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January 28-30
Wednesday-Friday
Parkway Plaza
Casper, WY

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WWWA Legislative Information

Mandatory Licensing for Water Well Drilling Contractors and

Pump Installation Contractors (Enrolled Act No. 58)

After twenty five years, the State Engineer’s Office was finally successful in having legislation passed that requires mandatory licensing of water well contractors (i.e., well drillers and pump installers).  The 2008 Legislature, during a budget session, passed HB0055, Water Well Drilling and Pump Installation Licensure, which was sponsored by the Joint Agriculture, Public Lands and Water Resources Interim Committee.  Until now,  Wyoming was the only state within the lower 48 that did not require some form of licensure, certification or registration of water well contractors (Alaska requires a business license only).

 Why has the agency pursued licensing so hard for so long?  Because licensing provides the public with a level of protection they don’t currently have – both from a health and safety perspective and relative to legal contractual obligations.  Without licensing, a public unhappy with a water well contractor’s performance was limited to civil recourse – which can be both expensive and time consuming.  Additionally, licensing protects the ground water resources of the state and promotes excellence in water well drilling and pump installation practices. 

Wyoming has had a voluntary certification program for water well contractors for the last five years.  What started out as a drillers’ licensing bill was amended to a voluntary certification bill by the 2003 Legislature.  The SEO continued to pursue mandatory licensing because the voluntary certification program was largely unsuccessful, due to 1) poor response because of the “voluntary” nature of the program, 2) fear of regulation when “uncertified” contractors are not subject to the same rules and regulations, and 3) the assumption that there are no real benefits to certification.  During the five years that the certification program has been functional, only four contractors have become certified as a well driller and/or pump installer.  The licensing bill did pass the 2007 Legislature but the Governor vetoed the final Act due to an inadvertent drafting error that rendered it incapable of accomplishing its intended purpose.  A circular construction was created in the Act in which it provided that only “licensed” persons were prohibited from working without a license. 

 The Act that was signed by the Governor on March 12, 2008 closely resembled the 2007 vetoed Act with a few exceptions.  Enrolled Act No. 58 includes:

The Act also includes other major elements:

This  bill would not have been successful without the help,  support, and testimony of the State Engineer, Representatives D   Doug Samuelson, and Dan Zwonitzer, Senators Bill Vasey, G  Gerald Geis, and Eli Bebout, Scott Blakely (President, Wyoming Water Well Association), Chuck Wilson (Bronco Drilling), Kurt Price (Price Pump Co), Mike Havely (John's Pumps), Steve Barbour (Aqua Pumps), and Linda Hendricks. Many, Many thanks to them and everyone else who helped out in the legislative process.

Lisa Lindemann, March 2008

Agency Contact
Lisa Lindemann
(307) 777-5063
Herschler Bldg. 4E
Cheyenne, WY 82002