News Release No. 399

DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES IDENTIFIES
WELL DRILLING INDUSTRY CONTRACTORS WITHOUT PERMITS

Volume 32-399

Contact: Sheri Fry

(For immediate release)

573-368-2115

JEFFERSON CITY, MO, DEC. 20, 2004 -- The Department of Natural Resources released today a list of 16 well drilling industry contractors that no longer carry permits to perform work in Missouri. The contractors previously held a permit with the department's Geological Survey and Resource Assessment Division (DGLS) to operate in the state as a water well, pump, heat pump or monitoring well installation contractor.

There are many possible reasons why the individuals listed may not hold a permit, such as retirement, change in occupation or job duties, failure to apply for a renewal and/or enforcement actions by the department against contractors who violate the Water Well Driller's Act. Anyone who has had a well drilled by anyone on the listing should contact DGLS for further information.

The Well Driller's Act became effective in 1986. It establishes minimum well construction standards and requires contractors to be permitted by the state. The law was created to protect Missouri groundwater from contamination resulting from improperly constructed wells. Improperly constructed wells may act as conduits for contaminants such as septic tank effluent. Contaminated groundwater exposes Missourians of all ages to serious health risks that can result from water borne diseases such as typhoid fever, dysentery, cholera, hepatitis and giardiasis.

Those contractors who no longer carry permits to work in Missouri include:

Name - City/State (County)
Don Blansett - Paragould/AR
Mark Egley - St. Louis/MO (St. Louis)
Kenneth Elrod - Piedmont/MO (Wayne)
Angela Frizzell - Research Park/NC
Levi Herschberger - Arthur/IL
Amy Johnson - Overland Park/KS
Christopher Lacko - Woodbury/TN
Russell Morton - Springfield/MO (Greene)
Jennifer Ritchie - Kansas City/MO (Jackson)
Jerold Schlicher - Donnellson/IA
Donald Spence Jr. - Seneath/MO (Dunklin)
David Summers - Colcord/OK
Steven Swenson - Downers Grove/IL
Alan Waller Jr. - Wytheville/VA
Michael West - Conway/AR
Robert Woody - Overland Park/KS

Anyone with questions regarding this list please contact the Geological Survey and Resource Assessment Division's Wellhead Protection Section at 573-368-2115.

For news releases on the Web, visit www.dnr.mo.gov/newsrel. For a complete listing of the department's upcoming meetings, hearings and events, visit the department's online calendar at www.dnr.mo.gov/calendar/search.do.

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