Rep. Brandon W. Phelps

Filed: 5/12/2015

 

 


 

 


 
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1
AMENDMENT TO SENATE BILL 1378

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend Senate Bill 1378 by replacing
3everything after the enacting clause with the following:
 
4    "Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by
5adding Sections 6.2 and 9.1 as follows:
 
6    (225 ILCS 725/6.2 new)
7    Sec. 6.2. Oil and gas leases; termination due to
8non-development or non-production. The Department shall have
9the authority to adopt rules and hold hearings to determine if
10oil and gas leases submitted with an application for a permit
11or transfer of a permit for a well are operative on the basis
12that prior oil and gas leases covering the same lands have
13terminated due to non-development or non-production.
14Department determinations under this Section shall be based
15upon affidavits of non-development or non-production from
16knowledgeable individuals familiar with the history of

 

 

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1development and production of oil or gas as to such lands,
2together with other evidence, which create a rebuttable
3presumption that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated
4and are of no further force and effect and that the submitted
5oil and gas leases are operative and effective. To create a
6rebuttable presumption, such affidavits, together with other
7evidence provided to or available from the Department, shall
8reasonably indicate that there has been no development or
9production of oil and gas on the lands described in the prior
10leases for at least 24 consecutive months subsequent to the
11expiration of the primary term or any extension of the primary
12term as set forth in the leases. A court order or judgment
13declaring the prior leases terminated is not required for
14determinations under this Section, except in extraordinary
15circumstances where such determinations cannot reasonably be
16concluded from the affidavits or evidence submitted to or
17available from the Department. Upon the Department's
18determination of a rebuttable presumption under this Section,
19the Department shall provide the current permittee with notice
20and a 30-day opportunity to request a hearing to rebut the
21presumption before a final determination on a lease is made.
22Any determination made by the Department under this Section
23shall not diminish the rights or obligations of any current
24permittee of a well that are otherwise provided by statute or
25regulation of the Department. Any request for a determination
26under this Section shall require the payment of a nonrefundable

 

 

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1fee of $1,000 by the applicant. All determinations on leases by
2the Department under this Section shall be made no later than
390 days after the Department's receipt of a valid request for
4such determination. Determinations that prior oil and gas
5leases have terminated due to non-development or
6non-production shall require the current permittee to properly
7plug all non-plugged and non-transferred wells within the lease
8boundaries of the prior leases. If the current permittee fails
9to properly plug all non-plugged and non-transferred wells
10within 30 days after the issuance of the determination, the
11wells shall be deemed abandoned and included in the
12Department's Oil and Gas Well Site Plugging and Restoration
13Program. Department determinations under this Section shall
14not have res judicata or collateral estoppel effect in any
15judicial proceedings.
 
16    (225 ILCS 725/9.1 new)
17    Sec. 9.1. Notice for hearings or other proceedings.
18    (a) All permittees under this Act shall provide the
19Department with a current address within 90 days after the
20effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General
21Assembly for the Department's use in providing notice of any
22hearings or other proceedings under this Act. Permittees must
23inform the Department of any address changes within 30 days
24after the effective date of the address change. Permittees
25shall provide current address information and inform the

 

 

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1Department of any address changes on a form prescribed by the
2Department.
3    (b) Written notice of a hearing or proceeding required to
4be provided to a permittee under this Act shall be given either
5personally or by certified mail with return receipt requested
6sent to the address provided to the Department as required by
7subsection (a) of this Section. Permittees shall sign certified
8mail return receipts for all mail received from the Department.
9    (c) If notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned
10or undelivered and, upon due inquiry, the permittee cannot be
11found for personal delivery, the Department shall provide
12written notice of a hearing or other proceeding by publication
13of the notice in a newspaper published in the county where the
14well or wells at issue are located. If there is no newspaper
15published in that county, then the publication shall be in a
16newspaper published in an adjoining county in this State having
17a circulation in the county where the well or wells at issue
18are located. The notice shall be published once. The Department
19shall, within 10 days after the publication of the newspaper
20notice, send a copy of the notice to the address provided to
21the Department as required by subsection (a) of this Section.
22The certificate of an authorized representative of the
23Department that newspaper notice was published and that a copy
24of the newspaper notice has been sent to the permittee pursuant
25to this subsection is evidence that the Department has properly
26provided notice to the permittee for the hearing or other

 

 

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1proceeding.
2    (d) Any notice required to be provided to a permittee under
3this Act shall include the identification of the well or wells
4at issue, the date, time, place, and nature of the hearing or
5other proceeding, and the name and contact information of the
6Department where additional information can be obtained.".