LBNRD to hold public hearing

The Little Blue Natural Resources District will address proposed groundwater rules and regulation changes at a public hearing on March 20.

The public hearing will be held at 1:30 p.m. at the Davenport Community Building.

At the District’s February Board meeting, the Board of Directors placed a temporary stay on drilling high capacity wells on a select area of the District. The stay is expected to be lifted as soon as the rules are officially in effect, approximately May 12, 2014.

At last week’s March Board meeting, part of the motion was clarified.

According to a press release, the following are a part of the new proposed regulations.

All wells would be required to have flow meters by March 31, 2017. This will be done according to District installation specifications. Some grandfathering of existing meters will be allowed.

A timetable is set for installation of the flow meters based on the area of the section of land. All wells in the northeast quarter of the section must have a flow meter installed by Dec. 31, 2014. Flow meters will be required in the northwest quarter of the section by Sept. 30, 2015. By June 30, 2016, flow meters must be installed in the southwest quarter of the section. The southeast quarter of the section will be required to have a flow meter by March 31, 2017.

Levels of the aquifer will effect where wells can be placed. Wells in very high risk areas must meet a minimum aquifer score set by the District or it must “prove capacity and impacts.”  The aquifer score is based on the LBNRD’s hydro-geologic study. New well permits will be prohibited in areas where the aquifer is less than 10 feet.

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