455B.190A Well contractor certification program.

1. As used in this section:

a. “Certified well contractor” means a well contractor who has successfully passed an examination prescribed by the department to determine the applicant’s qualifications to perform well drilling or pump services or both.

b. “Examination” means an examination for well contractors which includes, but is not limited to, relevant aspects of Iowa groundwater law, well construction, well maintenance, pump services, and well abandonment practices which protect groundwater and water supplies.

c. “Groundwater” means groundwater as defined in section 455E.2.

d. “Pump services” means the installation, repair, and maintenance of water systems.

e. “Water systems” means any part of the mechanical portion of a water well that delivers water from the well to a valve that separates the well from the plumbing system. “Water systems” includes the pump, drop pipe to the well, electrical wire from the pump to the electrical panel, piping from the well to the pressure tank, pitless unit or adaptor, and all related miscellaneous fittings necessary to operate the well pump. “Water systems” does not include any outside piping to other buildings, and does not include the piping that carries the water in the remainder of the distribution system.

f. “Water well” or “well” means water well as defined in section 455B.171.

g. “Well contractor” means contractor as defined pursuant to section 455B.171, subsection 3.

h. “Well contractors’ council” means the council established in subsection 3.

i. “Well services” means new well construction, well reconstruction, installation of pitless equipment, pump services, or well plugging.

2. The department shall establish a well contractor certification program which shall include all of the following provisions:

a. Specification of certification requirements, including minimum work experience levels, successful completion of an examination, and continuing education requirements.

b. A certified well contractor shall be present at the well site and in direct charge of the services whenever well services are provided.

c. A person shall not act as a well contractor on or after July 1, 1993, unless the person is certified by the department pursuant to this section.

d. Violation of the rules regarding the provision of well services are grounds for suspension or revocation of certification.

e. Provisional certification may be obtained by an applicant in instances of shortages of certified personnel if all of the following conditions are met:

(1) The applicant provides documentation of at least one year of work experience in well services performed under the direct supervision of a certified well contractor.

(2) The applicant successfully completes the examination.

(3) A certified well contractor who employs an applicant for well contractor certification cosigns the application for provisional certification. An employer who cosigns an application for provisional certification is jointly liable for a violation of the rules regarding well services by the provisionally certified well contractor and the violation is grounds for the suspension or revocation of certification of the certified well contractor and the provisionally certified well contractor.

f. The department shall develop continuing education requirements for certification of a well contractor in consultation with the well contractors’ council.

g. The examination shall be developed by the department in consultation with the well contractors’ council to determine the applicant’s qualifications to perform well drilling or pump services or both. The examination shall be updated as necessary to reflect current groundwater law and well construction, maintenance, pump services, and abandonment practices. The examination shall be administered by the department or by a person designated by the department.

h. The department may provide for multiyear certification of well contractors.

3. a. The department shall establish a well contractors’ council.

b. The membership of the council shall consist of the following members:

(1) Two well drilling contractors.

(2) Two pump installation contractors.

(3) One citizen member of the Iowa groundwater association or its successor.

(4) One citizen member of the Iowa environmental health association or its successor.

(5) The director of public health or the director’s designee.

(6) The state geologist or the state geologist’s designee.

(7) The director of the state hygienic laboratory or the director’s designee.

c. The council shall advise and assist the department in doing all of the following:

(1) The development, review, and revision of the department’s rules to implement this section.

(2) The development, updating, and revision of the examination for well contractor certification.

(3) The establishment, review, and revision of the continuing education requirements for certification.

(4) The production and publication of the consumer information pamphlet.

d. The council shall meet as often as necessary to perform the council’s duties. The department shall provide the council with staff assistance.

4. The department shall develop, in consultation with the well contractors’ council, a consumer information pamphlet regarding well construction, well maintenance, well plugging, pump services, and Iowa groundwater laws. The department and the council shall review and revise the consumer information pamphlet as necessary. The consumer information pamphlet shall be supplied to well contractors, at cost, and well contractors shall supply one copy at no cost to potential customers prior to initiation of well services.

5. The department shall establish by rule and collect, in consultation with the well contractors’ council, the following fees to be used to implement and administer the provisions of this section:

a. An annual certification fee to be paid by certified well contractors. The initial annual certification fee is one hundred fifty dollars. The fee may be increased by rule, as necessary, to reflect the costs of administration of the program. The department may establish a fee for multiyear certification.

b. The department may also charge and collect fees for testing, the provision of continuing education, and other fees related to and based on the actual costs of the well contractor certification program.

c. All fees collected pursuant to this subsection shall be deposited into the private water supply system account within the water quality protection fund created in section 455B.183A.

6. Rules adopted by the commission shall be developed in consultation with the council. If a majority of the council does not endorse the rules adopted by the commission, notice shall be sent to the administrative rules review committee indicating the council’s position.

7. A well contractor who is engaged in performing pump services on or prior to June 30, 2004, and who registers as a pump installer with the department by June 30, 2004, shall be deemed to have met the certification requirements of this section without examination. Beginning July 1, 2004, a pump installer seeking an initial well contractor certification shall meet the requirements for certification established in this section.

91 Acts, ch 224, §2; 2002 Acts, ch 1077, §1 – 5; 2003 Acts, ch 30, §3

Referred to in §105.11, 455B.172, 455B.183A