Groundwater Protection Ordinance: Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)
Many residents in a local community may rely on groundwater for their safe drinking water supply. This model ordinance recognizes that certain land uses can contaminate groundwater, particularly in shallow/superficial aquifers. To ensure the protection of these drinking water supplies, the ordinance establishes a zoning overlay district known as the Groundwater Protection Overlay District.
The model ordinance provides language communities can use to protect their groundwater. The ordinance is broken into seven sections. It ordinance first introduces the purpose of the regulation and defines appropriate terms. It then defines the Groundwater Protection Overlay District and describes prohibited uses, special exceptions and performance standards in that district. The document ends with provisions on resolution of district boundary disputes and enforcement.
This document provides exact ordinance language for local governments interested in protecting groundwater in their community. The ordinance is designed to be flexible so that any local government can use the language once the appropriate “blanks” are filled with the appropriate jurisdiction, zoning and local government authority. It should be noted that this ordinance is not an exhaustive listing of all the language needed for a local ordinance, but represents a good base that communities can build upon and customize to be consistent with the staff resources available in their locality.
