Water Wells and Environmental Drilling
The Inyo County Environmental Health Department issues permits to appropriately licensed California contractors for a variety of drilling activities. Activities that require a permit include:
- Construction of new well
- Perform repairs or modifications to the casing of existing wells
- The destruction of abandoned wells
- Exploratory holes for soil testing and monitoring or seismic exploration where such holes are greater than twenty-five feet in depth
- The conversion of oil and gas wells or geothermal wells for use as a water well
The following activities do not require a permit:
- Oil and gas wells or geothermal wells constructed under the jurisdiction of the Department of Conservation
- Wells used for the purpose of dewatering an excavation during construction or to stabilize a hillside or earth embankment
- Test or exploratory holes for soil testing and monitoring or seismic exploration where such holes are less than twenty-five feet deep
- Holes or excavations for soil percolation tests where such holes are less than ten feet deep
Application and Plot Plan
To begin the process of obtaining a drilling permit, fill out a Well Permit Application and Plot Plan. Applications can be sent by email to InyoEHD@inyocounty.us or by mail to 1360 N. Main Street, Bishop, CA 93514. All drilling permit applications submitted for review must include both a complete permit application and accurate site plan. Once received, you will be contacted by technical staff to discuss your project further.
For projects involving multiple excavations, an individual application must be submitted for each proposed bore hole. Each permit issued authorizes only one boring as it was proposed and approved in the permit application package. Any deviations from the permit application must receive written approval from this department prior to execution, and may require the update and re-submittal of the permit application and plot plan.
Projects with multiple excavations or extenuating circumstances may require submittal of a work plan to clearly identify the proposed scope of work.
Indemnification
Once technical staff have reviewed your application and made any necessary corrections, an Indemnification document will be drafted and emailed to the property owner contact provided. Inyo County code section 14.24.052 requires the applicant to sign and return this document before a permit can be issued. For specific legal questions regarding the implications of this document as it relates to your project, it is recommended for the applicant to reach out to counsel prior to signing.
GSA verification
On February 13, 2023, California Governor Newsom signed Executive Order N-3-23, which revised the drilling restrictions previously enacted to curb the effects of extreme and widespread drought. As a result, some projects are subject to additional requirements. If your project is take place in a groundwater basin subject to the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and classified as medium- or high-priority, written verification from the Groundwater Sustainability Agency that manages the basin may be required. This requirement does not apply to permits for wells that meet the following criteria:
- Wells that provide less than two acre-feet per year of groundwater for individual domestic users
- Wells that will exclusively provide groundwater to public water supply systems as defined in California Health and Safety Code section 116275
- Wells that are replacing existing, currently permitted wells with new wells that will produce an equivalent quantity of water as the well being replaced when the existing well is being replaced because it has been acquired by eminent domain or acquired while under threat of condemnation.