State Senator Carl L. Marcellino (R-C, Syosset) announced today that Governor George E. Pataki has signed his legislation providing for the registration of water well drillers and requiring the submission of their well-drilling logs to the Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) into law as Chapter 395 of the Laws of 1999.

An integral part of any groundwater investigation, whether an appraisal of a community's water resources or a site study of a contaminant plume, is the collection of subsurface aquifer information. Although remote methods can provide some data, information gathered through drilling wells, such as soil types and direction of groundwater movement, is crucial to understand subsurface conditions. The map of the state's groundwater resources generated by drilling information will be a great assistance in detecting and remediating petroleum and other hazardous spills.

"The DEC is eager to receive the well drilling logs because it will yield enormous benefits in mapping the state's groundwater resources. Obtaining the same information by exploratory drilling would cost the state millions of dollars. This information will be especially useful in the case of spills or other contamination that threatens our groundwater resources," Marcellino said.

Currently, there is a registration requirement for water well drillers on Long Island. This new law extends these provisions to the rest of the state and strengthens the existing regulatory framework for water well drilling not only to provide environmental protection, but also to provide a consumer protection benefit to those who have water wells drilled.

"Under this law, water well drillers will meet qualification standards, existing rural water supply guidelines will be promulgated as regulations, and water well drilling logs will be submitted to the Department of Environmental Conservation," Senator Marcellino added. Every state in the nation, except Wyoming, provides a regulatory framework for the business of private water well drilling in order to protect the environment from improper drilling practices which may disrupt or destroy irreplaceable groundwater resources.

"In light of the extreme drought conditions in New York State, water wells are being pushed to their limits to combat the dry conditions. It is extremely important that when these wells fail and are repaired or new ones are drilled, that the work is done properly," Marcellino added.

"This new law is the culmination of a two-year effort of working with water well drillers, the Department of Environmental Conservation and the Department of Health in order to protect consumer interests by bringing standards and oversight to the water well drilling industry, while also protecting the environment and our ground water resources," Marcellino concluded.