(1) INTENT. The intent of this district is to protect the public water wells in the jurisdiction of Crete. In order to provide protection for such wells, and maintain the health, safety, and general welfare of Crete residents, the regulation of land uses having the potential for contamination of groundwater sources is necessary within a specified boundary area surrounding said wells. The Wellhead Protection Plan has identified the area of protection . An area used in the plan includes is the area delineated by the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. This area is required by Title 179 of the Nebraska Administrative Code to protect the municipal water supply from microbiological contamination within a calculated one year time of travel for groundwater flow. Other areas include areas within a twenty-four hour time of travel for surface water, areas near the well field where surface run-off can have a significant potential for surface contamination, and areas where development review and control is necessary to ensure proper control of run-off. The Wellhead Protection Overlay District establishes performance standards to protect the integrity of Crete’s well fields including regulations related to the ability of contamination in the area to affect the quality of the City’s water supply.

(2) PREREQUISITE REQUIREMENTS FOR APPLICATION OF THIS DISTRICT. Prior to making such application and approval of any application of this district to any lands within the city by the City Council, the City shall first comply with all other requirements of the Wellhead Protection Act (Neb. Rev. Stat. 46-1505 to 46-1509). These requirements include, but are not limited to the following:

(a) Delineation of the Wellhead Protection Area based upon a twenty year time of travel recharge zone.

(b) Approval of such Wellhead Protection Area by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, Completion and mapping of an inventory or potential contamination sources within the Wellhead Protection Area.

(c) Formulation of emergency/contingency/long-range plans in the event of disruption of supply of water from the wells in the Wellhead Protection Area.

(d) Formulation of and ability to implement an ongoing Public Involvement/Education Program to permit public comment in the establishment of the Wellhead Protection Program and to provide information to the public regarding the program and voluntary cooperation with said program.

(e) Development of a program to install and maintain Wellhead Protection Area signs on roadways around the wellhead Protection Area.

(3) LIMITATION ON APPLICATION OF THIS DISTRICT. This district may be applied only to Wellhead Protection Areas officially approved by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality. In the event the boundaries of any such officially approved Wellhead Protection Areas do not follow easily identifiable boundaries such as roads, rivers, creeks, section, quarter section, or quarter-quarter section lines, the boundaries of such area shall be expanded to the nearest such lines to avoid confusion and added administrative costs associated with infield determination of such boundaries.

(4) AMENDMENT OF OFFICIAL ZONING MAP. Whenever the requirements of subsection (2) have been complied with and the City Council has approved the application of this overlay zoning district on land with the City, in accordance with the procedures for amendment of the Official Zoning Map set forth in section 11-202, the boundaries of such overlay district shall be indicated on said Official Zoning Map.

(5) ALLOWABLE USES AND STRUCTURES. Any use or structure indicated as an allowable use, a permitted use, a special exception use, or an accessory use in the primary zoning district to which this overlay district is applied shall be allowed or permitted in accordance with the zoning requirements of the primary zoning district, except when specifically prohibited in subsection (7), and provided all such uses further comply with the additional wellhead protection restrictions set forth in subsection (8).

(6) MINIMUM LOT REQUIREMENTS. The minimum lot requirements as set forth on the primary zoning district shall apply within this overlay district, according to the location of each primary zoning district. Such requirements include lot area, lot width and frontage, setback requirements, and height restrictions.

(7) PROHIBITED USES AND STRUCTURES. All other uses and structures which are not permitted in the underlying district either as a permitted use, accessory use, or special exception use are prohibited. Furthermore, the following uses or structures shall be specifically prohibited:

(a) Commercial feed lots.

(b) Livestock auction sale yards.

(c) Sludge and waste application and stockpiling from livestock operations or municipal waste.

(d) Landfills and other types of waste handling facilities.

(e) Commercial mines, quarries, sand and gravel pits.

(f) Commercial or industrial uses which utilize or generate any materials determined by the United States Department of Environmental Protection as hazardous materials, including commercial or industrial uses which store bulk petroleum products, agricultural chemicals, anhydrous ammonia, or other fertilizers in excess of fifty gallons.

(8) WELLHEAD PROTECTION RESTRICTIONS: The following restrictions shall apply to uses within any area of land on which this overlay district is applied:

(a) Storage of gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil, or other similar fuels, whether on a farm or ranch or in association with another land use, shall comply with the rules and regulations of Titles 126 and 159 administered by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality or other responsible agency or department. Storage of gasoline or diesel fuel in excess of one-thousand one-hundred gallons per aboveground storage tank or five hundred gallons per underground storage tank, or two thousand five-hundred gallons total of all tanks, shall be prohibited, except when a special exception use for a commercial or industrial use is authorized. In any such authorization, a condition of approval shall be compliance with the rules and regulations of such Titles 126 and 129.

(b) Fuel storage associated with irrigation well motors shall be equipped with a containment area in accordance with the National Fire Protection Association Code 30 and with Title 126, administered by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality, in the event of a fuel release.

(c) No fuel storage, except when associated with subdivision (b), shall be permitted within one-thousand feet of any water well protected under this overlay district.

(d) No septic tank, tile field, waste lagoon, or man-made or constructed earthen water storage, including irrigation re-use pits, associated with any residential, commercial, industrial, agricultural, or other type of use shall be permitted within one-thousand feet of any water well protected under this overlay district.

(e) Any development must be connected to city water services if such services are available within five hundred feet of the site. If a connection is impossible, all new wells shall be installed in accordance with Title 178 of the Nebraska Administrative Code. Well installation further requires the approval of both the City’s Director of Utilities and the appropriate State of Nebraska regulatory agencies.

(f) Domestic, irrigation, and any other water well shall not be located closer than one-thousand feet to any water well protected under this overlay district.

(g) All storage tanks permitted by this section shall be operated safely and maintained in an operable and serviceable condition and meet all Department of Environmental Quality and Fire Marshal’s regulations. All storage tanks with a capacity of at least three hundred gallons shall receive a Storage Tank Permit before being place into service.

(h) Storage of fertilizers, herbicides, pesticides and other materials determined by the United States Environmental Protection Agency to be hazardous materials shall be prohibited except when a special exception use for such use is authorized and such authorization includes a condition that all such uses shall comply with the applicable rules and regulations of Title 118, 121, 126, 128, 159 and 198 administered by the Nebraska Department of Environmental Quality and other agencies.

(i) Any application of fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides to the land or crops through an irrigation system (chemigation) shall comply with the rules and requirements of Title 195.

(j) If any land area contained within a wellhead protection overlay district is also part of a special protection area or ground water management area established under the Groundwater Management Protection Act, all uses within such areas, including agricultural uses, shall comply with the action plan and best management practices established for such areas by the local Natural Resources Districts.

(k) Surface water run-off shall be contained within the boundaries of any proposed development.

(9) SPECIAL EXCEPTION USE PERMITS: Uses identified herein may be used or expanded in the WPO Wellhead Protection Overlay District if a Special Exception Use Permit for such use has been obtained pursuant to the following provisions:

(a) The special exception permit provisions within the zoning regulations must be complied with.

(b) The planning commission and governing body shall be notified by the Crete City Manager or his or her designee of any application for a special exception use permit within the respective wellhead protection area.

Source: Ord. 2026 (2017)