Adopted by Town
Vote March 2004
Amended March
2008
TOWN WELL SOURCE PROTECTION ORDINANCE
SECTION 1. PURPOSE AND AUTHORITY
A. Pursuant
to the authority granted under RSA 674:16, in particular RSA 674:16, II relative
to innovative land use controls, the Town of
B. The
Town of
SECTION 2. DISTRICT
LOCATION.
A. The
extent of the Town Well Source Protection Districts shall follow the Well Head Delineation
Area as defined by the NH Department of
Environmental Services shown on the Aquifer Map included in the Walpole Source
Protection Plan.
B. Incorrectly
Designated Zones: Upon any well founded information that the actual boundary
of the Aquifer Protection District is incorrectly mapped, the Planning Board or
the owner of any land may engage a professional geologist or hydrologist or
other professional, recognized by the Planning Board as being qualified to
perform such work, to determine more accurately the precise boundary of the
Aquifer Protection District. The
Planning Board may, based upon appropriate findings and evidence, adjust the
boundary or area designation of the Aquifer Protection District or reduce or
expand the designation area to more correctly define the location and the
extent of the aquifer on a site-specific, case by case basis.
SECTION 3. PROHIBITED USES
The following uses shall not be
permitted in the Town Well Source Protection Districts:
A. Disposal
of solid waste. Brush and stumps are acceptable only if generated from clearing
land and buried on the same site. A copy of the site plan which is
required to be filed with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental
Services, in accordance with RSA 149-m for on site burial of stumps, must be
submitted to the Planning Board for its files.
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B. Subsurface
storage of petroleum and other hazardous materials. Above ground storage of
petroleum and other hazardous materials over 1100 gallons.
C. Disposal
of liquid or leachable wastes, except from single or multi-family residential
subsurface disposal systems, spreading animal manure using Best Management
Practices or approved commercial or industrial systems which discharge human
waste only.
D. Industrial
uses which discharge contact type process waters on site. Non-contact cooling
water is permitted.
E. Storage
of road salt or salted sand.
F. Dumping
of snow containing de-icing chemicals brought from outside the Town Well Source
Protection Districts.
G. Commercial
animal feedlots.
H. Mining
except for earth excavation carried out in compliance with the Town of
J. All
on site handling, disposal, storage, processing or recycling of hazardous or
toxic materials.
K. Automotive
service and repair shops, fuel sales, junk yards and salvage yards.
SECTION 4. CONDITIONAL USES
A. Permit Required:
All subdivision proposals and other
development proposals located within the Town Well Source Protection Districts
shall be reviewed by the Planning Board and/or Zoning Board of Adjustment and
shall conform to the provisions of this ordinance. No conditional uses
shall be conducted within the Town Well Source
Protection Districts unless a Conditional Use Permit has been issued by the
Planning Board. The Planning Board is hereby authorized to attach any
reasonable conditions to such permit regarding construction and operation.
Procedure on Application: a. The Planning Board shall act upon the
applications in accordance with the procedural requirements of the Site Plan
Review Regulations and NH RSA 676:4 Boards Procedures and Plats.
Conditional uses shall include but are
not limited to:
1. Industrial,
commercial, institutional and governmental uses not otherwise prohibited in
Section 3 of this Ordinance.
2. Multi-family residential development.
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3. Sand
and gravel excavation carried out in compliance with the Town of
B. Standards:
The Planning Board may grant a Permit
for a conditional use only after written findings of fact are made that all of
the following are true:
1. The proposed use will not detrimentally affect the quality of the
groundwater contained in the aquifer by directly contributing to pollution or
by increasing the long-term susceptibility of the aquifer to potential
pollutants;
2. The
proposed use, either alone or on a cumulative basis, will not cause a
significant reduction in the long-term volume of water contained in the aquifer
or in the storage capacity of the aquifer.
3. The
proposed use will discharge no waste-water on site other than that typically discharged
by domestic waste water disposal systems and will not involve on-site storage
or disposal of toxic or hazardous material as herein defined;
4. Sufficient
recharge to the aquifer will not be inhibited or prevented; and any use that
covers over 20% of the lot with impervious material shall submit a “Stormwater
Management Plan” that satisfies the Planning Board requirements and the Best
Management Practices for Urban Stormwater Runoff, per current NH DES
regulations.
5. The proposed use complies with all other applicable sections of
this Ordinance.
The Planning Board may require that the
applicant provide data reports prepared by a professional engineer or qualified
groundwater consultant to assess any potential damage to the aquifer that may
result from the proposed use. The Planning Board shall engage such
professional assistance as is required to adequately evaluate such reports and
to evaluate, in general, the proposed use in light of the above criteria.
Costs for any of the above mentioned services shall be paid by the applicant.
SECTION 5. ENFORCEMENT
It shall be the duty of the Board of
Selectmen or its authorized agent to enforce the provisions of this Ordinance
and to see that its requirements and restrictions are duly complied with.
A Conditional -Use Permit may be withdrawn by the Board of Selectmen if the use
is not conducted in accordance with the regulations of this Ordinance or the
conditions of the permit after a public hearing.
The Board of Selectmen or its
authorized agent shall institute or cause to be instituted, in the name of the
Town, any and all actions, legal and equitable, that shall be appropriate or
necessary for the enforcement of the provisions of this Ordinance.
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SECTION 6. APPEALS
Any person who is aggrieved of an
administrative decision made under the provisions of this ordinance may appeal
to the Zoning Board of Adjustment, under the provisions of RSA 674:33. The
Zoning Board of Adjustment shall also have the power to authorize such variance
from the terms of the Ordinance as will not be contrary to the public interest,
if, owing to special condition, a literal enforcement of the provisions of this
Ordinance will result in unnecessary hardship so that the spirit of the
Ordinance shall be preserved and substantial justice done. The Zoning
Board of Adjustment shall request from the Planning Board and the Conservation
Commission an advisory decision before rendering any decision on a request for
a variance under this Section.
SECTION 7. NON-CONFORMING USES
A. Any
non-conforming lot, dwelling, or business may continue in its present use.
B. When
any existing non-conforming use of land or building has been discontinued for
one year the land and building shall thereafter be used only in conformity to
this Ordinance, except that the Board of Adjustment, after public hearing, may
permit the resumption of said non-conforming use.
C. A
non-conforming use may be expanded or enlarged or changed to another non-conforming
use after the Board of Adjustment determines, after public hearing, that the
proposed expansion, enlargement, or change will not materially increase the
hazard or nuisance value of the non-conformity.
SECTION 8. DEFINITIONS
The definitions contained in the Zoning
Ordinance, the Source Protection Plan and the Subdivision Regulations shall
apply to the Aquifer Protection Ordinance, where applicable. As used in
this Ordinance, the following terms shall have the meaning indicated:
A. Animal Feedlot:
A commercial agricultural establishment consisting of confined feeding areas
and related structures for the raising of livestock.
B. Aquifer: For the purpose of this Ordinance, aquifer
means a geologic formation, group of formations, or part of a formation that is
capable of yielding quantities of groundwater usable for municipal or private
water supplies.
C. Town Well Source Protection District:
The area currently defined by the
Department of Environmental Services as the charge area for the Town wells and
as shown on the aquifer maps included in the Walpole Source Water Protection
Plan.
D. Best Management Practices (BMP): Management practices as defined by the USDA
and the NH Dept of Agriculture
E. Direct Recharge Area:
The area immediately overlying the stratified-drift aquifer. The boundary
of the direct recharge area is the contact between the stratified drift and
adjacent till or bedrock as in “C”
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F. Groundwater:
Water in the Sub-surface zone at or below the water table in which all pore
spaces are filled with water.
G. Groundwater Recharge Area:
That area from which water is added to the saturated zone by
: 1)natural processes such as infiltration or precipitation, or by 2)
artificial processes such as induced infiltration.
H. Hazardous or Toxic Materials:
Material which may pose a present or potential hazard to human health or the
environment when improperly stored, transported or disposed of or otherwise
managed including without exception hazardous materials identified and listed
in accordance with Section 3001 of the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
of 1976.
Examples of hazardous materials
include:
1) Toxic (poisonous)
2) flammable
(paint, varnish remover, solvents and oils)
3) Reactive
4) Corrosive (acids)
I. Induced Infiltration:
The process by which water in a stream or lake moves into an aquifer because of
a hydraulic gradient from the surface water body toward a pumping well or
wells.
J. Leachable Wastes:
Waste material, including solid wastes, sludge and agricultural wastes that are
capable of releasing contaminants to the surrounding environment.
K. Mining: The
activities performed in the extraction of minerals including the excavation of
pits, removal of mineral, removal of dimension stone, disposal of overburden
and the construction of roads for the haulage of mining materials.
L. Non-Contact Cooling Water:
Water which flows through a heat exchanger providing a physical barrier between
the water and the process being cooled.
M. Potential High Yield Aquifers:
Area inferred to be underlain by medium to very coarse sand or sand and gravel
with sufficient saturated thickness to have high potential to yield
water. Included are areas with fine grained surficial deposits, which are
inferred to be underlain by medium to very coarse sand or sand and gravel.
N. Potential Medium Yield Aquifers:
Areas inferred to be underlain by relatively thin saturated sections of medium
to very coarse sand or sand and gravel that have medium potential to yield
water.
O. Process Water:
Wastewater from an industrial process.
P. Saturated Zone:
The zone beneath the land surfaced in which all open spaces are filled with
water.
Q. Sludge: Residual
materials produced by water and sewage treatment processes and domestic septic
tanks.
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R. Solid Waste:
Any discarded or abandoned material including refuse, putrescible material,
septage, or sludge, as defined by New Hampshire Solid Waste Rules He-P 1901.03.
Solid waste includes solid, liquid, semi-solid, or contained gaseous waste
material resulting from residential, industrial, commercial, mining, and
agricultural operations and from community activities.
S. Stratified Drift:
Unconsolidated, sorted sediment composed of layer of sand and gravel deposited
by meltwater from glaciers.
T. Stratified-Drift Aquifers:
Stratified-drift deposits that are capable of yielding usable amounts of water.
SECTION 9. VALIDITY AND SEVERABILITY
Should any provision of this Ordinance
be declared by the courts to be invalid, the decision shall not invalidate any
other provision of this Ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid
provision and to this end the provisions of the Ordinance are severable.
SECTION 10. LIABILITY
Nothing in this ordinance shall be
construed to imply that the Town of
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