§ 1417. Existing groundwater withdrawal; reporting

(a) Beginning September 1, 2009, any person that withdraws more than 20,000 gallons per day, averaged over a calendar month at a single tract of land or place of business shall file a groundwater report with the Secretary of Natural Resources on or before September 1 for the preceding calendar year. The report shall be made on a form prescribed by the Secretary and shall include:

(1) the location, capacity, frequency, and rate of the withdrawal;

(2) a description of the use of the water withdrawn; and

(3) where feasible, the distance of each withdrawal from the nearest surface water source and wetland.

(b) The following are exempt from the reporting requirements of this section:

(1) a groundwater withdrawal for fire suppression or other public emergency purposes;

(2) a withdrawal reported to the Agency of Natural Resources under any program that requires the reporting of substantially similar data. The Agency of Natural Resources shall record such withdrawals with the information from withdrawals reported under this section;

(3) domestic, residential use;

(4) groundwater withdrawal for farming;

(5) dairy processors and milk handlers licensed in accordance with 6 V.S.A. § 2721;

(6) public water systems, as that term is defined in section 1671 of this title; and

(7) closed loop, standing column, or similar non-extractive geothermal heat pumps.

(c) The Secretary of Natural Resources may adopt rules to implement this section, including methods for calculating or estimating the amount of groundwater withdrawn from a well or spring. (Added 2007, No. 199 (Adj. Sess.), § 2, eff. June 9, 2008.)