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PA SB1249
Bill
Status
3/30/2026
Primary Sponsor
James Andrew Malone
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AI Summary
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Expands the State Board of Crane Operators to include well drillers, renaming it the State Board of Crane Operators and Well Drillers, and adds four professional well driller members to the board along with the Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources as an ex officio nonvoting member.
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Establishes a new licensure system for well drillers with two categories (Expert L.W.D. and Specialized L.W.D.) covering water wells, geothermal wells, geotechnical wells, and environmental wells, requiring applicants to be at least 18 years old, pass a board-approved examination, maintain bonding and liability insurance, and complete biennial continuing education.
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Creates a two-year grandfathering period allowing experienced well drillers to obtain licensure without examination by demonstrating documented drilling experience (50,000 cumulative feet for expert category or 30,000 feet for specialized category) and providing three professional references.
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Requires well drillers to submit notices of intent to drill within 72 hours of entering a contract, file completion reports within 10 days through PaGWISDriller, and notify authorities at least 10 days before decommissioning wells, with the Department of Conservation and Natural Resources authorized to request core samples for research.
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Repeals the Water Well Drillers License Act of 1956 and exempts normal agricultural operations and Department of Transportation prequalified geotechnical drilling contractors from the new licensure requirements, with the act taking effect in 60 days.
Legislative Description
Further providing for title of act; in preliminary provisions, further providing for short ti tle and for definitions and providing for applicability; in State Board of Crane Operators, further providing for board and for powers and duties of board; in licensure, further providing for licensure, for qualifications, for duration of license, for reporting of multiple licensure and for license without certification and providing for qualifications for licensure as well driller, for grandfathering for well drillers, for examination for licensure as well driller, for bonding and insurance for well drillers, for continuing education for well drillers, for professional standards and industry regulations for well drilling, for additional reporting requirements for well drillers, for sampling, for well driller license identification, for drilling company and rig registration, for exemptions and for agricultural operations; in administration and enforcement, further providing for violation of act, for refusal, suspension or revocation of license and for temporary and automatic suspensions; and making a repeal.
Last Action
Referred to Consumer Protection & Professional Licensure
3/30/2026