(a) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, with the advice and assistance of the board, shall establish the requirements of registration for well drilling contractors. Each person, before engaging in the business of well drilling or pump installing, shall obtain annually from the Department of Consumer Protection a certificate of registration as a well drilling contractor, using an application blank prepared by said department. Each application for issuance or renewal of a certificate of registration shall be accompanied by a certificate of liability coverage for bodily injury of at least one hundred thousand dollars per person with an aggregate of at least three hundred thousand dollars and for property damage of at least fifty thousand dollars per accident with an aggregate of at least one hundred thousand dollars. The applicant shall pay a registration fee of eighty-eight dollars with the application and an annual renewal registration fee of two hundred fifty dollars for renewals on and after April 1, 1984. A certificate of registration is not transferable and expires annually. A lost, destroyed or mutilated registration certificate may be replaced by a duplicate upon payment of a lost fee of fifteen dollars.

(b) A well drilling contractor shall place in a conspicuous location on both sides of his well drilling machine his registration number in letters not less than two inches high.

(c) A governmental unit engaged in water-supply well drilling shall be registered under this chapter, but shall be exempt from paying the registration fees. A governmental unit engaged in non-water-supply well drilling shall be exempt from the requirements for registration under this chapter if the drilling is done by regular employees of, and with equipment owned by, the unit and the work is on non-water-supply wells intended for use by the governmental unit.

(d) This chapter shall not restrict a plumber or electrician from engaging in the trade for which he has been licensed.

(e) (1) A certificate of registration may be refused, or a certificate of registration duly issued may be suspended or revoked, or the renewal thereof refused by the board if said board has good and sufficient reason to believe or finds that the applicant for or the holder of such a certificate has: (A) Made a material misstatement in the application for a registration of any application for renewal thereof; or (B) obtained the registration through wilful fraud or misrepresentation; or (C) demonstrated gross incompetency to act as a well driller; or (D) been guilty of failure to comply with the provisions of this chapter or the State Well Drilling Code, as from time to time amended; or (E) refused to file reports of wells drilled as required by subsection (a) of section 25-131; or (F) been found guilty by the board, the Commissioner of Public Health or by a court of competent jurisdiction, of any fraud, deceit, gross negligence, incompetency or misconduct in the industry, operations or business of well drilling.

(2) Before any certificate of registration shall be refused, suspended or revoked, or the renewal thereof refused, the board shall give notice of the intended action and afford opportunity for hearing in accordance with regulations adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(3) Appeal from the decisions of the board may be taken in accordance with the provisions of section 4-183.

(4) After one year from the date of refusal or revocation of a registration, application to register may be made again by the person affected.

(f) The department shall prepare a roster of all registered well drillers and distribute it annually to the local director of health or his agent and the building inspector, if there is one, of each town. The posting of such roster on the Department of Consumer Protection's Internet web site shall constitute compliance with the requirements of this section.

(g) The Commissioner of Consumer Protection, with the advice and assistance of the board, shall adopt regulations, in accordance with the provisions of chapter 54, to establish certificates of registration for limited contractor and limited journeyperson well casing extension. Such certificates of registration shall permit persons licensed to perform plumbing and piping work pursuant to chapter 393 to perform well casing extension, repair and maintenance work. Upon initial application, an applicant shall demonstrate knowledge of well casing extension, repair and maintenance work by passing an examination subject to the provisions of section 20-333. The applicant shall pay a registration fee of fifty dollars upon initial application and an annual renewal registration fee of fifty dollars. A certificate of registration under this subsection is nontransferable and expires annually.

(1969, P.A. 659, S. 4; P.A. 76-436, S. 600, 681; P.A. 77-603, S. 110, 125; 77-614, S. 181, 182, 323, 610; P.A. 80-205, S. 4, 6; P.A. 81-361, S. 38, 39; P.A. 82-431, S. 2, 6; 82-472, S. 99, 183; P.A. 83-574, S. 18, 20; P.A. 89-251, S. 159, 203; P.A. 93-381, S. 9, 39; P.A. 94-36, S. 37, 42; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1, S. 27, 130; P.A. 95-257, S. 12, 21, 58; P.A. 96-17, S. 3; P.A. 03-68, S. 1; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, S. 146(c), (d), (h); P.A. 04-169, S. 17; 04-189, S. 1; P.A. 07-217, S. 122; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3, S. 302; P.A. 10-9, S. 5; P.A. 13-196, S. 5.)

History: P.A. 76-436 replaced court of common pleas with superior court and added reference to judicial districts, effective July 1, 1978; P.A. 77-603 replaced previous appeal provisions with requirement that appeals be made in accordance with Sec. 4-183; P.A. 77-614 transferred responsibility for establishing registration requirements from board to consumer protection commissioner, retaining board in advisory capacity, deleted detailed hearing procedure in Subsec. (e), requiring instead that notice be given of intended action and that opportunity for hearing be given in accordance with regulations established by commissioner, replaced previous appeal provision with requirement that appeals be made in accordance with Sec. 4-183 and replaced commissioner of health with commissioner of health services, effective January 1, 1979; P.A. 80-205 deleted August first as deadline for distribution of roster and deleted requirement that roster be distributed to town clerk in Subsec. (f); P.A. 81-361 amended Subsecs. (a) and (b) to provide that registration certificates are obtained from the department instead of the board, that application blanks are to be prepared by the department and that the department, not the board, furnishes seals for certificates; P.A. 82-431 eliminated regulations relating to proficiency and financial resources required for registration, imposed certificate of insurance requirement, increased renewal fee from $25 to $100, provided for renewal in holder's birth month commencing January 1, 1983 and transferred duty to prepare roster from the board to the department; P.A. 82-472 made a technical correction in Subsec. (a); P.A. 83-574 amended section to provide for $25 renewal fee for renewals prior to April 1, 1984, and $100 fee on and after that date, effective July 8, 1983, and applicable to registration renewed on or after January 1, 1983; P.A. 89-251 amended Subsec. (a) to increase the registration fee from $35 to $44, to increase the renewal fee from $100 to $125, to increase the late fee from $10 to $13, to increase the replacement fee and fee for additional seals from $2 to $3; P.A. 93-381 replaced commissioner of health services with commissioner of public health and addiction services, effective July 1, 1993; P.A. 94-36 deleted the reference to the “April thirtieth” certificate of registration expiration date and the provision allowing late renewal of certificate of registration fees in Subsec. (a), effective January 1, 1995; May 25 Sp. Sess. P.A. 94-1 amended Subsec. (a) by making technical change, effective July 1, 1994; P.A. 95-257 replaced Commissioner and Department of Public Health and Addiction Services with Commissioner and Department of Public Health, effective July 1, 1995; P.A. 96-17 amended Subsec. (b) to change “Connecticut registered water well drilling contractor” to “Connecticut registered well drilling contractor” and amended Subsec. (c) to replace reference to “municipal unit” with “governmental unit” and to exempt non-water-supply well drilling by such units from the requirements of this chapter; P.A. 03-68 added new Subsec. (g) re certificates of registration for limited contractor and limited journeyperson well casing extension, effective July 1, 2003; June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6 and P.A. 04-169 replaced Commissioner and Department of Consumer Protection with Commissioner and Department of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective July 1, 2004; P.A. 04-189 repealed Sec. 146 of June 30 Sp. Sess. P.A. 03-6, thereby reversing the merger of the Departments of Agriculture and Consumer Protection, effective June 1, 2004; P.A. 07-217 made technical changes in Subsec. (a), effective July 12, 2007; June Sp. Sess. P.A. 09-3 amended Subsecs. (a) and (g) to increase fees; P.A. 10-9 amended Subsec. (a) to delete provisions requiring 1 seal to be issued to each registrant and re $3 fee for additional seals and amended Subsec. (b) to delete requirement re seal to be affixed adjacent to registration number, effective May 5, 2010; P.A. 13-196 amended Subsec. (f) to add provision re posting of roster on department's web site to constitute compliance with requirements of section, effective June 21, 2013.

See Sec. 21a-4(c) re fines for late registration renewals.

See Sec. 21a-10(b) re staggered schedule for registration renewals.