Section 920.30  General Requirements

a)         Authorized Constructor.  Water wells subject to this Part shall be constructed only by persons  having a valid license under the Illinois Water Well and Pump Installation Contractor's License Act [225 ILCS 345] unless exempt under provisions of that Act.

b)         Reports.  Within 30 days after a water well has been constructed or deepened, the contractor shall submit a report of construction to the Department on such forms as are prescribed and furnished by the Department.

c)         Variance.

1)         If conditions exist at a proposed installation site which preclude compliance with the requirements of this Part, a variance shall be requested and shall be approved before well construction begins. The contractor may request a variance by submitting to the Department or a local health department, approved under Section 920.150 and 920.160, a written request outlining a specific proposal to be used in lieu of compliance with this Part.  The request shall include a plot plan of the property showing lot size, the location of sewers, septic tanks, buildings, seepage fields, and other sources of contamination on the property and adjacent property with distances shown to the proposed well. A description of geological and soil conditions shall also be included.  The Department or approved local health department shall approve the variance if the proposal is in accordance with accepted public health and sanitary engineering principles and practices, and if the resulting water well installation can be expected to provide a continuously safe and sanitary water supply.  The Department or approved local health department will notify the applicant in writing of its decision either to grant or deny the variance.

2)         Examples of location problems that would preclude compliance with this Part would be the proposed location of a well too close to septic tanks, buildings, sewer lines, or barnyards.

3)         Examples of public health and engineering principles that would be considered in issuing a variance would be ground surface conditions, depth of the water table, the location of sources of contamination, the ability of the existing soil to remove  bacteria, and geologic conditions.

4)         After a well has been drilled for which a variance has been issued, the contractor shall submit 2 water samples to the Department laboratory for analysis.  The first sample shall be submitted within 30 days after the pump is installed and operated; the second sample shall be submitted within 60 days after start-up of the pump, but not less than 30 days after collection of the first sample.

(Source:  Amended at 22 Ill. Reg. 3973, effective April 1, 1998)