Wilson

BACKGROUND

Regulatory Framework The pertinent regulatory framework consists of section 115700, DWR Water Well Standards Bulletins, and Humboldt County Ordinance No. 1885 (codified in the Humboldt County Code as § 631-1 et seq.) (hereinafter the “county well ordinance”). Section 115700 Section 115700 appears in division 104 of the Health and Safety Code, part 9.5, titled “Abandoned Excavations.” The statute states in pertinent part: “(b) Every person owning land in fee simple or in possession thereof under lease or contract of sale who knowingly permits the existence on the premises of any permanently inactive well . . . that constitutes a known or probable preferential pathway for the movement of pollutants, contaminants, or poor quality water, from above ground to below ground, or vertical movement of pollutants, contaminants, or poor quality water below ground, and that movement poses a threat to the quality of the waters of the state, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor.

“(c) For purposes of this section, ‘well’ includes any of the following: [¶] . . . [¶]

All further statutory references are to the Health and Safety Code

unless otherwise indicated.

2 “(3) A ‘water well’ as…