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Sanders County recently adopted a permit program for wells drilled within the county.

Well permitting will be phased into Sanders County sanitation practices starting January, 2018. Like wastewater systems, owners will be required to obtain a well permit before a well is drilled.

The State of Montana regulates wells in several ways. Subdivided parcels must follow approvals issued under the Montana Sanitation in Subdivision Act. Wells outside of subdivisions are approved through the local site evaluation process. Regardless of where a well is drilled, it must be drilled in accordance with applicable statutes and administrative rules and registered with the Department of Natural Resources and Conservation. Additional requirements may apply when drilling a well on Tribal land.

With statutes and rules in place, why administer a well permitting program? The short answer is, wells are commonly drilled far from approved locations, often infringing upon neighboring parcels and creating potential for aquifer contamination.

Wells are required to be approved in specific locations to protect our drinking water supplies. Contamination of an aquifer from sewage systems, surface water runoff, road chemicals, and other sources can be irreversible and render ground water undrinkable, or undrinkable without treatment.

Land owners frequently drill wells in locations that infringe upon their neighbor’s property, which can seriously impact property use. In 2017, Sanders County completed approximately eight subdivision revisions due to wells being drilled in unapproved locations, two of which stopped real estate transactions and resulted in buyers seeking listings without sanitation problems.

This is likely the tip of the iceberg of what currently exists. As development and property sales increase, there is an increase in complaints about wells drilled in unapproved locations.

And changing an approved well location is relatively simple and inexpensive. If the land owner and the well driller are not happy with the approved location, changes can usually be completed in less than two weeks.

This is not a new regulation or a change in any existing regulations. It is simply a permitting process intended to safeguard drinking water supplies and protect clean water as a natural resource.

Sanders County urges landowners to look closely at sanitation approval documents before drilling wells.

Well permit applications are available from the Sanders County Environmental Health Department at 827-6961 or 827-6909.