Arizona Administrative Code › Title 12 - NATURAL RESOURCES › Chapter 15 - Department of Water Resources › Article 13 - WELL SPACING REQUIREMENTS; REPLACEMENT WELLS IN APPROXIMATELY THE SAME LOCATION › Section R12-15-1304 - Well Spacing Requirements - Wells Withdrawing Groundwater From the Little Colorado River Plateau Groundwater Basin for Transportation to Another Groundwater Basin Under A.R.S. Section 45-544(B)(1)

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 28, July 12, 2024
A. An LCR plateau groundwater transporter may
				not withdraw groundwater from a well or wells drilled in the Little Colorado
				river plateau groundwater basin after January 1, 1991, except a replacement
				well in approximately the same location or a well drilled after that date
				pursuant to a notice of intention to drill filed on or before that date, for
				transportation away from the basin pursuant to A.R.S. §
									45-544(B)(1)
				 if the director determines that the
				withdrawals for that purpose will cause unreasonably increasing damage to
				surrounding land or other water users from the concentration of wells under
				subsection (B) of this Section.
B.
				The director shall determine that the withdrawals of groundwater from the well
				or wells will cause unreasonably increasing damage to surrounding land or other
				water users from the concentration of wells if any of the following apply:
1. Except as provided in subsection (D) of
				this Section, the director determines that the probable impact of the
				withdrawals of groundwater from the well or wells on any well of record in
				existence when the withdrawals commenced or are proposed to commence will
				exceed 10 feet of additional drawdown after the first five years of the
				withdrawals. To assist the director in making a determination under this
				subsection, the LCR plateau groundwater transporter may submit to the director
				a hydrological study delineating those areas surrounding the LCR plateau
				groundwater transporter's well or wells in which the projected impacts on water
				levels will exceed 10 feet of additional drawdown after the first five years of
				the withdrawals. The director may require the LCR plateau groundwater
				transporter to submit such a hydrological study if the director determines that
				the study will assist the director in making a determination under this
				subsection;
2. The director
				determines that the well or wells from which the groundwater is withdrawn are
				located in an area of known land subsidence and the withdrawals of groundwater
				will likely cause unreasonably increasing damage from additional regional land
				subsidence. To assist the director in making a determination under this
				subsection, the LCR plateau groundwater transporter may submit to the director
				a hydrological study, which may include a geophysical evaluation, demonstrating
				the impact of the withdrawals on regional land subsidence. The director may
				require the LCR plateau groundwater transporter to submit such a hydrological
				study if the director determines that the study will assist the director in
				making a determination under this subsection; or
3. Except as provided in subsection (E) of
				this Section, the director determines, after consulting with ADEQ, that the
				withdrawals of groundwater from the well or wells will likely cause the
				migration of contaminated groundwater from a remedial action site to a well of
				record in existence when the groundwater withdrawals commenced or are proposed
				to commence, resulting in a degradation of the quality of the water withdrawn
				from the well of record so that the water will no longer be usable for the
				purpose for which it is currently being used without additional treatment, and
				that the damage to the owner of the well of record will not be prevented or
				adequately mitigated through the implementation of a program regulated under
				Title 49 of the Arizona Revised Statutes, or a program regulated by EPA or DOD.
				To assist the director in making a determination under this subsection, the LCR
				plateau groundwater transporter may submit to the director a hydrological study
				demonstrating whether the withdrawals of groundwater will have the effect
				described in this subsection. The director may require the LCR plateau
				groundwater transporter to submit such a hydrological study if the director
				determines that the study will assist the director in making a determination
				under this subsection.