to eliminate any potential physical hazard.
"Health officer"
means the health officer of Inyo County, or duly authorized representative.
"Individual domestic well"
means a water well used to supply water for domestic needs of an individual residence or commercial establishment.
"Modification or repair"
means the deepening of a well or any modification of a well casing.
"Pollution"
means an alteration of the quality of water to a degree which unreasonably affects such waters for beneficial uses, or which affects facilities which serve such beneficial uses. Pollution may include contamination.
"Well" or "water well"
means any artificial excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of extracting water from or injecting water into the underground, for providing cathodic protection, for making tests or observations of underground conditions, or any other wells whose regulation is necessary to fulfill the purpose of this chapter. Wells shall not include:
1. 
Oil and gas wells, or geothermal wells constructed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation, except those wells converted to use as water wells; or
2. 
Wells used for the purpose of:
a. 
Dewatering excavation during construction, and
b. 
Stabilizing hillside or earth embankments;
3. 
Test or exploratory holes for soil testing and monitoring or seismic exploration where such holes are less than twenty-five feet deep; and
4. 
Holes or excavations for soil percolation tests where such holes are less than ten feet deep.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
No person, firm, corporation or governmental agency formed under the laws of this state shall, within the unincorporated area of Inyo County, construct, repair, modify or destroy any well unless a written permit has first been obtained from the health officer of the county, as provided in this chapter. In case of emergency affecting life, health, crops or livestock, a well driller may start work immediately, but shall notify the enforcing agency within seventy-two hours of the work being done, and at that time apply for a permit application. Under emergency construction, all work must be done in conformance with standards set forth in this chapter.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Applications for permits shall be made to the health officer of the county of Inyo, and shall include the following:
A. 
A plot plan indicating the exact location of the well with respect to the following items within a radius of two hundred feet of the well:
1. 
Property lines,
2. 
Sewage disposal systems or works carrying or containing sewage,
3. 
All intermittent or perennial, natural or artificial water bodies or watercourses,
4. 
Drainage pattern of the property,
5. 
Existing wells,
6. 
Access roads;
B. 
Location of the property;
C. 
Name, address, and California contractor's license number of the person doing the work;
D. 
Depth of well;
E. 
Use of well;
F. 
Other information as may be necessary to determine if underground waters will be protected.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Permits shall be issued subject to compliance with the standards provided in this chapter, except that such standards shall be inapplicable or modified by the health officer when, upon his or her finding, inapplicability or modification will accomplish the purposes of this chapter. A permit to be valid must comply with all other state and county laws.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
A. 
It shall be rebuttably presumed that all well permitting decisions are ministerial acts under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). That presumption shall be rebutted where discretion must be exercised in accordance with the following authorities, as same may be amended from time to time:
1. 
California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II, Section 8.A;
2. 
California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II, Section 8.B;
3. 
California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II, Section 8.C;
4. 
California Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II, Section 9;
5. 
Other legally binding authorities, such as, but not limited to, State of California Executive Orders.
B. 
If any of the standards set forth by the authorities stated in Section 14.24.040 apply and the health officer utilizes discretion in issuing well permits in accordance with those authorities, then the issuance of the well permit shall be a discretionary act under CEQA and permit applicants shall be responsible for the cost and preparation of any reports and documentation required by CEQA in accordance with policy established by the health officer or his/her designee.
(Ord. 1295 § 1, 2023)
Applicant shall defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the County, its agents, officers, and employees from and against all claims, damages, losses, judgments, liabilities, expenses, and other costs, including litigation costs and attorney's fees, arising out of, resulting from, or in connection with, the County's acts or omissions with regard to its compliance with CEQA or other laws, with regard to the preparation and processing of the CEQA reports and documentation and with regard to the decision based thereon concerning applicant's project. Prior to issuing a well permit, the environmental health officer shall require the applicant to sign a permitting agreement which includes a section implementing the requirements of this subsection.
(Ord. 1295 § 2, 2023)
Prior to the issuance of a permit, the applicant shall post with the health officer a cash deposit or bond to guarantee compliance with the terms of this chapter and the applicable permit, such cash or bond to be in an amount deemed necessary by the health officer to remedy improper work, but not in excess of the total estimated cost of work. Such deposit or bond may be waived by the health officer where other assurances of compliance are deemed adequate by him or her.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Permit application fees for the new construction of water wells, and for the repair, modification and destruction of water wells shall be established under separate ordinance.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
The permittee shall complete work authorized by the permit prior to the expiration date set in the permit. The permittee shall notify the health officer in writing upon completion of the work, and work shall not be deemed to have been completed until such written notification has been received.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Any person aggrieved by the refusal of a permit or terms of the permit may request in writing that the matter be heard by the board of supervisors. If such request is made, the health officer shall within ten days schedule the matter for review by said board and give reasonable notice of the time and place thereof to the applicant. At the time and place of the hearing, the board will allow the applicant and other interested parties an adequate opportunity to present any facts pertinent to the matter at hand. The board may place any person involved in the matter, including the applicant, under oath. The board may, when it deems necessary, continue any hearing by giving notice to the applicant of such action. At the close of the hearing, or at any time within ten days thereafter, the board will order such disposition of the application or permit as it has determined is proper and will make such disposition known to the applicant. Determination made by the health officer relating directly to the public health, or to Chapter 7 of Part 1 of Division 5 of the California Health and Safety Code, may not be overruled or modified by the board.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Standards for the construction, repair, modification or destruction of wells shall be the most recent version of Bulletin 74-81 Water Well Standards and as modified by Bulletin 74-90, California Well Standards, June 1991 and/or any future modifications made by the California Department of Water Resources with the following exceptions:
A. 
The health officer may adopt rules and regulations more stringent than state requirements to be applicable in all of the unincorporated area of the county.
B. 
Every new, repaired or modified community water-supply well or domestic water well, after construction, modification or repair, and before being placed into service, shall be thoroughly cleaned of all foreign substance and shall be thoroughly disinfected. Procedures delineated in Appendix "E" of aforementioned Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, or equivalent, are required.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
The health officer may, at any and all reasonable times, enter any and all places, property, enclosures and structures for the purpose of making examinations and investigations to determine whether any provision of this chapter is being violated. The health officer may require that each completion, modification, repair or destruction operation be inspected prior to any further work.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Any person who has drilled, dug, excavated or bored a well shall, upon completion of the well, submit to the health officer within thirty days an accurate and complete log to include:
A. 
A detailed record of the boundaries, character, size, distribution and color of all lithologic units penetrated;
B. 
Type of well casing;
C. 
Location of perforations and sealing zones; and
D. 
Any other data deemed necessary by the health officer.
In areas where insufficient subsurface information is available, the health officer may require inspection of the well log prior to any completion operation. Submittal of a copy of the "Water Well Drillers Report," completed in accordance with Section 13751 of the California Water Code, and including all the above items, will satisfy this requirement.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
A. 
The owner of an abandoned well must, within thirty days, destroy it in accordance with the standards contained in Section 14.28.100 of this chapter.
B. 
The owner of a well, the use of which has been or is soon to be discontinued, must apply to the county, in writing, declaring his or her intention to use the well again for its original or other approved purpose. The county shall review such a declaration and grant an exemption from the requirement that it be destroyed, provided no undue hazard to health or safety is created by the continued existence of the well. Such an exemption must be applied for every five years and may be terminated for cause by the county at any time.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
In the event a well subject to the provisions of this chapter is being constructed, repaired, modified, destroyed or abandoned contrary to the terms of this chapter, the health officer may order the work stopped by posting a stop order at the well site. No further work shall be done after the posting of the stop order until such time as the stop order is removed by the health officer.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
In the event a well subject to this chapter is constructed, repaired, modified, destroyed, abandoned or operated contrary to the terms of this chapter or a permit issued for such well pursuant to this chapter, the health officer may mail written notice, postage prepaid, to the owner of the land as shown upon the most recent equalized assessment roll, or the permittee at his or her address listed upon the permit, which notice shall state the manner in which the well is in violation, what corrective measures must be taken, the time within which such corrections must be made, and that if the land owner or permittee fails to make corrections within the period provided, the corrections may be made by the county and the land owner or permittee shall be liable for the costs thereof.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
Any person who does any work for which a permit is required by this chapter, and who fails to apply for and pay the fee for a permit within five working days after notice from the health officer to do so, or who otherwise violates any other provision of this chapter shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, punishable by fine not exceeding five hundred dollars, or by imprisonment not exceeding six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment, and such person shall be deemed guilty of a separate offense for each and every day or portion thereof during which any such violation is committed, continued or permitted, and shall be subject to the same punishment as for the original offense.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)
No person, firm, corporation or governmental agency formed under the laws of this state, shall provide water for purposes other than the use originally set forth on the well permit application, unless a written permit has first been obtained from the health officer of the county, as provided in this chapter. The health officer may require repair, modification, and additional well information to determine whether to approve or deny the permit application to change the use of the well.
(Ord. 1255 § 3, 2020)