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Ordinance No. 4077
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 23B,
ENTITLED "WATER WELLS"
The Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte ordains as follows:
Section 1. Section 2313-5d is amended to read as follows:
2313-5d Exempt Wells.
The following wells shall not be subject to sections 2313-5b and 23B -5c, except as noted
herein:
(a) A well with an eight -inch or smaller diameter well casing.
(b) The repair or deepening of an existing well which requires a permit under this
chapter, if the engineered pumping capacity of the pump is not increased.
(c) Replacement of a well that is destroyed in accordance with this chapter with a well
having a pump that has the same engineered pumping capacity as the pump for the well
that is destroyed and is drilled within one hundred (100) feet of the destroyed well.
(d) Limited purpose wells, including:
(1) Frost protection well where the well shall only be operated during the crop frost
seasons. These wells shall be subject to section 2313-5c and not section 2313-5a;
(2) Well which is only used for fire suppression;
(3) Monitoring and mitigation wells; and
(4) Exploratory wells used only for the limited purpose of determining the presence
of sufficient potable water on parcels not verified as having been created in
compliance with state and local laws. The purpose of an exploratory well is to
facilitate a determination of whether a parcel can be developed. Requirements for
exploratory wells are specified in section 2313-5e of this Chapter.
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(e) Public water supply wells located within the public water supply agency's service
area, except that the section 2313-5c well spacing requirements shall apply to new public
water supply wells as they relate to existing wells located outside of the public water
supply agency's service area.
Section 2. Section 2313-5e is added to read as follows:
23B -5e Requirements for exploratory wells.
(a) No permit for construction of an exploratory well shall be issued prior to direct
consultation between the health officer and the property owner, and after the property owner
has signed a "Non -Development (Exploratory) Water Well Permit
Disclaimer/Acknowledgment" acknowledging all of the following:
(1) The exploratory well will not be used for any purpose other than for determining the
availability of an adequate water supply as described in subsection (b) of this section; and
(2) Issuance of the exploratory well permit will not convey an entitlement for any
further development of the parcel as described in subsection (b) of this section.
(b) No person shall maintain or use an exploratory well for any purpose other than for
determining the availability of an adequate supply of water to meet the needs for future
parcel development. The restriction on the ability to maintain and use an exploratory well
shall remain in force until the Land Development Division of the Public Works Department
has performed a parcel clearance review and cleared the parcel for development. If the Land
Development Division does not clear the parcel for development and determines it was not
created in compliance with all state and local requirements that were in effect at the time of
parcel creation, the restriction on the ability to maintain and use an exploratory well shall
remain in force until a Certificate of Compliance is recorded for the parcel.
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(c) No person shall install a pump, a pressure tank, electrical service or in any other way
develop an exploratory well that would enable it to be used for other than its intended
purpose.
Section 3. Section 2313-9 is amended to read as follows:
2311-9 Inspections.
(a) The health officer or his designated representatives are hereby empowered to enter upon
private property in order to make inspections for the purpose of enforcing the provisions of
this chapter. A final inspection of the work performed on any well pursuant to this chapter
shall be made by the health officer unless such inspection is waived by him. No permittee
shall be deemed to have complied with this chapter or his permit until such inspection has
been either made and the installation approved, or waived.
(b) The Butte County Health Department, Division of Environmental Health, shall be
notified a minimum of twenty-four (24) hours prior to installing or placing a sanitary seal.
Drillers who anticipate completing a well in less than a day may notify the health officer
twenty-four (24) hours prior to commencement of drilling and provide the anticipated time to
commence the sanitary seal. If the health officer fails to appear at the well site at the time
designated for sealing, the well may be sealed without the presence of the health officer.
Section 4. Section 2313-10 is amended to read as follows:
2311-10 Violations; penalties.
(a) Any construction, repair or reconstruction of any well or any destruction of any
abandoned well in violation of the provisions of this chapter shall constitute a misdemeanor
punishable as prescribed in section 1-7 of this Code; provided, however, that nothing herein
shall be deemed to abrogate or annul the right to enjoin or abate such violations by civil
action.
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(b) Any violation of the provisions of this chapter as specified in subsection 23B -5e of this
chapter shall constitute an infraction and shall be punishable by imposition of the following
fines:
(1) Upon a first conviction, a fine of one thousand dollars ($1000.00);
(2) Upon a second conviction of violating the same chapter of this Code within the
twelve (12) month period immediately preceding the commission of the current violation,
a fine of three thousand dollars ($3000.00);
(3) Upon a third conviction of violating the same chapter of this Code within a twelve
(12) month period immediately preceding the commission of the current violation, a fine
of five thousand dollars ($5000.00).
(c) Any violation which may be otherwise charged and punishable as an infraction pursuant
to subsection (b) of this section may be charged and punishable as a misdemeanor if the
defendant has been convicted of three (3) or more violations of the same chapter of this Code
within the twelve (12) month period.
(d) Each and every day or portion thereof that a person violates or continues to violate any
such provision of this chapter constitutes a separate offense and may be charged and
punished separately without awaiting conviction of any prior violation.
Section 5. Section 2313-16 is amended to read as follows:
23B-16 Fees and notices.
(a) Program administration fees. Any applicant for permits or services pursuant to this
Chapter shall pay fees to the health officer as established by Chapter 43 at the time of
submission of application and in advance of the requested or required service.
(b) Variance and appeal fees. Any person filing an application for a variance permit shall
pay a fee equal to the actual cost for county employees' time in reviewing and otherwise
processing, the application and for the county's costs of publishing hearing notices. Appeal
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fees are payable pursuant to section 23134 and Chapter 43 of this Code. The variance fees
will be payable as follows:
(1) The application shall be accompanied by an initial fee deposit paid to the health
officer;
(2) When the initial deposited funds are depleted to an amount equal to twenty-five
(25) percent of the original deposit, no additional processing of the application will
occur until the applicant or appellant deposits with the health officer sufficient funds to
restore a balance equal to the amount required by chapter 43 of this Code, unless a
lesser amount is approved by the health officer. In the event the applicant or appellant
does not provide sufficient funds to continue processing the application, the
application will be deemed denied;
(3) All deposited funds shall be maintained in a separate budget control account; and
(4) After final action on the application, any funds remaining in the account shall be
returned to the applicant or appellant. If the actual cost for county employee's time and
publishing are less than the money deposited, the remaining amount shall be returned.
If the costs are greater than the money deposited, the applicant or appellant shall pay
the additional amount. In the event that payment is not received for the additional
amount within thirty (30) days' notice by the health officer or the clerk of the board of
supervisors, as applicable, effective upon mailing by first class mail, the matter will be
immediately referred to central collections.
(c) Notices.
(1) Variances. A notice of application for a variance shall be mailed to the property
owners located within the area specified under section 2313-5c, including the owners of
all wells registered with the county pursuant to section 2313-8a or identified by the
applicant in the application. Such notice shall be mailed at least fifteen (15) days before
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the health officer shall take action on the variance.
(2) Appeals. A notice of hearing on an appeal shall be both published in a newspaper of
general circulation in accordance with Government Code sections 6060 and 6061 and be
mailed to the owners of all property located within the area specified under section 2313-
5c, including the owners of all wells registered with the county pursuant to section 2313-
8a or identified by the applicant in the application.
(3) The notice shall be mailed to the property owners or to the owners shown on the
section 23B -8a well registration roll. The notice shall indicate the time, date and place of
the hearing and the location of the subject well property. Notice is not required to be
given to property owners who are served by a public water supply well and notice shall
instead be given to their public water supplier. Failure of any property owner to receive
such a notice shall not affect in any manner the action taken by the board of supervisors.
Section 6 Severability.
If any provision of this Ordinance or the application thereof to any person or
circumstances is for any reason held to be invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such
provision shall be deemed severable, and the invalidity thereof shall not affect the remaining
provisions or other applications of the Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid
provision or application thereof.
Section 7. Effective Date and Publication.
This Ordinance shall take effect thirty (30) days after the date of its passage. The Clerk
of the Board of Supervisors is authorized and directed to publish this ordinance before the
expiration of fifteen (15) days after its passage. This Ordinance shall be published once, with the
names of the members of the Board of Supervisors voting for and against it, in the
Chico Enterprise Record, a newspaper of general circulation published in the County of Butte,
State of California.
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PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Board of Supervisors of the County of Butte, State of
California, on the 22nd day of April, 2014, by the following vote:
AYES: Supervisors Connelly, Wahl, Kirk, Lambert and Chair Teeter
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
NOT VOTING: None
ATTEST
Paul Hahn
Chief Administray�ive Officer
and Clerkxffithe and % i
Doug Teeter, Chair of the
Butte County Board of Supervisors