Idaho State Statutes - Idaho Attorney Directory

STATE POLICY ON ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION. 1. It is hereby
recognized by the legislature that the protection of the environment and the
promotion of personal health are vital concerns and are therefore of great
importance to the future welfare of this state. It is therefore declared to be
the policy of the state to provide for the protection of the environment and
the promotion of personal health and to thereby protect and promote the
health, safety and general welfare of the people of this state.
2. The goal of the legislature in enacting the ground water quality
protection act of 1989 shall be to maintain the existing high quality of the
state's ground water and to satisfy existing and projected future beneficial
uses including drinking water, agricultural, industrial and aquacultural water
supplies. All ground water shall be protected as a valuable public resource
against unreasonable contamination or deterioration. The quality of degraded
ground water shall be restored where feasible and appropriate to support
identified beneficial uses.
3. In enacting this law, the legislature intends to prevent contamination
of ground water from point and nonpoint sources of contamination to the
maximum extent practical. In attaining the goals enumerated in subsections 1
and 2 of this section, the legislature wishes to enumerate the following
ground water quality protection goals:
a. It is the policy of the state to prevent contamination of ground water
from any source to the maximum extent practical.
b. The discovery of any contamination that poses a threat to existing or
projected future beneficial uses of ground water shall require appropriate
actions to prevent further contamination. These actions may consist of
investigation and evaluation or enforcement actions if necessary to stop
further contamination or clean up existing contamination as required under
the environmental protection and health act.
c. All persons in the state should conduct their activities so as to
prevent the nonregulated release of contaminants into ground water.
d. Education of the citizens of the state is necessary to preserve and
restore ground water quality.

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