Michigan Laws 324.31705 – Declaration of groundwater dispute; temporary provision at point of use of adequate supply of potable water; extraction of groundwater; restriction; impact on viability of certain businesses; public w
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Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.31705
- Department: means the department of environmental quality. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- Director: means the director of the department or his or her designee. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
- Groundwater: means the water in the zone of saturation that fills all of the pore spaces of the subsurface geologic material. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- Groundwater dispute: means a groundwater dispute declared by order of the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development under section 31703. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- High-capacity well: means 1 or more water wells associated with an industrial or processing facility, an irrigation facility, or a farm that, in the aggregate from all sources and by all methods, have the capability of withdrawing 100,000 or more gallons of groundwater in 1 day. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- local unit: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Potable water: means water that at the point of use is acceptable for human consumption. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
- Small-quantity well: means 1 or more water wells of a person at the same location that, in the aggregate from all sources and by all methods, do not have the capability of withdrawing 100,000 or more gallons of groundwater in 1 day. See Michigan Laws 324.31701
(1) Upon declaration of a groundwater dispute, the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, shall, by order, require the immediate temporary provision at the point of use of an adequate supply of potable water.
(2) Except as provided in subsections (3), (4), and (5), if the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, issues an order declaring a groundwater dispute, the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, may, by order, restrict the quantity of groundwater that may be extracted from a high-capacity well under either of the following conditions:
(a) If the high-capacity well is reasonably believed to have caused the failure of the complainant’s small-quantity well and an immediate temporary provision of an adequate supply of potable water has not been provided to the complainant by the owner of the high-capacity well.
(b) If there is clear and convincing scientifically based evidence that continued groundwater withdrawals from the high-capacity well will exceed the recharge capability of the groundwater resource of the area.
(3) In issuing an order under subsection (2), the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, shall consider the impact the order will have on the viability of a business associated with the high-capacity well or other use of the high-capacity well.
(4) If an operator of a high-capacity well withdraws water by a means other than pumping, the director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, may, by order, temporarily restrict the quantity of groundwater that may be extracted only if the conditions of subsection (2)(a) or (b) have not been met.
(5) The director or the director of the department of agriculture and rural development, as appropriate, shall not issue an order that diminishes the normal supply of drinking water or the capability for fire suppression of a public water supply system owned or operated by a local unit of government.