§ 4826.2. Exceptions to water well and permit prohibitions.

The water well and permit prohibitions in Section 4826.1 shall not apply to:

(a)

Water well permits for the repair, modification or replacement of an existing permitted water well or legal nonconforming water well involving no increase in well capacity. Well capacity means the name plate performance rating for the existing well equipment.

(b)

Water well permits for backup or standby wells which do not initiate any new or increased use of groundwater. For purposes of this section, a new or increased use of groundwater is a use that did not exist before October 22, 2014.

(c)

Water well permits within areas in which groundwater rights have been adjudicated by a court where this water well permit prohibition would interfere with the court's order, decree, or physical solution.

(d)

County water well permit applications approved for processing by a Groundwater Management Agency, provided that on October 22, 2014, the Groundwater Management Agency is prohibiting new groundwater extraction facilities. For purposes of this Section 4826.2, Groundwater Management Agency shall mean an agency formed under Water Code, Appendix Sections 121-102 et seq.

(e)

County water well permit applications filed on or before October 22, 2014.

(f)

Water well permit applications within groundwater basins designated as high or medium priority under the Department of Water Resources ("DWR") California Statewide Groundwater Elevation Monitoring Program (CASGEM) Groundwater Basin Prioritization for which designations are made pursuant to Water Code Section 10722.4 and for which a groundwater sustainability agency has adopted and submitted to DWR a groundwater sustainability plan pursuant to Water Code Section 10727 or for which a groundwater sustainability agency has submitted an alternative plan pursuant to Water Code Section 10733.6 and the alternative plan has been approved by DWR, or a determination has been made by the Ventura County Watershed Protection District that the construction of new water wells or modification or repair of existing wells can occur in the groundwater basin without significant adverse impact on the surface or subterranean supply of waters within the watershed in which the groundwater basin is located, whichever occurs first.

(Ord. No. 4468, § 1, 12-16-2014; Ord. No. 4497, § 2, 12-6-2016; Ord. No. 4501, § 2, 1-10-2017)