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. 41, No. 13, March 15, 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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