Since the beginning of 2015, the RF Law "On Subsoil" has introduced significant changes regarding the registration and obtaining of a license for the use of subsoil in water production. From that moment, the so-called water amnesty was announced until September 1, 2016, during which it was required to properly register the wells that fall under the scope of Article 19 of the above Law.
If the rules of licensing this type of activity for legal entities are more or less clear, then for citizens who have a well in their home or summer cottage, the procedure for obtaining a license raises many questions. Let's try to figure out in what cases licensing is necessary, and when is groundwater allowed to be used without documentation? What documents will be required and where to get a license for a well with drinking water?
Well on the site: do you always need a license?
The new edition of the Law "On Subsoil", unlike the previous text of the law, strictly establishes the conditions under which obtaining a license of the established form for the extraction of water from an underground source is mandatory. Back in January 2015, the announcement of new rules for well construction and sanctions for violating subsoil legislation caused some excitement among individuals who own a groundwater source in a residential or summer cottage. In most cases, this was due to the rather high cost of the licensing procedure and the stringent mandatory requirements for well operation, which were practically unfeasible in a conventional suburban area. In other words, summer residents and owners of private farmsteads were afraid to simply be left without a source of water on their land.
Clarity was clarified by the explanations of the Ministry of Ecology and Nature Management of the capital region, published in several publications. The new operating conditions of such a natural resource as groundwater, according to the head of the licensee, concern entrepreneurs and organizations that extract water for commercial purposes, and a license for a well for water in a suburban area or in a rural household is not required.
But not so simple. Article 19 clearly defines the conditions under which a well or a well can be drilled without going through the licensing and registration process for a water source. If at least one of these factors does not comply, a well license for individuals must be obtained without fail.
Under what conditions of water production is a license not needed?
So, what, according to the amendments to the Law "On Subsoil", should there be a well (well) in the area so that the owner does not require a license for the well?
- Water produced from a well is intended solely for the needs of the owner of the water source and is not used for any commercial purposes. In practice, this condition establishes compulsory licensing not only for private entrepreneurs or horticultural partnerships, but also for a personal well, which is used by the owner’s neighbors free of charge.
- The daily volume of the resource, that is, groundwater extracted from the well, should be no more than 100 m³.
- The well is located at the level of the first aquifer. Here it is required to clarify that we are talking about the so-called groundwater, whose natural deposits are located at a depth of 5 meters from the earth's surface.
- The source from which water is extracted is not a source of centralized water supply and is not on the balance of the state. An organization that can provide information about sources located in state. accounting - Department of the geological information fund, to which the land is territorially related. To obtain this information, the owner of the site will need to submit an application and pay the cost of the service.
Artesian water
The purity, taste and beneficial properties of real artesian water can hardly be overestimated. However, now this valuable resource will also have to be mined taking into account amendments to the law. What is the difference between the extraction of this category of groundwater and will a license be required for an artesian well built on a private site for the personal needs of the owner?
An artesian is called an aquifer, lying significantly lower than the first "sand" horizon, at a depth of 20 to 200 m between the layers of limestone rocks. A license for a well for water from an artesian source, even intended for personal use, is a mandatory requirement of the law. Moreover, all “limestone” water deposits are necessarily taken to the balance of the state. For this reason, before you start drilling in "state" limestone soils, you should learn how to get a license for a well and permission to use artesian water.
Features of licensing wells for personal use by individuals
Regardless of whether you need a license for an artesian water well or a source of water belonging to an individual, you need to officially register for another reason, you will have to go through the entire licensing process on the same conditions as a large legal entity. The situation is complicated by the fact that an effective and quick licensing procedure for individuals still does not exist. For this reason, a license for a well for individuals is “long and expensive.” The whole process, from obtaining a license to cadastral registration, can take more than one month. The cost of a license for a well, taking into account all the work to bring the territory into line with sanitary safety requirements and the costs of collecting and processing a package of documents, today already varies from half a million to a million rubles.
Significantly facilitate and speed up the process of issuing permits is possible by contacting companies that professionally specialize in obtaining licenses. Such organizations operate in almost any region and, after the conclusion of the contract, the owner of the site will be spared from the tedious "walking around offices." The only drawback of contacting an intermediary, perhaps, will be that the cost of a license for a well will cost even more - the services of "assistants" will also be expensive.
Responsibility for using subsoil without a license
The most significant argument in favor of obtaining a license legally is the responsibility that an individual will have to bear when he has drilled an artesian well or other source in his area that falls under the requirements for obtaining a license. The absence of a license for a well entails a fine on the owner of the site, the amount of which for an individual can range from 3,000 to 5,000 rubles (article 7.3 of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation). Based on the results of the verification of documents and the operating conditions of the water source, the inspector, who discovered this violation, will issue a warrant, a document that indicates all violations of groundwater production, as well as the time frame in which they should be eliminated. Failure to comply with a precept or performance in violation of the deadlines set by the document will result in penalties. In the future, a decision may be made to eliminate the well by plugging.
Separately, in the same article of the Code of Administrative Offenses of the Russian Federation, liability is defined for private owners who have a valid license, but violate licensed operating conditions: a fine of 2,000 to 3,000 rubles.
Where to apply for a license
The owner of a private site planning to drill a well that falls under the requirements of the law on licensing, or register an existing well, should start by obtaining a license for the right to use subsoil with an indication of the purpose: “For underground water extraction”. Where to get a license for a well? You should apply for the issuance of such a document to the licensing department of the Territorial Department of a state body (Department, Ministry of the Region or others), which manages the development of mineral resources in this region.
Package of documents for obtaining a license
For an individual who requires a license for a well, the following package of documents is installed:
- Application (application) for issuing a license.
- Passport data.
- Certificate of ownership of the land (or lease, right to use, and so on).
- Site plans (situational and general).
- Cadastral plan.
- Certificate TIN.
- Bank details.
- ZSO and well drilling projects
The latest documents are worth a closer look.
Daily consumption calculation
The first step before submitting documents to the licensing department will be to calculate the daily consumption of water produced from the well.
You can do this yourself by summing up the approximate daily water consumption by everyone who will subsequently regularly use water from the well or by contacting the company involved in the design of the wells for help. For the most accurate information, you should recalculate all water-consuming equipment, even what is planned to be connected after the construction of the well: plumbing, irrigation or watering systems, etc.
The information received must be agreed in the regional division of the Ministry of Natural Resources (Ministry of Natural Resources and Ecology - MPRiE). In the future, this document will be needed to create a project for a future water source.
Well Drilling Project
This document, without special education, cannot be developed independently. To perform this work, you will have to conclude a contract with the organization involved in the design (as a rule, several private companies operate in each region). After leaving the place of the future well, the specialist of the design organization will prepare a project taking into account all the features of the relief and the nearest buildings. The completed project of the well will need to be approved in the regional water committee.
Sanitary Protection Zone Design: Requirements for SAL
Another project concerns the compulsory sanitary safety requirement to provide a sanitary protection zone (WD) near the water source. Before obtaining a license for a well, it will be necessary to create a fenced-in sanitary zone near a water source (well) with a radius of 30 to 50 meters. In some cases, this figure can be reduced, but not more than 10 meters. Access to the fence should be restricted to all but the owner of the site and maintenance workers for water well equipment.
But the fenced area should not contain any objects not related to the functioning of the well, including trees, poles, shrubs. Also, one should not forget about the regular mowing (mowing) of grass in the ZSO. The paths to the well and related equipment must be hard-coated, such as concrete, asphalt, etc.
You need to obtain a certificate of the presence of conditions for the organization of the ZZO at the local branch of Rospotrebnadzor.
License issuance, validity period
From all of the above, it becomes clear that the creation of the necessary conditions and the formation of a package of documents for licensing a well is a rather difficult process. The documentation is reviewed up to two months, after which a decision is made to issue a license for the right to use subsoil, which is more simply called a “well license”, or an official refusal of the license is transmitted.
Having received this document, you can proceed to the actual construction of the well. It is worth noting that a license is also required for work on artesian wells — it must be with the organization carrying out such activities.
Important! The license for a private well has a validity period of 25 years, at the end of which it will be necessary to go through the entire procedure again.
Well registration
The final stage of the official “acquisition” of a well at the site will be the registration and assignment of an individual number (ID). This happens in several stages:
- Specialists of the Department (Ministry) of subsoil use travel to the area for geological examination. With a positive conclusion, you can proceed to the next step.
- The construction of the SOA according to the project.
- Water sampling by an invited specialist of Rospotrebnadzor. Based on the results of all examinations, the owner of the well will receive an opinion on the suitability of water for drinking or technical purposes.
- Well registration and ID assignment in the state water registry.