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Driller's license suspended Artesian owner fined, cited for late paperwork By MELISSA MARTIN A veteran well driller won't be able to practice his trade this month after the Oregon Water Resources suspended his license for filing late paperwork. The penalty, one of the most severe in recent memory in the Rogue Valley, comes at the peak of the well-drilling season at the tail end of a very dry year. Jerry Cordonier, 60, owner of Artesian Drilling Inc. of Medford, must pay a $1,300 fine and can't drill or deepen wells until after Oct. 31, said Adam Sussman, manager of the enforcement section for the Water Resources Department. The state cited Cordonier with two violations of failing to submit start cards, which inform the state Water Resources Department that a well is going to be drilled, said David Cowgill, the southwest regional well inspector. The state also cited him with 44 violations of failing to submit well logs, some dating as far back as 1993. Well logs inform the state about how the well was constructed, where the water was found, how much water there was and the well's depth. It's posted on the Internet for anyone who wants to research wells. Cordonier, who has drilled thousands of wells in Jackson County over the past 29 years, said he spent the past few weeks collecting the missing information and mailed it to the state last week. He said he tried to meet the state's deadline; he drove 300 miles to track down property owners and spent many hours sorting through boxes. A house fire destroyed many of his records and a divorce and office staff turnover added more complications, he said. "We went back through old notebooks and charts," Cordonier said. "Some people moved or changed phone numbers. Some wells the customer changed their minds and the well was never drilled. That means the start card was filed but there was no well log information to file after that." Although he gathered the missing data and turned it into the state, it was 10 days too late to avoid a suspended license. Well log information is vital and should be kept up to date for the sake of property owners, home buyers, drilling companies and water managers, Cowgill said. "If a landowner wants to deepen their well, a lot of drillers are hesitant to work on a well that has no record. They don't know what they are dealing with, where the original water was picked up. They don't know how far they need to case and seal it," Cowgill said. "Also, if a landowner wants to sell the property, the buyer will want to read the well report." Drilling companies have 30 days after the well's construction to submit well log data to the state Water Resources Department, Sussman said. The state extended that period for Cordonier, he said. "We've been working with him for some time," Sussman said. One of Cordonier's customers said the state should have extended the deadline even more because of the house fire and other circumstances surrounding the missing records. "Jerry does things by the book and he does it right," said retired engineer John Henderson, a Sterling Creek area resident. He's hired Cordonier to drill many wells for properties he has subdivided. The state is suspending Cordonier's license at one of the busiest times in a well driller's season - just before the rains begin, Henderson said. It's also during one of the driest years on record when wells around the county are failing and well drilling companies are booked solid. Cordonier said he doesn't plan to fight the 30-day suspension. Instead, he said he plans to use the layoff time wisely. "I've got maintenance work to do," Cordonier said. "And I plan to visit my dad, who is sick." Reach reporter Melissa Martin at 776-4497, or e-mail [email protected] A brief history of drilling penalties This is the fourth time in the last decade that Oregon Water Resources Department has fined and cited local well drillers for missing data, but the first time in recent history a driller's license has been suspended. Brothers Charlie and Barry Pelky of Applegate Drilling Inc. were recently fined $3,425 for 49 late start cards, 14 late start card fees ($75 each) and eight missing well log reports, said David Cowgill, southwest regional well inspector for the state Water Resources Department office in Grants Pass. In 1999, John Studebaker of Eagle Drilling was fined $1,275 for six late start cards, two late start card fees and 32 missing well reports. In 1994, Daryl Baker of Ashland Drilling was fined $7,600 for 155 late start cards and 149 missing well reports. "He did have a condition on his license for a year where he had to call in and tell me where he was going to be drilling," Cowgill said. "But he was very cooperative." The reason Jerry Cordonier of Artesian Drilling had a suspended license is because of his procrastination, state officials said. "We tried to get Jerry's records for six months and he kept promising, but didn't submit the information." The state also cited people who are not part of the drilling industry - about six landowners who built wells without permits or licenses, Cowgill said. "We have people out there constructing their own wells illegally," Cowgill said. "We seek voluntary compliance. If we get it, nothing else happens. If we don't, we use the hammer." Homeowners who have wells worked on should ask the drilling company for a copy of the well log report, Cowgill said. Mail Tribune Home | Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. | Dow Jones & Co., Inc. | Privacy | Contact Us Copyright � 2001 Mail Tribune, Inc.