Senate Democrats Oppose High Capacity Well Bill

The Assistant Minority Leader in the State Senate says they fear high capacity well owners would be unchecked if a bill passed in the Senate makes its way to law. Senator Janet Bewley says as it stands now high capacity well owners would not need a permit to replace, reconstruct, or transfer an existing well. They would essentially be granted well permits in perpetuity. She says you can draw down as much water as you want as long as it is not being used for unreasonable purposes. She says the problem is there is no way to police whether those high capacity wells could be a problem for nearby well owners. She says there would be no moment in time when they would be required to test if the well is drawing down more water than it should, whether it is endangering or if it needs to be upgraded. The State Assembly is expected to pass the bill next month.