46-1224. Board; set fees; Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Fund; created; use; investment.

(1) Except as otherwise provided in subsections (2) through (4) of this section, the board shall set reasonable fees in an amount calculated to recover the costs incurred by the department and the board in administering and carrying out the purposes of the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act. Such fees shall be paid to the department and remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Fund, which fund is hereby created. Such fund shall be used by the department and the board for the purpose of administering the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act. Additionally, such fund shall be used to pay any required fee to a contractor which provides the online services for registration of water wells. Any discount in the amount paid the state by a credit card, charge card, or debit card company or a third-party merchant bank for such registration fees shall be deducted from the portion of the registration fee collected pursuant to this section. Any money in the fund available for investment shall be invested by the state investment officer pursuant to the Nebraska Capital Expansion Act and the Nebraska State Funds Investment Act.

(2) Fees for credentialing individuals under the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act shall be established and collected as provided in sections 38-151 to 38-157.

(3) The board shall set a fee of not less than twenty-five dollars and not more than forty dollars for each water well which is required to be registered and which is designed and constructed to pump fifty gallons per minute or less and each monitoring and observation well and a fee of not less than forty dollars and not more than eighty dollars for each water well which is required to be registered and which is designed and constructed to pump more than fifty gallons per minute. For water wells permitted pursuant to the Industrial Ground Water Regulatory Act, the fee set pursuant to this subsection shall be collected for each of the first ten such water wells registered, and for each group of ten or fewer such water wells registered thereafter, the fee shall be collected as if only one water well was being registered. For a series of two or more water wells completed and pumped into a common carrier, as defined in section 46-601.01, as part of a single site plan for irrigation purposes, the fee set pursuant to this subsection shall be collected for each of the first two such water wells registered. For a series of water wells completed for purposes of installation of a ground heat exchanger for a structure for utilizing the geothermal properties of the ground, the fee set pursuant to this subsection shall be collected as if only one water well was being registered. For water wells constructed as part of a single site plan for monitoring ground water, obtaining hydrogeologic information, or extracting contaminants from the ground and for water wells constructed as part of remedial action approved by the Department of Environment and Energy pursuant to section 66-1525, 66-1529.02, or 81-15,124, the fee set pursuant to this subsection shall be collected for each of the first five such water wells registered, and for each group of five or fewer such water wells registered thereafter, the fee shall be collected as if only one water well was being registered. The fees shall be remitted to the Director of Natural Resources with the registration form required by section 46-602 and shall be in addition to the fee in section 46-606. The director shall remit the fee to the State Treasurer for credit to the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Fund.

(4) The board shall set an application fee for a declaratory ruling or variance of not less than fifty dollars and not more than one hundred dollars. The fee shall be remitted to the State Treasurer for credit to the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Fund.

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