To: Planning Commission
From: Planning and Building Department
Agenda Section: Departmental Report
SUBJECT:
title
Analysis of Wells
Assessor Parcel Numbers (APN) 000-000-000
Countywide
Discussion of County Well Permitting and County Practice of Reviewing Existing and Proposed Wells
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Planning Commission:
1. Receive the report.
Body
DISCUSSION:
Project Location: All of the unincorporated areas of Humboldt County, including the Coastal Zone.
Present General Plan Land Use Designation: All land use designations.
Present Zoning: All zoning districts.
Environmental Review: Not a project.
Executive Summary: Historically well permits have been reviewed by the Division of Environmental Health with respect to whether it complies with County and State well construction standards. This occurred as a ministerial review and was exempt from environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). Where a well was proposed to be utilized, or an existing well proposed to be utilized for a project that is considered discretionary under CEQA, the County Planning Department would conduct an analysis of potential impacts associated with the use of the well, utilizing available information such as topographic and water resource maps, and well completion reports.
In 2018 the California appeals court decided Environmental Law Foundation v. State Water Resources Control Board and ruled that the public trust doctrine extended beyond navigable waterways to groundwater resources, and found that counties have a requirement to administer the public trust. Beginning in late 2020 a number of additional events led to a changing approach to well reviews. In Protecting Our Water and Environmental Resources (POWERS) v. County of Stanislaus the California Supreme Court found that treating well permits as ministerial and not requiring review under CEQA, may violate CEQA. Shortly thereafter, in April of...
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