Nebraska Water Well Drilling Licensing Law

Nebraska Code · 10 sections

The following is the full text of Nebraska’s water well drilling licensing law statutes as published in the Nebraska Code. For the official version, see the Nebraska Legislature.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1202

The purposes of the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act are to: (1) Provide for the protection of ground water through the licensing and regulation of water well contractors, pump installation contractors, water well drilling supervisors, pump installation supervisors, water well monitoring technicians, and natural resources ground water technicians in the State of Nebraska; (2) protect the health and general welfare of the citizens of the state; (3) protect ground water resources from potential pollution by providing for proper siting and construction of water wells and proper decommissioning of water wells; and (4) provide data on potential water supplies through well logs which will promote the economic and efficient utilization and management of the water resources of the state.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1206

Construction of water wells shall mean and include all acts necessary to make a water well usable for the purpose for which it is intended including, without limitation, the siting of and excavation for the water well and its construction, alteration, or repair, but excluding the installation of pumps and pumping equipment.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1208

Installation of pumps and pumping equipment shall mean the procedure employed in the placement and preparation for operation of pumps and pumping equipment at the water well location, including connecting all wiring to the first control and all construction or repair involved in making entrance to the water well, which involves the breaking of the well seal.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1210

Licensed pump installation supervisor means any individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is engaged in the installation of pumps and pumping equipment or the decommissioning of water wells. Such supervisor may have discretionary and supervisory authority over other employees of a pump installation contractor.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1212

Water well shall mean any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed for the purpose of exploring for ground water, monitoring ground water, utilizing the geothermal properties of the ground, obtaining hydrogeologic information, or extracting water from or injecting fluid as defined in section 81-1502 into the underground water reservoir. Water well shall not include any excavation described in subdivisions (5)(b) and (5)(c) of section 46-601.01 .

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1217

(1) There is hereby created a Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Board. The board shall be composed of ten members, six of whom shall be appointed by the Governor as follows: (a) A licensed water well contractor representing irrigation water well contractors, (b) a licensed water well contractor representing domestic water well contractors, (c) a licensed water well contractor representing municipal and industrial water well contractors, (d) a licensed pump installation contractor, (e) a manufacturer or supplier of water well or pumping equipment, and (f) a holder of a license issued under the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act employed by a natural resources district. The chief executive officer of the Department of Health and Human Services or his or her designated representative, the Director of Water, Energy, and Environment or his or her designated representative, and the director of the Conservation and Survey Division of the University of Nebraska or his or her designated representative shall also serve as members of the board. (2) Each member shall be a resident of the state. Each industry representative shall have had at least five years of experience in the business of his or her category prior to appointment and shall be actively engaged in such business at the time of appointment and while serving on the board. Each member representing a category subject to licensing under the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act shall be licensed by the department pursuant to such act. In making appointments, the Governor may consider recommendations made by the trade associations of each category.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1220

(1) Each member of the board shall, in addition to necessary traveling and lodging expenses, receive a per diem for each day actually engaged in the discharge of the duties of a member of the board, including compensation for the time spent in traveling to and from the place of conducting business. Traveling and lodging expenses shall be on the same basis as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177 . The compensation per day shall not exceed fifty dollars and shall be determined by the board with the approval of the department. (2) The board may select one or more of its members to attend the annual meeting of the national organization of state boards of water well contractors or other related meetings. Any member so selected shall receive traveling and lodging expenses in attending such meetings on the same basis as provided in sections 81-1174 to 81-1177 . (3) The department shall be responsible for the general administration of the activities of the board. The cost of operation and administration of the board shall be paid from the General Fund and the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Fund.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1223

(1) Examinations for water well monitoring technicians shall be designed and adopted to examine the knowledge of the applicant regarding the minimum standards for water wells and water well pumps, the geological characteristics of the state, measuring ground water levels, and water sampling practices and techniques. Examinations for natural resources ground water technicians shall examine the knowledge of the applicant regarding inspection of chemigation systems, measuring and recording static water levels, inspecting and servicing flow meters, and water sampling practices and techniques. All other examinations shall be designed and adopted to examine the knowledge of the applicant regarding the minimum standards for water wells and water well pumps, the geological characteristics of the state, current drilling or pump installation practices and techniques, and such other knowledge as deemed appropriate by the board. (2) An examinee who fails to pass the initial examination may retake such examination without charge at any regularly scheduled examination held within twelve months after failing to pass the initial examination, except that when a national standardized examination is utilized which requires the payment of a fee to purchase such examination, the board shall require the applicant to pay the appropriate examination fee whether an initial examination or a retake of an examination is involved. (3) In cases of hardship, the board may provide and direct that special arrangements for administering examinations be utilized. The board may also provide for temporary hardship licensing without examination due to the death of the current license holder or for other good cause shown.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-2121

Nothing in the State Electrical Act shall be construed to:

(1) Require employees of municipal corporations, public power districts, public power and irrigation districts, electric membership or cooperative associations, public utility corporations, railroads, telephone or telegraph companies, or commercial or industrial companies performing manufacturing, installation, and repair work for such employer to hold licenses while acting within the scope of their employment;

(2) Require any person doing work for which a license would otherwise be required under the act to hold a license issued under the act if he or she is the holder of a valid license issued by any city or other political subdivision, so long as he or she makes electrical installations only in the jurisdictional limits of such city or political subdivision and such license issued by the city or political subdivision meets the requirements of the act;

(3) Cover the installation, maintenance, repair, or alteration of vertical transportation or passenger conveyors, elevators, moving walks, dumbwaiters, stagelifts, manlifts, or appurtenances thereto beyond the terminals of the controllers. The licensing of elevator contractors or constructors shall not be considered a part of the licensing requirements of the act;

(4) Require a license of any person who engages any electrical appliance where approved electrical outlets are already installed;

(5) Prohibit an owner of property from performing work on his or her principal residence, if such residence is not larger than a single-family dwelling, or farm property, excluding commercial or industrial installations or installations in public-use buildings or facilities, or require such owner to be licensed under the act;

(6) Require that any person be a member of a labor union in order to be licensed; or

(7) Prohibit a pump installation contractor or pump installation supervisor licensed under the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act from wiring pumps and pumping equipment at a water well location to the first control.

Neb. Rev. Stat. § 81-3453

The provisions of the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act regulating the practice of engineering do not apply to the following activities: (1) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a detached single-family through four-family dwelling of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the dwelling are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ; (2) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of a one-story commercial or industrial building or structure of less than five thousand square feet above grade finished space which does not exceed thirty feet in height unless such building or structure, or the remodeling or repairing thereof, provides for the employment, housing, or assembly of twenty or more persons. Any detached or attached sheds, storage buildings, and garages incidental to the building or structure are not included in the tabulation of finished space. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ; (3) The construction, remodeling, alteration, or renovation of farm buildings, including barns, silos, sheds, or housing for farm equipment and machinery, livestock, poultry, or storage and if the structures are designed to be occupied by no more than twenty persons. Such exemption may be increased by rule and regulation of the board adopted pursuant to the Negotiated Rulemaking Act but shall not exceed the Type V, column B, limitations set forth by the allowable height and building areas table in the state building code adopted in section 71-6403 ; (4) Any public works project with contemplated expenditures for the completed project that do not exceed one hundred thousand dollars. The board shall adjust the dollar amount in this subdivision every fifth year. The first such adjustment after August 27, 2011, shall be effective on July 1, 2014. The adjusted amount shall be equal to the then current amount adjusted by the cumulative percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers published by the Federal Bureau of Labor Statistics for the five-year period preceding the adjustment date. The amount shall be rounded to the next highest one-thousand-dollar amount; (5) Any alteration, renovation, or remodeling of a building if the alteration, renovation, or remodeling does not affect architectural or engineering safety features of the building; (6) The teaching, including research and service, of engineering subjects in a college or university offering an ABET-accredited engineering curriculum of four years or more; (7) A public service provider or an organization who employs a licensee performing professional services for itself; (8) The practice by a qualified member of another legally recognized profession who is otherwise licensed or certified by this state or any political subdivision to perform services consistent with the laws of this state, the training, and the code of ethics of such profession, if such qualified member does not represent himself or herself to be practicing engineering and does not represent himself or herself to be a professional engineer; (9) The work of an employee or a subordinate of a person holding a certificate of licensure or a temporary permit under the Engineers and Architects Regulation Act if the work is done under the direct supervision of a person holding a certificate of licensure or a temporary permit under the act; (10) Those services ordinarily performed by subordinates under direct supervision of a professional engineer or those commonly designated as locomotive, stationary, marine operating engineers, power plant operating engineers, or manufacturers who supervise the operation of or operate machinery or equipment or who supervise construction within their own plant; (11) Financial institutions making disbursements of funds in connection with construction projects; (12) Earthmoving and related work associated with soil and water conservation practices performed on farmland or any land owned by a political subdivision that is not subject to a permit from the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment or for work related to livestock waste facilities that are not subject to a permit by the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment; (13) The work of employees and agents of a political subdivision or a nonprofit entity organized for the purpose of furnishing electrical service performing, in accordance with other requirements of law, their customary duties in the administration and enforcement of codes, permit programs, and land-use regulations and their customary duties in utility and public works construction, operation, and maintenance; (14) Work performed exclusively in the exploration for and development of energy resources and base, precious, and nonprecious minerals, including sand, gravel, and aggregate, which does not have a substantial impact upon public health, safety, and welfare, as determined by the board, or require the submission of reports or documents to public agencies; (15) The construction of water wells as defined in section 46-1212 , the installation of pumps and pumping equipment into water wells, and the decommissioning of water wells, unless such construction, installation, or decommissioning is required by the owner thereof to be designed or supervised by an engineer or unless legal requirements are imposed upon the owner of a water well as a part of a public water supply; (16) Work performed in the exploration, development, and production of oil and gas or before the Nebraska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission; and (17) Siting, layout, construction, and reconstruction of a private onsite wastewater treatment system with a maximum flow from the facility of one thousand gallons of domestic wastewater per day if such system meets all of the conditions required pursuant to the Private Onsite Wastewater Treatment System Contractors Certification and System Registration Act unless the siting, layout, construction, or reconstruction by an engineer is required by the Department of Water, Energy, and Environment, mandated by law or rules and regulations imposed upon the owner of the system, or required by the owner.

The law belongs to the people. Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 590 U.S. (2020)