Colorado § 37-91-102 - Definitions.

§ 37-91-102. Definitions.

As used in this article 91, unless the context otherwise requires:

(1) and (2) Repealed.

(3) "Board" means the state board of examiners of water well and ground heat exchanger contractors created in section 37-91-103.

(4) "Construction of wells" means any act undertaken at the well site for the establishment or modification of a well, including, without limitation, the location of the well and the excavation or fracturing thereof but not including surveying or other acts preparatory thereto, site preparation and modification or site modification, or the installation of pumping equipment.

(4.1) (a) "Construction or installation of a ground heat exchanger" means any act undertaken at a ground heat exchanger site for the establishment or modification of a ground heat exchanger.

(b) "Construction or installation of a ground heat exchanger" includes the locating of a ground heat exchanger and the excavating or fracturing necessary to install a ground heat exchanger.

(c) "Construction or installation of a ground heat exchanger" does not include surveying, site preparation, site modification, or other preparatory acts.

(4.5) "Dewatering well" includes any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, fractured, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such excavation is for temporary dewatering purposes for construction only.

(4.7) "Directly employed" means engaged in employment where the employer is responsible for and directly controls the performance of the employee, and, where applicable, the employee is covered by workers' compensation and unemployment compensation. "Directly employed" does not refer to independent contractors or subcontractors.

(5) and (6) Repealed.

(6.5) "Ground heat exchanger" means a continuous, sealed, subsurface heat exchanger consisting of a closed loop through which a heat-transfer fluid passes to and returns from a heat pump or manifold. A ground heat exchanger may be vertically or horizontally configured or submerged in surface water.

(6.7) "Ground heat exchanger contractor" means an individual licensed pursuant to this article 91 who is responsible for the drilling, construction, grouting, repair, testing, or abandonment of a ground heat exchanger, either by contract or for hire, for any consideration whatsoever.

(7) "Groundwater" means any water not visible on the surface of the ground under natural conditions.

(7.5) "Heat-transfer fluid" means a fluid heat-transfer medium to convey thermal energy to and from the thermal source or sink.

(8) "Installation of pumping equipment" means the selection, placement, and preparation for operation of pumping equipment, including all construction involved in entering the well and establishing well seals and safeguards to protect groundwater from contamination.

(9) Repealed.

(10) "License" means the document issued by the board to a qualified applicant pursuant to section 37-91-105, which document authorizes the applicant to engage in one or more methods of well construction, ground heat exchanger construction, or pump installation or any combination of such methods.

(10.5) "Monitoring and observation well" includes any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, fractured, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of the excavation is for locating a well, pumping equipment or aquifer testing, monitoring groundwater, groundwater remediation, or collection of water quality samples.

(11) Repealed.

(11.5) "Person" means an individual, a partnership, a corporation, a municipality, the state, the United States, or any other legal entity, public or private.

(12) "Private driller" means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, political subdivision, or public agency that uses equipment owned by it to dig, drill, redrill, case, recase, deepen, or excavate a well entirely for its own use upon property owned by it.

(12.5) "Private pump installer" means any individual, corporation, partnership, association, political subdivision, or public agency that uses equipment owned by it to install pumping equipment on a well entirely for its own use on property owned by it.

(13) "Pumping equipment" means any pump or related equipment used or intended for use in withdrawing or obtaining groundwater, including, but not limited to, well seals, pitless adapters, and other safeguards to protect the groundwater from contamination and any waterlines up to and including the pressure tank and any coupling appurtenant thereto.

(14) "Pump installation contractor" means an individual licensed to install, remove, modify, or repair pumping equipment for compensation.

(15) "Repair" means:

(a) Any change, replacement, or other alteration of any well or pumping equipment that requires a breaking or opening of the well seal or any waterlines up to and including the pressure tank and any coupling appurtenant to the pressure tank; or

(b) Any change, replacement, or other alteration of a ground heat exchanger that requires excavation of any portion of the ground heat exchanger to repair or replace components of surface casing, piping or grout within the borefield, or piping between the borefield and the manifold.

(15.5) "Supervision" means personal and continuous on-site direction by a licensed well construction contractor, licensed ground heat exchanger contractor, or licensed pump installation contractor, unless the licensed contractor has applied for and received from the board an exemption from continuous on-site direction for a specific task.

(15.7) "Test hole" includes any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, fractured, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed when the intended use of such excavation is for geotechnical, geophysical, or geologic investigation or soil- or rock-sampling.

(16) (a) "Well" for the purpose of this article means any test hole or other excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, fractured, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed for the purpose of location, monitoring, dewatering, observation, diversion, artificial recharge, or acquisition of groundwater for beneficial use or for conducting pumping equipment or aquifer tests.

(b) (I) "Well" does not include:

(A) Certain types of monitoring and observation wells, dewatering wells, and test holes that the board specifies in rules in order to allow for their construction, utilization, and abandonment by other than a well construction contractor;

(B) An excavation made for the purpose of obtaining or prospecting for minerals or those wells subject to the jurisdiction of the energy and carbon management commission, as provided in article 60 of title 34 or in article 90.5 of this title 37;

(C) A well subject to the jurisdiction of the division of reclamation, mining, and safety, as provided in articles 32 to 34 of title 34; or

(D) Recharge basins or infiltration basins that are constructed in such a manner that the intent of their design is to remain above the groundwater level.

(II) "Well" does not include a naturally flowing spring or springs where the natural spring discharge is captured or concentrated by installation of a near-surface structure or device less than ten feet in depth located at or within fifty feet of the spring or springs' natural discharge point and the water is conveyed directly by gravity flow or into a separate sump or storage, so long as the owner obtains a water right for the structure or device as a spring pursuant to article 92 of this title 37.

(17) "Well construction contractor" means an individual licensed pursuant to this article 91 and responsible for the construction, test-pumping, or development of wells, either by contract or for hire, for any consideration whatsoever.

(18) "Well seal" means an approved arrangement or device used to cover a well or to establish and maintain a junction between the casing or curbing of a well and the piping or equipment installed therein, the purpose or function of which is to prevent contaminated water or other material from entering the well at the upper terminal.

Source: L. 67: p. 691, § 2. C.R.S. 1963: § 148-20-2. L. 85: (3), (4), (8), (10), (12), (15), and (18) amended, (4.5), (4.7), (10.5), (11.5), (12.5), (15.5), and (15.7) added, (13), (14), (16), and (17) R&RE, and (1), (2), (5), (6), (9), and (11) repealed, pp. 1180, 1182, 1189, §§ 2, 3, 16, effective July 1. L. 90: (4.7) amended, p. 574, § 71, effective July 1. L. 92: (16) amended, p. 1971, § 78, effective July 1. L. 95: (16) amended, p. 140, § 3, effective April 7. L. 2003: (4.7), (8), (10), (12), (12.5), (13), (14), (15.5), and (16)(a) amended, p. 1675, § 2, effective May 14. L. 2023: IP and (16)(b)(I) amended, (SB 23-285), ch. 235, p. 1257, § 39, effective July 1. L. 2025: (3), (10), (10.5), (14), (15), (15.5), (16)(b)(I)(B), (16)(b)(I)(C), (16)(b)(II), and (17) amended and (4.1), (6.5), (6.7), (7.5), and (16)(b)(I)(D) added, (HB 25-1165), ch. 257, p. 1310, § 18, effective August 6.

Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 25-1165, see section 1 of chapter 257, Session Laws of Colorado 2025.