New York Laws
Title 15 - Water Supply
15-1527 - Permit Required for Certain Wells in Long Island Counties.

1. No person or public corporation shall hereafter install or operate
any new or additional wells in the counties of Kings, Queens, Nassau or
Suffolk to withdraw water from underground sources for any purpose or
purposes whatsoever where the installed pumping capacity of any such new
well or wells singly or in the aggregate, or the total installed pumping
capacity of old and new wells on or for use on one property is in excess
of forty-five gallons a minute without a permit pursuant to this title.

2. Such persons or public corporations operating or proposing to
operate a well or wells in excess of such capacity in any of such
counties shall be subject to all the provisions of this article relating
to persons or public corporations, with the same force and effect as if
they were supplying or proposing to supply water to the inhabitants of a
municipal corporation or other civil division of the state. In taking
action on such an application the department shall have authority to
impose such conditions and make such requirements and limitations as may
be necessary for the protection of the interests of the applicant and of
the people of the state and may issue limited or revocable permits for
such wells.

3. All new well permits shall be valid for a period of time not to
exceed ten years from the date of issuance. The department shall develop
a permit renewal application and a time schedule for permit renewals.
Well permits may be renewed, including any modifications deemed
appropriate by the department, and such renewal shall be considered
valid for a period specified by the department but in any case shall not
exceed a period of ten years from the date of reissuance or renewal.

4. All applications for new well permits, all applications for well
permit renewals, and all reopened well permits shall be evaluated,
notwithstanding any other requirements of this title, according to
criteria established by rule or regulation of the department which shall
include but not be limited to:

a. Specific yield of the aquifer segment in which the well is or will
be screened;

b. Requested rated capacity of well and anticipated or actual amount
of withdrawal from such well, both seasonally and annually;

c. Whether the well site or proposed well site is in an over-stressed,
transitional, or unstressed area;

d. The proposed use of the water; whether the water will be or is
recharged or discharged to waste; and the likely quality of the water if
it is or will be recharged;

e. The amount of withdrawal requested and its relationship to volume
of recharge occurring locally as well as the relationship of the
requested withdrawal to the regional level of withdrawal and recharge;

f. The degree of consistency between the requested rate of withdrawal
and any regional water management plans; and

g. If the well is to be used by a water purveyor, either public or
private, or a water authority, whether such purveyor or authority has an
active and on-going water conservation program, leak detection program,
and metering program.

In addition, the department shall vigorously apply subdivision two of
section 15-1503 of this title in its decision-making process. The
department shall determine whether the watershed, which in the case of
Long Island shall mean the land surface that represents the recharge
catchment area recharging water for each respective well, has been
adequately protected. If the well is to be used as a public water supply
by a water purveyor or water authority, the department shall require as
a permit condition that the water purveyor or authority prepare and

submit watershed rules and regulations as described pursuant to section
eleven hundred of the public health law.

5. The department shall develop a system for categorizing the counties
of Kings, Queens, Nassau and Suffolk into areas that are either
unstressed, transitional, or over-stressed with respect to the quality
and/or quantity of the groundwater supply. For those areas which are
considered to be over-stressed, as determined by the department, all
valid well permits within this category shall be reopened in order to
evaluate and possibly modify, add or delete any permit conditions or
requirements. Special consideration shall be given to permit conditions
aimed at reducing the levels of withdrawal and consumptive water use in
over-stressed areas. The reopening of the well permits may be phased in
over a five year period. All reopened well permits which are deemed by
the department to be acceptable following review and any subsequent
changes may be renewed and shall, if renewed, be valid for a period of
time not to exceed ten years from the date of reissuance or renewal.
Nothing in this title shall be considered to prohibit the department
from revoking a permit following the review required by this title.

6. The provisions of this section shall not apply to the installation
of a fire well to which no pumping equipment is permanently attached
when such well is installed by a municipal corporation, fire district or
duly organized fire company or fire department.

7. The provisions of this section shall apply to the use of water for
agricultural purposes. The department shall, for the purposes of section
70-0116 of this chapter, make a finding of an emergency when a
replacement well is needed during the growing season for a crop.
Pursuant to section 70-0116 of this chapter, the department may issue an
emergency authorization for the construction and operation of such
replacement well.