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HomeMy WebLinkAboutORD 591 (1973) ORDINANCE NO. 591 AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF TUSTIN, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE TUSTIN CITY CODE RELATIVE TO THE CONSTRUCTION AND ABANDONMENT OF WATER WELLS The City of Tustin, California, does ordain as follows: CI~.PTER ~6 is hereby added to the Tustin' City Code to read as fo 1 lows: CHAPTER 26 Construction and Abandonment of Wells Sec. 26.0 21. Purpose. It is the purpose of this article to control the construction and reconstruction of wells to the end that the ground water of this City will not be impaired in quality and that water obtained from such wells will be suitable for the purpose for which used and will not jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the people; and to provide for the destruction of abandoned wells or wells found to be public nuisances to .the end that such wells will not impair the quality of ground water or otherwise jeopardize the health, safety or welfare of the people of this City-. Sec. 26°022. Definitions. As used in this article, the following words shall have the meaning provided in this section. ... ABANDONED and ABANDONMENT. The terms "abandoned" or "abandonment" shall. apply to ~'~ell'~which"has not bee~ used fo~' a period of one , year, unless the owner declares in writing, to the Well Standards Advisory Board of the County of Orange his intention to use the well again for supplying water or other associated purpose (such as an observation well or injection well) and receives approval of such declaration from the Board. All such declarations shall be renewed annually and holes and exploratory holes shall be considered abandoned twenty-four hours after construction work has been completed, unless otherwise approved by the Health Officer. AGRICULTURAL WELL. A water well used to supply water for irrigation or other agricultural purposes, including so-called stock wells. CATHODIC PROTECTION WELL. Any artificial excavation in excess of 50 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 a cathodic protection well or a deep anode. COM~NiTY WATER SUPPLY WELL. A water well used to supply 'water for domestic purposes in systems subject to Chapter 7 of Part I of Division 5 of the California Health and Safety Code. ,.,CONSTRUCT, RECONStrUCT (CONSTRUCTION, RECONSTRUCTION). To dig, ' d~ive, bore, drill or deepen a well, or to reperforate, remove, ~replace,' or extend 'a well' casing. ,, DESTRUCTION. The proper filling and sealing of a well that is no longer useful so as to assure that the ground water is protected and to eliminate a potential physical hazard. ELECTRICAL GROUNDING WELL. Any artificial excavation in excess of 50 feet constructed by any method for the purpose of establishing an electrical ground. HEALTH OFFICER. The Health Officer or his designee. INDIVIDUAL DOMESTIC WELL. ~ water well used to supply water' for domestic needs of an individual residence or commercial establish- ment. INDUSTRIAL WELL. A water well used to supply an industry 'on an individual basis. OBSERVATION WELL. A well used for monitoring or sampling the conditions of a water-bearing aquifer, such as water pressure, depth, movement or quality. PERMIT.. A written permit issued by the Health Officer permitting the construction, reconstruction, destruction, or abandonment of a well. PERSON. Any person, firm, corporation or governmental agency. PUBLIC NUISANCE. The term '~public nuisance", when applied to a well, shall mean any well which threatens to impair the quality of ground water or otherwise jeopardize the health or safety of the public. SALT WATER (HYDRAULIC) BARRIER WELL. A well used for extracting water from or injecting water into the underground as a means of preventing the intrusion of salt water into a fresh water bearing aquifer o TEST OR EXPLORATION HOLE. An excavation used for determining the nature of underground geological or hydrological conditions, whether by seismic investigation, direct observation or any other means. WELL. Any artificial excavation constructed by any method for the purpose of extracting water from or injecting water into the under- ground, for providing cathodic protection or electrical grounding of equipment, for making tests or observations of underground. conditions, or for any other similar purpose. Wells shall include, but shall not be limited to, community water supply wells, individual domestic wells, industrial wells, agricultural wells, cathodic protection wells, electrical grounding wells, test and expl.oratory holes, observation wells and salt water (hydraulic) barrier wells, as defined herein, and other wells whose regulation is necessary to fulfill the purpose of this article as determined by the Well Standards Advisory Board. Wells shall not include: (a) oil and gas wells, geothermal wells or other wells constructed under the j~aris- diction of the State Department of Conservation~ except tjhose wells converted to use as water wells; (b) wells used for the purpose of dewatering excavations during construction, or stabilizincj hillsides or earth embankments; or (c) other wells whose regulation is not necessary to fulfill the purpose of this article as determined by the Well Standards Advisory Board. Sec~ 26,023. Acts prohibited, permit required. No person shall, within City~ construct or reconstruct any well unless such construction or reconstruction is carried~ out -2- pursuant to and in conformance with a written permit issued for that purpose by the Health Officer as provided in this article. Nor shall any such person abandon a well unless it has been destroyed pursuant to and in conformance with a written permit issued by the Health Officer. Nor shall any such person violate the terms of any order issued by the Well Standards Advisory Board or the Health Officer relative to wells. Sec. 26.024. Permits° Applications for. permits shall be made to the Health Officer containing such information as he shall require. Each application shall be accompanied by a fee which shall be established by the Board of Supervisors on the basis of the cost incurred in enforcing the provisions ofthis article. Fifty percent (50%) of the fee shall be returned to the applicant should the permit be denied or if the permit is cancelled within sixty (60) days after issuance and no work has been done. A permit shall remain in effect for one year from date of issuance. Permits may be issued subject to any condition or require- ment found by the Health Officer to be necessary to accomplish the purposes of this article. A permit may be cancelled or the conditions amended by the Health Officer if he determines that to proceed with the work would result in a public nuisance or the permit holder has violated the terms of the permit or this article. Sec. 26. 025. Completion of Work. The permittee shall notify the Health Officer in writing upon completion of the work and no work. 'shall".;be deemed?.to have been completed until such written notification has been received. A final inspection of the work shall be made by the Health Officer and no permittee shall be deemed to have complied with this article or his permit until such inspection has been performed. Sec. 26.026. Notice; Cancellation-or Denial of Permit. In the event a permit is denied or cancelled, the applicant or permit holder shall be given written notice by the Health Officer, which notice shall specify the reasons for his action and shall notify the applicant or permit holder of his right to request a hearing before the Well Standards Advisory Board within ten days. Sec. 26.027. Notice; Public Nuisance. In the event the Health ~Officer determines that a well constitutes a public Nuisance, he shall mail a written notice to the landowner and the permit holder, if other than the landowner. A copy of the notice shall be posted on the affected property° ~e notice shall state the st0ecific facts giving rise to such nuisance; the corrective measures deemed necessary; and time, date, and place at which a hearing shall be held by the Well Standards Advisory Board relating thereto, which date shall be not less than ten nor more than thirty days after the date such notice is mailed. The notice shall state that in the event the Board determines that a public nuisance exists a special assessment shall be imposed upon the land for any costs of abatement. 8ec. 26.028. Immediate Abatement. If the Health Officer finds that immediate action is necessary to prevent impairment of the ground water or a threat to the health or safety of the public, he may abate the nuisance without giving notice. Within twenty-four (24) hours after initiating such abatement, the Health Officer shall give notice of a hearing before the Well Standards Advisory Board in the' manner prescribed in Section 26.027. -- Sec. 26.0 29. Board Hear ing. : At the time fixed-for the hearing the Well Standards Advisory Board shall-hear and consider all relevant testimony and evidence offered by the landowner,. and by any other interested person. In the event the Board finds that a public nuisance exists, it shall direct the Health Officer to take any necessary action to protect the ground water or the health and safety of the public unless the situation is corrected by the landowner on or before a date to be specified by the Board. The costs of such corrective work by the Health Officer shall become a special assessment upon the land pursuant to 26.0210. If the Board finds that a permit was improperly denied or cancelled, it shall order the Health Officer to issue or reinstate such permit. Sec..26,0210. Abatement Costs a Special Assesment. Upon a finding by the Well Standards Advisory Board that a well constitutes a public nuisance, all cost of abatement carried out under the terms of this section Shall constitute a charge and special assessment upon the p~.rcel of land involved. If such costs are not paid within sixty (60) days, they shall then be declared a special assessment against that parcel as provided in Government Code Section 38773.5. Such special assessment shall be collected at the same time and in the same manner as ordinary County taxes are collected and shall be subject to the same penalties and the same procedures and sale in case of delinquency as provided for ordinary County taxes. The County shall :retain the additional and independent right to recover its costs by way of civil action against the owner and person in possession or control, joint].y or severally. Sec. 26. 0211. Standards. Standards for the construction, reconstruction, destruction, or abandonment of wells shall be the standards reco'mmended in the State Department of Water Resources Bulletin No. 74, Chapter II and Appendices E, F and Ge and future amendments thereto. Until such time as standards for cathodic protection wells and electrical grounding wells are recommended by the Department of Water Resources, such wells shall conform to the "Tentative Deep Anode Standards," Sheets A-497-S-1 and A-497-S-2, revised December 10, 1969, of the Southern California Cathodic Protection Committee. Well standards may be modified by the Health Officer, with the advise and concurrence of the Well Standards Advisory Board, where required to CODe with local geological and ground water conditions. PASSED AND ADOPTED at a regular meeting of the City " Council of the City of Tustin, held on the 6th day of August, 1973. // i~g~_YOR STATE OF CALIFORNIA) COUNTY OF ORANGE )ss CITY OF TUSTIN ) RUTH C. POE, City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk of the City ~ Council of the City of Tustin~ California, does hereby certify that the whole number of members of the City Council of the City of Tustin is five; that'the above and fore- .going Ordinance No. 591 was duly and regularly introduced and read at a regular meeting of the City Council held on the 6 th day of August , 197 3 , and was given its second reading and dhly passed and adopted at a regular meeting held on the 20th day of August 1973 by the following vote: ' ' AYES: COUNCILMEN SALTARELLI, LANGLEY, MILLER, WELSH', WOODRUFF NOES: COUNCILMEN NONE ABSENT: COUNCILMEN NONE "Cl~y C~ty of Tusti~i, Cal~'~ni~