Osceola City Zoning Code

Purpose. The residents of the Village 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 wellhead protection article is to institute land use regulations and restrictions protecting the municipal water supply of the Village and promote the public health, safety and general welfare of the residents.

Authority. Statutory authority of the Village is found in s. 62.23(7)(c) W.S.A. in the statutory authorization to protect the public health, safety and welfare to specifically encourage the protection of groundwater resources.

The Groundwater Technical Review Committee shall consist of:

The purpose of the Groundwater Technical Review Committee is to provide objective and scientific technical review of requests for conditional use permits and make recommendations to the Plan Commission to grant or deny conditional use permits based upon the facts discovered in that review, to make recommendations on any and all conditions placed on a conditional use permit and give advice on matters concerning groundwater.

Zone 1 of the Groundwater Protection Overlay District. Zone 1 is the area of land which contributes water to the well in question, out to a thirty-day time of travel to the well. Time of travel delineations must be based on accepted hydrogeological research as outlined in the State Wellhead Protection Program Plan for Public Water Utilities, Appendix 2, with zone boundaries normalized to land parcels.

Zone 2 of the Groundwater Protection Overlay District. Zone 2 encompasses the area of land which contributes water to the well starting at the line which delineates the thirty-day time of travel and ends at the line delineating the five-year time of travel to the well. Time of travel delineations must be based on accepted hydrogeological research as outlined in the State Wellhead Protection Program Plan for Public Water Utilities, Appendix 2, with zone boundaries normalized to land parcels.

The boundaries of the Groundwater Protection Overlay Districts shall be shown on the Village Zoning Map. The locations and boundaries of the zoning districts established by this article are set forth on the Wellhead Protection Area Map[1] which is incorporated herein and hereby made a part of this Article. Said map, together with everything shown thereon and all amendments thereto, shall be as much a part of this Article as though fully set forth and described herein.

Zone 1 is delineated on the Wellhead Protection Area Map and includes the parcels of land identified by parcel numbers listed thereon.

Zone 2 is delineated on the Wellhead Protection Area Map and includes the parcels of land identified by parcel numbers listed thereon.

The following permitted uses in Zone 1 are subject to the separation distance requirements and prohibited uses, § 219-82:

The following permitted uses in Zone 2 are subject to the separation distance requirements, § 219-81, 219-84, and prohibited uses, § 219-82:

Fifty feet between a public water supply well and a stormwater sewer main or any sanitary sewer main constructed of water main materials and joints which is pressure tested in place to meet current AWWA 600 specifications.

Two hundred feet between a public water supply well and any sanitary sewer main not meeting the above specifications, any sanitary sewer lift station or single-family residential fuel oil tank.

Four hundred feet between a public water supply well and a septic system receiving less than 8,000 gallons per day or a stormwater detention, retention, infiltration or drainage basin.

The following uses are prohibited in Zones 1 and 2:

In Zone 1, the conditional uses of § 219-83B are prohibited.

Any person may request a conditional use permit for certain uses, activities and structures within Zone 2 of the Groundwater Protection Overlay District not prohibited in § 219-82.

The uses, activities and structures that may be conditionally allowed within Zone 2 are:

All requests for a condition use permit shall be submitted in writing to the Village Building Inspector and shall include:

The person making the request shall reimburse the Village for consultant fees and Technical Review Committee expenses associated with this review at the invoiced amount, plus administrative costs.

All conditional use permits granted shall be subject to conditions that will include environmental and safety monitoring determined necessary to afford adequate protection of the public water supply. These conditions shall include, but not be limited to:

The Plan Commission shall decide upon a request for a conditional use permit only after full consideration of the recommendations made by the Groundwater Technical Review Committee. Any conditions above and beyond those specified in the conditional uses, Subsection E herein, that are recommended by the Groundwater Technical Review Committee may be applied to the granting of the conditional use permit.

Such facilities as above which exist within the district at the time of enactment of a district shall provide copies of all current, revised or new federal, state and local facility operation approvals, permits or certificates; operational safety plans; and ongoing environmental monitoring results to the Village.

Such facilities as above which exist within the district at the time of enactment of a district shall have the responsibility of devising, filing and maintaining, with the Village, a current contingency plan which details how they intend to respond to any emergency which may cause or threaten to cause environmental pollution that occurs at their facility, including notifying municipal, county and state officials.

Such facilities as above cannot engage in or employ a use, activity or structure listed in prohibited uses, § 219-82, or in conditional uses, § 219-83, which they did not engage in or employ at the time of enactment of a district, and can only expand, replace or rebuild those present uses, activities, equipment or structures on the site or property of record associated with the facility at the time of enactment of a district, and in a manner that improves the environmental and safety technologies already being utilized. No existing use, activity or structure listed as a prohibited use or conditional use shall be expanded, replaced, or rebuilt unless a conditional use permit is granted for such expansion, replacement or rebuilding. This section does not apply to normal maintenance or minor repairs.

The uses prohibited by this District are prohibited based upon the combined pollution experience of many individual uses and the technology generally employed by a particular use considered to be of a high risk for pollution to the groundwater resource. As the technology of other uses change to low or nonrisk materials or methods, upon petition from such use, after conferring with the Groundwater Technical Review Committee or other expert opinion, and after appropriate public notice and hearing, the Village, through appropriate procedures and actions to change these provisions of the Village Code, may remove from the designated prohibited uses such uses as are demonstrated convincingly that they no longer pose a groundwater pollution hazard.

In dealing with uses which attempt to become permissible, under the terms of this District, by continuing to utilize pollutant materials but altering their processing, storage and handling, it is not the intention to accept alternate or reduced hazards as the basis for making a use permissible. It is the intention to continue a prohibition on such uses until the technology of the use removes reliance upon the pollutant materials or processes deemed to be a groundwater hazard.

Penalty. Any person who violates, neglects or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of this Article shall be subject to a penalty as provided in Chapter 1, § 1-19, of this Code.

Injunction. The Village may, in addition to any other remedy, seek injunction or restraining order against the party alleged to have violated the provisions herein, the cost of which shall be charged to the defendant in such action.

Cleanup costs. As a substitute for, and in addition to, any other action, the Village may commence legal action against both the person who releases the contaminants and the owner of the facility whereupon the contaminants were released to recover the costs, together with the costs of prosecution. Any person who causes the release of any contaminants which may endanger or contaminate the municipal water supply system associated with a Groundwater Protection Overlay District shall immediately cease such discharge and immediately initiate cleanup satisfactory to the Village and the other state and federal regulatory agencies. The person who releases such contaminants and the person who owns the facility whereon the contaminants have been released shall be jointly and severally responsible for the cost of cleanup, consultant or other contractor fees, including all administrative costs for oversight, review and documentation, including the Village employees, equipment and mileage.

Conflict and interpretation of provisions. If the provisions of the different chapters of this Code conflict with or contravene each other, the provisions of each chapter shall prevail as to all matters and questions arising out of the subject matter of such chapter. In their interpretation and application, the provisions of this Article shall be held to be the minimum and are not deemed a limitation or repeal of any other power granted by Wisconsin Statutes. Where any terms or requirements of this Article may be inconsistent or conflicting, the most restrictive requirement or interpretation shall apply.

Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause or phrase of the article is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by reason of any decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of any other section, subsection, sentence clause or phrase or portion thereof. The Village Board hereby declares that they would have passed this article and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion thereof irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases or portions may be declared invalid or unconstitutional.