Code of Maine Rules › 10 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES › 144 - DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES - GENERAL › Chapter 232 - WELL DRILLERS AND PUMP INSTALLERS RULES › Chapter 1 - DEFINITIONS › Section 144-232-1-101.0 - DEFINITIONS

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
Abandonment:
The complete sealing of a well or
					 borehole with grout or other impermeable material to prevent contamination of
					 the aquifer.
Apprentice pump installer:
A person who is
					 engaged to work at and learn the trade of water well pump installation, repair
					 and maintenance under the direct supervision of a master or journeyman pump
					 installer. A person who is licensed under chapter 49 as a master plumber is not
					 required to register with the commission as a pump installer.
Apprentice well driller:
A person who is
					 engaged to work at and learn the trade of well drilling under the direct
					 supervision of a master or journeyman well driller.
Bentonite:
A clay which consists of a majority
					 of montmorillonite and expands by absorbing water. It is commercially available
					 in a variety of forms designed to add viscosity to drilling fluids or to create
					 a seal of low hydraulic conductivity.
Borehole:
See well or water
					 well
.
Casing:
Any pipe installed in the excavated
					 borehole to prevent the collapse of the walls of the borehole through
					 unconsolidated formations.
Closed loop geothermal company:
A person,
					 firm, partnership or corporation that owns or otherwise operates any mechanical
					 equipment used to drill, drive or bore closed loop geothermal heat exchange
					 wells.
Closed loop geothermal heat exchange well:
A
					 geothermal heat exchange well with a sealed and pressurized loop of pipe
					 containing a heat exchange solution, which is circulated below the earth's
					 surface and utilizes the earth for the purpose of heat transfer.
Closed loop geothermal installer:
A person,
					 firm or corporation engaged in the work of installing closed loop geothermal
					 heat exchange wells.
Coastal Zone:
The land area bounded by the
					 medium high water mark along all ocean front property and all saltwater or
					 brackish marshes or inland rivers, extending 600 feet inland.
Commission:
Maine Water Well Commission
Department:
The Department of Health and Human
					 Services
Development:
The act of flushing or
					 pressurizing the aquifer to increase the efficiency, and clean the well.
Disposal field:
Any system designed to dispose
					 of waste or waste water on or beneath the surface of the earth; includes, but
					 is not limited to: crushed rock or chambered disposal fields; grandfathered
					 cesspools; or any other fixture, mechanism, or apparatus used for those
					 purposes.
Drilling rig:
A mechanical device used to
					 drill, drive, or bore water wells.
Drive shoe:
A hardened steel cylinder designed
					 to be welded or threaded onto the end of the steel casing and manufactured to
					 provide a seal to the bedrock surface.
Geothermal heat exchange well:
A hole drilled,
					 driven or bored into the earth for the purpose of using the heat exchange
					 capacity of the earth for heating and cooling.
Geothermal heat exchange well driller:
A
					 person, firm or corporation engaged in the work of drilling, driving or boring
					 geothermal heat exchange wells.
Geothermal heat exchange well pump installer:
A person who is engaged to work at and learn the trade of geothermal heat
					 exchange well pump installations.
Gravel packed well:
A type of gravel well in
					 which filter material is placed in the annular space to increase the effective
					 diameter of the well, and to prevent fine-grained sediments from entering the
					 well.
Gravel well:
A well drilled and completed in
					 unconsolidated surficial deposits of sand, gravel or till.
Ground water:
The water contained within the
					 interconnected pores, cracks or fractures located below the water table of a
					 confined or unconfined aquifer.
Grout:
A fluid mixture of neat cement and
					 water, bentonite and water or both, possibly with additives, of a consistency
					 which can be forced through a pipe and which is designed to provide a
					 seal.
Holding tank:
A closed watertight structure
					 designed and used to receive and store waste water or septic tank effluent. A
					 holding tank does not discharge waste water or septic tank effluent to surface
					 or ground water or onto the surface of the ground. Holding tanks are designed
					 and constructed to facilitate ultimate disposal of waste water at another
					 site.
Hydrofracturing:
A process of putting
					 hydraulic pressure on the bedrock surrounding the borehole that has been
					 drilled for the purpose of enhancing the quantity of water.
IGSHPA:
International Ground Source Heat Pump
					 Association. Address: 374 Cordell South, Stillwater Oklahoma, 74078. IGSHPA
					 Certification as required in these rules shall mean either IGSHPA certification
					 as an "Installer" by successfully completing the "Accredited Drillers Training"
					 or as an "Accredited Vertical Loop Installer" by successfully completing the
					 "Accredited Installers Workshop".
Jaswell type seal:
A flexible rubber like
					 collar with circular rings designed to provide a water tight seal between the
					 well casing or liner and a larger diameter hole. Although one such seal is
					 manufactured by the Jaswell Corporation, in these rules the term means all
					 similar products of other manufacturers.
Journeyman pump installer:
A person doing the
					 work of pump installation, repair or replacement who is in the employment of a
					 master pump installer. A person who is licensed under chapter 49 as a master
					 plumber is not required to register with the commission as a pump
					 installer.
Journeyman well driller:
A person doing the
					 work of drilling, driving or boring wells who is in the employment of a master
					 well driller.
Lift Station:
A closed, water tight structure
					 equipped with a sewage pump and designed and used to receive and store waste
					 water or septic tank effluent and then pump the waste water or effluent to a
					 disposal field.
Liner:
Any pipe installed after the
					 installation of the casing, which is used to prevent the collapse of the walls
					 of the boreholes, to exclude pollutants or undesirable water from entering the
					 water source at the well, or to provide a channel for conveying the water to
					 the surface.
License endorsement:
Additional authorities
					 granted to existing Journeymen or Master licensees upon satisfying relevant
					 knowledge and experience requirements established by the Commission.
Master pump installer:
A person firm or
					 corporation engaged in the installation, repair or replacement of a pump in a
					 water well. The licensure of a master pump installer under this chapter must
					 specify the name of the person licensed. In the case of a firm, the person
					 registered as a master pump installer must be a member or employee of the firm.
					 In the case of a corporation, the person registered as a master pump installer
					 must be an employee of the corporation or an officer of the corporation.
Master well driller:
A person, firm or
					 corporation engaged in the business of drilling, driving or boring wells. The
					 licensure of a master well driller under this chapter must specify the name of
					 the person licensed. In the case of a firm, the person licensed as a master
					 well driller must be a member or employee of the firm. In the case of a
					 corporation, the person licensed as a master well driller must be an employee
					 of the corporation or an officer of the corporation.
Modified concentric well:
A closed loop
					 geothermal heat exchange well that utilizes two concentric pipes, consisting of
					 smaller diameter pipe inside larger diameter pipe, to circulate the heat
					 exchange solution through the borehole in a sealed and pressurized loop.
Non-submersible pump:
Mechanical device that
					 is used to move water from the well to higher elevation and the pump and motor
					 are installed outside the well.
Open end casing:
Casing terminated in a gravel
					 aquifer without a screen.
Open hole setting:
Installing casing when the
					 overburden is stable enough to remain free of impediments.
Open loop geothermal heat exchange well:
Any
					 geothermal heat exchange well that utilizes groundwater pumped from a well as a
					 heat exchange medium whether water pumped from the well is returned to the well
					 or disposed of elsewhere.
Overburden:
The loose soil, silt, sand,
					 gravel, or other unconsolidated material overlaying bedrock.
Packer:
Down-hole equipment consisting
					 essentially of a sealing device, a holding or settling device, and an inside
					 passage for fluids. It is used to block the flow of fluids through the annular
					 space between the tubing and the wall of the well-bore, or between the tubing
					 and the casing, by sealing off the space between them.
Perforated casing:
A series of openings in a
					 well casing, made either before or after installation of the casing to permit
					 the entrance of water into the well.
Permanent structure:
A building, constructed
					 to house people, vehicles, or equipment and supplies, of sufficient size and
					 weight, or anchored to the ground in such a way, that it is unreasonable to
					 relocate it for the purpose of drilling a water well.
Potable:
Water suitable for drinking.
Public water supply:
A water system which
					 serves 25 or more people for at least 60 days per year or which has at least 15
					 service connections. Examples include water districts, mobile home parks,
					 campgrounds, restaurants, apartment buildings, and hotels.
Pump installation company:
A person, firm,
					 partnership or corporation that is engaged in the trade of water well pump
					 installation, repair or replacement.
Pump installer:
An apprentice pump installer,
					 journeyman pump installer or master pump installer. A person who is licensed
					 under 32 M.R.S.A. chapter 49 as a master plumber is not required to register
					 with the commission as a pump installer.
Pump or pump system:
For the purpose of a
					 water well, "pump" or "pump system" means mechanical equipment or a device used
					 to remove water from a well including all piping and wiring up to the existing
					 equipment in the structure. For the purpose of a geothermal heat exchange well,
					 "pump" or "pump system" means the mechanical equipment or devices used to move
					 fluid from the geothermal heat exchange well, including all piping and wiring,
					 up to the existing equipment in the structure.
Road box:
A covered box of adequate size and
					 strength to provide protection for the top of a well that has been terminated
					 below the surface of the ground, from foot and vehicle traffic.
Rules:
Means these rules.
Sealed vault privies:
See "Septic Tank"
Septic tank:
A watertight receptacle which
					 receives the discharge of a drainage system or part thereof, designed and
					 constructed so as to retain solids, digest organic matter through a period of
					 detention and allow the liquids to discharge into the soil outside of the tank
					 through a system approved by the Administrative Authority.
Sealed vault
					 privies
are considered "septic tanks" for the purpose of setback
					 distances.
Shale packer:
A flexible rubber like cone
					 collar designed to fit between a well casing or liner and a larger diameter
					 hole. The collar prevents material placed above it from passing by it and into
					 the well below.
Submersible pump:
Mechanical device that is
					 used to move water from the well to higher elevation and is completely
					 submerged in the well.
Surface water:
Water occurring above the
					 ground water table.
Underreamer:
Method of drilling borehole, and
					 installing casing at the same time. The underreamer bit extends to drill a
					 slightly larger bore than the O.D. of the casing, then it is retracted after
					 the borehole is drilled.
Well driller:
An apprentice well driller,
					 journeyman well driller or master well driller.
Well drilling company:
A person, firm,
					 partnership or corporation that owns or otherwise operates any mechanical
					 equipment used to drill, drive or bore water wells or geothermal heat exchange
					 wells.
Well, water well or borehole:
Any hole
					 drilled, driven or bored into the earth used to extract drinking water. The
					 terms "well" and "water well" do not include:
1. Dug wells;
2. Monitoring wells;
3. Wells constructed exclusively for the
				  relief of artesian pressure at hydroelectric projects;
4. Wells constructed for temporary dewatering
				  purposes;
5. Wells constructed for
				  the purposes of extracting oil, gas or brine; and
6. Wells on private property for private use
				  that are constructed by the property owner or lessee of the property.
Well screen:
The intake section of the well
					 that obtains water from an aquifer of unconsolidated materials such as
					 sand.
Yield:
The volume of water discharged from a
					 well in gallons per minute.