32.1-176.4 - Powers and duties of Board and Department; regulations; fees.
§ 32.1-176.4. Powers and duties of Board and Department; regulations; fees.
A. The Board shall adopt regulations pertaining to the location andconstruction of private wells in the Commonwealth. These regulations shallinclude minimum storage capacity and yield requirements for residentialdrinking wells. The certified water well systems provider shall certify thestorage capacity and the yield of the well on a form provided by theDepartment at the time the well is completed. The Department shall enforcethe provisions of this article and any rules and regulations adopted pursuantthereto. However, for private wells located in the Counties of Fairfax,Goochland, James City, Loudoun, Powhatan, and Prince William and the City ofSuffolk, the governing body of such county or city may, by ordinance,establish standards which are consistent with Board standards pertaining tolocation and testing of water therefrom and more stringent than those adoptedby the Board pertaining to construction and abandonment. However, any countyor city granted these additional powers shall not require certification fordrillers of monitoring wells and any recovery wells associated with suchmonitoring wells.
B. A fee of $40 shall be charged for filing an application for a private wellconstruction permit with the Department. Funds received in payment of suchcharges shall be transmitted to the Comptroller for deposit. The funds fromthe fees shall be credited to a special fund to be appropriated by theGeneral Assembly, as it deems necessary, to the Department for the purpose ofcarrying out the provisions of this title. The Board, in its regulations,shall establish a procedure for the waiver of fees for persons whose incomesare below the federal poverty guidelines established by the United StatesDepartment of Health and Human Services or when the application is forreplacement of a well. If the Department denies the permit for land on whichthe applicant seeks to construct his principal place of residence, then suchfee shall be refunded to the applicant.
From such funds as are appropriated to the Department from the special fund,the Board shall apportion a share to the local or district health departmentsto be allocated in the same ratios as provided for the operation of suchhealth departments pursuant to § 32.1-31. Such funds shall be transmitted tothe local or district health departments on a quarterly basis.
C. The Board's regulations shall provide for the issuance of an expressgeothermal permit allowing, upon proper registration and payment ofapplication fees, the construction of wells used solely for a closed loopgeothermal heating system. The express geothermal permit shall include:
1. A requirement that all well construction be performed by a person holdinga valid, appropriate contractor license with water well classificationpursuant to Chapter 11 (§ 54.1-1100 et seq.) of Title 54.1;
2. A requirement that the contractor provide a registration statement to theDepartment prior to beginning construction of the geothermal heating systemcertifying that the location and construction of the geothermal heatingsystem will comply with the private well regulations;
3. A requirement that the registration statement accurately identify theproperty location, the owner's name, address, and contact information, andthe contractor's name, address, and contact information;
4. A requirement that the registration statement include a detailed siteplan, drawn to scale, showing the location of the geothermal heating systemand any potential sources of contamination;
5. A provision that construction of the geothermal heating system may beginimmediately upon submittal of a proper registration statement; and
6. A provision that a single application and a single fee be required for anygeothermal well system. The fee will be equal to the fee for a single privatewell.
(1986, c. 401; 1988, c. 203; 1991, c. 514; 1992, c. 599; 1993, cc. 85, 728,794; 1994, cc. 141, 747; 1999, c. 633; 2004, c. 72; 2009, cc. 105, 710.)