Chapter 18.290
CRITICAL AQUIFER RECHARGE AREAS

Sections:

18.290.010    Purpose.

18.290.020    Critical aquifer recharge area designations.

18.290.030    Classifications.

18.290.040    Vulnerability rating.

18.290.050    Report requirements—Critical aquifer recharge area.

18.290.060    Best management practices.

18.290.070    Exempt, prohibited, permitted, and provisional activities.

18.290.080    Prohibited activities in Category I.

18.290.090    Permitted activities by permit in Categories I and II in critical aquifer recharge areas.

18.290.100    Level 1 report contents and approval criteria.

18.290.110    Level 2 report contents and report criteria.

18.290.010 Purpose.

The purpose of this chapter is to protect groundwater in the city of Battle Ground. The city’s water supply for its residents sits below the city proper. Appropriate mitigation should be taken when a development proposal may pose an impact to the groundwater and wellheads. Therefore, the following regulations shall be utilized in minimizing impacts to the city’s aquifer recharge areas. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.020 Critical aquifer recharge area designations.

A.    Critical aquifer recharge areas (CARAs) are those areas with a critical recharging effect on aquifers used for potable water as defined by WAC 365-190-030(2). CARAs have prevailing geologic conditions associated with infiltration rates that create a high potential for contamination of groundwater resources or contribute significantly to the replenishment of groundwater. These areas include the following:

1.    Wellhead Protection Areas. Wellhead protection areas may be defined by the boundaries of the ten-year time of groundwater travel, or boundaries established using alternate criteria approved by the Department of Health in those settings where groundwater time of travel is not a reasonable delineation criterion, in accordance with WAC 246-290-135.

2.    Sole Source Aquifers. Sole source aquifers are areas that have been designated by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the Federal Safe Water Drinking Act.

3.    Susceptible Groundwater Management Areas. Susceptible groundwater management areas are areas that have been designated as moderately or highly vulnerable or susceptible in an adopted groundwater management program developed pursuant to Chapter 173-100 WAC.

4.    Special Protection Areas. Special protection areas are those areas defined by WAC 173-200-090.

5.    Moderately or Highly Vulnerable Aquifer Recharge Areas. Aquifer recharge areas that are moderately or highly vulnerable to degradation or depletion because of hydrogeologic characteristics are those areas delineated by a hydrogeologic study prepared in accordance with the State Department of Ecology guidelines.

6.    Moderately or Highly Susceptible Aquifer Recharge Areas. Aquifer recharge areas moderately or highly susceptible to degradation or depletion because of hydrogeologic conditions.

B.    CARAs can be referenced in the “Wellhead Protection Capture Zones, Land Use and Contamination Threats, and Zoning Map” (Figure 5) of the city of Battle Ground wellhead protection plan available at the Battle Ground planning department. Wells shall be added to the above-mentioned map, and shall include the one-, five-, and ten-year capture zones, as brought on-line. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.030 Classifications.

A.    Category I is the highest priority CARA. Category I is the one-year time of travel for water wells.

B.    Category II is the primary CARA. Category II is the five-to-ten-year time of travel for water wells.

C.    Parcels that are partly within Category I and Category II shall be subject to the Category I provisions in this section.

D.    Parcels that are partly inside Category II, but outside Category I, shall be subject to the Category II provisions in this section. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.040 Vulnerability rating.

A.    For each well, a vulnerability rating must be established. Vulnerability ratings shall determine a CARA’s susceptibility to degradation or depletion. Wells existing prior to this report (2003) are recorded in the Battle Ground Wellhead Protection Plan, in the “Aquifer Vulnerability Matrix for Supply Wells” (Table No. 4). Wells 1 and 2 are highly vulnerable, wells 4 through 8 are less vulnerable.

B.    New wells shall be added to the above-mentioned table, and shall include an aquifer vulnerability rating. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.050 Report requirements—Critical aquifer recharge area.

Where a critical area report is required for a development, the report shall contain the following information:

A.    Areas determined to be moderately or highly vulnerable or susceptible to degradation or depletion because of hydrogeologic characteristics should be identified.

B.    The report must be completed by a qualified professional. A CARA report shall be prepared by a qualified professional who is a hydrogeologist, geologist, or engineer, who is licensed in the state of Washington and has experience in preparing hydrogeologic assessments.

C.    A hydrogeologic assessment required for all proposed activities to be located in a CARA, including:

1.    Activities that result in five percent or more impervious site area;

2.    Activities that divert, alter, or reduce the flow of surface or groundwaters, or otherwise reduce the recharging of the aquifer;

3.    The use of injection wells, including on-site septic systems, except those domestic septic systems releasing less than fourteen thousand five hundred gallons of effluent per day and that are limited to a maximum density of one system per one acre; or

4.    Any other activity determined by the director likely to have an adverse impact on groundwater quality or quantity, or on the recharge of the aquifer. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.060 Best management practices.

The following are required for all developments within a designated CARA:

A.    The following best management practices shall be used to help prevent pollution to groundwater and surface water in Battle Ground. An applicant choosing not to use the following BMPs shall be subject to the requirements of BGMC 18.290.110:

1.    Bonding. Two-year construction bond. Applicants for stormwater permits must maintain facilities for two years and must post a maintenance bond. Private stormwater facilities shall be maintained for the life of the project by the owner;

2.    Contingency Planning. Develop a contingency plan based on the Battle Ground Wellhead Protection Plan, Chapter Seven;

3.    Design Standards.

a.    Stormwater shall be treated prior to infiltration for the one-hundred-year-storm, as required for all stormwater discharges from development sites where local soil types and groundwater conditions are suitable.

b.    Individuals shall implement the Washington Department of Ecology’s stormwater, water quality, hazardous waste, wetland, and solid waste programs BMPs; and BMPs from the Departments of Health, Agriculture, Transportation and State Conservation District Office.

c.    Design of stormwater control facilities shall be designed in accordance with the current Stormwater Manual for Western Washington.

4.    Stormwater Infiltration Siting.

a.    Treatment, runoff control, and recharge facilities shall be located prior to the point of discharge into a stream, lake, or fish-bearing water or prior to discharge into groundwater. These treatment, runoff control, and recharge facilities shall be located outside of the CARA or require BMPs to ensure groundwater protection.

b.    Control pollution sources within WHPA to prevent spills through proper containment and handling and education with property owners within the WHPA. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.070 Exempt, prohibited, permitted, and provisional activities.

A. Exempt Activities in Categories I and II. The following activities are exempt from the standards of this chapter:

1.    All residential uses and activities;

2.    Other uses not listed in BGMC 18.290.080 or 18.290.090;

3.    Activities already permitted and regulated by the state and Southwest Washington Health District to incorporate best management practices. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.080 Prohibited activities in Category I.

The following activities are considered high-impact uses due to the probability and/or potential magnitude of their adverse effects on groundwater and shall be prohibited within Category I:

A.    Landfills;

B.    Class V injection wells;

C.    Agricultural drainage wells;

D.    Untreated sewage waste disposal wells;

E.    Cesspools;

F.    Industrial process water and disposal wells;

G.    Radioactive waste disposal;

H.    Radioactive disposal sites; and

I.    Surface mining operations. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.090 Permitted activities by permit in Categories I and II in critical aquifer recharge areas.

A.    The following activities are allowed in both Categories I and II subject to review and approval:

1.    Above- and below-ground storage tanks;

2.    Facilities that conduct biological research;

3.    Boat repair shops;

4.    Chemical research facilities;

5.    Dry cleaners;

6.    Gasoline service stations;

7.    Pipelines;

8.    Printing and publishing shops (that use printing liquids);

9.    Below-ground transformers and capacitors;

10.    Sawmills (producing over ten thousand board feet per day);

11.    Solid waste handling and processing;

12.    Vehicle repair, recycling, and auto wrecking;

13.    Funeral services;

14.    Furniture stripping;

15.    Motor vehicle service garages (both private and government);

16.    Photographic processing;

17.    Chemical manufacture and reprocessing;

18.    Creosote and asphalt manufacture and treatment;

19.    Electroplating activities;

20.    Petroleum and petroleum products refining, including reprocessing;

21.    Wood products preserving;

22.    Golf course;

23.    Regulated waste treatment, storage, and disposal facilities that handle hazardous material;

24.    Medium quantity generators (dangerous, acutely hazardous, and toxic extremely hazardous waste); and

25.    Large quantity generators (dangerous, acutely hazardous, and toxic extremely hazardous waste).

B.    To receive a permit for development in a CARA area, the applicant must demonstrate, through a Level 1 site evaluation report, how they will integrate necessary and appropriate best management practices to prevent degradation to groundwater. The applicant must also meet existing local, state, and federal laws and regulations. A Level 1 site evaluation report shall be completed and submitted to the director for review and approval.

C.    If an applicant wants to avoid implementation of applicable best management practices, they must submit a Level 2 site evaluation report and develop and implement a monitoring program that consists of the following:

1.    Demonstrate, through a Level 2 site evaluation report, how they will prevent degradation to groundwater. The applicant must also meet existing local, state and federal laws and regulations. A Level 2 site assessment report shall be completed and submitted to the director for review and approval; and

2.    Develop and implement a monitoring program with quarterly reporting to the department. The director will evaluate the monitoring program and may require periodic changes based on the monitoring results, new technology, and/or BMPs. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.100 Level 1 report contents and approval criteria.

A.    Level 1 Site Evaluation Report/Approval Criteria.

1.    The site evaluation report shall be done by, or under the direction of, and signed by a qualified groundwater professional. The report will identify appropriate BMPs and show how they will prevent degradation of groundwater.

2.    The report will also identify how the applicant will follow the requirements of the Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC, in the event hazardous material is released onto the ground or into groundwater.

3.    The report will include site-specific hydrogeologic information to support a conclusion of no degradation to groundwater. Hydrogeologic information is available from existing U.S. Geological Survey Reports (A Description of Hydrogeologic Units in the Portland Basin, Oregon and Washington, Water-Resources Investigation Report 90-4196); U.S. Department of Agriculture, Natural Resources Conservation Service (Soil Survey of Clark County, Washington, 1972); Clark County; the Southwest Washington Health District; and from local purveyors.

4.    The report will be reviewed by the director in the same process as the primary development permit. If approved, the applicant will receive a permit allowing the activity on the subject property.

5.    The director may waive the requirement for a qualified groundwater professional. This would be done when the site conditions or project mitigations have been, or can be, adequately addressed in the site evaluation report. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)

18.290.110 Level 2 report contents and report criteria.

A.    Level 2 Site Evaluation Report/Approval Criteria. A qualified groundwater professional will determine whether the proposed activity will have any adverse impacts on groundwater in CARAs based upon the requirements of the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Wellhead Protection Area Program, pursuant to Public Water Supplies, Chapter 246-290 WAC; Water Quality Standards for Ground Waters of the State of Washington, Chapter 173-200 WAC; and Dangerous Waste Regulations, Chapter 173-303 WAC.

B.    The Level 2 site evaluation report will include the following:

1.    Identification of the proposed development plan, along with potential adverse impacts to water quality (e.g., on-site septic systems and other on-site activities) that may adversely impact groundwater quality underlying or down gradient of the project or project area;

2.    Depict an appropriate scale (one inch to two hundred feet) showing the location of abandoned and active wells, springs, and surface water bodies within one thousand feet of the project or project area;

3.    Description of the geologic and hydrologic characteristics of the subject property including the following:

a.    Lithologic characteristics and stratigraphic relationships,

b.    Aquifer characteristics including recharge and discharge areas, depth to and static water-flow patterns, and an estimate of groundwater-flow velocity,

c.    Contaminant fate and transport including probable migration pathways and travel time of a potential contaminant release from the site through the unsaturated zone to the aquifer(s) and through the aquifer(s), and how the contaminant(s) may be attenuated within the unsaturated zone and the aquifer(s),

d.    Appropriate hydrogeologic cross-sections which depict lithology, stratigraphy, aquifer, units, potential or probable contaminant pathways from a chemical release, and rate of groundwater flow, and

e.    Existing groundwater quality, a proposal for monitoring groundwater to detect changes and the corrective actions that will be taken if monitoring results indicate contaminants from the site have entered the underlying aquifer(s);

4.    The report will be reviewed by the director, who may consult with other agencies or hire consultants in conjunction with the same process as the primary development permit. If approved, the applicant will receive a permit allowing the activity on the subject property. (Ord. 04-025 § 6 (part), 2004)