455B.187 Water well construction.

1. A contractor shall not engage in well construction or reconstruction without first being certified as required in this part and department rules adopted pursuant to this part. Water wells shall not be constructed, reconstructed, or abandoned by a person except as provided in this part or rules adopted pursuant to this part. Within thirty days after construction or reconstruction of a well, a contractor shall provide well information required by rule to the department and the Iowa geological survey.

2. A landowner or the landowner’s agent shall not drill for or construct a new water well without first obtaining a permit for this activity from the department. The department shall not issue a permit to any person for this activity unless the person first registers with the department all wells, including abandoned wells, on the property. The department may delegate the authority to issue a permit to a county board of supervisors or the board’s designee. In the event of such delegation, the department shall retain concurrent authority. The commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 17A to implement this subsection.

3. The director may charge a fee for permits issued pursuant to this section. All fees collected pursuant to this section shall be deposited into the private water supply system account within the water quality protection fund created in section 455B.183A.

4. Notwithstanding the provisions of this section, a county board of supervisors or the board’s designee may grant an exemption from the permit requirements to a landowner or the landowner’s agent if an emergency drilling is necessary to meet an immediate need for water. The exemption shall be effective immediately upon approval of the county board of supervisors or the board’s designee. The board of supervisors or the board’s designee shall notify the director within thirty days of the granting of an exemption.

5. In the case of property owned by a state agency, a person shall not drill for or construct a new water well without first registering with the department the existence of any abandoned wells on the property. The department shall develop a prioritized closure program and time frame for the completion of the program, and shall adopt rules to implement the program.

85 Acts, ch 176, §4; 87 Acts, ch 225, §304; 91 Acts, ch 224, §6; 2003 Acts, ch 30, §2; 2003 Acts, ch 44, §68; 2016 Acts, ch 1011, §78

Referred to in §455B.172, 455B.183A, 455B.188