1. The department is the agency of the state to prevent, abate, or control water pollution and to conduct the public water supply program.
2. The department shall carry out the responsibilities of the state related to private water supplies and private sewage disposal systems for the protection of the environment and the public health and safety of the citizens of the state.
3. Each county board of health shall adopt standards for private water supplies and private sewage disposal facilities. These standards shall be at least as stringent but consistent with the standards adopted by the commission. If a county board of health has not adopted standards for private water supplies and private sewage disposal facilities, the standards adopted by the commission shall be applied and enforced within the county by the county board of health.
4. Each county board of health shall regulate the private water supply and private sewage disposal facilities located within the county board's jurisdiction, in- cluding the enforcement of standards adopted pursuant to this section.
5. The department shall maintain juris- diction over and regulate the direct discharge to a water of the state. The department shall retain concurrent authority to enforce state standards for private water supply and private sewage disposal facilities within a county, and exercise departmental authority if the county board of health fails to fulfill board responsibilities pursuant to this section.
The department shall by rule adopt standards for the commercial cleaning of private sewage disposal facilities, including but not limited to septic tanks and pits used to collect waste in livestock confinement structures, and for the disposal of waste from the facilities. The standards shall not be in conflict with the state building code. A person shall not commercially clean such facilities or dispose of waste from such facilities unless the person has been issued a license by the department. The department shall be exclusively responsible for adopting the standards and issuing licenses. However, county boards of health shall enforce the standards and licensing requirements established by the department. Application for the license shall be made in the manner provided by the department. Licenses expire one year from the date of issue unless revoked and may be renewed in the manner provided by the department. The license or license renewal fee is twenty-five dollars. A person violating this section or the rules adopted pursuant to this section, is subject to a civil penalty of not more than twenty-five dollars. Each day that a violation continues constitutes a separate offense. However, the total civil penalty shall not exceed five hundred dollars per year. The penalty shall be assessed for a violation occurring ten days following written notice of the violation delivered to the person by the department or a county board of health. Moneys collected by the department or a county board of health from the imposition of civil penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the state.
The commission shall make grants to counties for the purpose of conducting programs for the testing of private, rural water supply wells and for the proper closing of abandoned, rural, private water supply wells within the jurisdiction of the county. Grants shall be funded through allocation of the agriculture management account of the groundwater protection fund. Grants awarded, continued, or renewed shall be subject to the following conditions:
a. An application for a grant shall be in a form and shall contain information as prescribed by rule of the commission.
b. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the department from making grants to one or more counties to carry out the purpose of the grant on a joint, multicounty basis.
c. A grant shall be awarded on an annual basis to cover a fiscal year from July 1 to June 30 of the following calendar year.
d. The continuation or renewal of a grant shall be con- tingent upon the county's acceptable performance in carrying out its responsibilities, as determined by the director. The director, subject to approval by the commission, may deny the awarding of a grant or withdraw a grant awarded if, by determination of the director, the county has not carried out the responsibilities for which the grant was awarded, or cannot reasonably be expected to carry out the responsibilities for which the grant would be awarded.
6. a. The department is the state agency to regulate the construction, reconstruction and abandonment of all of the following water wells:
(1) Those used as part of a public water supply system as defined in section 455B.171.
(2) Those used for the withdrawal of water for which a permit is required pursuant to section 455B.268, subsection 1.
(3) Those used for the purpose of monitoring groundwater quantity and quality required or installed pursuant to directions or regulations of the department.
b. A local board of health is the agency to regulate the construction, reconstruction and abandonment of water wells not otherwise regulated by the department. The local board of health shall not adopt standards relative to the construction, reconstruction and abandonment of wells less stringent than those adopted by the department.
7. The department is the state agency to regulate the registration or certification of water well contractors pursuant to section 455B.187 or section 455B.190A.
8. Pursuant to chapter 28E, the depart- ment may delegate its authority for regulation of the construction, reconstruction and abandonment of water wells specified in subsection 6 or the registration of water well contractors specified in subsection 7 to boards of health or other agencies which have adequate authority and ability to administer and enforce the requirements established by law or rule.
[C66, 71, § 455B.3; C73, § 455B.31; C75, 77, 79, 81, § 135.20, 455B.31; 82 Acts, ch 1199, § 9]
C83, § 455B.172 ~I83 Acts, ch 137, § 3; 84 Acts, ch 1121, § 3; 85 Acts, ch 176, §2; 87 Acts, ch 225, § 112, 113; 90 Acts, ch 1243, § 1; 91 Acts, ch 224, §4
Referred to in § 384.38, 455B.173, 455B.188
Iowa General Assembly
Search: Iowa Code 1997
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