A new 28E agreement for private well construction and reconstruction was approved by the Washington County Board of Supervisors Tuesday.
Environmental Health Director Jason Taylor says he was contacted by the Iowa Department of Natural Resources’ well permitting program whose intention is to form 28E agreements with each of the state’s counties, “The last 28E agreement that was signed was probably back in 1994. So new leadership has taken over with the well program at the state, so they’re going to do probably more 28E agreements with us over the years that we have.”
A change that Taylor said the DNR would like to see is for his department to work with fewer sites in the counties they serve. Any well that is going to be drilled must have a well assessment done, and if a proposed well will withdraw less than 500 gallons per minute it must be 1,000 feet away from a contaminated site. If it withdraws more than 500 gallons, which Taylor commented he isn’t aware of any such well in the county, it would have to be 2,500 feet from a contaminated site. The agreement begins on page 5 of the document below.