White Pine County Unincorporated
City Zoning Code

   A.   This chapter shall be known as the WELLHEAD PROTECTION ORDINANCE.

   B.   It is the purpose of this chapter to promote the public health, safety, and general welfare, and to minimize public and private losses due to contamination of the public water supply, and to formalize groundwater protection procedures. Specific goals are to:

      1.   Protect human life and health;

      2.   Ensure that the public is provided with a sustainable safe potable water supply;

      3.   Minimize expenditure of public money for pollution remediation projects;

      4.   Clarify regulations on land use; and

      5.   Minimize business interruptions. (Ord. 401 §1, 2007)

When used in this chapter, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings given in this section:

COMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM: A public system, which serves at least fifteen (15) service connections used by year round residents or regularly serves at least twenty five (25) year round residents.

COMMUNITY WELLHEAD: The upper terminal of a well, including adapters, ports, seals, valves and other appurtenances.

CONTAMINANT: An undesirable substance not normally present, or an undesirably high concentration of a naturally occurring substance.

FACILITY: Refers to any business or corporation that is built, installed, or established to serve a particular purpose.

HAZARDOUS WASTE DISPOSAL FACILITY: A hazardous waste treatment, storage, or disposal facility, that receives hazardous material as described in part 40 chapter 260.1 of the code of federal regulations.

HAZARDOUS WASTE OR MATERIAL: Any waste or material, which because of its quantity, concentration, physical, chemical or infectious characteristics may:

   A.   Cause or significantly contribute to an increase in mortality or an increase in serious irreversible or incapacitating reversible illness; or

   B.   Pose a substantial present or potential hazard to human health or to the environment when improperly treated, stored, transported, disposed of or otherwise managed; or

   C.   Any material or substance designated as a hazardous or toxic substance defined by title 40 part 261.3 of the code of federal regulations, or any material or substance designated as a hazardous or toxic substance by the state of Nevada, acting through the division of environmental protection or any successor agency.

NONCOMMUNITY WATER SYSTEM: A public water system that is not a community water system.

PERMITTING AGENCY: For the purposes of this chapter, the White Pine County building department is the permitting agency responsible for authorization and enforcement of building and land use permits.

PUBLIC WATER SYSTEM: A system that provides the public with piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen (15) service connections or regularly serves an average of at least twenty five (25) individuals daily at least sixty (60) days out of the year. Such term includes:

   A.   Any drinking water source procurement, pumping, treatment, storage, and distribution facilities under control of the operator of such system, and used primarily in connection with such system; and

   B.   Any drinking water source procurement, pumping or pretreatment storage facilities not under such control that are used primarily in connection with such system.

A public water system is either a "community water system" or a "noncommunity water system".

TIME OF TRAVEL DISTRICTS (TOT): The time required for a water molecule or contaminant to move through an aquifer from a specific point to a well or spring.

UNDERGROUND INJECTION WELL: A well that is used for or intended to be used for the subsurface emplacement of fluids.

   A.   A bored, drilled or driven shaft whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension; or

   B.   A dug hole whose depth is greater than the largest surface dimension; or

   C.   An improved sinkhole; or

   D.   A subsurface fluid distribution system.

WELL: A penetration in the ground made for the purpose of measuring, testing or sampling the underground strata or producing groundwater. This term includes a water well, monitoring well or exploratory well; or any excavation or artificial opening into the ground, which provides an unnatural conduit for fluids to migrate to the water table.

WELLHEAD PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT: A land use designation on the land use map, or a zoning designation on a zoning map, that modifies the basic underlying designation in some specific manner. The wellhead protection overlay district map will define specific area districts that delineate the surface and subsurface area surrounding a drinking water well or well field. The map is delineated using methods established in the NDEP, "Wellhead Protection Program Guide".

WELLHEAD PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT I: Per Nevada administrative code 444.792 and/or Nevada Revised Statutes 439.200, 444.650, a minimum fixed radius extending no less than one hundred fifty feet (150') from the wellhead supplying potable water to the public water supplies.

WELLHEAD PROTECTION OVERLAY DISTRICT II: A ten (10) year or twenty (20) year, whichever is greater, time of travel district (TOT) as defined in this section and as defined in the public water system's approved or endorsed wellhead protection program, recognized by the state of Nevada's wellhead protection program, administered by the Nevada division of environmental protection. (Ord. 401 §2, 2007)

There is hereby established a wellhead protection overlay district identified and described as all the area within the ten (10) year or twenty (20) year TOT district around public water supplies as shown on the official zoning map. It is further established that these areas be composed of two (2) districts, "wellhead protection overlay district I" and "wellhead protection overlay district II", as they are defined in this chapter. The board of commissioners may record with the county recorder's office a metes and bounds description of the wellhead protection overlay district. (Ord. 401 §3, 2007)

   A.   Uses permitted within zone I shall be limited to transformers and substations, and necessary public water supply wellhead equipment including the following: wellhead facility buildings, water storage tanks, disinfection and treatment equipment, disinfection and treatment chemical storage and approved landscaping. All other uses shall be prohibited including, but not limited to:

      1.   Manufacturing or industrial businesses involving the collection, handling, manufacture, use, storage, transfer or disposal of any hazardous solid or liquid material or waste having a potential impact on groundwater quality that would change groundwater quality to below state drinking water quality standards, and any land use activities posing a hazard or contamination threat to existing groundwater quality.

      2.   Sewer lines, septic tanks, drain fields or the disposal of waste oil, oil filters, tires and all other petroleum products.

Exceptions may be allowed upon issuance of a special use permit. The planning commission may instigate a special use permit process during the application review process. (Ord. 401 §4, 2007)

Whenever there is a request that requires a special use permit from the planning commission for land lying within a wellhead protection district, written notice no less than thirty (30) days before the hearing shall be given to all entities operating a public or community water supply system within that overlay district. The planning commission may require a granting of easements for monitoring wells if the commission deems it appropriate for protection of the public water supply. (Ord. 401 §5, 2007)

Upon requesting a permit for land use or development within the wellhead protection overlay district II, applicants will be informed by the permitting agency regarding the goals of the wellhead protection plan for the associated PWS. The permitting agency must promptly send a copy of the application to the PWS. The PWS will then be allowed thirty (30) days to respond to the proposed development or land use as they pertain to the goals stated in their wellhead protection program. The PWS may then request more detailed information or submit a nonbinding advisory statement detailing any suggested restrictions, modifications and/or justification for denial or approval of the permit. (Ord. 401 §6, 2007)

Any legal use existing at the time of the adoption hereof and listed as a prohibited use herein, shall become a legal nonconforming use and is required to conform to this chapter upon any change or transfer of ownership or upon expansion or improvement except as otherwise provided in this title. (Ord. 401 §7, 2007)

It shall be unlawful for any person, corporation, government entity or business to occupy or use the land within the area designated in the wellhead protection overlay district of zone I, and/or II, contrary to, or in violation of, any of the provisions of this chapter and/or adopted water quality legislation and pursuant regulations to protect groundwater from potential contaminant sources as identified in this code and in various chapters of the Nevada administrative code. (Ord. 401 §8, 2007)

Proposed amendments will require advance notice to all entities operating public or community water supplies that this chapter affects. (Ord. 401 §9, 2007)