209.07.1-3. Licensing and bonding
AR ADC 209.07.1-3Arkansas Administrative CodeEffective: October 1, 2022
Effective: October 1, 2022
Ark. Admin. Code 209.07.1-3
Formerly cited as AR ADC 096.00.1-3
209.07.1-3. Licensing and bonding
3.2. Supervision. During the construction, alteration, or repair of a water well, or installation or repair of pumping equipment, there must be, on site, a person who has obtained a registration certificate and has been certified in the type of construction engaged or an apprentice under personal supervision as defined by Rule 3.10.1.1. At all times in which only an apprentice is on site, the person supervising the apprentice under Rule 3.10.1.1 shall remain informed and have knowledge of the status of the work being accomplished.
3.3 Engineers and geologists. Arkansas Registered Professional Engineers and Arkansas Registered Professional Geologists practicing geotechnical engineering or geologic investigations may be declared exempt from certification, bonding, and testing requirements upon application for exemption from the Commission.
Drilling and Pump System License ........................................ $350.00
Pump System-Only License .................................................. $175.00
Drilling-Only License ............................................................ $175.00
Driller Registration Certificate ........................................ $125.00
Pump Installer Registration Certificate ........................................ $125.00
Apprentice Certificate ............................................................ $125.00
Rig permit ............................................................ $145.00
3.6.1 General. Any person who contracts for or is engaged in well construction or pump installation shall hold or be employed by a person holding an Arkansas Water Well Contractor License. The Water Well Contractor shall hold the proper license, certificates, and permits for the type of construction engaged and shall meet continuing education requirements as set forth herein.
3.6.2.4 Master electricians. A Master Electrician holding a valid license may repair or install pressure switches, control boxes and other electrical components of the pumping equipment at the well head without holding licenses issued by the Commission. The Electrician shall adhere to these rules for the installation and is not authorized to break the well seal, or alter, cut or drill into the casing.
3.6.2.5 Master plumbers. A Master Plumber holding a valid Master Plumber License may repair or install pressure switches, pressure tanks, valves and pipes at the well head, without holding licenses issued by the Commission. The plumber shall adhere to these rules for the installation and is not authorized to break the well seal, or alter, cut or drill into the casing.
3.7.1 Conditions of bond for resident and nonresident contractor. The Water Well Contractor as defined in Act 641, as amended, as principal and a surety company or corporation authorized to do business in the State of Arkansas as surety shall bind themselves and their successors and assigns jointly and severally to the Arkansas Water Well Construction Commission for the use and benefit of the public in the full penal sum of no less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) for each licensing year beginning August 1, 2016; that said principal and any person employed by him shall duly comply with Act 641 of 1969, as amended, and all rules pertaining to said Act. Any one contract, as prescribed herein by Rule 3.7.7, between said principal and a person doing business with said principal exceeding twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) or the amount of aforesaid bond if in excess of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) shall require said principal to enter into a separate agreement and a bond equal to the amount of said contract as required in Subsection (c) of Section 11 of Act 641 of 1969.
3.7.2 Recovery of damages. Any and all persons doing business with said principal or person in his employ, who have been damaged by reason of violation of any of the provisions set out in Act 641 of 1969, as amended, and all rules pertaining to said Act, may in their own name and without joining the Commission as a party, sue thereon and join in said action as one of the defendants against the surety on said bond(s).
3.7.5 Termination of bond. The surety shall terminate each bond by giving not less than thirty (30) days written notice of the effective date of said termination to the Commission. Termination shall not relieve said surety or principal of any liability during which the bond was in force until a period of not less than five (5) years from the effective date of termination has expired.
3.7.6 Bond form. The Commission shall provide a contractor's bond form to each person applying for the contractor's license. Each contractor's license shall be issued only after the receipt of the original copy of the water well contractor's bond prescribed above and said form is completed and notarized. The contractor's license may be renewed annually without receipt of a new contractor's bond form provided the Commission has proof that the original contractor's bond(s) remains in full force and effect.
3.7.7 The amount of the contract. “The amount of the contract” as used in Rule 3.7.1 shall be defined as the amount or cost of the construction of the well, including but not limited to the cost of drilling, casing, screens, grout, seals, etc., excluding the costs of systems employed, constructed or installed on the discharge side of the pressure tank or beyond the point of discharge from the pump if no tank is employed, or to pivot systems, ditches, pumping stations, pump houses, buildings, air conditioning duct work, or items which the water well contractor may construct or install, but are not directly connected with the construction of the well or included under the Definition or Scope of a water well as prescribed in Subsection (E) of Section 3, and Section 4 of Act 641 of 1969, as amended, and these rules.
3.7.8 Waiver. The Commission shall reserve the right to waive the requirement of obtaining a water well contractor's bond in the amount of twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00) in favor of a bond of a lesser amount to those contractors whose contracts for each one-year period consistently amount to less than twenty thousand dollars ($20,000.00). The contractor must provide proof that he is unable to obtain a bond, or such bond would cause an undue hardship. Further, the Executive Secretary of the Commission must be willing to recommend that a bond of a lesser amount would be sufficient protection for any persons doing business with the Contractor.
3.7.9 Cash bond. Persons who install pumping equipment or repair pumping equipment that have been granted a waiver for a twenty thousand dollar ($20,000) bond and are unable to post a twenty thousand dollar ($20,000) bond may post in lieu of a water well contractor's bond an escrow cash bond of no less than five hundred dollars ($500.00) per year until twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) is accrued. Persons authorized to post an escrow cash bond in lieu of posting bond shall also submit a statement of personal indemnification signed by the principal owner or Chief Executive Officer.
3.9 Continuing education. Beginning August 1, 2002, as a condition of annual license renewal, a contractor or one designee who is a partner, officer, or full-time employee and a registered driller or pump installer shall submit proof of 6 approved continuing education credits completed during the previous licensing year. For each additional designee, two (2) additional credits will be required per contractor per year. Credits exceeding the required number may be carried over into the next licensing year. The Commission may pre-approve continuing education programs and the number of credits to be given for those programs therefore. Programs submitted for pre-approval shall be considered by the Commission only upon submission, by the sponsor or attendee, of a written description, which must include the names and qualifications of the presenters, the time and location, the proposed number of credits, and the program's objectives. Programs may be held in-state or out-of-state and must be related to water wells or pump systems technology, science, or health, sound business practices, or compliance with the Commission's Rules and other governmental and industry requirements including worker health and safety. Program sponsors must provide written proof of attendance to attendees, and providers of pre-approved classes must provide a list of attendees to the Commission by July 31 of each year.
3.10.1 General. A natural person obtaining the knowledge, skills, and abilities necessary to obtain a certificate of registration as a pump installer under the personal supervision of a registered pump installer or to obtain a certificate of registration as a water well driller under the personal supervision of a registered water well driller may apply to the Commission for an apprenticeship certificate.
3.10.1.1 Personal supervision. “Personal supervision” means that the supervisor is at the job site with the apprentice or within two hours' traveling distance of the apprentice whenever the apprentice is working in well construction or pump installation. When the supervisor is not physically present at the job site with the apprentice, the supervisor must be reachable at any time by wireless telephone or radio contact.
3.10.4 Transfer of supervisory authority. A supervisor may agree to temporarily transfer supervising responsibility to a person holding a certificate of registration in the area sought by the apprentice and employed by the same contractor. The supervisor to whom responsibility is temporarily transferred must not already supervise more than five other apprenticeships and must meet the requirements of 3.10.2.
3.10.7.1 Supervisor recommendation. After the apprentice has completed at least two years of apprenticeship, the apprentice's supervisor may send the Commission a letter on the apprentice's behalf stating that the apprentice is ready to sit for examination to obtain a certificate of registration as a water well driller or pump installer.
3.10.7.2 Application by apprentice. After the apprentice has completed two years of apprenticeship, the apprentice may submit IRS W2 Wage and Tax Statement forms demonstrating that he has spent three years in the employ of a licensed water well contractor and that he is ready to sit for the certificate of registration examination. The Commission will then approve or disapprove the apprentice to take the examination.
3.10.7.2.1 Inability to secure letter from contractor. If after the apprentice has completed at least two years of apprenticeship but is unable due to extenuating circumstances to secure a letter from his supervisor recommending that he be qualified to sit for examination, the apprentice may petition the Commission to waive the requirement that he provide a letter from a supervisor prior to sitting for the examination.
3.10.8 Renewal of apprenticeship certificate. An apprentice's certificate shall be deemed expired on July 31 of each year. If the apprentice has knowingly violated Commission rules or owes fees assessed by the Commission, the Commission may choose to deny renewal. A certificate must be renewed prior to the certificate's expiration date by complying with the following requirements:
3.10.9 Change of responsible supervisor or contractor. If a supervisor terminates supervision of an apprentice, the contractor employing the apprentice must send a written statement to the Commission stating the relationship has ended. In order to continue the apprenticeship, the apprentice must find another certificate holder to supervise him or her, and that new supervisor must send a notarized letter to the Commission that meets the requirements of Rule 3.10.2.
A license or permit issued by the Commission held by an active duty military service member or the spouse of an active duty military service member deployed outside Arkansas shall not expire until one hundred eighty (180) days following the active duty military service member's or the spouse's return from active deployment.
An applicant holding an occupational license from an entity of another state, territory, or district of the United States that has entered into a written agreement with the Commission shall qualify for a certificate of registration as a water well driller or pump installer once he or she has satisfied the terms of the agreement.
An applicant, who holds a substantially similar certification from another state, territory, or district of the United States that has not entered into a reciprocity agreement with the Commission, applying for reciprocal certification as an Arkansas Water Well Construction Commission Water Well Driller or Pump Installer, shall meet the following requirements:
5. The applicant demonstrates sufficient competence in the field by passing the Commission's certification exam which tests applicant's knowledge of the Arkansas Water Well Construction Act, Ark. Code Ann. § 17-50-101 et seq.; Water Well Construction Rules; and general knowledge of water well construction.
2. Letters of good standing or other information from the licensing entity of each jurisdiction in which the applicant is currently or has ever been certified showing that the applicant has not had his certificate revoked for an act of bad faith or a violation of law, rule, or ethics and does not hold a certificate on a suspended or probationary status.
A. The Commission shall grant a 90-day temporary certificate of registration to any individual holding a water well driller or pump installer certificate of registration from another state, territory, or district of the United States upon being presented with evidence of a current and active occupational certification substantially similar to the practice of water well drilling or pump installing in Arkansas.
An applicant from a state that does not certify water well drillers shall meet requirements 5, 6, and 7 in Rule 3.12.2, as well as provide the following documents:
B. With the exception of a waiver granted pursuant to Rule 3.13.2, no individual is eligible to receive or hold certification or licensure if the individual has pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to or been found guilty of any of the offenses identified in Ark. Code Ann. § 17-3-102(a) by any court in the State of Arkansas or of any similar offense by a court in another state or of any similar offense by a federal court, unless the conviction was lawfully sealed under the Comprehensive Criminal Record Sealing Act of 2013, § 16-90-1401 et seq., or otherwise previously sealed, pardoned or expunged under prior law.
A. If an individual has been convicted of a crime listed in Ark. Code Ann. § 17-3-102(a), except for those permanently disqualifying offenses found in subsection (e), the Commission may waive disqualification or revocation of a certification or license based on the conviction if a request for a waiver is made by:
Credits
Amended Aug. 1, 2009; June 3, 2016; June 1, 2018; Sept. 5, 2020; Oct. 1, 2022.
Current with amendments received through February 15, 2024. Some sections may be more current, see credit for details.
Ark. Admin. Code 209.07.1-3, AR ADC 209.07.1-3
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