18 C.F.R. § 803.43 Standards for ground-water withdrawals.
Title 18 - Conservation of Power and Water Resources
(a) Requirement. (1) With respect to projects coming into existence on or after the effective date of this section, any project sponsor proposing to withdraw from a ground-water source in excess of an average of 100,000 gpd for any consecutive thirty-day period, proposing to increase a withdrawal to more than an average of 100,000 for any consecutive thirty-day period or proposing to increase a withdrawal above that amount which was previously approved by the commission, shall apply for approval pursuant to subpart B of this part. These withdrawals may be denied or may be limited by the commission to the amount (quantity and rate) of ground water that is needed to meet the reasonably foreseeable needs of the project sponsor and that can be withdrawn from an aquifer or aquifer system without causing adverse lowering of ground-water levels, rendering competing supplies unreliable, causing water quality degradation that may be injurious to any existing or potential ground or surface water use, causing permanent loss of aquifer storage capacity, or having a substantial adverse impact on low flow of perennial streams. (2) With respect to projects withdrawing any quantity of water prior to the effective date of this section, any project sponsor proposing to increase the said withdrawal in excess of 100,000 gpd above that which such project was withdrawing prior to the said effective date, shall apply for approval pursuant to subpart B of this part. (3) After obtaining approval for the withdrawal pursuant to this paragraph, the sponsor shall also comply with metering, monitoring and reporting requirements as set forth in this section. (b) Withdrawal application. Information required by the commission is specified in the commission's ground-water withdrawal application and includes but is not limited to the results of a constant rate pumping test. Review and approval by SRBC staff of the test procedures to be used by the applicant are necessary before the test is started. (c) Metering. Projects approved under this section shall meter all approved ground-water withdrawals. The meters shall be accurate to within 5 percent of the actual flow. (d) Monitoring and reporting. (1) Monitoring and periodic reporting of water levels, well production, and ground-water quality are required of all approved ground-water withdrawals. The required information is listed in Form SRBC #30 (Ground-water Withdrawal Reporting Form) and includes but is not limited to the following: (i) Ground-water levels shall be measured weekly in all approved production wells and reported to the commission annually. Additional water level measurements may be required in one or more observation wells as determined by the commission. (ii) Production from approved ground-water sources shall be recorded weekly and reported to the commission annually. (iii) Samples of ground water for water quality analysis shall be obtained and the results reported to the commission every three years. The required chemical constituents to be included in the analysis are listed in Form SRBC #30. (2) The information in paragraph (d)(1) of this section may be provided to the commission either on Form SRBC #30 or other similar document containing all of the required information. (e) Planning. If projections indicate that a project's ground-water supply will be constrained in the future by either the quantity or quality of available ground water, the commission may, in its discretion, require the submission of a water resource development plan prior to accepting any new withdrawal applications for the same or related projects. (f) Interference with existing withdrawals. If review of the application or substantial data demonstrates that operation of a proposed ground-water withdrawal will significantly affect or interfere with an existing ground-water or surface water withdrawal, the project may be denied or the project sponsor may be required to provide, at its expense, an alternate water supply or other mitigating measures. (g) Effective date. Notwithstanding the overall effective date for other portions of this part set forth in §803.1(e), this section shall apply to all ground-water withdrawals initiated on or after July 13, 1978.
Title 18: Conservation of Power and Water Resources
PART 803—REVIEW AND APPROVAL OF PROJECTS
Subpart D—Standards for Review and Approval/Special Standards
§ 803.43 Standards for ground-water withdrawals.
