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Public Act 91-0081
HB1969 Enrolled LRB9104731ACtm
AN ACT to amend the Oil and Gas Act by changing Section
1.2.
Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by
changing Section 1.2 as follows:
(225 ILCS 725/1.2) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5403)
Sec. 1.2. The Director shall appoint an Oil and Gas Board
consisting of 7 6 members, 6 of whom who shall be actively
engaged in the oil and gas industry. In appointing the 6
members representing the oil and gas industry, the Director
shall give due consideration to the recommendations of
organizations and associations representing the various
interests of the oil and gas industry and shall appoint
individuals in such a manner as to assure representation of
petroleum engineering, petroleum geology, oil and gas
operations and production, and the servicing of oil and gas
operations and production. The one remaining member shall be
appointed by the Director upon consultation with the Illinois
Farm Bureau and the member must be active in production
agriculture. Members shall be appointed to 2 year terms
commencing on the third Monday in January of odd numbered
years, and may be reappointed for additional terms provided
that no member may be reappointed for a term which would
cause his continued service to exceed 8 years. Any
appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired
portion of the term. The Director may remove any member who
fails to attend 2 consecutive meetings of the Board without
sufficient excuse or for any other good cause as determined
by the Director.
Members of the Oil and Gas Board shall be reimbursed for
all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in attending
Board meetings and may receive a per diem stipend as
determined by the Director from appropriations made available
for that purpose.
The Oil and Gas Board shall meet at least quarterly and
at such other times as the Department or the Board deems
necessary to:
(1) Review all federal and State rules and laws
affecting the oil and gas industry in Illinois.
(2) Advise and consult with the Director concerning
the adoption of rules pertaining to the conservation of
oil and gas.
(3) Review technical information and operations
concerning the improvement of methods, conditions, and
equipment for the production of oil and gas.
(4) Advise and consult with the Director concerning
the proper drilling, casing and plugging of oil wells.
(5) Review the methods and procedures for the
issuance of proper permits to drill oil and gas wells.
(6) Advise and consult with the Director in the
administration of the Oil and Gas Well Site Plugging and
Restoration Program.
(7) Advise and consult with the Director on any and
all other subjects about which the Department should seek
information in relation to the oil and gas industry.
The Oil and Gas Board, by a record vote of a majority of
its membership, may make specific recommendations to the
Department on any of the matters enumerated above, but the
Board shall act solely as an advisory body to the Department
and its recommendations shall have no binding effect on the
Department.
Before proposing any new rule or any changes to existing
rules implementing the provisions of this Act under Section
5.01 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and prior
to adopting any new form or changing any existing form
required to be completed by a person regulated under this
Act, the Department shall first present the proposed rule or
form to the Oil and Gas Board for its review and
recommendations. If the Oil and Gas Board, by a unanimous
record vote of its membership, makes specific objection to a
proposed new rule or proposed change to an existing rule, the
Department shall set forth the objection in its notice of
proposed rulemaking together with the reasons for proposing
the rule notwithstanding the objection of the Oil and Gas
Board.
The Department shall annually publish and present to the
Oil and Gas Board a financial report describing the income,
expenditures, and obligations of the Underground Resources
Conservation Enforcement Fund and the Plugging and
Restoration Fund. The annual report shall provide
information on the administration of the Oil and Gas Well
Site Plugging and Restoration Program, and shall include the
number of orphan wells identified and the status of closure
of these wells.
In situations involving drilling or operations through
veins or seams of mineable coal, the entire authority and
discretion of the Department shall be vested in the Mining
Board.
(Source: P.A. 87-744.)
Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
becoming law.
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