Wisconsin Administrative Code
Department of Natural Resources
NR 800 - Environmental Protection - Water Supply
Chapter NR 812 - Well Construction And Pump Installation
Subchapter I - General
Section NR 812.09 - Department approvals

Universal Citation: WI Admin Code ยง NR 812.09

Current through August 26, 2024

(1) REVIEW PERIOD. Unless another time period is specified by law, the department shall complete its review and make a determination on all applications for licenses or approvals within 65 business days after receipt of a complete application. Incomplete applications will be returned. The start of the 65 day review period will not begin until a complete application is received by the department. All requests for approval shall be in writing, except for situations that require an immediate response, in which case an approval may be requested verbally and a verbal approval may be granted by the department to be followed up with a written confirmation.

(2) APPROVAL APPLICATION AND SUBMISSION. The property owner or lessee shall obtain a written approval from the department. When an application is submitted by someone other than the owner of the subject property, the owner or authorized agent shall sign the application. Application information, outlines or forms may be obtained from the department. Applications shall provide information regarding the name, address and firm name of both the owner and operator, if applicable, and any other information requested by the department, including descriptions or sketches of well construction, geology, pump installation, plumbing, possible contamination sources, property boundary, water use and water sample results, depending on the type of application.

(3) PLANS AND SPECIFICATION PREPARATION. Plans and specifications for a school water system or wastewater treatment plant water system shall be submitted by a registered professional engineer or licensed water well driller for wells, and by a registered professional engineer or licensed pump installer for pumps, discharge piping, storage tanks and controls.

(4) APPROVALS REQUIRED. Prior department approval is required for the activities described in this subsection. When deemed necessary and appropriate for the protection of public safety, safe drinking water and the groundwater resource, the department may specify more stringent well and heat exchange drillhole locations, well and heat exchange drillhole construction or pump installation specifications for existing and proposed high capacity, school or wastewater treatment plant water systems and other activities requiring approval by this subsection. Approval by the department does not relieve any person of any liability that may result from injury or damage suffered by any other person. In addition, failure to comply with any condition of an approval or the construction, reconstruction or operation of any well or water system in violation of any statute, rule or department order shall void the approval. Approval is required for all of the following:

(a) The construction, reconstruction, or operation of a high capacity well or high capacity well system, including dewatering wells, school wells, and wastewater treatment plant wells, except those actions specified in s. 281.34(2g), Stats. An application for a high capacity well or high capacity well system approval shall include, for every well, the location, construction or reconstruction features, pump installation features, the proposed rate of operation and the distance to nearby public utility wells, as defined in s. 196.01, Stats. A high capacity well or high capacity well system approval is subject to all of the following:
1. The department may deny approval, grant a limited approval or modify an approval under which the location, depth, pumping capacity or rate of flow and ultimate use is restricted so that the supply of water for any public utility, as defined by s. 196.01, Stats., will not be impaired. Reduced availability of groundwater to a public utility well may be indicated when calculated drawdown, using estimated values for aquifer characteristics, results in a reduction of 10% or greater in the public water utility's saturated thickness based on pumping from the proposed high capacity well or well system. The department may also deny approval or condition an approval if the proposed or actual well location, water quality, well construction or pump installation features or the use of the well does not meet, at the time of application, the specifications of this chapter for new well construction and pump installation or water use.

2. When an owner transfers the land on which a high capacity well or high capacity well system is located, the owner shall provide notice to the department as specified in s. 281.34(2g) (c), Stats.

3. The owner or operator of a high capacity well or well system shall submit pumpage and well water level reports to the department on department forms at the time periods indicated by the department.

4. Emergency approval for a high capacity well or high capacity well system may be granted when fire hazard, imminent crop damage or other similar emergency requires expedited approval, if the owner submits the request in writing with a justification of the emergency, and if the department determines that the high capacity well or high capacity well system meets the requirements of s. 281.34(5), Stats.

5. High capacity test drillholes or up to 2 geothermal heat exchange drillholes may be constructed without approval to test for aquifer yield to determine if a high capacity well, heat exchange drillhole or high capacity well system is feasible. The well casing pipe for such test drillholes shall not exceed 6 inches in diameter unless the well driller notifies the department. High capacity test drillholes may not be converted to permanent high capacity wells unless approved by the department prior to construction. High capacity test drillholes may be test pumped at a rate of 70 gallons per minute or more without department notification or approval under this section if the test does not last more than a total of 72 hours. After testing, the drillhole shall be filled and sealed according to the requirements of s. NR 812.26 or shall be converted, within 90 days following approval, to a high capacity well, heat exchange drillhole or high capacity well system that meets the requirements of this chapter or ch. NR 811 and of any approved plans and specifications.

Note: State v. Michels Pipeline Construction, Inc., 63 Wis.2d 278, 217 N.W.2d 339 (1974) established that the doctrine of reasonable use applies to property rights in groundwater. Persons adversely affected by the operation of a high capacity well or well system may take action against the operator or owner of the high capacity well or well system.

6. The department may allow a high capacity well with a pumping capacity less than 70 gallons per minute to be constructed and to be installed with a pump according to low capacity standards if aquifer characteristics warrant less stringent construction requirements.

(b) The construction or reconstruction of a low capacity school well or low capacity wastewater treatment plant well.

(c) Installation of water treatment devices or chemical addition to a well or water system as specified in s. NR 812.37.

(d) A variance under s. NR 812.43 from any provision of this chapter.

(f) The construction or reconstruction of a well located in designated special well casing depth areas.

Note: A list of established special well casing depth areas is available on the department's website at dnr.wi.gov.

(i) The development of a spring for use as a potable water supply as provided in s. NR 812.25.

(j) The construction or reconstruction of a pit as provided in s. NR 812.36 or in s. NR 812.42(2).

(m) The construction or reconstruction of a dug well as provided in s. NR 812.24.

(p) The installation of a pressure tank with a volume greater than 1,000 gallons.

(q) The installation of a cathodic protection drillhole.

(s) The development of surface water for use as a potable water supply.

(u) The reconstruction of a well that does not comply with the location requirements of s. NR 812.08 or the construction requirements of subch. II, except those actions specified in s. 281.34(2g), Stats.

(v) The use of a nonpressure storage vessel other than a surge tank as part of a potable water supply.

(w) The construction, reconstruction, or replacement of a well or heat exchange drillhole on a property identified by the department as having residual contamination and continuing obligations under s. 292.12, Stats., except those actions specified in s. 281.34(2g), Stats.

Note: Properties that are identified by the department as having residual contamination and continuing obligations can be found by searching the Wisconsin Remediation and Redevelopment Database which is available on the department's website at dnr.wi.gov, search "WRRD."

(x) The construction of 10 or more heat exchange drillholes, or where the sum of the depths of all heat exchange drillholes is greater than 4000 feet, for a single drilling site.

(y) Any heat exchange drillhole greater than 400 feet in depth.

(z) Any heat exchange drillhole within 400 feet of a municipal water supply well.

(4g) ADVANCE NOTIFICATION. The property owner or authorized agent shall notify the department at least one working day prior to starting construction under any approval issued under this section. Notification shall be made in a manner specified by the department in the approval.

(4r) APPROVAL EXPIRATION. If an approval is issued under this section, but construction or installation for which the approval was required has not commenced within 2 years of the approval date, the approval is void.

(5) APPROVAL VERIFICATION. A well or heat exchange driller, well constructor, pump installer or contractor shall obtain a copy of the approval for any activity identified in sub. (4) prior to the initiation of any work on a well, heat exchange drillhole, pump installation or water system, and shall have a copy of the approval available on-site during construction or installation. When the department grants a verbal approval, the well or heat exchange driller, pump installer or contractor may initiate an activity before obtaining a written confirmation, provided that person complies with the conditions of the approval.

(6) PERMIT VERIFICATION. A well driller, well constructor, pump installer or contractor shall obtain required permits from counties authorized to administer this chapter under ch. NR 845.

(7) APPROVAL MODIFICATION. If circumstances require modification of the original proposed project after the department grants an approval under this section, including modified location, drilling method, drilling depth, change in well casing depth, or number of heat exchange drillholes, the property owner or authorized agent shall obtain written approval of the modified plans from the department prior to starting construction.

(8) DENIAL OF OPERATION. The department may deny or rescind approval for operation of an existing well requiring approval under sub. (4) if the well does not meet the construction requirements of subch. II.

Disclaimer: These regulations may not be the most recent version. Wisconsin may have more current or accurate information. We make no warranties or guarantees about the accuracy, completeness, or adequacy of the information contained on this site or the information linked to on the state site. Please check official sources.
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