Kentucky Administrative Regulations › Title 401 - ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENT CABINET - DEPARTMENT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION › Chapter 6 - Water Wells › Section 401 KAR 6:310 - Water supply well construction practices and standards

Current through Register Vol. 51, No. 1, July 1, 2024
RELATES TO:
				KRS
				223.400 - 223.460, 223.991, 224.1-010,
				224.1-400
NECESSITY, FUNCTION AND CONFORMITY:
				KRS
				224.10-100,
				224.70-100,
				and
				224.70-110
				authorize the cabinet to establish administrative regulations to protect water
				quality.
				KRS 223.435 requires
				the cabinet to promulgate administrative regulations establishing standards of
				practice for water well construction. This administrative regulation provides
				minimum standards and requirements for construction, modification, and
				abandonment of water supply wells.
Section
			 1. General Requirements.
(1) Each
			 water supply well subject to this administrative regulation shall be
			 constructed, modified, or abandoned only by a certified water supply well
			 driller or certified well driller assistant as established in
			 KRS
			 223.425 and
			 401
			 KAR 6:320.
(2) A water supply well driller's assistant
			 shall work under the "direct supervision", as defined by 401 KAR 6:001(14), of
			 a certified water supply well driller.
(3) Well specifications shall be:
(a) Provided by the certified well driller to
			 the well driller's assistant under "direct supervision" as defined by 401 KAR
			 6:001(14), for the work to be conducted including:
1. Construction;
2. Alteration;
3. Maintenance;
4. Repair;
5. Reworking;
6. Development;
7. Abandonment; or
8. Plugging; and
(b) Recorded on the Uniform Kentucky Well
			 Construction Record, which shall be:
1.
			 Retained by the water supply well driller's assistant; and
2. Available for inspection upon request by
			 the cabinet.
(4) Changes made to water supply well
			 specifications during any work being conducted on a water supply well shall be:
(a) Approved in advance by a certified waters
			 supply well driller;
(b) Recorded
			 on an amended Uniform Kentucky Well Construction Record;
(c) Retained by the water supply well
			 driller's assistant; and
(d)
			 Available for inspection upon request by the cabinet.
(5) Permanent and temporary water supply
			 wells shall be constructed, modified, and abandoned in a manner that prevents
			 the introduction or migration of contamination to a waterbearing zone or
			 aquifer through the casing, drill hole, or annular materials.
(6) Within sixty (60) days after a water
			 supply well has been completed, modified, or abandoned, the certified water
			 supply well driller shall submit to the cabinet the Uniform Kentucky Well
			 Construction Record or the Uniform Kentucky Well Maintenance and Plugging
			 Record, as appropriate. The report shall include:
(a) All information about the depth and the
			 materials used in the water supply well construction, modification, or
			 abandonment; and
(b) The results of
			 the bacteriological sampling as established in Section 9(6) of this
			 administrative regulation.
(7) Records to water supply well owner.
			 Within sixty (60) days after the water supply well has been completed or
			 modified, the certified water well driller shall provide to the well owner a
			 copy of the:
(a) Uniform Kentucky Well
			 Construction Record or the Uniform Kentucky Well Maintenance and Plugging
			 Record submitted to the cabinet;
(b) Results of bacteriological sample
			 analysis collected in accordance with Section 9(6) of this administrative
			 regulation;
(c) Water Well Owner's
			 Guide; and
(d) Analytical results
			 if additional water quality analysis is conducted.
(8) Each well constructed or modified shall
			 be tagged with a well identification number tag provided by the cabinet.
(a) An existing well identification number
			 shall be included on the Uniform Kentucky Well Maintenance and Plugging Record
			 for any well being modified or abandoned.
(b) If a well identification number does not
			 exist at the time of modification or abandonment, the well shall be tagged and
			 the well identification number assigned shall be recorded on the Uniform
			 Kentucky Well Maintenance and Plugging Record.
(9) Variances. If conditions exist or are
			 believed to exist that preclude compliance with the requirements established in
			 this administrative regulation, the certified water supply well driller may
			 request a variance prior to well construction, modification, or abandonment.
			 The variance request shall be submitted to the cabinet on the Kentucky Water
			 Well Variance Request form.
(a) The variance
			 request shall include:
1. A thorough
			 description of the land use at the site and adjacent properties;
2. The distance between the proposed well
			 location and existing water supply wells and monitoring wells on adjacent
			 properties;
3. The distance between
			 the proposed well location and potential pollution sources, both on site and on
			 adjacent properties, including septic systems, sewers, and petroleum and
			 chemical storage tanks;
4. A
			 description of the geologic conditions at the site, including soil thickness,
			 type of bedrock, perched water, confining zones, and the depth to
			 groundwater;
5. A summary of the
			 provisions, including the section numbers of this administrative regulation,
			 for which the variance is requested;
6. A justification for the variance;
			 and
7.
a. The proposed well construction procedures
			 to be used in lieu of compliance with this administrative regulation;
			 and
b. An explanation of how the
			 alternate well construction procedures ensure the protection of the quality of
			 the groundwater and the protection of public health and safety.
(b) Written variance
			 procedure.
1. The certified water supply well
			 driller shall request a variance by submitting to the cabinet a Water Well
			 Variance Request form signed by the certified water supply well driller and
			 water supply well owner, and shall obtain written cabinet approval before well
			 construction begins.
2. The cabinet
			 shall notify the applicant in writing within ten (10) days of its decision to
			 either grant or deny the variance.
3. The cabinet shall not issue a variance if
			 the proposed water supply well construction will not ensure the protection of
			 groundwater quality and public health and safety.
(c) Verbal variance for an emergency.
1. A certified water supply well driller may
			 request a verbal variance for an emergency if the delay incurred due to the
			 written variance procedure in paragraph (b) of this subsection could result in:
a. Loss of access to potable water for the
			 intended user;
b. Failure to
			 address an existing or impending environmental emergency in accordance with
			 KRS
			 224.1-400; or
c. A risk to public health or
			 safety.
2. The cabinet
			 shall not issue a variance for an emergency if the proposed water supply well
			 construction will not ensure the protection of groundwater quality and public
			 health and safety.
3. Within
			 fifteen (15) days of the date the cabinet approves the verbal variance for an
			 emergency, the certified water well driller shall submit to the cabinet a
			 Kentucky Water Well Variance Request form signed by the certified water supply
			 well driller and water supply well owner.
(d) The variance approval shall list the
			 conditions of the variance, including the:
1.
			 Approved alternate well construction procedures;
2. Well sampling requirements; and
3. Requirement to notify surrounding property
			 and well owners of the variance, if applicable.
(e) Within sixty (60) days of completing the
			 well, the certified water supply well driller shall submit to the cabinet a
			 copy of the Kentucky Water Well Variance Request form signed by the certified
			 water supply well driller and the water supply well owner.
(f)
1.
			 After a variance is issued regarding the location of a well with respect to
			 various pollution sources as established in Section 5(1) of this administrative
			 regulation, water samples from the well shall be collected and analyzed for the
			 parameters stated in the variance approval issued by the cabinet.
2. The certified water well driller shall
			 submit a copy of the analytical results on the Water Well Bacterial Report and
			 Chain of Custody form to the well owner and the cabinet within ten (10) days of
			 the receipt of the analytical results from the laboratory.