2014 Indiana Code TITLE 14. NATURAL AND CULTURAL RESOURCES ARTICLE 25. WATER RIGHTS AND RESOURCES CHAPTER 3. WATER RIGHTS; GROUND WATER
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IC 14-25-3
Chapter 3. Water Rights; Ground Water
IC 14-25-3-1
"Person" defined
Sec. 1. As used in this chapter, "person" means an individual, a
firm, a limited liability company, a corporation, an association, or a
governmental agency. However, for purposes of sections 6 through
10 of this chapter, the term does not include a public utility privately
or publicly owned engaged in supplying or furnishing public utility
service to the residents and business institutions of a city, town, or
public institution within a restricted use area.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-2
"Waste" and "wasted" defined
Sec. 2. As used in this chapter, "waste" or "wasted" means any of
the following:
(1) Permitting ground water to flow or taking or using ground
water in any manner so that the ground water is not put to the
full beneficial use.
(2) Transporting ground water from the water's source to the
place of use in such a manner that there is an excessive loss in
transit.
(3) Permitting or causing the pollution of a fresh water strata
through an act that will cause salt water, highly mineralized
water, or otherwise contaminated water to enter the strata.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-3
Public policy regarding conservation of ground water
Sec. 3. It is a public policy of the state in the interest of the
economy, health, and welfare of Indiana and the citizens of Indiana
to conserve and protect the ground water resources of Indiana and for
that purpose to provide reasonable regulations for the most beneficial
use and disposition of ground water resources.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-4
Restricted use areas; designation
Sec. 4. (a) The department may by rule or order, when the
department has reason to believe it is necessary and in the public
interest, designate certain areas of Indiana where the withdrawal of
ground waters exceeds or threatens to exceed natural replenishment
as restricted use areas. Before the department designates an area as a
restricted use area, the department shall do the following:
(1) Have surveys made of the ground water resources of the
area.
(2) Determine the safe annual yield of the basin.
(b) The department may do the following:
(1) Cooperate with the agencies of the federal government
engaged in making ground water surveys.
(2) Accept and use the findings of other agencies of the federal
and state governments as a basis of the department's decisions.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-5
Restricted use areas; orders, rules, and notice of hearing
Sec. 5. (a) Whenever the department designates a restricted use
area, the department shall approve an order to that effect and adopt
a rule under IC 4-22-2.
(b) In addition to the publication of notice provided for in
IC 4-22-2, the department shall, for the purposes of this chapter only,
do the following:
(1) Give notice by publication one (1) time each week for three
(3) consecutive weeks in all of the newspapers of general
circulation in the area to be designated as a restricted use area.
(2) Give ten (10) days written notice to all public utilities
privately or publicly owned engaged in furnishing water to
residents of the restricted use area.
(3) Give ten (10) days written notice to:
(A) the executive of each city and town;
(B) the president of each county executive in a county that
does not have a consolidated city; and
(C) the county executive in a county that has a consolidated
city;
in the restricted use area.
(4) Have the notice posted at least ten (10) days before the
hearing as follows:
(A) At the door of the courthouse.
(B) At the city or town hall if there is a city or town hall in
the restricted use area.
(C) In at least three (3) other public places.
(c) Proof of the notice shall be made at the hearing by the
affidavits of the publishers of the newspapers and of the persons who
posted and sent the other notices required by this section.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-6
Withdrawal permits; requirement
Sec. 6. In a restricted use area, a person may not withdraw or use
for any purpose ground water in quantities in excess of one hundred
thousand (100,000) gallons per day in addition to the quantity the
person is using at the time the order designating the area as a
restricted use area becomes effective, unless the person has obtained
a permit from the department to withdraw or use a greater quantity.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-7
Withdrawal permits; application
Sec. 7. A person that:
(1) desires to withdraw or use a quantity greater than one
hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per day in addition to the
quantity being used at the time of the effective date of an order
declaring an area as a restricted use area; or
(2) desires to withdraw or use a quantity greater than one
hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per day if the applicant was
not a prior user of ground water;
must apply for permission to do so to the department upon a form
prescribed by the department.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-8
Withdrawal permits; factors to consider
Sec. 8. In granting or refusing a permit, the department shall
consider the following:
(1) The effect the withdrawal of additional ground water from
the restricted use area will have on future supplies in the area.
(2) What use is to be made of the water.
(3) How the withdrawal will affect present users of ground
water in the area.
(4) Whether the future natural replenishment is likely to become
more or less.
(5) Whether future demands for ground water are likely to be
greater or less.
(6) How the withdrawal of additional ground water will affect
the health and best interests of the public.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-9
Withdrawal permits; conditions
Sec. 9. In granting a permit, the department may do the following:
(1) Impose the conditions or stipulations that are necessary to
conserve the ground water of the area and prevent waste,
exhaustion, or impairment of the ground water.
(2) Require that ground water in a restricted area that is
withdrawn and used be returned to the ground through wells,
pits, or spreading grounds. If this condition is imposed, the
water shall be returned under the rules that the department
adopts subject to the approval of the environmental rules board
to avoid pollution of underground water.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18. Amended by P.L.113-2014,
SEC.97.
IC 14-25-3-10
Withdrawal permits; judicial review
Sec. 10. A refusal to grant a permit is subject to court review
under IC 4-21.5-5.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-11
Statements of average daily use of ground water
Sec. 11. (a) All users of ground water in amounts exceeding one
hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per day in an area designated by
the department as a restricted use area shall file with the department
a certified statement of the average daily amount of ground water
used before the designation of the area as a restricted use area. The
statement:
(1) shall be filed within ninety (90) days after the adoption of an
order by the department designating the area as a restricted use
area; and
(2) must be on a form furnished by the department upon request.
(b) Failure to file a certified statement as required by subsection
(a) invalidates a user's prior claim to the withdrawal and use of
ground water exceeding one hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per
day without having secured a permit from the department under this
chapter.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-12
Records regarding drilling of new wells
Sec. 12. In a restricted use area, each well owner or the
representatives of the well owner shall file with the department, on
forms furnished by the department, a complete record of each new
well drilled within the area. The record:
(1) shall be filed within thirty (30) days after the well has been
completed and placed in operation; and
(2) must contain the following:
(A) A log of the following:
(i) The well.
(ii) The static water level.
(iii) The yield.
(iv) The drawdown.
(B) Other pertinent information that is required by the
department.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-13
Withdrawal permits; title or lease to property required
Sec. 13. A permit may not be issued to an applicant requesting
permission to withdraw and use more than one hundred thousand
(100,000) gallons per day of ground water from a designated
restricted use area who does not:
(1) have title; or
(2) hold a lease;
to the property from which the water is to be withdrawn.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-14
Meters
Sec. 14. The department may require a user of ground water in
amounts exceeding one hundred thousand (100,000) gallons per day
in designated restricted use areas to install a meter if any of the
following conditions exist:
(1) The user is unable to furnish accurate information
concerning the amounts of ground water being withdrawn and
used.
(2) There is evidence of either of the following:
(A) The user's certified statement is false or inaccurate.
(B) The user is withdrawing and using a larger quantity than
has been authorized by the department under this chapter.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-15
Waste of water
Sec. 15. (a) In a restricted use area, the department may require a
person found to be committing waste of ground water to return all or
a part of the water to the ground if the following conditions are met:
(1) The water being wasted can safely and practicably be
returned to the ground.
(2) Requirements are imposed as proportionately equal as is
practicable on all persons committing waste.
(b) The use of ground water for cooling purposes may constitute
waste if the water is:
(1) not used more than one (1) time in a cooling, air
conditioning, or heating system; and
(2) not put to further beneficial use.
(c) In a restricted use area the department may require the owner
of a flowing well:
(1) that exceeds a flow of one thousand five hundred (1,500)
gallons per day; and
(2) whose water is being wasted;
to install the controls on the well that are necessary to diminish the
daily flow to not more than one thousand five hundred (1,500)
gallons.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-16
Determination of quantity of ground water removed
Sec. 16. (a) As used in this section, "rated capacity of a pump"
means the number of gallons of water a pump is capable of
discharging in a given time as determined by the manufacturer or by
certified pump tests.
(b) In determining the quantity of water being removed from or
returned to the ground, the department may use the following:
(1) The rated capacity of the pump used for pumping the water.
(2) The rated capacity of the cooling system.
(3) Data furnished by the well driller or user.
(4) The standards or methods employed by the United States
Geological Survey in determining quantities.
(5) Any other accepted method.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-17
Adoption of rules
Sec. 17. The department may adopt the rules that are necessary to
do the following:
(1) Determine within reasonable limits quantities of water being
removed from the ground.
(2) Administer any of the other provisions of this chapter.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18.
IC 14-25-3-18
Violations
Sec. 18. A person who violates:
(1) section 6, 11, or 12 of this chapter; or
(2) a rule or order concerning a restricted use area;
commits a Class C infraction. Each day of violation constitutes a
separate infraction.
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.18. Amended by P.L.195-2014,
SEC.23.
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