Notices of Intention to Drill, Driller's Logs, and Well Reporting
The NOI
A Notice of Intention to Drill tells the agency that a well is about to be constructed so the agency can screen the location against known contamination, existing wells, and geographic restrictions. The notice identifies the owner, the driller and license number, the proposed location, the intended use, the proposed depth and diameter, and the proposed casing. Filing starts a waiting period during which the agency may object, request conditions, or prohibit the location. Work begun before the period runs is a violation even if the well is later built correctly.
The driller's log
This is the technical biography of the hole. Expect to be tested on what must appear: owner and driller identification, location, dates, diameter and depth, casing and screen specifications, the lithologic description of materials penetrated by depth interval, the depth of the water level(s) encountered, the static water level, and any sealing or grouting performed. Logs are filed with the agency and become public record. Accuracy matters because later applicants rely on them.
Other reports
Completion reports, pump installation reports, and abandonment reports each have their own content and deadlines. The trap is assuming one filing satisfies another; they are separate obligations.
Traps
(1) Confusing the notice (before) with the completion report (after). (2) Omitting water-level data because the driller considered it unremarkable. (3) Describing geology in vague terms instead of depth intervals. (4) Missing the deadline. (5) Assuming a change in proposed depth or location needs no amendment.
Rule of thumb
Write the log as if a stranger must drill the neighboring well from it: every material, every interval, every water level, every seal.
Worked example
A driller encounters a confining layer at 180 feet and water at 210 feet. The log must record the confining material and its interval, not merely "clay" somewhere in the column, and must record the water level with the depth at which it was encountered.