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WEST virginia Legislature
2017 regular session
By
[
to the Committee on Energy then the Judiciary.
A BILL to amend and
reenact §22-6A-8, §22-6A-10 and §22-6A-12
of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding
thereto a new section, designated §22-6A-12a; and amend and reenact §22-6B-3, §22-6B-5
and §22-6B-7 of said code, all relating generally to horizontal well control
standards; changing an elective obligation to a mandatory one; requiring notice
in certain instances be sent to the occupants of residential property;
prohibiting the limit of disturbance of a well site to be
closer than fifteen hundred feet of an occupied dwelling; providing that
a notice include certain information; establishing standards relating to air,
noise, light and dust; permitting landowners be compensated for any decrease in
the values of the land for its highest and best use; requiring the notice of a
claim be also provided to an occupant of residential structure on the property;
and establishing a statute of limitations for claims being filed.
Be it enacted by the
Legislature of West Virginia:
That §22-6A-8, §22-6A-10
and §22-6A-12 of the Code
of West Virginia, 1931, as amended, be amended and reenacted; that said code be
amended by adding thereto a new section, designated §22-6A-12a; and that §22-6B-3, §22-6B-5
and §22-6B-7 of said code
be amended and reenacted, all to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6A. NATURAL GAS HORIZONTAL WELL CONTROL ACT.
§22-6A-8. Review of application; issuance of permit;
performance standards; copy of permits to county assessor.
(a) The secretary shall
review each application for a well work permit and shall determine whether or
not a permit is issued.
(b) No permit may be issued
less than thirty days after the filing date of the application for any well
work except plugging or replugging; and no permit for plugging or replugging
may be issued less than five days after the filing date of the application
except a permit for plugging or replugging a dry hole: Provided, That if the applicant certifies
that all persons entitled to notice of the application under the provisions of
subsection (b), section ten of this article have been served in person or by
certified mail, return receipt requested, with a copy of the well work
application, including the erosion and sediment control plan, if required, and
the well plat, and further files written statements of no objection by all such
persons, the secretary may issue the well work permit at any time.
(c) Prior to the issuance
of any permit, the secretary shall ascertain from the Executive Director of
Workforce West Virginia and the Insurance Commissioner whether the applicant is
in default pursuant to the provisions of section six-c, article two, chapter
twenty-one-a of this code, and in compliance with section five, article two,
chapter twenty-three of this code, with regard to any required subscription to
the Unemployment Compensation Fund or mandatory Workers' Compensation
insurance, the payment of premiums and other charges to the fund, the timely
filing of payroll reports and the maintenance of adequate deposits. If the applicant is delinquent or defaulted,
or has been terminated by the executive director or the Insurance Commissioner,
the permit may not be issued until the applicant returns to compliance or is
restored by the executive director or the Insurance Commissioner under a
reinstatement agreement: Provided,
That in all inquiries the Executive Director of Workforce West Virginia and the
Insurance Commissioner shall make response to the Department of Environmental
Protection within fifteen calendar days; otherwise, failure to respond timely
is considered to indicate the applicant is in compliance and the failure will
not be used to preclude issuance of the permit.
(d) The secretary may cause
such inspections to be made of the proposed well work location as necessary to
assure adequate review of the application.
The permit may not be issued, or may shall be conditioned
including conditions with respect to the location of the well and access roads
prior to issuance if the director determines that:
(1) The proposed well work
will constitute a hazard to the safety of persons;
(2) The plan for soil
erosion and sediment control is not adequate or effective;
(3) Damage would occur to
publicly owned lands or resources; or
(4) The proposed well work
fails to protect fresh water sources or supplies.
(e) In addition to the considerations
set forth in subsection (d) of this section, in determining whether a permit
should be issued, issued with conditions, or denied, the secretary shall
determine that:
(1) The well location
restrictions of section twelve of this article have been satisfied, unless the
requirements have been waived by written consent of the surface owner or the
secretary has granted a variance to the restrictions, each in accordance with
section twelve of this article;
(2) The water management
plan submitted to the secretary, if required by subdivision subsection
(e), section seven of this article, has been received and approved.
(f) The secretary shall
promptly review all written comments filed by persons entitled to notice
pursuant to subsection (b), section ten of this article. If after review of the application and all
written comments received from persons entitled to notice pursuant to
subsection (b), section ten of this article, the application for a well work
permit is approved, and no timely objection has been filed with the secretary
by the coal operator operating coal seams beneath the tract of land, or the
coal seam owner or lessee, if any, if said owner or lessee is not yet operating
said coal seams, or made by the secretary under the provisions of section ten
and eleven of this article, the permit shall be issued, with conditions, if
any. This section does not supersede the
provisions of section seven or subdivisions (6) through (9), subsection (a),
section five of this article.
(g) Each permit issued by
the secretary pursuant to this article shall require the operator at a minimum
to:
(1) Plug all wells in
accordance with the requirements of this article and the rules promulgated
pursuant thereto when the wells become abandoned;
(2) With respect to disposal
of cuttings at the well site, all drill cuttings and associated drilling mud
generated from horizontal well sites shall be disposed of in an approved solid
waste facility, or if the surface owner consents, the drill cuttings and
associated drilling mud may be managed on-site in a manner approved by the
secretary;
(3) Grade, terrace and
plant, seed or sod the area disturbed that is not required in production of the
horizontal well where necessary to bind the soil and prevent substantial
erosion and sedimentation;
(4) Take action in
accordance with industry standards to minimize fire hazards and other
conditions which constitute a hazard to health and safety of the public;
(5) Protect the quantity
and the quality of water in surface and groundwater systems both during and
after drilling operations and during reclamation by: (A) Withdrawing water from
surface waters of the state by methods deemed appropriate by the secretary, so
as to maintain sufficient in-steam flow immediately downstream of the withdrawal
location. In no case shall an operator
withdraw water from ground or surface waters at volumes beyond which the waters
can sustain; (B) casing, sealing or otherwise managing wells to keep returned
fluids from entering ground and surface waters; (C) conducting oil and gas
operations so as to prevent, to the extent possible using the best management
practices, additional contributions of suspended or dissolved solids to
streamflow or runoff outside the permit area, but in no event shall the
contributions be in excess of requirements set by applicable state or federal
law; and (D) registering all water supply wells drilled and operated by the
operator with the Office of Oil and Gas.
All drinking water wells within one thousand five hundred feet of a
water supply well shall be flow and quality tested by the operator upon request
of the drinking well owner prior to operating the water supply well. The secretary shall propose legislative rules
to identify appropriate methods for testing water flow and quality.
(6) In addition to the
other requirements of this subsection, an operator proposing to drill any
horizontal well requiring the withdrawal of more than two hundred ten thousand
gallons in a thirty-day period shall have the following requirements added to its
permit:
(A) Identification of water
withdrawal locations. Within forty-eight
hours prior to the withdrawal of water, the operator shall identify to the
department the location of withdrawal by latitude and longitude and verify that
sufficient flow exists to protect designated uses of the stream. The operator shall use methods deemed
appropriate by the secretary to determine if sufficient flow exists to protect
designated uses of the stream.
(B) Signage for water
withdrawal locations. All water withdrawal locations and facilities identified
in the water management plan shall be identified with a sign that identifies
that the location is a water withdrawal point, the name and telephone number of
the operator and the permit numbers(s) for which the water withdrawn will be
utilized.
(C) Recordkeeping and
reporting. For all water used for
hydraulic fracturing of horizontal wells and for flowback water from hydraulic
fracturing activities and produced water from production activities from
horizontal wells, an operator shall comply with the following record keeping
and reporting requirements:
(h) For production
activities, the following information shall be recorded and retained by the
well operator:
(I) The quantity of
flowback water from hydraulic fracturing the well;
(II) The quantity of
produced water from the well; and
(III) The method of
management or disposal of the flowback and produced water.
(ii) For transportation
activities, the following information shall be recorded and maintained by the
operator:
(I) The quantity of water
transported;
(II) The collection and
delivery or disposal locations of water; and
(III) The name of the water
hauling company.
(iii) The information
maintained pursuant to this subdivision shall be available for inspection by
the department along with other required permits and records and maintained for
three years after the water withdrawal activity.
(iv) This subdivision is
intended to be consistent with and does not supersede, revise, repeal or
otherwise modify articles eleven, twelve or twenty-six of this chapter and does
not revise, repeal or otherwise modify the common law doctrine of riparian
rights in West Virginia law.
(i) The secretary shall mail a copy of the permit as
issued or a copy of the order denying a permit to any person entitled to submit
written comments pursuant to subsection (a), section eleven of this article and
who requested a copy.
(j) Upon the issuance of any permit pursuant to the
provisions of this article, the secretary shall transmit a copy of the permit
to the office of the assessor for the county in which the well is located.
§22-6A-10. Notice to property owners.
(a) Prior to filing a
permit application, the operator shall provide notice of planned entry on to
the surface tract to conduct any plat surveys required pursuant to this
article. Such notice shall be provided at least seven days but no more than
forty-five days prior to such entry to: (1) The surface owner of such tract;
(2) to any owner or lessee of coal seams beneath such tract that has filed a
declaration pursuant to section thirty-six, article six, chapter twenty-two of
this code; and (3) any owner of minerals underlying such tract in the county
tax records. The notice shall include a
statement that copies of the state Erosion and Sediment Control Manual and the
statutes and rules related to oil and gas exploration and production may be
obtained from the secretary, which statement shall include contact information,
including the address for a web page on the secretary's website, to enable the surface owner to obtain
copies from the secretary.
(b) No later than the
filing date of the application, the applicant for a permit for any well work or
for a certificate of approval for the construction of an impoundment or pit as
required by this article shall deliver, by personal service or by registered
mail or by any method of delivery that requires a receipt or signature
confirmation, copies of the application, the erosion and sediment control plan
required by section seven of this article, and the well plat to each of the
following persons:
(1) The owners of record of
the surface of the tract on which the well is or is proposed to be located;
(2) The owners of record of
the surface tract or tracts overlying the oil and gas leasehold being developed
by the proposed well work, if the surface tract is to be used for roads or
other land disturbance as described in the erosion and sediment control plan
submitted pursuant to subsection (c), section seven of this article;
(3) The coal owner,
operator or lessee, in the event the tract of land on which the well proposed
to be drilled is located is known to be underlain by one or more coal seams;
(4) The owners of record of
the surface tract or tracts overlying the oil and gas leasehold being developed
by the proposed well work, if the surface tract is to be used for the
placement, construction, enlargement, alteration, repair, removal or
abandonment of any impoundment or pit as described in section nine of this
article;
(5) Any surface owner or
water purveyor who is known to the applicant to have a water well, spring or
water supply source located within one thousand five hundred feet of the center
of the well pad which is used to provide water for consumption by humans or
domestic animals; and
(6) The operator of any
natural gas storage field within which the proposed well work activity is to
take place.
(c) (1) If more than three
tenants in common or other coowners of interests described in subsection (b) of
this section hold interests in the lands, the applicant may serve the documents
required upon the person described in the records of the sheriff required to be
maintained pursuant to section eight, article one, chapter eleven-a of this
code plus the occupant of any residential structure on the property.
(2) Notwithstanding any
provision of this article to the contrary, notice to a lien holder is not
notice to a landowner, unless the lien holder is the landowner.
(d) With respect to surface
landowners identified in subsection (b) or water purveyors identified in
subdivision (5), subsection (b) of this section, notification shall be made on
forms and in a manner prescribed by the secretary sufficient to identify, for
those persons, the rights afforded them under sections eleven and twelve of
this article, and the opportunity for testing their water well.
(e) Prior to filing an
application for a permit for a horizontal well under this article, the
applicant shall publish in the county in which the well is located or is
proposed to be located a Class II legal advertisement as described in section
two, article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, containing notice of the
public website required to be established and maintained pursuant to section
twenty-one of this article and language indicating the ability of the public to
submit written comments on the proposed permit, with the first publication date
being at least ten days prior to the filing of the permit application. The
secretary shall consider, in the same manner required by subsection (f),
section eight of this article and subdivision one, subsection (c), section
eleven of this article, written comments submitted in response to the legal
advertisement received by the secretary within thirty days following the last
required publication date: Provided,
That such parties submitting written comments pursuant to this subsection are
not entitled to participate in the processes and proceedings that exist under
sections fifteen, seventeen or forty, article six of this chapter, as
applicable and incorporated into this article by section five of this article.
(f) Materials served upon
persons described in subsection (b) of this section shall contain a statement
of the time limits for filing written comments, who may file written comments,
the name and address of the secretary for the purpose of filing the comments
and obtaining additional information, and a statement that the persons may
request, at the time of submitting written comments, notice of the permit
decision and a list of persons qualified to test water.
(g) Any person entitled to
submit written comments to the secretary pursuant to subsection (a), section
eleven of this article, shall also be entitled to receive from the secretary a
copy of the permit as issued or a copy of the order modifying or denying the
permit if the person requests receipt of them as a part of the written comments
submitted concerning the permit application.
(h) The surface owners
described in subdivisions (1), (2) and (4), subsection (b) of this section, and
the coal owner, operator or lessee described in subdivision (3) of that
subsection is also entitled to receive notice within seven days but no less
than two days before commencement that well work or site preparation work that
involves any disturbance of land is expected to commence.
(i) Persons entitled to
notice pursuant to subsection (b) of this section may contact the department to
ascertain the names and locations of water testing laboratories in the subject
area capable and qualified to test water supplies in accordance with standard
accepted methods. In compiling that list of names the department shall consult
with the state Bureau for Public Health and local health departments.
(j) (1) Prior to conducting
any seismic activity for seismic exploration for natural gas to be extracted
using horizontal drilling methods, the company or person performing the
activity shall provide notice to Miss Utility of West Virginia Inc. and to all
surface owners, coal owners and lessees, and natural gas storage field
operators on whose property blasting, percussion or other seismic-related
activities will occur.
(2) The notice shall be
provided at least three days prior to commencement of the seismic activity.
(3) The notice shall also
include a reclamation plan in accordance with the erosion and sediment control
manual that provides for the reclamation of any areas disturbed as a result of
the seismic activity, including filling of shotholes used for blasting.
(4) Nothing in this
subsection decides questions as to whether seismic activity may be secured by
mineral owners, surface owners or other ownership interests.
§22-6A-12. Well location restrictions.
(a) Wells may not be
drilled within two hundred fifty feet measured horizontally from any existing
water well or developed spring used for human or domestic animal consumption. The
center of well pads may not be located within six hundred twenty-five The
limit of disturbance of a well site may not be closer than fifteen hundred feet
of an occupied dwelling structure, or a building two thousand five hundred
square feet or larger used to house or shelter dairy cattle or poultry
husbandry. This limitation is applicable
to those wells, developed springs, dwellings or agricultural buildings that
existed on the date a notice to the surface owner of planned entry for
surveying or staking as provided in section ten of this article was provided
or a notice of intent to drill a horizontal well as provided in subsection (b),
section sixteen of this article if the notice includes the same statement
required for the notice in section ten of this article that copies of the state
Erosion and Sediment Control Manual and the statutes and rules related to oil
and gas exploration and production may be obtained from the secretary was
provided, whichever occurs first, and to any dwelling under construction prior
to that date. This limitation may be
waived by written consent of the surface owner transmitted to the department
and recorded in the real property records maintained by the clerk of the county
commission for the county in which such property is located. Furthermore, the
well operator may be granted a variance by the secretary from these distance
restrictions upon submission of a plan which identifies the sufficient
measures, facilities or practices to be employed during well site construction,
drilling and operations. The variance,
if granted, shall include terms and conditions the department requires to
ensure the safety and protection of affected persons and property. The terms and conditions may include
insurance, bonding and indemnification, as well as technical requirements.
(b) No well pad may be
prepared or well drilled within one hundred feet measured horizontally from any
perennial stream, natural or artificial lake, pond or reservoir, or a wetland,
or within three hundred feet of a naturally reproducing trout stream. No well pad may be located within one
thousand feet of a surface or ground water intake of a public water
supply. The distance from the public
water supply as identified by the department shall be measured as follows:
(1) For a surface water
intake on a lake or reservoir, the distance shall be measured from the boundary
of the lake or reservoir.
(2) For a surface water
intake on a flowing stream, the distance shall be measured from a semicircular
radius extending upstream of the surface water intake.
(3) For a groundwater
source, the distance shall be measured from the wellhead or spring. The department may, in its discretion, waive
these distance restrictions upon submission of a plan identifying sufficient
measures, facilities or practices to be employed during well site construction,
drilling and operations to protect the waters of the state. A waiver, if granted, shall impose any permit
conditions as the secretary considers necessary.
(c) Notwithstanding the
foregoing provisions of this section, nothing contained in this section
prevents an operator from conducting the activities permitted or authorized by
a Clean Water Act Section 404 permit or other approval from the United States
Army Corps of Engineers within any waters of the state or within the restricted
areas referenced in this section.
(d) The well location
restrictions set forth in this section shall not apply to any well on a
multiple well pad if at least one of the wells was permitted or has an
application pending prior to the effective date of this article.
(e) The secretary shall, by
December 31, 2012, report to the Legislature on the noise, light, dust and
volatile organic compounds generated by the drilling of horizontal wells as
they relate to the well location restrictions regarding occupied dwelling
structures pursuant to this section.
Upon a finding, if any, by the secretary that the well location
restrictions regarding occupied dwelling structures are inadequate or otherwise
require alteration to address the items examined in the study required by this
subsection, the secretary shall have the authority to propose for promulgation
legislative rules establishing guidelines and procedures regarding reasonable
levels of noise, light, dust and volatile organic compounds relating to
drilling horizontal wells, including reasonable means of mitigating such
factors, if necessary.
§22-6A-12a. Air, noise, light and dust standards.
(a) This section does not apply to or affect any
well work permitted for a horizontal well prior to the enactment of this
section, or to permit applications pending prior to the effective date of this
section. However, to this section the
secretary has the authority granted him or her pursuant to subdivision (5),
subsection (b) section two of this article and other applicable provisions of
this code.
(b) The operator shall
set up continuous real-time monitoring of air, noise, dust and particulates at
the residence or other point of impact that is closest or most likely to be
impacted by the well work, including traffic associated with the site. The operator shall continuously monitor those
parameters in real time. If there is a
five percent chance or greater that the monitored levels could exceed any of
the required parameters as determined by continuous process control analysis
during any running twenty-four hour averaging period, the operator shall
implement the best available control technology available to limit the levels.
The monitored levels need to be continuously available by wireless or other
transmission to those persons or entities within fifteen hundred feet of the
limit of disturbance who request it.
When levels exceed parameters, alerts shall be sent to those persons or
entities. The data shall be available to
the public for study. Unless altered by
legislative rule, the parameters are:
(1) For noise during
site construction, 70 dBA average an hour.
(2) For noise at all
other times, 55 dBA at any time.
(3) For dust, the
national ambient air quality standard level for a twenty-four hour period and
no visible dust on residences or crops.
(4) For air, the minimal
risk levels for chronic (three hundred sixty-five days or more) exposure of
organic compounds set by the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry
of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services.
(c) No light from
artificial illumination, flares or other sources shall shine directly on any
residence or livestock or structure containing livestock.
(d) Notwithstanding the
provisions of subsection (a) of this section if, after completion of well work,
production or production facilities cause a violation of the standards set out
in subsection (b) of this section at a residence, then the operator shall
implement the best available control technology available to limit the levels
that violate the standards.
ARTICLE 6B. OIL AND GAS HORIZONTAL WELL PRODUCTION DAMAGE
COMPENSATION.
§22-6B-3. Compensation of surface owners for drilling
operations.
(a) The oil and gas
developer is obligated to pay the surface owner compensation for:
(1) Lost income or expenses
incurred as a result of being unable to dedicate land actually occupied by the
driller's operation, or to which access is prevented by the drilling operation,
to the uses to which it was dedicated prior to commencement of the activity for
which a permit was obtained, measured from the date the operator enters upon
the land and commences drilling operations until the date reclamation is
completed;
(2) The market value of
crops, including timber, destroyed, damaged or prevented from reaching market;
(3) Any damage to a water
supply in use prior to the commencement of the permitted activity;
(4) The cost of repair of
personal property up to the value of replacement by personal property of like
age, wear and quality; and
(5) The diminution in
value, if any, of the surface lands entire surface tract and
other property after completion of the surface disturbance done pursuant to the
activity for which the permit was issued determined according to the market
value of the actual use made thereof by the surface owner land for
its highest and best use that could be made of the land immediately prior
to the commencement of the permitted activity.
The amount of damages may
be determined by any formula mutually agreeable between the surface owner and
the oil and gas developer.
(b) Any reservation or
assignment of the compensation provided in this section apart from the surface
estate except to a tenant of the surface estate is prohibited.
(c) In the case of surface
lands owned by more than one person as tenants in common, joint tenants or
other coownership, any claim for compensation under this article shall be for
the benefit of all coowners. The resolution of a claim for compensation
provided in this article operates as a bar to the assertion of additional
claims under this section arising out of the same drilling operations.
§22-6B-5. Notification of claim.
Any surface owner, to
receive compensation under section three of this article, shall notify the oil
and gas developer of the damages sustained by the person within two years after
the date that the oil and gas developer files notice that final reclamation is
commencing under section fourteen, article six-a of this chapter. The notice of reclamation shall be given to
surface owners by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and
is complete upon mailing. If more than
three tenants in common or other coowners hold interests in the lands, the oil
and gas developer may give the notice to the person described in the records of
the sheriff required to be maintained pursuant to section eight, article one, chapter
eleven-a of this code or publish in the county in which the well is located or
to be located a Class II legal advertisement as described in section two,
article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, containing the notice and
information the secretary prescribes by rule plus the occupant of any
residential structure on the property.
§22-6B-7. Rejection; legal action; arbitration; fees
and costs.
(a) (1) Unless the oil and
gas developer has paid the surface owner a negotiated settlement of
compensation within seventy-five days after the date the notification of claim
was mailed under section five of this article, the surface owner may either:
(A) Within eighty days after the notification mail date either (i) Bring
or within two years after the date that the oil and gas developer files
notice that final reclamation is commencing under section fourteen, article six-a
of this chapter bring an action for compensation in the circuit court of
the county in which the well is located; or (ii) (B) within eighty
days after the notification mail date elect instead, by written notice
delivered by personal service or by certified mail, return receipt requested,
to the designated agent named by the oil and gas developer under the provisions
of section seven, article six-a of this chapter, to have his, her or its
compensation finally determined by binding arbitration pursuant to article ten,
chapter fifty-five of this code.
(2) Settlement
negotiations, offers and counter-offers between the surface owner and the oil
and gas developer are not admissible as evidence in any arbitration or judicial
proceeding authorized under this article, or in any proceeding resulting from
the assertion of common law remedies.
(b) The compensation to be
awarded to the surface owner shall be determined by a panel of three
disinterested arbitrators. The first
arbitrator shall be chosen by the surface owner in the party's notice of
election under this section to the oil and gas developer; the second arbitrator
shall be chosen by the oil and gas developer within ten days after receipt of
the notice of election; and the third arbitrator shall be chosen jointly by the
first two arbitrators within twenty days thereafter. If they are unable to agree upon the third
arbitrator within twenty days, then the two arbitrators shall immediately
submit the matter to the court under the provisions of section one, article
ten, chapter fifty-five of this code, so that, among other things, the third
arbitrator can be chosen by the judge of the circuit court of the county in
which the surface estate lies.
(c) The following persons
are considered interested and may not be appointed as arbitrators: Any person
who is personally interested in the land on which horizontal drilling is being
performed or has been performed, or in any interest or right therein, or in the
compensation and any damages to be awarded therefor, or who is related by blood
or marriage to any person having such personal interest, or who stands in the
relation of guardian and ward, master and servant, principal and agent, or
partner, real estate broker, or surety to any person having such personal
interest, or who has enmity against or bias in favor of any person who has such
personal interest or who is the owner of, or interested in, the land or the oil
and gas development of the land. A
person is not considered interested or incompetent to act as arbitrator by
reason of being an inhabitant of the county, district or municipal corporation
in which the land is located, or holding an interest in any other land therein.
(d) The panel of
arbitrators shall hold hearings and take testimony and receive exhibits
necessary to determine the amount of compensation to be paid to the surface
owner. However, no award of compensation
may be made to the surface owner unless the panel of arbitrators has first
viewed the surface estate in question. A transcript of the evidence may be made
but is not required.
(e) Each party shall pay
the compensation of the party's arbitrator and one half of the compensation of
the third arbitrator, or each party's own court costs as the case may be.
NOTE: The purpose of this bill is to change an
elective obligation to a mandatory one. The bill requires notice in certain
instances to the occupants of residential property. The bill prohibits the disturbance
of a well site be no closer than fifteen hundred feet of an occupied dwelling.
The bill provides notices include certain information. The bill establishes
standards relating to air, noise, light and dust. The bill permits landowners
be compensated for any decrease in the values of the land for its highest and
best use. The bill requires the notice of a claim be also provided to an
occupant of residential structure on the property. The bill establishes a
statute of limitations for claims being filed.
Strike-throughs indicate language
that would be stricken from a heading or the present law and underscoring
indicates new language that would be added.
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