PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Amendments to chapter 173-160 WAC, Minimum standards for construction and maintenance of water wells.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: Chapter 18.104 RCW, Water Well Construction Act (1971).
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Ecology needs to make technical and typographical corrections to the current rule and add new provisions that require certification of certain drilling materials to protect ground water quality. Ecology has been meeting with the technical advisory committee who have assisted in make [making] these amendments.
Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: The Washington state department of health, through their wellhead protection program regulates well siting. The department of health's wellhead protection program manager is a member of the technical advisory group. The technical advisory group has been providing input on rule changes for the last two years and will continue to assist ecology in revising these rules.
Process for Developing New Rule: Standard rule making - a technical advisory group which was established by the legislature assisted the department of ecology in the development of these rules.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication. Interested parties can participate through public workshops and hearings to be held this summer and fall, through written inquiries to the department, and by attending the technical advisory group meetings. The public workshops will be held on June 25, 2008, at 10 a.m at the La Quinta Inn, 1425 East 27th Street, Tacoma, WA 98421; and on June 26, 2008, at 10 a.m. at the Best Western Lake Inn, 3000 Marina Drive, Moses Lake, WA 98837. The contact person for ecology is Bill Lum, Department of Ecology, P.O. Box 47600, Olympia, WA 98504-47600, phone (360) 407-0281, fax (360) 407-7162, e-mail blum461@ecy.wa.gov.
June 2, 2008
Kenneth O. Slattery
Water Resource Program Manager