[Added 2-27-2018 by Ord.
No. 17-17]
A.
Purpose. The residents of the City of Rice Lake 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 article is to establish a Groundwater
Protection Overlay District to institute land use regulations and
restrictions within a defined area which contributes water directly
to the municipal water supply providing protection for the aquifer
and municipal water supply of the City of Rice Lake and promoting
the public health, safety and general welfare of City residents.
B.
Authority. Statutory authority of the City to enact these regulations
was established by the Wisconsin Legislature in 1983, Wisconsin Act
410 (effective May 11, 1984), which specifically added groundwater
protection, in § 59.97(1), Wis. Stats., which has since
been renumbered as § 59.69(1) and § 62.23(7)(c),
Wis. Stats., to the statutory authorization for county and municipal
planning and zoning to protect the public health, safety and welfare.
In addition, pursuant to § 62.23(7)(am), Wis. Stats., the
City has the authority to enact this article, effective in the incorporated
areas of the City, to encourage the protection of groundwater resources.
C.
Application. The regulations specified in this Wellhead Protection
Ordinance shall apply within the area surrounding each municipal water
supply well that has been designated as a "wellhead protection area"
by the City in the most recent and up-to-date wellhead protection
plan, and are in addition to the requirements in the underlying zoning
district, if any. If there is a conflict between this article and
the Zoning Ordinance, the more restrictive provision shall apply.
As used in this article, the following terms shall have the
meanings indicated:
A saturated, permeable, geologic formation that contains,
and will yield, significant quantities of water.
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. Existing facilities include but are not limited
to the type listed in the Department of Natural Resources' Form 3300-215,
Public Water Supply Potential Contaminant Use Inventory form, which
is incorporated herein as if fully set forth.
That area of land which contributes water to a municipal
well based on accepted hydrogeological research, outlined and described
as a "Wellhead Protection Area" by the City's wellhead protection
plan.
Chemicals and chemical mixtures that are required to have
a Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS) and meet the definition of "hazardous
chemical" under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration
(OSHA) regulations found at 29 (CFR) 1910.1200(c). Substances packaged
for consumption for humans or animals are not considered hazardous
chemicals. Hazardous chemicals include:
Chemicals for which there is scientific evidence that acute
or chronic health effects may result from exposure, including carcinogens,
toxic and highly toxic agents, irritants, corrosives, sensitizers,
hepatotoxins, agents that act on the hematopoietic system, reproductive
toxins, and agents which damage the lungs, skin, eyes, or mucous membranes
as defined in 29 CFR 1910.1200, Appendix A, "Health Hazard Definitions
(Mandatory)."
Mixtures of chemicals which have been tested as a whole and
have been determined to be a health hazard.
Mixtures of chemicals which have not been tested as a whole
but which contain any chemical which has been determined to be a health
hazard and comprises 1% or greater of the composition on a weight-per-unit
weight basis.
Mixtures of chemicals which include a carcinogen if the concentration
of the carcinogen in the mixture is 0.1% or greater of the composition
on a weight-per-unit weight basis.
Ingredients of mixtures prepared within the Groundwater Protection
Overlay District in cases where such ingredients are health hazards
but comprise more than 0.1% of the mixture on a weight-per-unit weight
basis if carcinogenic, or more than 1% of the mixture on a weight-per-unit
weight basis if not carcinogenic.
Petroleum and nonsolid petroleum derivatives (except nonpolychlorinated
biphenyls (PCB) dielectric fluids used in equipment or for transmission
of electric power to homes and businesses).
The land area which contributes water to a well by infiltration
of water into the subsurface and movement with groundwater toward
the well. This area may extend beyond the corporate limits of the
City of Rice Lake.
A piece of land used primarily for the purpose of supplying
a location for construction of wells to supply a municipal water system.
A.
The boundaries of the Groundwater Protection Overlay District shall
be shown on the City of Rice Lake Zoning Map. The locations and boundaries
of the zoning districts established by this chapter are set forth
in the City of Rice Lake's most recent and up-to-date wellhead protection
plan, on file in the Rice Lake Utilities office, incorporated herein
and hereby made a part of this article. Said figures, together with
everything shown thereon and all amendments thereto, shall be as much
a part of this chapter as though fully set forth and described herein.
This article thus promotes public health, safety, and welfare. The
Groundwater Protection Overlay District is intended to protect the
groundwater recharge area for the water supply from contamination.
B.
Groundwater Protection Overlay District. The area that contributes
groundwater to the municipal wells is subject to land use and development
restrictions because of the corresponding threat of contamination
and importance of groundwater protection.
(1)
Permitted uses. The following uses are permitted in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District subject to the separation distances in § 260-75:
(a)
Parks, provided there is no on-site waste disposal or fuel storage
tank facilities associated with this use.
(b)
Playgrounds.
(c)
Wildlife areas.
(d)
Nonmotorized trails, such as bike, skiing, nature and fitness
trails.
(e)
Residential, commercial and industrial establishments that are
municipally sewered and whose use, aggregate of hazardous chemicals
in use, storage, handling and/or production may not exceed 20 gallons
or 160 pounds at any time, with the exception for those uses listed
as "conditional" or "prohibited" in § 260-74(B)(2) and (3).
(f)
Routine tillage, planting, and field management operations in
support of agricultural crop production, where nutrients from legume,
manure, and commercial sources are accounted for and credited toward
crop nutrient need. The combination of all nutrient sources applied
or available on individual fields may not exceed University of Wisconsin
soil test recommendations for that field.
(2)
Conditional uses. The following uses may be conditionally permitted in the Groundwater Protection Overlay District subject to the separation distances in § 260-75:
(a)
Hydrocarbon, petroleum or hazardous chemical storage tanks.
[Hazardous chemicals are identified by OSHA under 29 CFR 1910.1200(c)
and by OSHA under 40 CFR Part 370.]
(b)
Motor vehicle services, including filling and service stations,
repair, renovation and body work.
(c)
Residential, commercial and industrial establishments that are
municipally sewered and whose use, aggregate of hazardous chemicals
in use, storage, handling and/or production exceeds 20 gallons or
160 pounds at any time.
(d)
Stormwater infiltration basins.
(e)
Geothermal wells, also known as "ground source heat pumps,"
along with any associated piping and/or ground loop component installations.
(3)
Prohibited uses. The following uses are prohibited in the Groundwater
Protection Overlay District:
(a)
Cemeteries.
(b)
Chemical manufacturers (Standard Industrial Classification Major
Group 28).
(c)
Coal storage.
(d)
Dry cleaners.
(e)
Electroplating facilities.
(f)
Foundries and forge plants.
(g)
Industrial liquid waste storage lagoons and pits.
(h)
Landfills and any other solid waste facility, except post-consumer
recycling.
(i)
Manure and animal waste storage.
(j)
Mining of any kind, including metallic, sand and aggregate pits.
(k)
Pesticide and fertilizer dealer, manufacturing, transfer or
storage facilities.
(l)
Private on-site wastewater treatment systems or holding tanks
receiving 12,000 gallons per day or more.
(m)
Railroad yards and maintenance stations.
(n)
Rendering plants and slaughterhouses.
(o)
Salt or deicing material bulk storage.
(p)
Salvage or junk yards.
(q)
Septage or sludge spreading, storage or treatment.
(r)
Septage, wastewater, or sewage lagoons.
(s)
Stockyards and feedlots.
(t)
Wood preserving operations.
(u)
Any other use similar in nature to the above listed uses.
The following separation distances as specified in § NR
811.12(5), Wis. Adm. Code, shall be maintained in all zones of the
Groundwater Protection Overlay District. However, these separation
distances shall not apply for facilities and uses which are approved
by the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) or have been approved
for variance from § NR 811.12(5) Wis. Adm. Code, by the
DNR.
A.
Ten feet between a well and an emergency or standby power system
that is operated by the same facility which operates the well and
that has a double-wall aboveground storage tank with continuous electronic
interstitial leakage monitoring. These facilities shall meet the installation
requirements of § ATCP 93.260 Wis. Adm. Code, and receive
written approval from the department of safety and professional services
or its designated local program operator under § ATCP 93.110,
Wis. Adm. Code.
B.
Fifty feet between a well and a storm sewer main or a sanitary sewer
main where the sanitary sewer main is constructed of water main class
materials and joints. Gravity sanitary sewers shall be successfully
air pressure tested in place. The air pressure test shall meet or
exceed the requirements of the four psi low-pressure air test for
plastic gravity sewer lines found in the latest edition of Standard
Specifications for Sewer and Water Construction in Wisconsin. Force
mains shall be successfully pressure tested with water to meet the
American Water Works Association (AWWA) C600 pressure and leakage
testing requirements for one hour at 125% of the pump shutoff head.
C.
Two hundred feet between a well field 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.
D.
Three hundred feet between a well field 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 § ATCP
93.260, Wis. Adm. Code, and receive written approval from the Department
of Safety and Professional Services or its designated local program
operator under § ATCP 93.110, 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.
E.
Three hundred feet between a well field and any farm aboveground
storage tank with double wall, or single-wall tank with other secondary
containment and under a canopy; 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 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 § ATCP 93.260, Wis. Adm. Code,
and receive written approval from the Department of Commerce or its
designated local program operator under § ATCP 93.110, 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.
F.
Four hundred feet between a well field and a private on-site wastewater
treatment system (POWTS) dispersal component with a design capacity
of less than 12,000 gallons per day, a cemetery or a stormwater retention
or detention pond.
G.
Six hundred feet between a well field 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; 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 a
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 § ATCP 93.260 Wis. Adm. Code,
and receive written approval from the Department of Safety and Professional
Services or its designated local program operator under § ATCP
93.110, 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.
H.
One thousand feet between a well field and land application of municipal,
commercial, or industrial waste; the boundaries of a 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.
I.
Twelve hundred feet between a well field and any solid waste storage,
transportation, transfer, incineration, air curtain destructor, processing,
wood-burning, one-time disposal or small demolition facility; sanitary
landfill; any property with residual groundwater contamination that
exceeds Ch. NR 140, Wis. Adm. Code, enforcement standards; 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 or has not received written approval from the Department
of Safety and Professional Services or its designated local program
operator under § ATCP 93.110, Wis. Adm. Code, for a single-wall
tank installation. These requirements apply to tanks containing gasoline,
diesel, bio-diesel, 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.
A.
Individuals and/or facilities may request the City, in writing, to
permit additional land uses in the Groundwater Protection Overlay
District. Conditional use permit applications within the district
are subject to review and recommendation by the City Plan Commission.
B.
The application process shall be that required under § 260-72 of this chapter, conditional uses. In addition to the requirements of said section, the applicant may be required to provide the following application materials:
(1)
Required application materials.
(a)
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 Plan Commission for
review and approval.
(b)
The individual/facility shall reimburse the City for all consultant
fees associated with this review at the invoiced amount plus administrative
costs.
(c)
Any exemptions granted shall be conditional and may include
required environmental and safety monitoring consistent with local,
state and federal requirements, and/or bonds and/or securities satisfactory
to the Plan Commission.
(2)
Standards for conditional use. In addition to standards of review listed in Article VI, § 260-62, the Plan Commission shall apply the following factors:
(a)
The City's responsibility, as a public water supplier, to protect
and preserve the health, safety and welfare of its citizens.
(b)
The degree to which the proposed land use practice, activity
or facility may threaten or degrade groundwater quality in the City
or the City's recharge area.
(c)
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 well(s) 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.
(3)
Types of conditions which the Plan Commission may require. In addition to the conditions which are to be considered under Article VI, § 240-64, of the Zoning Code, the Plan Commission may stipulate conditions and restrictions, including but not limited to the following:
(a)
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 well(s), at the expense of the
applicant.
(b)
The establishment of safety structures to prevent groundwater
contamination.
(c)
The establishment of an operational safety plan to define processes
and procedures for material containment, operations monitoring, best
management practices, and stormwater runoff management to prevent
groundwater contamination.
(d)
Written policies and procedures for reporting and cleaning up
any spill of a hazardous material;
(e)
The provision of copies of all federal, state and local facility
operation approval or certificates, and ongoing environmental monitoring
results to the City.
(f)
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.
(g)
Bonds and/or securities satisfactory to the City for future
monitoring and cleanup costs if groundwater contamination occurs in
the future.
(h)
Such other like criteria which may be pertinent to the situation
at hand.
Nothing in this section shall be construed to imply that the
City has accepted any of an owner's 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.
In addition to the penalties detailed in §§ 260-23 and 1-20 of the Rice Lake Code, the following shall apply to violations of this article:
A.
In the event an individual and/or facility causes the release of
any contaminants which endanger the Groundwater Protection Overlay
District, the individual/facility causing said release shall immediately
cease and desist and provide cleanup satisfactory to the City of Rice
Lake.
B.
The individual/facility shall be responsible for all costs of cleanup
and the City of Rice Lake 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.
D.
Violations. It shall be unlawful to construct or use any structure,
land or water in violation of this article. Any person who is specifically
damaged by such violations may institute appropriate action or proceeding
to enjoin a violation of this article.
E.
Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation who fails to comply with
the provisions of this article shall, upon conviction thereof, forfeit
not less than $100 nor more than $5,000, plus the costs of the prosecution
for each violation, and in default of payment of such forfeiture and
costs, shall be imprisoned in the county jail until payment thereof,
but not exceeding 30 days, or in the alternative, shall have such
costs added to their real estate property tax bill as a lien against
the property. Each day a violation exists or continues shall constitute
a separate offense.
Nonconforming uses lawfully in existence within the Groundwater
Protection Overlay District at the adoption of the article creating
this district may continue to exist in the form and scope in which
they existed at that time, subject to the following provisions.
A.
Existing facilities shall provide copies of all federal, state and
local facility operation approvals or certificates and ongoing environmental
monitoring results to the City upon request.
B.
Existing facilities shall replace equipment or expand in a manner
that improves the existing environmental and safety technologies already
in existence.
C.
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.
D.
Existing facilities shall have the responsibility of devising, and/or
filing with the City, a contingency plan satisfactory to the Plan
Commission for the immediate notification of the appropriate City
officers in the event of an emergency.
If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, paragraph or phrase
of this article is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional
by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, or other applicable
administrative or governing body, such decision shall not affect the
validity of any other section, subsection, sentence, clause, paragraph
or phrase thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections,
subsections, sentences, clauses, paragraphs, or phrases may be declared
invalid or unconstitutional.
