Oklahoma Administrative Code › Title 785 - Oklahoma Water Resources Board › Chapter 35 - Well Driller and Pump Installer Licensing › Subchapter 1 - General Provisions › Section 785:35-1-2 - Definitions

Current through Vol. 41, No. 20, July 1, 2024
The following words and terms, when used in this Chapter, shall have the
											  following meaning, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Abandoned well"
means a well that has been permanently
											  taken out of use, or is in such a state of disrepair that using it is impracticable or threatens to
											  contaminate the ground waters of the State.
"APA"
means and refers to the Oklahoma Administrative
											  Procedures Act set forth in 75 O.S. 1981, §§250 et seq., as amended.
"Application"
means a formal request to the Board and the
											  first step required by law to acquire the right to perform or engage in activities regulated by the Board.
"Board"
means the Oklahoma Water Resources Board authorized
											  by law to make final adjudications, execute contracts, adopt rules and carry out other powers and duties set
											  forth by law or, for duties authorized by law to be delegated to the Executive Director, the Executive
											  Director or any employee or agent or staff member thereof as assigned by the Executive Director.
"Cathodic protection"
means a technique used to reduce the
											  corrosion of a metal surface by making that surface the cathode of an electrochemical cell.
"Commercial drilling"
means drilling and installation as a
											  business, trade, or occupation for compensation. [82:1010.1]
"Commercial installation"
means installation as a business,
											  trade or occupation for compensation. [82:1020.1]
"Commercial plugging"
means plugging wells or borings as a
											  business, trade or occupation for compensation. [82:1020.1]
"Deep anode groundbed"
means one or more anodes installed
											  vertically at a depth of fifty (50) feet or more below the earth's surface in a drilled hole for the purpose
											  of providing cathodic protection.
"Direct push geological boring"
means a geological boring in
											  which tools and sensors are pushed into the ground using static weight combined with percussion as the energy
											  to remove soil or make a path for the tool to obtain geotechnical, soil, water, and/or vapor information.
"Direct push monitoring well"
means a well installed by
											  direct push technology and used to obtain a representative groundwater sample for determining groundwater
											  chemistry or quality; for detecting, recovering, or remediation of actual or potential contamination; or for
											  monitoring the unsaturated zone above a water table or confined aquifer, and includes site assessment
											  observation wells and unsaturated zone monitoring wells.
"Drilling water"
means water that is used in the drilling of
											  a well which is of a quality suitable for drinking or is uncontaminated water with a residual chlorine
											  content equal to or greater than one hundred (100) milligrams per liter.
"Domestic use"
means the use of water by a natural
											  individual or by a family or household for household purposes, for farm and domestic animals up to the normal
											  grazing capacity of the land whether or not the animals are actually owned by such natural individual or
											  family, and for the irrigation of land not exceeding a total of three (3) acres in area for the growing of
											  gardens, orchards, and lawns [82:1020.1(2)]. Domestic use also includes:
(1) the use of water for agriculture purposes by natural individuals,
(2) use of water for fire protection, and
(3) the use of water by non-household entities for drinking water
											  purposes, restroom use, and the watering of lawns, provided that the amount of groundwater used for any such
											  purposes does not exceed five acre-feet per year.
"Firm"
means an individual or any kind of legal entity, such
											  as a sole proprietorship, partnership or corporation that holds a license to conduct any well drilling or
											  pump installation activity.
"Fresh water"
means water which has less than five thousand
											  (5000) parts per million total dissolved solids. All other water is salt water. [82:1020.1(7)]
"Fresh water observation well"
means any well used to
											  measure the depth to the water table or parameters of fresh water aquifer performance.
"Geotechnical boring"
means any excavation deeper than four
											  feet (4'), that is drilled, augured, bored, cored, washed, driven, jetted or otherwise constructed and which
											  is used or capable of being used to obtain soil or geological formation samples or information, or for the
											  determination of groundwater quality or remediation.
"Geothermal well"
means heat pump well.
"Groundwater"
means fresh water and marginal water under the
											  surface of the earth regardless of the geologic structure in which it is standing or moving outside the cut
											  bank of any definite stream. [82:1020.1(1)]
"Groundwater well"
means any excavation that is drilled,
											  cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted or otherwise constructed which is used or is capable of being used
											  for the production of groundwater.
"Heat exchange well"
means the same as, and includes, the
											  terms "geothermal well", "heat pump well", and "heat sink well".
"Heat pump well"
means a boring or cased hole that uses or
											  is capable of using the thermal characteristics of the geologic formations or groundwater if encountered, and
											  includes but is not limited to an open or closed loop groundwater heat pump system.
"Heat sink well"
means a well utilized for heat exchange
											  purposes, including but not limited to, a heat pump well and a geothermal well.
"License"
means a certification issued by the Board to
											  qualified persons making application therefor authorizing such persons to engage in weather modification and
											  control operations or the business of drilling or plugging wells or borings and installing water well pumps.
"Marginal water"
means water which has at least five
											  thousand (5000) and less than ten thousand (10,000) parts per million total dissolved solids.
"Monitoring well"
means a well used to obtain a
											  representative groundwater sample for determining groundwater chemistry or quality; for detecting,
											  recovering, or remediation of actual or potential contamination; or for monitoring the unsaturated zone above
											  a water table or confined aquifer, and includes site assessment observation wells and unsaturated zone
											  monitoring wells.
"Open-loop heat pump water supply well"
means a well drilled
											  to supply water for the purpose of heat transfer.
"Operator"
means the individual person engaging in the
											  actual operation and use of the well drilling equipment and facilities and who performs and supervises the
											  actual on-site construction, completion and handling of wells or well test holes, and conducts tests, and
											  obtains and records well or well test hole data.
"Piezometer"
means cased holes that monitor or are capable
											  of monitoring water pressures or soil moisture tensions, primarily located at dam sites or other man-made
											  water retention structures.
"Pump"
means mechanical equipment or device used to remove
											  water from wells and shall include, but is not limited to pumps, seals, tanks, fittings, pipes from wells to
											  pressure tanks, pressure switches, shut off valves for pressure tanks, related equipment and controls.
"Pump installer"
means a person who is qualified to engage
											  in the installation, removal, alteration, or repair of water well pumps and pumping equipment used in
											  connection with a water well and breaking of the water well seal.
"Sand point well"
means a groundwater well with a borehole
											  constructed by means of driving a small diameter pipe having perforations downward into a loose sandy soil or
											  by means of forcing uncontaminated groundwater through a small diameter pipe having perforations with
											  sufficient pressure to displace loose sandy soil with the pipe.
"Site assessment observation well"
means a well used to
											  measure the depth to the water when used for evaluation, classification or determination of the groundwater
											  flow direction at a site that is or might be contaminated.
"Sleeve"
means well casing that is installed at the surface
											  surrounding the production casing and used solely for the purpose of attaching a pitless adapter unit and is
											  separate from surface casing and conductor pipe.
"Soil boring"
means geotechnical boring.
"Total dissolved solids"
(TDS) means a measure, in parts per
											  million, of dissolved combined organic or inorganic substances suspended in water. Total dissolved solids is
											  used as an aggregate indicator of water quality.
"Unsaturated zone monitoring well"
means any well used for
											  the characterization, evaluation or monitoring of the unsaturated area above the water table or zone.
"Vertical closed-loop heat pump well"
means the borehole
											  perpendicular to the natural grade of the earth surface drilled deeper than ten (10) feet into which a
											  closed-loop pipe is placed for the purpose of heat transfer.
"Water return well"
means a well constructed for the purpose
											  of returning water that has passed through the heat pump system to the same aquifer from which the water was
											  produced by the open-loop water supply well.
"Water well test hole"
means any excavation that is drilled,
											  cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted or otherwise constructed which is used or is capable of being used
											  to determine the location of fresh groundwater and/or the capacity of the geologic formation to yield
											  groundwater.
"Well"
means any type of excavation for the purpose of
											  obtaining groundwater, to monitor, to remediate, or observe conditions under the surface of the earth, but
											  does not include oil and gas wells.
"Well driller"
means and refers to the individual
											  owner-proprietor or partnership, firm or corporation engaged in the business of the commercial drilling,
											  plugging or reconstruction and the test drilling of wells in the State of Oklahoma.
Amended at 10 Ok Reg 3299, eff
											  6-25-93; Amended at 11 Ok Reg 2947, eff 6-13-94; Amended at 12 Ok Reg 2703, eff 7-1-95; Amended at 14 Ok Reg
											  2782, eff 7-1-97; Amended at 20 Ok Reg 2608, eff 7-11-03; Amended at 21 Ok Reg 3169, eff 7-25-03 through
											  7-14-04 (emergency)1; Amended at 22 Ok Reg 1598, eff 7-1-05; Amended at 23 Ok Reg
											  3078, eff 7-27-06; Amended at 25 Ok Reg 1444, eff 5-27-08; Amended at 27 Ok Reg 1313, eff
											  5-27-10
1This
											  emergency action expired without being superseded by a permanent action. Upon expiration of an emergency
											  amendatory action, the last prior permanent text is reinstated. Therefore, on 7-15-04 (after the 7-14-04
											  expiration of the emergency action), the text of 785:35-1-2 reverted back to the permanent text that became
											  effective 7-11-03, as was last published in the 2003 OAC Supplement, and remained as such until amended again
											  by permanent action on 7-1-05.