House Resources and Conservation Committee approves revised injection-well rules to preserve state primacy

Eric Bowe, Water Compliance Bureau chief and rules regulation officer for the Idaho Department of Water Resources, told the House Resources and Conservation Committee the department is proposing rewritten rules for Class 5 injection wells to ensure protection of groundwater and to preserve state primacy under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

The proposed rule package reorganizes several sections of the existing rule, redefines terms to align with federal code, prohibits construction of new subclass 5F1 agricultural drainage injection wells, and adds standards for the quality and use of recycled water in certain limited circumstances. The committee voted to accept the docket after in-person testimony supporting the revisions.

Nut graf: The rules are intended to keep Idaho’s program consistent with federal requirements (CFR 144.1 and the Safe Drinking Water Act), clarify technical definitions and procedures, and provide a pathway for some municipalities to use highly treated recycled water without compromising underground source drinking water (USDW) or the state’s regulatory primacy.

Bowe told the committee the pending…