Oklahoma Administrative Code
Title 785 - Oklahoma Water Resources Board
Chapter 35 - Well Driller and Pump Installer Licensing
Subchapter 3 - Licensing and Certifications
Section 785:35-3-1 - Licensing procedures
Universal Citation: OK Admin Code 785:35-3-1
Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a) Who must file and types of certifications.
(1)
All persons engaged in the following categories of activities in this state
shall make application for and obtain a license from the Board:
(A) Category 1: commercial drilling or
plugging of groundwater wells including test drilling for groundwater, and
commercial drilling or plugging of fresh water observation wells;
(B) Category 2: commercial drilling or
plugging of monitoring wells and site assessment wells, and drilling or
plugging of geotechnical borings;
(C) Category 3: commercial installation of
water well pumps;
(D) Category 4:
commercial drilling or plugging of wells utilized for heat exchange purposes
including but not limited to the following:
(i) heat exchange wells; and
(ii) geothermal wells.
(E) Category 5: commercial drilling or
plugging of marginal water wells.
(2) The license issued by the Board shall
indicate on its face each category and specific activity or activities as
described in (a)(1) of this section for which the licensee is certified to
perform and conduct.
(3) Each
licensed firm shall have at least one operator who may also be the licensee.
Each operator shall be required to obtain a certification from the Board. An
operator shall not conduct types of activities not authorized for the licensee
under whom the operator works.
(4)
To engage in activities for which certification is required, operators shall
also have a valid license or shall be certified as an operator for a person
having a valid license. An operator's certification by itself shall not
constitute proper authority to engage in activities for which licensing is
required.
(5) Reconditioning of
wells as a trade, business or occupation for compensation shall be considered
commercial drilling.
(6) No
license shall be required for any person who installs vapor observation wells
within the excavation of newly installed underground tank systems, provided
that the bottom of the vapor observation well does not intercept the
groundwater table and is above the historic high water table level in the area,
and provided further that such vapor wells shall be constructed to meet or
exceed the minimum standards for the construction of monitoring wells which are
located in the unsaturated zone of aquifer.
(b) Application requirements for license.
(1) Any person who intends to
conduct any of the activities listed in 785:35-3-1(a)(1) must complete and file
a verified application for license and activity certification on forms provided
by the Board.
(2) The license
applicant shall submit the following with the application:
(A) verification of at least two (2) years
qualified experience in the activity or activities for which certification
under the license is sought, provided that education related to the activity
may be substituted for up to one (1) year of the required qualified experience;
(B) a list of all well rigs and
equipment used or to be used in conducting the activities for which
certification under license is sought;
(C) the license fee for each activity for
which certification under the license is sought;
(D) the indemnity fund fee for each category
of activity for which certification under the license is sought;
(E) the examination fee.
(F) applicants for category 5 must also holds
a category 1 certification for a minimum of 2 years.
(3) Applicants who are partnerships,
corporations or other entities that are not individuals shall additionally
provide the following with the application:
(A) designation of one contact person who
shall be an official properly authorized to act for the partnership,
corporation or other entity;
(B)
authorized signature of the contact person who shall execute and verify the
application;
(C) a list of all
persons employed who intend to become duly certified operators for the
partnership, corporation or other entity.
(c) Application requirements for operator certification.
(1) Any
individual who intends to conduct any of the activities listed in
785:35-3-1(a)(1) for any person who obtains a license pursuant to these rules
must complete and file an application for an operator certification on forms
supplied by the Board, provided however, one operator certification shall be
issued with the license to the licensee.
(2) The applicant for an operator
certification shall submit the following with the application:
(A) verification of at least one (1) year of
qualified experience in the activity or activities for which the operator
certification is sought, provided that education related to the activity may be
substituted for up to six (6) months of the required qualified experience;
(B) the operator certification
fee;
(C) the examination fee.
(d) Completion of application and notification.
(1) Any application for license or operator
certification not completed within six (6) months from the date of receipt
shall be cancelled and fees submitted therewith forfeited.
(2) Upon receipt of a properly completed
application and all items required to be submitted, the Board shall inform said
applicant of the dates, times, and places of the examination for which he is
eligible.
(e) Administration and procedures relating to examination.
(1) Upon notification of the dates, times,
and places of examinations, the applicant shall notify the Board of the date,
time, and place the applicant will be present to take the examination relating
to the activities listed in 785:35-3-1(a)(1) for which the license or operator
certification is sought. There shall be five (5) kinds of examinations:
(A) an examination relating to groundwater
wells and fresh water observation wells,
(B) an examination relating to monitoring
wells, site assessment observation wells, and geotechnical boring,
(C) an examination relating to pump
installation activities, including but not limited to related electrical work
performed from the output side of a fused disconnect or breaker box, and
(D) an examination relating to
heat exchange wells.
(E) an
examination relating to marginal water wells.
(2) The applicant shall not be allowed to
confer with any other person or refer to outside materials for answers to
examination questions.
(3) After
completion of the appropriate examination(s) within a reasonable time, the
Board shall grade the examinations and pass upon qualifications of applicants
for licensing and certification.
(4) An applicant, at any time within 30 days
of the date he is notified of the results of an examination, may inspect his or
her examination paper in the offices of the Board during the normal business
hours for the purpose of challenging the propriety of the questions, the method
of grading, and the accuracy of grading.
(5) Any applicant who fails an examination
will be promptly notified by the Board. After a minimum time period of thirty
(30) days, and if a subsequent examination is scheduled between the date of
notification and the six (6) months expiration period of the application, the
applicant may request to take the subsequent examination but must pay the
appropriate examination fee each time the applicant requests to take the
examination.
(f) Issuance of license.
(1) Upon
acceptance of the applicant's qualifications the Board will issue the license
with appropriate category and activity certifications to the applicant along
with the required operator certifications.
(2) No license and no operator certificate
shall be issued to any person who has not been a resident of the State of
Oklahoma for at least ninety (90) days prior to the date of issuance of the
license, unless the reciprocity provisions for nonresidents as set forth in (B)
of this paragraph apply.
(A) The applicant
for a license or operator certificate as the case may be, shall submit written
verification of Oklahoma residency as required in this subsection.
(B) The Board may waive the ninety (90) day
residency requirement as outlined in this subsection for any nonresident of the
State of Oklahoma if the nonresident's particular state, territory, or
possession of the United States extends similar privileges to the persons
licensed under the provisions herein. If the applicant's state of residency has
a licensing requirement, then the nonresident must be licensed and in good
standing in that state. The license fees charged to a nonresident applicant
shall be at least equal to the fees charged for similar nonresident license by
the state, territory, or possession of the United States in which the applicant
is a resident, but in no case shall the fee be less than four hundred dollars
($400.00).
(g) Changing the designation of license or moving an operator certification.
(1) Any individual licensee may request
modification of the license designation to that of a partnership, corporation
or other legal entity. The Board shall approve the request and issue a modified
license after the following conditions are met:
(A) the licensee holds an active valid
license;
(B) the licensee gives
written notice of the request to the Board;
(C) the licensee provides the name of the
contact person who is an official properly authorized to act for the
partnership, corporation or other entity;
(D) a list of all persons employed by the
partnership, corporation or other entity who are or intend to become duly
certified operators.
(E) payment
of fee(s) required for change of license and any new operator certifications.
(2) An operator who has
obtained a certification to drill under the license of a partnership, firm, or
corporation can transfer that certification to another partnership, firm, or
corporation on the following conditions provided that an operator cannot
conduct activities during any period that he is not associated with a licensee,
and provided further that an operator certification will not be renewed unless
the operator is associated with a licensee:
(A) the transfer fee is submitted to the
Board with the transfer request, and
(B) the operator associates with the new
licensee within thirty (30) days, or has provided notice to the Board of his
current address within thirty (30) days after leaving the previous licensee.
(h) Adding activities to be certified under license or operator certification.
(1) A licensee or
certified operator may request to add activities to be certified under the
license or operator certification.
(2) The Board shall consider approval of
request after the following conditions are met:
(A) verification of at least two (2) years
qualified experience in the additional activity or activities for which the
license is sought, provided that education related to the activity may be
substituted for up to one (1) year of the required experience; verification of
at least one (1) year qualified experience in the additional activity or
activities for which certification is sought, provided that education related
to the activity may be substituted for up to six (6) months of the required
experience;
(B) submittal of an
update of the list of rigs or other equipment to be used in the additional
activity or activities;
(C)
submittal of the additional license or operator certification fee;
(D) submittal of the additional indemnity
fund fee;
(E) submittal of the
examination fee;
(F) passing the
examination.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg 3299, eff 6-25-93; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 2947, eff 6-13-94; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 2703, eff 7-1-95; Amended at 15 Ok Reg 2440, eff 6-11-98; Amended at 16 Ok Reg 2686, eff 7-1-99; Amended at 19 Ok Reg 2498, eff 6-27-02; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 2632, eff 7-1-04; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1598, eff 7-1-05
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