Palm Desert directs staff to craft local drilling and well permit rules to improve oversight

The Palm Desert City Council directed staff on Dec. 11 to prepare amendments to chapter 8.50 of the Palm Desert Municipal Code to create local drilling and maintenance permit requirements for private wells.

Pedro Rodriguez (code compliance and support services manager) told council that private companies drilling wells within city limits currently go through Riverside County and the city has limited local enforcement authority. The proposed amendments would require submittal of site plans and timelines, establish fencing and construction standards to reduce neighborhood impacts, require financial bonds to secure site restoration if a developer fails to complete work, and give the city citation and stop-work authority to improve local enforcement and monitoring.

Rodriguez said the county would retain primary authority to issue wells but that the city's changes would bring private drillers to the table and create conditioning and monitoring authority the city currently lacks. Staff estimated about two substantial wells have been drilled in the city over the past three to four years, often in residential areas where quality-of-life impacts are highest.

Next steps: staff will work with Riverside County to draft the code amendments and return to the council with formal ordinance language and proposed enforcement mechanisms.