OCR Text |
Show iowa 305 industrial users, within municipalities, which have their own water supply may, however, be regulated when their use of water exceeds 3 percent more than the highest daily beneficial use prior to the effective date of the act. (4) Beneficial use by any person of less than 5,000 gallons daily. In 1971, an exemption for ground water on islands or former islands in border rivers was deleted.6 Also, the right to use diffused surface water is expressly exempt from regulation.7 Section 455A.25 of the act provides that permits shall be required for the following uses: (1) Any municipal corporation or person supplying a municipal corporation which increases its water use in excess of 100,000 gallons or 3 percent (whichever is greater) per day more than its highest per day beneficial use prior to May 16, 1957. When read in con- junction with the nonregulated uses, it is clear that municipal diver- sions or municipal water suppliers are not regulated as of the date of the act. They may become subject to regulation, however, if their use of water increases by the greater of the two amounts specified above. (2) Except for users who fall into the nonregulated category and municipalities, any user who diverts, stores, or withdraws more than 5,000 gallons per day. This apparently has been the largest group of regulated water users.8 (3) Any person who diverts water or any material other than water from the surface into an underground watercourse or basin. A proviso exempts diversions of this type at the date of the act if they are not wasteful or if they do not pollute the aquifer. Permits for such diversions may not be issued without the approval of the Iowa Water Pollution Control Commission. The 5,000 gallon per day ceiling in (2), above, has no application here. (4) Industrial users who have their own sources of supply within the boundaries of municipalities if their use eventually exceeds 3 percent more than the highest per day beneficial use prior to the date of the statute. This is an identical counterpart to the proviso in subdivision (3) of the section defining nonregulated uses. It appar- ently applies only if the industry is located within the municipality, and it seems to be immaterial whether the water is used outside the municipality. It should be noted that unless the industry is one which supplies water to a municipality as is therefore subject to regulation under (1), above, a permit is required if the industry is located outside a municipality and its diversion exceeds 5,000 gallons per day. Also, industries within municipalities are governed only by the 3 percent increase and do not have the benefit of the 100,000 gallon limitation relating to municipalities in (1), above. The above classifications of regulated and nonregulated uses are precise. Hines points out that in administering the act the council has adopted, as a matter of practicability, a policy of not requiring permits for two types of uses actually subject to regulation under 9 Anyone curious about this exemption will find an explanation in Hines, at 16, note "> Sec. 455A.25. 8 Hines at 19. |