(a) The regional board, upon receipt of a report from the department pursuant to Section 13800, shall hold a public hearing on the need to establish well standards for the area involved. The regional board may hold a public hearing with respect to any area regardless of whether a report has been received from the department if it has information that standards may be needed.

(b) Notwithstanding subdivision (a), the state board shall, not later than September 1, 1989, adopt a model water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment ordinance implementing the standards for water well construction, maintenance, and abandonment contained in Bulletin 74-81 of the department. If the model ordinance is not adopted by this date, the state board shall report to the Legislature as to the reasons for the delay. The state board shall circulate the model ordinances to all cities and counties.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, each county, city, or water agency, where appropriate, shall, not later than January 15, 1990, adopt a water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment ordinance that meets or exceeds the standards contained in Bulletin 74-81. Where a water agency that has permit authority over well drilling within the agency adopts a water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment ordinance that meets or exceeds the standards contained in Bulletin 74-81, a county or city shall not be required to adopt an ordinance for the same area.

(d) If a county, city, or water agency, where appropriate, fails to adopt an ordinance establishing water well, cathodic protection well, and monitoring well drilling and abandonment standards, the model ordinance adopted by the state board pursuant to subdivision (b) shall take effect on February 15, 1990, and shall be enforced by the county or city and have the same force and effect as if adopted as a county or city ordinance.

(e) The minimum standards recommended by the department and adopted by the state board or local agencies for the construction, maintenance, abandonment, or destruction of monitoring wells or class 1 hazardous injection wells shall not be construed to limit, abridge, or supersede the powers or duties of the State Department of Public Health in their application of standards to the construction, maintenance, abandonment, or destruction of monitoring wells or class 1 hazardous injection wells at facilities that treat, store, or dispose of hazardous waste or at any site where the State Department of Public Health is the lead agency responsible for investigation and remedial action at that site, as long as the standards used by the State Department of Public Health meet or exceed those in effect by any city, county, or water agency where appropriate, responsible for developing ordinances for the area in question.

(Amended by Stats. 2010, Ch. 288, Sec. 54. (SB 1169) Effective January 1, 2011.)