AGO 97059.

• Court: Nebraska

Nebraska Attorney General Opinions 1997. AGO 97059. DATE: November 25, 1997SUBJECT: Water Well Registration Fees REQUESTED BY: J. Michael Jess, Director, Department of Water ResourcesWRITTEN BY: Don Stenberg, Attorney General Marie C. Pawol, Assistant Attorney General You have inquired whether the Department of Water Resources is authorized to collect a supplemental registration fee in the event that a water well's pumping capacity is increased after the date of its original registration. You note that the initial well registration assessments are based upon a well's estimated pumping capacity. We are of the opinion that a water well owner who subsequently increases a well's pumping capacity, such that the capacity corresponds to a higher registration fee category, may be required to re-register the well and pay the difference between the higher fee and the initial registration fee already paid. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-606 (Cum. Supp. 1996) requires the Director of the Department of Water Resources to collect a registration fee of $30 for each water well required to be registered under section 46-602, with specified exceptions. Additionally, the department is directed to collect an additional fee set by the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Board. Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1224(4) (Cum. Supp. 1996) authorizes the board to set a fee of not less than $25 and not more than $40 for wells designed to pump less than fifty gallons per minute, and a fee of not less than $40 and not more than $80 for water wells constructed to pump fifty gallons per minute or more. The fees established by the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Board are to be "calculated to recover the costs incurred by the department and the board in administering and carrying out the purposes of the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Act." Neb. Rev. Stat. § 46-1224 (1) (Cum Supp. 1996). Subsection 4 of § 46-1224 also directs that "[t]he fees shall be remitted to the Director of Water Resources with the registration form required by section 46-602. . . ." You note that an inequity arises at present whenever a water well owner initially pays a lower fee, but then subsequently increases the well's pumping capacity. You have also expressed concern that funding to carry out the purposes of the act could be jeopardized should this occur with...