Wellhead Protection
Rule Revision

Advisory Committee Meeting

Check back for next Wellhead Protection (WHP) Rule Revision Advisory Committee Meeting.

• WHP Advisory Committee Members (PDF)
• Information sheet: Wellhead Protection Rule Revision (PDF)

If you have any questions about the meeting, please contact Mark Wettlaufer at (320) 223-7342 or mark.wettlaufer@state.mn.us or Debby Sellin-Beckerleg at (320) 223-7372 or debby.sellin-beckerleg@state.mn.us.

Upcoming WHP meetings

• Monday, December 16, 2024, 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m.

Meeting Dates, Notes and Advice

About the rule

Each state has a program to protect the groundwater that public water systems use to supply drinking water. This is a requirement of the 1986 Federal Safe Drinking Water Act. As a result, Minnesota adopted the State Wellhead Protection (WHP) Rule 4720.5100-4720.5590 in 1997. 

The Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) is responsible for administering the State WHP Program. Under the WHP Program, public water systems are required to develop and implement a plan that protects its drinking water source.  The main components and requirements of a public water system’s WHP Plan include:

• Scientifically delineating the recharge area of the public water supply wells.
• Determining the vulnerability of the aquifer to human land use impacts.
• Identifying potential or existing contaminants based on aquifer vulnerability.
• Developing a plan to prevent or reduce contamination in the aquifer used.
• Developing a contingency plan to provide drinking water in case of a major disruption.

Potential changes to the Rule

The WHP Rule has been in place for approximately 25 years. Over this time, MDH and public water systems have identified opportunities to improve the WHP Rule and better protect sources of drinking water. MDH is beginning the process to revise the WHP Rule, evaluating public water system requirements and drinking water protection goals. We will be considering changes in the following areas:

• Assessing public water systems’ capacity and costs to develop a WHP plan.
• Evaluating the necessity of requiring all public water supply systems to develop a plan and considering alternate approaches.
• Opportunities to reduce the time to develop, review, and approve a WHP plan, based on approaches used by other resource planning efforts.
• Simplifying plan development processes and requirements. 
• Reducing redundancy in plans. 
• Identifying ways to improve prioritization and management of contaminant sources.

MDH appreciates your interest in drinking water and opportunities to improve the WHP Rule. 

Revision documents

Request for Comments as published on May 16, 2022, in the Minnesota State Register, Volume 46, Number 46 (Page 1325)
Minnesota State Register, Volume 46, Number 46 (PDF)

Request for Comments
Possible Amendment to Rules Governing Wellhead Protection (PDF), Revisor ID Number 4710 (April 14, 2022)

How to comment

Interested persons or groups may submit comments or information on draft rule amendments.

Please submit your questions or comments using this online form:
Public Comment - Wellhead Protection Rule Revision