1406

LAWS OF MARYLAND

Ch. 237

Present Title 8, Subtitle 6 of the Natural Resources
Article, which is the basis for this title, was amended by
Ch. 27, Acts of 1980 to transfer those provisions that
relate to the Board of Well Drillers to the exclusive
jurisdiction of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene.
The provisions of Title 8, Subtitle 6 of the Natural
Resources Article that relate to well drilling in general
are retained in the Natural Resources Article for later
allocation to the Health - Environmental Article.

Business of Well Drilling; Practice of Well Drilling

In revising this title, the Commission to Revise the
Annotated Code recognizes that there is both a practice of
well drilling, which relates to individuals, and a business
of well drilling, which relates to the companies that employ
well drillers. The provisions of this title primarily
concern the procedures and requirements for licensing
individuals, and, in practice, the Board currently licenses
only individuals. However, both the present law and this
title — e.g., § 21-301 of this title — use the term
"person" when describing whom the Board may license.
Therefore, arguably, there is a legislative grant of
authority to the Board to license corporations and other
"nonindividuals". Currently, the Board is considering
licensing corporations.

Performance Bond

In regard to the bonding requirement of § 21-206 of
this title, the present law is contradictory. The bond
statutorily is labelled a "performance bond", which implies
an intent to protect well owners from monetary damages on a
job by job basis. However, in present NR § 8-610(d), the
bond and insurance are described as conditions precedent to
the issuance or renewal of a license, which, in effect, has
resulted in a bond that is only a requisite for licensing
but not clearly a protection for well owners.

This revision attempts to resolve the contradictory
statutory requirements by clarifying that the Board may
adopt rules and regulations that specify insurance and
performance bond requirements. See § 21-206(b)(5) of this
title. This avoids the conflict between the nature of a
performance bond and certain contradictory provisions, such
as a provision that the bond be issued annually instead of
issued by the job. Also while present NR § 8-610(d) implies
that the bond is issued to individuals who are already
covered by the bond, in practice, certain licensees, —
i.e., journeymen and apprentices, who work under the direct
supervision of a master well driller — are not required by
the Board to carry bonds and insurance. In effect, the work
of journeymen and apprentices is covered by the bond and
insurance covering the master well driller, or, more
correctly, covering the particular well drilling job. The
revision leaves these bonding and insurance requirements to
the rules and regulations adopted by the Board.