A conditional use permit allows a city or county to provide flexibility within a zoning ordinance to consider special uses that may be essential or desirable to the community or restrict uses that could have detrimental effects on the community. 

When approving conditional use permits, cities and counties can restrict certain practices that may negatively impact source water and/or require that source water protection best management practices be implemented. Additionally, cities and counties can require that potential impacts to source water be outlined in the conditional use permit applications and specify which state and federal environmental requirements or permits the permittee must comply with. Local entities cannot enact requirements that are inconsistent with state or federal rules, statutes, regulations, or permits but can enact complimentary or more comprehensive requirements. For example, heating oil tanks are not regulated under state or federal regulations, but they still have the potential to impact source water if not secondarily contained and properly maintained. Therefore, a city can issue a permit for a facility that uses a heating oil tank, with the condition that the facility install secondary containment for the tank.