The intent of the City of Kalamazoo Wellhead Protection Ordinance
is to safeguard the health, safety, and welfare of persons served
by the City of Kalamazoo Public Water Supply System by protecting
groundwater that serves as drinking water, thus providing a safe potable
water supply now and for future generations.
The following definitions apply to this chapter:
AVAILABLE MUNICIPAL SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM
A public sanitary sewer system located in a right-of-way,
easement, highway, street, or public way which crosses, adjoins, or
abuts upon the property and passing not more than 200 feet at the
nearest point from a structure in which sanitary sewage originates.
BEST MANAGEMENT PRACTICES (BMP)
The best available methods, activities, maintenance procedures,
technologies, operating methods, or management practices for preventing
or reducing the quantity of regulated substances entering groundwater
and surface water from a particular land use activity.
CAPTURE ZONE
That area through which water travels below the surface and
reaches a City well or wellfield within a specified period (under
specified conditions set by the EGLE). This chapter addresses both
a one-year and ten-year time-of-travel capture zone.
CITY
The City of Kalamazoo.
GROUNDWATER
The water below the land surface in a zone of saturation,
excluding those waters in underground piping for water, wastewater,
or stormwater distribution/collection systems.
PERFORMANCE STANDARDS
Those BMPs and engineering controls contained within the
document "City of Kalamazoo Performance Standards for Groundwater
Protection within Wellhead Protection Capture Zones and Stormwater
Quality Management."
RCRA
The Resource Conservation and Recovery Act of 1976 (Pub.
L. No. 94-580; 42 U.S.C. § 6901 et seq.), as amended.
REASONABLY AVAILABLE PUBLIC WATER SERVICE
Municipal potable water service is available at a street
adjacent to the property and can be delivered to the property at pressures
and flows that meet the 10 States Standards for Water Works.
REGULATED SUBSTANCES
A.
Includes:
(1)
Substances for which there is a safety data sheet (SDS), as
established by the United States Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
and the SDS cites possible health hazards for said substance;
(2)
Hazardous waste, as defined by the Solid Waste Disposal Act,
being Title II of Public Law 89-272, as amended by the Resource Conservation
and Recovery Act of 1976, 42 U.S.C. §§ 6901 to 6992k,
Part 111, as amended;
(3)
Hazardous substances, as defined by the Comprehensive Environmental
Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA) when the hazardous
substance is the focus of remedial or removal action being conducted
under CERCLA in accordance with the U.S. EPA regulations;
(4)
Radioactive materials; and
B.
The term "regulated substances" does not include:
(1)
Substances in an amount equal or less than 2,200 pounds that
are in an area capable of fully containing a total release of said
substance or an area that would drain the substance to a wastewater
treatment system, excluding septic tanks systems, capable of treating
the released substance(s);
(2)
Substances in a parked or stopped vehicle in transit, provided
the vehicle is stopped or parked for less than 72 hours;
(3)
Substances, such as gasoline or oil, in operable motor vehicles
or boats so long as used solely for the operation of the vehicle,
but not the tanker portion of a tank truck;
(4)
Pressurized gases such as chlorine, propane, hydrogen, and nitrogen
when in a chemical storage tank;
(5)
Refrigerants contained within equipment and used for on-site
air cooling or in household appliances;
(6)
Substances contained within electrical utility transformers/switches;
or
(7)
Substances used in construction for which all necessary permits
have been obtained, and in accordance with the "Performance Standards."
RELEASE
The spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying,
discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing
of one or more regulated substances upon or into any land or water
within a capture zone. "Release" includes, without limitation, leakage
of such materials from failed or discarded containers or storage systems
and disposal of such materials into any on-site sewage disposal system,
dry well, catch basin, or landfill. The term "release," when used
and applied in this chapter, does not include:
A.
Disposal, in accordance with all applicable legal requirements,
including those in RCRA and CERCLA, of hazardous wastes in a facility
that has received and maintained all necessary legal approvals for
that purpose;
B.
Disposal of any substance in compliance with applicable legal
requirements, including, without limitation, the terms and provisions
of a valid municipal, state, or federal permit;
C.
Disposal, in accordance with all legal requirements, of any
substance to a sanitary sewer system that has received and maintained
all necessary legal approvals for that purpose;
D.
Disposal, in accordance with all legal requirements, of sanitary
sewage to subsurface sewage disposal systems as defined and permitted
by the State of Michigan or Kalamazoo County Environmental Health;
E.
A release for which there is no obligation to report under federal,
state, or other local regulations that occurs on an impervious ground
surface (e.g., building floor or concrete driveway) that is effectively
cleaned up before reaching permeable ground (e.g., unpaved), a dry
well, a storm sewer, or surface water body; or
F.
The application of agricultural chemicals, fertilizers, mineral
acids, organic sulfur compounds, etc., as used in routine agricultural
operations and applied under the Generally Accepted Agricultural and
Management Practices, and consistent with label directions approved
by the United States Environmental Protection Agency or the Michigan
Department of Agriculture.
SPILL CONTINGENCY PLAN
A written site-specific plan conforming to the specifications
contained in the Performance Standards, including the documentation
of general site operations; regulated substance storage areas; potential
for releases of regulated substances and an analysis of the potential
destination of such releases; and procedures to be followed in the
event of a release.
WELLHEAD
Any well used for supplying water.
The City's Department of Public Services ("Department")
shall administer, implement, and enforce the provisions of this chapter.
Any powers granted or duties imposed upon the Department may be delegated
in writing by the Department Director to third parties as said Director
deems appropriate.
Within a ten-year time-of-travel (TOT) capture zone, no person
shall, nor cause or allow another over whom he or she has control
to:
A. Release or allow the release of a regulated substance, alone or in
combination with other materials (such as fill) in such a manner that
the substance gains access to the ground, to a storm sewer or surface
water or in any other way such that the substance might enter the
groundwater if doing so creates a reasonable likelihood of an adverse
impact upon the groundwater.
B. Possess a regulated substance, including fuels (e.g., gasoline, diesel,
kerosene, etc.) exceeding 55 gallons aggregate for liquid materials,
or 440 pounds aggregate for dry weights, unless prepackaged and intended
for retail sale or for commercial or household use (such as salt used
in water softeners, fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, etc.), or
unless engineering controls are designed and implemented consistent
with the City's Performance Standards, BMPs, the City's
Fire Code, and applicable State of Michigan and federal laws and regulations.
The following, however, shall not be considered prohibited activities:
(1) The use of underground oil/water separators and stormwater treatment
structures which meet the conditions of the Performance Standards;
(2) The use of current hazardous waste storage areas at RCRA permitted
facilities; and
(3) Laboratory activities, consistent with all federal, state, and local
regulations.
C. Operate a junk, scrap, recycling, or salvage yard;
D. Operate a sanitary/solid waste landfill;
E. Use oil, waste oil or similar liquid petroleum-type products for
dust suppression;
F. Install a private water well for the purpose of drinking water or
irrigation if, in the determination of the Department, a reasonably
available public water service exists;
G. Install or use a private water well for a purpose other than drinking
water or irrigation unless it is determined by the Department that
the well owner (or the representative of the well owner) has scientifically
demonstrated that the well will not cause an adverse impact to the
public water supply;
H. Excavate, extract, or mine sand, gravel, bedrock, or any other type
of earth if a permit or site plan review is required unless the property
owner has established, to the Department's satisfaction, that
the activity will not cause an adverse impact to the public water
supply;
I. Allow the presence of an abandoned well, which is defined as any
well which has either been discontinued for more than one year, is
in such disrepair that its continued use for obtaining groundwater
is impractical, has been left uncompleted, is a threat to groundwater
resources, or is a health or safety hazard. A well shall not be considered
abandoned if it has been properly plugged pursuant to the Groundwater
Quality Control Act, Part 127, 1978 P.A. 368; or
J. Drill for natural gas or petroleum, whether for exploration, production
or otherwise.
K. Except for facilities approved by the Kalamazoo County Human Services
Department in accordance with the county public health code sewage
disposal regulations, it shall be unlawful to construct or maintain
any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool, or other facility intended
or used for the disposal of domestic or nondomestic wastewater within
the City.
Within a one-year time-of-travel (TOT) capture zone, no person
shall, nor cause or allow another, over whom he or she has control,
to:
A. Engage in any activity prohibited in the ten-year TOT capture zone;
B. Possess regulated substances, including fuels (e.g., gasoline, diesel,
kerosene, etc.) exceeding 55 gallons aggregate for liquid materials
or 440 pounds aggregate for dry weights, such as sometimes occurs
with activities such as fueling service establishments, motor vehicle
repair, body repair; trucking or bus terminals; primary metal product
industries; metal plating, polishing, etching, engraving, anodizing
or similar processes; lawn, garden, pesticide and agricultural services
with on-site bulk mixing or blending of fertilizers, pesticides and
other industry-related chemicals for commercial application; and dry-cleaning
facilities with on-site cleaning service;
C. Construct or replace any privy, privy vault, septic tank, cesspool,
or other facility intended or used for the disposal of domestic or
nondomestic wastewater where an available municipal sanitary sewer
system exists; or
D. Construct or replace any dry wells.
Within either capture zone, no person shall cause or allow uses
or activities that would violate the terms and conditions set forth
in the document "Minimum Well Isolation Distances (From Contamination
Sources and Buildings), Part 127, Act 368, P.A. 1978 and Act 399,
P.A. 1976," as prepared by the EGLE, Water Division, as it may be
amended, which, for the purpose of this section, shall be deemed to
apply to all persons, unless approved in writing by the Department
Director or his or her designee.
In determining whether a property is within a capture zone,
the following shall apply:
A. Where a capture zone line that delineates the boundary of one or
more TOT zones passes through a property, the entire parcel shall
be subject to the restrictions that apply to the more restrictive
zone.
B. The Public Services Director, or his or her designee, shall have
the authority to interpret the capture zone and determine where the
boundaries of the different zones fall, if in dispute. Said interpretation
may be appealed to the Director.
This section applies to any business or other operation ("operation")
that is inactive, is within a capture zone, and at which there are
regulated substances. For purposes of this section, "inactive" is
defined to include those businesses/operations that are unoccupied
and have no activity for at least 30 days. Those who own or control
such an inactive operation shall do the following:
A. Within seven days of the operation becoming inactive, take such steps
as necessary to secure the site such that vandals and all other persons
cannot gain access to the regulated substances;
B. Within 30 days of the operation becoming inactive, provide to the
Public Services Director a document that identifies the site, the
date of inactivity, the regulated substances that exist on site, and
the name, address, and telephone number of both the owner and the
person in control of the site; and
C. Within six months of the operation becoming inactive, remove all
regulated substances from the site; this does not include those substances
used for heating, cooling, or electrical lighting.