Applying for or renewing accreditation to operate as a driller

Any natural or legal person who carries out drilling in the ground and subsoil.

In this section, you will find the CONDITIONS to be met in order to apply for an accreditation and which concern :

• your qualities as a ‘drilling’ candidate and moral guarantees
• guarantees of means
• required skills
• guarantees of impartiality

It also addresses the administrative and operational OBLIGATIONS that you have to comply with during the accreditation period.

CONDITIONS - APPLICANT'S QUALITIES AND MORAL GUARANTEES

As an applicant, you must :

• not have any convictions for infringement of regional, federal or any other equivalent environmental legislation of another Member State (MS)
• not have accreditation withdrawn during the three years prior to your application.

In addition, if you apply as a natural person, you must :

• be a citizen of a Member State
• not have been deprived of civil and political rights that still has effect

If you are applying on behalf of a legal person or temporary company, the entity or company must :

• be incorporated in accordance with Belgian law or the law of another MS
• have its main administration or principal place of business within the EU
• or have its head office within the EU and have activities that are genuinely and sustainably linked to the economy of an EU MS
• include among its managing directors, or persons with authority to bind the company, only persons who have not been deprived of their civil and political rights, and persons who have no convictions for infringement of regional or federal environmental legislation or any other similar legislation of another MS.

CONDITIONS - GUARANTEES OF MEANS

• Have the equipment and technical means needed to properly carry out the drilling tasks
• Have the financial capacity and human resources to guarantee that the drilling activities for which you are applying for accreditation are properly carried out
• Be covered by an insurance contract or undertake to take out an insurance contract covering civil liability resulting from drilling activities for which you are applying for accreditation

CONDITIONS – SKILLS REQUIRED

• Demonstrate technical skills related to drilling activities and, in particular, the ability to drive and handle field site equipment either by :
  • providing evidence of professional training for the field of drilling activity in question
  • indicating at least five drilling references for the field of activity in question carried out in the two years prior to your application for accreditation (criterion required in the case of renewal of accreditation)

CONDITIONS: GUARANTEES OF IMPARTIALITY

• You are not in a situation likely to compromise your objectivity
• You perform your duties objectively towards your clients

ADMINISTRATIVE OBLIGATIONS

• Inform the administration without delay of any change in the elements indicated in the application for accreditation file
• Enable supervision personnel to check the activities covered by the accreditation
• Transmit any information relating to the drilling techniques and equipment used or any document enabling the verification of compliance with the conditions of accreditation to the personnel responsible for supervising compliance with accreditation conditions.

OPERATIONAL OBLIGATIONS

Among all the obligations provided for by law, in particular, you need to :

• Perform drilling in compliance with the laws relating to :
  • the Environmental Licence
  • geological storage of carbon dioxide
  • soil management
  • management and sanitation of land
• Declare any drilling site to the Underground Water Directorate at least two working days before work commences
• Keep a works log at the drilling site describing the operations carried out
• Draw up an end of works report for the holder of the environmental permit on whose behalf the drilling work is carried out
• Report immediately to SOS Environnement-Nature any incident or accident likely to affect the quality of the underground water (in particular if two underground aquifers come into contact, a tool or drilling part is lost in the drill pipe, or gas is released into the atmosphere)
• Advise your client on the best available techniques depending on the destination of the works, the hydrogeological context and the location of the land to be penetrated
• Inform your client about :
  • specific protective measures or prohibitions if the planned drilling is located in a particular protection zone or catchment prevention zone
  • any possible risks associated with the drilling
• Do not discharge pollutants into underground water
• Comply with measures to prevent or restrict the introduction of pollutants into underground water
• Find out about the existence of potential buried pipes on the planned drilling site

CONDITIONS – SKILLS REQUIRED

• Demonstrate technical skills related to drilling activities and, in particular, the ability to drive and handle field site equipment either by:
• providing evidence of professional training for the field of drilling activity in question
• indicating at least five drilling references for the field of activity in question carried out in the two years prior to your application for accreditation (criterion required in the case of renewal of accreditation)

CONDITIONS: GUARANTEES OF IMPARTIALITY

• You are not in a situation likely to compromise your
• You perform your duties objectively towards your clients

ADMINISTRATIVE OBLIGATIONS

• Inform the administration without delay of any change in the elements indicated in the application for accreditation file
• Enable supervision personnel to check the activities covered by the accreditation
• Transmit any information relating to the drilling techniques and equipment used or any document enabling the verification of compliance with the conditions of accreditation to the personnel responsible for supervising compliance with accreditation conditions

OPERATIONAL OBLIGATIONS

Among all the obligations provided for by law, in particular, you need to:

• Perform drilling in compliance with the laws relating to:
• the Environmental Licence;
• geological storage of carbon dioxide;
• soil management;
• management and sanitation of land.
• Declare any drilling site to the Underground Water Directorate at least two working days before work commences.
• Keep a works log at the drilling site describing the operations carried out.
• Draw up an end of works report for the holder of the environmental permit on whose behalf the drilling work is carried out.
• Report immediately to SOS Environnement-Nature any incident or accident likely to affect the quality of the underground water (in particular if two underground aquifers come into contact, a tool or drilling part is lost in the drill pipe, or gas is released into the atmosphere).
• Advise your client on the best available techniques depending on the destination of the works, the hydrogeological context and the location of the land to be penetrated.
• Inform your client about:
• specific protective measures or prohibitions if the planned drilling is located in a particular protection zone or catchment prevention zone;
• any possible risks associated with the drilling.
• Do not discharge pollutants into underground water.
• Comply with measures to prevent or restrict the introduction of pollutants into underground water.
• Find out about the existence of potential buried pipes on the planned drilling site.

During the period of validity of your accreditation, you will be included on the official list of accredited drillers. This list is public and accessible to all.

Whether it is an initial application or an application for renewal of an existing accreditation, the procedure is the same and takes place online. Follow the steps below.

1. LOG IN TO MY SPACE AS A COMPANY

To do so, click on the link available in the ‘Forms’ section below. You will be redirected to Mon Espace to log in and submit your application.

Need help for this stage? Consult the relevant user manual (see ‘Useful documents’).

2. COMPLETE THE ACCREDITATION APPLICATION FORM ONLINE

The online form is available in French. Please make sure to :

• Complete all fields of the form
• Provide all the required supporting documents

Indeed, you will only be able to submit your application if all these elements have been provided.

What documents will you be asked to submit?

• If you are a legal entity, a copy of your articles of association and any amendments thereto as published in the Belgian Official Gazette for the equivalent in another country
• A copy of the diploma or training certificate proving the professional competence of your structure in the field of drilling
• The proof of insurance covering professional risks
• An insurance certificate covering the risks associated with the drilling activity

3. SUBMIT YOUR APPLICATION

Once your file is complete, submit your application for transmission to the administration. You will then receive an acknowledgement of receipt.

4. FOLLOW-UP ON YOUR APPLICATION AND ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE

Go to Mon Espace to follow the status of your application. This is managed by the Directorate of Underground Water (DESo) of the SPW ARNE.

The administration has 30 days to analyse your application and inform you, via Mon Espace, whether it is complete and can proceed.

If any information is missing, you will be invited to complete your file online within 30 days of notification of the SPW ARNE decision. Please note that after this deadline, your application is regarded as rejected.

Once you have submitted the additional information, the authorities have a further 30 days to decide whether your application can proceed. You will be notified of the decision via the Mon Espace platform.

Will your application be approved? The administration then has 60 days to decide whether or not to grant accreditation. They will inform you of their decision via Mon Espace. If the decision is yes, a certificate of approval signed by the Director-General of the SPW ARNE is sent to you through the same channel.

APPEALS

Do you disagree with the decision of the administration? You can file an appeal :

Where ? With the Minister for the Environment by a letter to rue d’Harscamp, 22, 5000 Namur

When ? Within 20 days of receiving the administrative decision (or the deadline by which this should have happened). The Minister will acknowledge receipt of your application.

Do you wish to be heard by the Minister ? Indicate this in your letter. You will be notified of the date and place of the hearing by letter within 30 days of receipt of your appeal. The final decision of the Minister will be sent to you within 30 days of the date of the hearing.

You do not wish to be heard by the Minister ? The Minister will issue a decision within 30 days of receipt of your appeal.

• Order of the Walloon Government of 13 December 2018 on the accreditation of persons carrying out drilling or using well equipment intended for future underground water intake, the installation of geothermal probes, geological surveys, prospecting, installation of piezometers, and amending various orders (available in french)
• Ministerial Order of 11 March 2019 establishing the application form for the accreditation of persons performing drilling or using well equipment for future underground water intake, the installation of geothermal probes, geological surveys, prospecting, installation of piezometers, and the form for announcing the date of commencement of the works (available in french)