The House Environmental Resources and Energy Committee will hold a hearing on House Bill 343 (Miller-R-York) setting standards for drinking water wells on April 17 starting at 9:00 in Room 205 Ryan Building.

The bill authorizes the Environmental Quality Board to establish water well construction standards through the adoption of rules and regulations of the DEP that are generally consistent with the National Groundwater Association construction standards.

Specifically, the legislation would establish construction standards, including the decommissioning of abandoned wells, to be followed by water well drillers and owners.  Nothing in this legislation requires the metering of homeowner wells.

Some 20,000 new water wells are drilled each year in Pennsylvania, but the Commonwealth is one of the few states without private well regulations.  More than 3 million Pennsylvanians rely on about 1 million private wells for drinking water. 

Improperly constructed water wells can lead to poor water quality by providing pathways for bacteria and contaminants such as naturally occurring shallow methane gas to migrate into water supplies.  Ensuring that the well is constructed properly from the start will help to prevent water quality problems in the future.

Establishing water well construction standards is an important component of the Commonwealth’s water resource protection program.  Specifically, two independent statewide advisory committees have made strong recommendations to do so. 

On December 18, 2008, the Statewide Water Resources Committee reported its top legislative recommendation was to “...establish statewide private water well construction standards.”

A summary of the bill is available online.

Rep. Ron Miller (R-York) serves as Majority Chair of the Committee and Rep. Greg Vitali (D-Delaware) serves as Minority Chair.

4/15/2013