HOME RULE BOROUGH OF EDINBORO
Ordinance No. 569
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING Chapter 13 OF THE CODE OF THE BOROUGH OF EDINBORO, AND SPECIFICALLY ADDING Part 7 ENTITLED, “Ground Source Heat Pumps”.
WHEREAS, the Borough of Edinboro is a Home Rule Municipality and therefore their Home Rule Charter specifically authorizes the Home Rule Municipality the power to adopt, amend, and enact ordinances; and
WHEREAS, ground source heat pump systems, also referred to as geothermal heat pumps, provide a promising alternative to conventional heating and cooling methods; and
WHEREAS, the efficient ground source heat pump systems significantly reduce the consumption of fossil fuels and thus result in considerably fewer gaseous emissions; and
WHEREAS, ground source heat pumps can help improve local air quality;
WHEREAS, ground source heat pump systems help solve energy supply issues;
WHEREAS, energy produced locally reduces the need to import energy, thus resulting in a better balance of trade;
WHEREAS, commercially available ground source heat pump system technology can significantly reduce household energy costs;
WHEREAS, the U.S. Climate Change Action Plan notes the formation of a consortium of geothermal developers and utilities to accelerate commercialization and increase participation as among the specific actions regarding energy supply that will support the U.S. commitment to stabilize emissions of greenhouse gasses at 1990 levels;
WHEREAS, investor-owned, municipal and rural cooperative electric utilities, with support from the U.S. Department of Energy and in cooperation with U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are seeking a 10-fold increase of ground source heat pumps systems;
WHEREAS, the introduction into the ground of circulating water or other fluids constitutes a matter of legitimate governmental concern with respect to issues of public health, safety and welfare; and
WHEREAS, the regulation, installation, use and inspection of same is an appropriate exercise of public authority; and
THEREFORE, The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro hereby ordains and enacts as follows:
Part 7
Ground Water Heat Pumps
Section 13-7-201 Definitions
A. For purpose of this ordinance, the following definitions apply:
1. The term “aquifer” means a water-bearing stratum of permeable rock, sand, or gravel.
2. The term “closed loop systems” means systems which rely on the contained circulation of fluids through an underground pipe circuit.
3. The term “direct expansion or DX” means a system which circulates refrigerant in a closed underground loop.
4. The term “drilling” means the creation of holes in the ground, deeper than they are wide, in excess of twenty-five (25) feet below the surface of the ground, using drills, augers, shovels, picks, hydraulic means, etc.
5. The term “heat exchanger” means a device (such as a radiator) used to transfer heat between one fluid (i.e., water or refrigerant) to another fluid, or between one fluid and the ground.
6. The term “mains system” means the water distribution system of a public water supply.
7. The term “open loop” means a geothermal heat pump system that withdraws water from a well or surface water supply, passes it through a heat exchanger, and discharges the water to a surface water body, storm or sanitary sewer system, or recharge well.
8. The term “public water system” means a system for the provision of piped water for human consumption, if such system has at least fifteen service connections or regularly serves at least twenty-five (25) individuals.
9. The term “refrigerant” means the working fluid in a vapor-compression heat pump.
10. The term “slinky” means a closed loop heat exchanger for horizontal installation, made of offset coils of geothermal-rated polyethylene or polybutylene pipe with heat-fused joints.
11. The terms “standing well” or “turbulent well” means a lined or unlined coaxial well used as a heat exchanger. Typically, water is withdrawn from the well bottom and returned to the top of the water column. The well maybe used as a potable water source, with proper protection.
Section 13-7-202 General Provisions
A. Permitting
1. No person, partnership, corporation or other entity shall, within the geographic boundary of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro, Erie County, Pennsylvania, install, construct, drill or excavate to facilitate the construction or installation of ground source heat pump for use as a heating and/or cooling system for any residential, commercial or industrial structures without first obtaining a building permit.
2. Building permit applicants shall demonstrate that specifications for the excavation, installation and operation of the ground source heat pump system conform to current standards of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association (IGSHPA).
B. Local Geological Conditions
1. In specific areas of the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro where, as determined by the Borough of Edinboro Engineer, local geological conditions, including but not limited to karst or permafrost, do not meet the requirements for installation and/or efficient operation of geothermal heat pump systems, the Borough engineer may prohibit the installation of one or more types of geothermal heat pump systems.
C. Interconnection to Municipal Water Supplies
1. No water source heat pump shall be interconnected to the public water system so as to return water to the distribution system of the public water supply, except as allowed by permit.
Section 13-7-203 Installation of Open Loop Systems
A. Shall be prohibited.
Section 13-7-204 Installation of Closed Loop Water Systems
A. Pipes
1. All pipes associated with ground source heat pump systems shall conform to specifications of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.
a. All pipes used in aqueous closed loop ground heat exchangers shall be high density polyethylene, or polybutylene, meeting the requirements of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association Closed-Loop/Geothermal Heat Pump Systems Design and Installation Standards. All in-ground connections shall be heat-fused.
b. All pipe used in open loop systems shall meet the requirements imposed at the local jurisdictional level for potable water well pipe or for in-ground hook-ups to the public water system.
B. Fluids
1. Any fluids used in ground source heat pump systems shall conform to standards set by the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association.
2. Fluids used in ground source heat pump systems shall include any food grade additive that is FDA approved coolant.
3. The use of methanol or other toxic substances that could endanger our water supply are prohibited.
4. Antifreezes shall be certified by their manufacturers (or the heat pump manufacturers) as suitable for the intended use and FDA approved. All installations must be identified with appropriate labels, and material safety data sheets must be provided to the owner. Antifreezes shall be corrosion-inhibited and biodegradable.
Section 13-7-205 Installation of Direct Expansion (DX) Systems
A. Pipes
1. All in-ground copper heat exchanger installations shall be ACR grade or better, copper or equivalent.
2. In those instances where direct expansion in-ground tubing is installed at a depth greater than twenty-five (25) feet below the surface of the ground, tubing shall be grouted, or contractor shall demonstrate that the installation provides equivalent protection to groundwater.
3. Prior to backfilling, in-ground joints shall be pressure tested to 500 P.S.I. for a minimum of fifteen (15) minutes, with no pressure loss. Should any buried portion fail, refrigeration shall be recaptured, and the loop shall be repaired or abandoned.
4. In soils with a pH level less than 5.0, all in-ground copper tubing shall be catholically protected for a period not less than 50 years.
B. Fluids
1. Except in those instances where the manufacturer demonstrates that the product contains an appropriate mechanism to prevent compressor lubricant from entering the ground loop, only nontoxic, nonhazardous and noncarcinogenic refrigeration oil may be utilized for compressor lubrication.
Section 13-7-206 General Installation Considerations
A. Site Disturbance
1. All ground source horizontal heat exchanger installations shall comply fully with Home Rule Borough of Edinboro ordnance requirements for site control and preventing soil runoff.
2. For vertical heat exchanger installations, the Borough of Edinboro Building Inspector or engineer shall designate appropriate soil runoff measures for the well drilling operations.
B. Drilling of Holes
1. Persons contracted to drill holes associated with the installation of ground source heat pumps need not be specially certified by the jurisdiction.
2. Any regulations of this jurisdiction regarding the drilling of holes for the construction of potable water wells shall likewise apply to the drilling of holes for the installation of ground source heat pump systems in excess of twenty-five (25) feet below the surface of the ground. This includes requirements for a drilling report including a written geologic log, accurate grouting records, and a plan for operations and for well abandonment.
C. Grouting
1. For all closed loop and DX systems, all materials and practices regarding the grouting of pipes that extend more than 25 feel below the surface of the ground shall conform to the guidelines of the International Ground Source Heat Pump Association pertaining to closed loop systems.
2. The Home Rule Borough of Edinboro engineer shall have the authority to approve alternatives which can be demonstrated to exceed the performance of materials recommended by IGSHPA.
Section 13-7-207 Provisions for the Decommissioning of Ground Source Heat Pump Systems
A. Whenever a ground source heat pump system is permanently removed from service, and the pipes are not removed from the ground, the outside loop pipes shall be filled with materials meeting specifications for grout.
Section 13-7-208 Penalties. Any person, firm or corporation who shall construct, reconstruct, install, use and/or maintain any Geothermal Ground Source Heat Pump in the Home Rule Borough of Edinboro without proper permits shall be guilty of a summary offense, and shall, upon conviction thereof, be sentenced to pay a fine of not more than One Thousand ($1,000.00) Dollars, and in default of payment of such fine, shall be sentenced to a term of imprisonment not to exceed Ninety (90) Days. Every day that a violation of this Ordinance continues shall constitute a separate offense.
§13-604. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect in ten (10) days from enactment.