Title XVI, CONSERVATION, RESOURCES AND DEVELOPMENT

256.600. Title of law. — Sections 256.600 to 256.640 shall be known and may be cited as "The Water Well Drillers' Act". ­­-------- (L. 1985 S.B. 281 § 1)

256.603. Definitions. — As used in sections 256.600 to 256.640, the following terms mean: (1) "Abandoned well", a well shall be deemed abandoned which is in such a state of disrepair that continued use for the purpose of thermal recovery or obtaining groundwater is impractical an…

256.605. Well installation board established — membership — terms — qualifications. — 1. The "Well Installation Board" is hereby established which shall be composed of nine members. Appointment to the board shall be made without regard to race, creed, sex, religion, or national o…

256.606. Rules and regulations — applicants' qualifications. — 1. The board shall adopt and amend rules and regulations pursuant to chapter 536 which may be reasonably necessary to govern the regulation of the well, the heat pump, monitoring well, and pump installation industry i…

256.607. Well installation contractor, permit — heat pump installation contractor, permit. — 1. No person may engage in business in this state as a well installation contractor unless he has obtained from the division a permit to conduct such business or businesses. 2. Nothing in…

256.611. Application, qualifications. — The division shall issue a permit as a well installation contractor, heat pump installation contractor, monitoring well contractor or pump installation contractor to any person properly making application therefor, who is not less than eigh…

256.613. Written examinations. — Written examinations shall be designed to test the applicants' knowledge of the principles of well drilling and plugging, the methods of installation of pumping equipment and the rules and regulations promulgated under sections 256.600 to 256.640.…

256.614. Notice to division, when — forms — registration and certification, fee — encountering gas or oil. — 1. The division shall be notified, on certification or registration forms to be provided by the division, of the activities specified in this section within sixty days: (1…

256.615. Abandoned wells, plugging required — test holes, plugging — confidentiality of information — penalty. — 1. Wells abandoned by the landowner after August 28, 1991, shall be plugged or caused to be plugged by the landowner according to the regulations developed pursuant to…

256.616. Performance bond or letter of credit may be required — conditions. — A well installation contractor or pump installation contractor who has had a permit revoked or a person found guilty of a class A misdemeanor in accordance with section 256.637 shall provide to the divi…

256.617. Drilling rigs, how marked — rig permits. — All permitted water well drillers shall see that all rigs used by them or their employees in the water well drilling are marked with legible identification numbers at all times. The identification number to be used on the rigs s…

256.620. Certain wells exempted from regulation. — Except as provided in section 256.615, operational wells in existence on September 28, 1985, shall not be required to conform to the provisions of sections 256.600 to 256.640, or any rules or regulations adopted pursuant thereto …

256.621. Surface water tracing, registration required — renewal — documentation required. — All persons engaged in groundwater or surface water tracing, for any purpose, shall register with the division. This registration shall be renewed annually. The registrant shall report in …

256.623. Fees — appeals process for disciplinary action. — 1. The board shall by rules and regulations establish reasonable and necessary fees for: (1) Permits; (2) Renewal of permits; (3) Duplicate permits; (4) Rig permits; (5) Certification reports; (6) Registration reports; (7…

256.626. Promulgation of rules and regulations — heat pump coolants, preference. — 1. The board shall adopt, amend, and promulgate in the manner provided by law, and enforce rules and regulations pertaining to the construction and abandonment of wells, and the permitting of opera…

256.628. Obligation to plug abandoned well, notification — information to be filed, form — inspection, injunction, penalty. — 1. A public water supplier subject to the provisions of chapter 640 which connects to any structure or location previously served by any well which is not…

256.630. Violations of the law, suspension, revocation — procedure, appeals. — 1. If the division determines that the holder of any permit issued pursuant to sections 256.600 to 256.640 has violated any provision of sections 256.600 to 256.640, or any rule or regulation adopted p…

256.633. Injunctions — attorney general to represent division. — The division may petition a court of competent jurisdiction for injunctions or other appropriate relief to enforce the provisions of sections 256.600 to 256.640. The attorney general shall represent the division whe…

256.635. Audit of division — groundwater protection fund, purpose. — 1. The state auditor shall audit the financial transactions of the division in connection with the administration of sections 256.600 to 256.640. 2. All money collected by the division under the provisions of se…

256.637. Violations of law, civil and criminal penalties. — 1. Any person who willfully violates any of the provisions of sections 256.600 to 256.640 is guilty of a class A misdemeanor. 2. In the event of a continuing violation, each day that the violation continues shall constit…

256.640. Rules, procedure. — No rule or portion of a rule promulgated under the authority of this chapter shall become effective unless it has been promulgated pursuant to the provisions of section 536.024. ­­-------- (L. 1985 S.B. 281 § 14, A.L. 1993 S.B. 52, A.L. 1995 S.B. 3)

256.641. Definitions. — As used in sections 256.641 to 256.660, the following words mean: (1) "Irrigation well", any well which is used for the primary purpose of providing water for the irrigation or inundation of crops; (2) "Qualified voter", an owner of one acre or more of rea…

256.643. Southeast Missouri regional water district, certain counties may be included — governed by commission. — 1. There is hereby established a public corporation to be known as the "Southeast Missouri Regional Water District". The district may include all or part of the follo…

256.645. Counties to adopt plan to set boundaries of district — meeting of landowners — notice requirement. — Within thirty days of August 28, 1992, the governing body of each county listed in section 256.643 shall adopt a plan for the county establishing the precise boundary of …

256.647. Qualified voters to elect chairman and secretary — vote to become part of district and to select one commissioner, elections procedure. — 1. The qualified voters in each county shall organize by electing a chairman and secretary of the meeting, who shall conduct election…

256.649. Counties not joining may subsequently join, procedure — commissioners' qualifications. — Counties listed in section 256.643 which do not join the district pursuant to the provisions of sections 256.645 and 256.647 may subsequently join the district if the governing body …

256.651. Meeting of commission, location — terms of office, how determined — vacancies — per diem — oath. — 1. The commission shall meet in the county containing the largest proportion of the area of the district within three weeks of the initial appointment of commissioners from…

256.653. President and secretary to be elected, qualifications, terms — commission's powers and duties. — 1. The commission members shall, at their first meeting, choose one of their number president of the commission, and elect some suitable person secretary, who shall serve unt…

256.655. Fees may be established for persons owning irrigation wells — qualification, limitation — to raise fee must submit to voters. — 1. The commission may establish annual fees to be paid by persons owning irrigation wells which measure six inches in diameter or greater. Such…

256.657. Secretary of commission to serve as treasurer — salary, expenses, staff and equipment — bond requirement — deposit of funds — duties — annual audit — report — warrants, form. — 1. The secretary of the commission shall hold the office of treasurer of such district and he …

256.660. Disincorporation of district, procedure. — 1. Disincorporation of the district may be accomplished by a vote therefor on the submission of the question to the qualified voters of the district. The submission is initiated as follows: (1) When the commission determines the…

256.670. Definitions — geographical information system, public access — community creation of system — fee — licensing of system, factors — construction of law — liability shield. — 1. As used in this section, the following terms mean: (1) "Community", any municipality as defined…

256.700. Surface mining, fee — director to require fee, when — amount of fee — expiration date — rulemaking authority. — 1. Any operator desiring to engage in surface mining who applies for a permit under section 444.772 shall, in addition to all other fees authorized under such …

256.705. Fund created, use of moneys. — 1. All sums received through the payment of fees under section 256.700 shall be placed in the state treasury and credited to the "Geologic Resources Fund" which is hereby created. 2. After appropriation by the general assembly, the money in…

256.710. Industrial minerals advisory council created, members, duties, terms, vacancies. — 1. There is hereby created an advisory council to the state geologist known as the "Industrial Minerals Advisory Council". The council shall be composed of nine members as follows: (1) The…

256.800. Citation of law — definitions — flood resiliency improvement fund established, use of moneys — program established, requirements — rulemaking authority. — 1. This section shall be known and may be cited as the "Flood Resiliency Act". 2. As used in this section, unless th…