Commissioners Table Decision On Amendments To Pond, Well Rules
Posted
Tim Robertson-trobertson@timesuniononline.com
Kosciusko County Commissioners tabled a discussion on amendments to the county's ponds and wells ordinances Tuesday.
Assistant County Planner Matt Sandy and Health Department Assistant Administrator/Environmental Scientist Neal Brown presented proposed amendments to the ordinances from the Kosciusko Area Plan Commission.The proposals require a process for property owners who want to build or expand a pond to follow and sets regulations on how and where ponds can be built. The health department's well ordinance already sets regulations on wells, but a proposed amendment would add a 50-foot setback requirement for wells near productive agricultural land.
Sandy said members of the agricultural community approached the plan commission about writing the amendments because of concerns about how ponds and wells can affect the use of the herbicide, atrizine, in farming. Atrizine's label prohibits its use in areas less than 200 feet from a pond or 50 feet from a well. Sandy said some farmers would like the county's ordinance to ensure new ponds and wells aren't built closer than those set distances from their fields.
The proposed amendment exempts ponds in subdivisions from the regulations.
Commissioner Ron Truex said he had concerns that the exemption could be harmful to farmers.
"What protection does an adjacent farmer have when a subdivision wants to put a pond in?" Truex asked.
Sandy said subdivisions will still be subject to a review process.
The commissioners tabled a decision on the amendments until their next meeting in order to refine some of the amendments' wording.
In other news, the commissioners
n Approved a request for the county to share its geographic information systems map for use in a statewide GIS map.
n Approved a vacation request from E & L Rentals LLC in Oswego.
n Approved a rezoning request from Capital Growth, in Tippecanoe Township, to rezone land from agricultural to commercial.
