Terms Used In Nebraska Statutes > Water Well Standards and Contractors' Practice Act

• Abandoned water well: means any water well (1) the use of which has been accomplished or permanently discontinued, (2) which has been decommissioned as described in the rules and regulations of the Department of Environment and Energy, and (3) for which the notice of abandonment required by subsection (2) of section 46-602 has been filed with the Department of Natural Resources by the licensed water well contractor or licensed pump installation contractor who decommissioned the water well or by the water well owner if the owner decommissioned the water well. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1204.01
• Acquire: when used in connection with a grant of power or property right to any person shall include the purchase, grant, gift, devise, bequest, and obtaining by eminent domain. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Action: shall include any proceeding in any court of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Active status water well: shall mean a water well which is in use and which is not an illegal water well. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1204.02
• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Affirmed: In the practice of the appellate courts, the decree or order is declared valid and will stand as rendered in the lower court.
• Allegation: something that someone says happened.
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Attorney: shall mean attorney at law. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Board: means the Water Well Standards and Contractors' Licensing Board. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1205
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Company: shall include any corporation, partnership, limited liability company, joint-stock company, joint venture, or association. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Construction of water wells: shall mean and include all acts necessary to make a water well usable for the purpose for which it is intended including, without limitation, the siting of and excavation for the water well and its construction, alteration, or repair, but excluding the installation of pumps and pumping equipment. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1206
• Construction of water wells shall mean and: include all acts necessary to make a water well usable for the purpose for which it is intended including, without limitation, the siting of and excavation for the water well and its construction, alteration, or repair, but excluding the installation of pumps and pumping equipment. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1206
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Deed: The legal instrument used to transfer title in real property from one person to another.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the Department of Environment and Energy. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1207
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Domestic: when applied to corporations shall mean all those created by authority of this state. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Forgery: The fraudulent signing or alteration of another's name to an instrument such as a deed, mortgage, or check. The intent of the forgery is to deceive or defraud. ^{Source: OCC}
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Inactive status water well: shall mean a water well that is in a good state of repair and for which the owner has provided evidence of intent for future use by maintaining the water well in a manner which meets the following requirements:

  (1) The water well does not allow impairment of the water quality in the water well or of the ground water encountered by the water well. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1207.02

• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Installation of pumps and pumping equipment: shall mean the procedure employed in the placement and preparation for operation of pumps and pumping equipment at the water well location, including connecting all wiring to the first control and all construction or repair involved in making entrance to the water well, which involves the breaking of the well seal. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1208
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Licensed natural resources ground water technician: means a natural resources ground water technician who has taken a training course, passed an examination based on the training course, and received a license from the department indicating that he or she is a licensed natural resources ground water technician. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1205.01
• Licensed pump installation contractor: means an individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is a principal officer, director, manager, or owner-operator of any business engaged in the installation of pumps and pumping equipment or the decommissioning of water wells. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1209
• Licensed pump installation supervisor: means any individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is engaged in the installation of pumps and pumping equipment or the decommissioning of water wells. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1210
• Licensed water well contractor: means an individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is a principal officer, director, manager, or owner-operator of any business engaged in the construction or decommissioning of water wells. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1213
• Licensed water well drilling supervisor: means any individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is engaged in the construction or decommissioning of water wells. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1214
• Licensed water well monitoring technician: means any individual who has obtained a license from the department and who is engaged solely in the measuring of ground water levels, the collection of ground water samples from existing water wells, or the inspection of installed water well equipment or pumping systems. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1214.01
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Mortgage: The written agreement pledging property to a creditor as collateral for a loan.
• Natural resources ground water technician: means any individual employed by a natural resources district and engaged in the inspection of chemigation systems, measuring and recording static water levels, inspection and servicing of flow meters, and water sampling practices and techniques. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1208.02
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Oversight: Committee review of the activities of a Federal agency or program.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: shall include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Person: shall mean any: Individual. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1208.01
• Person shall: include bodies politic and corporate, societies, communities, the public generally, individuals, partnerships, limited liability companies, joint-stock companies, and associations. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Personal property: All property that is not real property.
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Pleadings: Written statements of the parties in a civil case of their positions. In the federal courts, the principal pleadings are the complaint and the answer.
• Probation: A sentencing alternative to imprisonment in which the court releases convicted defendants under supervision as long as certain conditions are observed.
• Process: shall mean a summons, subpoena, or notice to appear issued out of a court in the course of judicial proceedings. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Public law: A public bill or joint resolution that has passed both chambers and been enacted into law. Public laws have general applicability nationwide.
• Pumps and pumping equipment: shall mean any equipment or materials utilized or intended for use in withdrawing or obtaining ground water including, but not limited to, seals, tanks, fittings, and controls. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1211
• Quorum: The number of legislators that must be present to do business.
• Real property: Land, and all immovable fixtures erected on, growing on, or affixed to the land.
• Recourse: An arrangement in which a bank retains, in form or in substance, any credit risk directly or indirectly associated with an asset it has sold (in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles) that exceeds a pro rata share of the bank's claim on the asset. If a bank has no claim on an asset it has sold, then the retention of any credit risk is recourse. ^{Source: FDIC}
• Rescission: The cancellation of budget authority previously provided by Congress. The Impoundment Control Act of 1974 specifies that the President may propose to Congress that funds be rescinded. If both Houses have not approved a rescission proposal (by passing legislation) within 45 days of continuous session, any funds being withheld must be made available for obligation.
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• State: when applied to different states of the United States shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories organized by Congress. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Summons: Another word for subpoena used by the criminal justice system.
• Sworn: shall include affirmed in all cases in which an affirmation may be substituted for an oath. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• top of the water well or water well casing has a water-tight welded or threaded cover or some other water-tight: means to prevent its removal without the use of equipment or tools to prevent unauthorized access, to prevent a safety hazard to humans and animals, and to prevent illegal disposal of wastes or contaminants into the water well. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1207.02
• Transcript: A written, word-for-word record of what was said, either in a proceeding such as a trial or during some other conversation, as in a transcript of a hearing or oral deposition.
• Trial: A hearing that takes place when the defendant pleads "not guilty" and witnesses are required to come to court to give evidence.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Verdict: The decision of a petit jury or a judge.
• Water well: shall mean any excavation that is drilled, cored, bored, washed, driven, dug, jetted, or otherwise constructed for the purpose of exploring for ground water, monitoring ground water, utilizing the geothermal properties of the ground, obtaining hydrogeologic information, or extracting water from or injecting fluid as defined in section 81-1502 into the underground water reservoir. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1212
• Well repairs: shall mean any change, replacement, or other alteration of any water well, pump, or pumping equipment or any other activity which requires a breaking or opening of the well seal. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1215
• Well seal: shall mean an arrangement or device used to cap a water well or to establish and maintain a junction between the casing or curbing of a water well and the piping or equipment installed therein, the purpose or function of which is to prevent pollutants from entering the water well. See Nebraska Statutes 46-1216
• Year: shall mean calendar year. See Nebraska Statutes 49-801