La. Rev. Stat. § 30:12 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 12
Court review and injunction; venue; procedure; burden of proof
Status: in_force

A.(1) A person who is aggrieved by any law of this state with respect to conservation of oil or gas, or both, or by a provision of this Chapter, or by a rule, regulation, or order made by the secretary hereunder, or by an act done or threatened hereunder, and who has exhausted his administrative remedy, may obtain court review by a suit for injunction or judicial review against the secretary as defendant.

(2) Suit for review shall be instituted in the district court of the parish in which the principal office of the secretary is located and must be brought within sixty days of the administrative action that is the subject of the suit. In cases of judicial review of adjudication proceedings, the sixty days shall begin to run after mailing of notice of the final decision or order, or if a rehearing is requested within sixty days after the decision thereon.

B.(1) Judicial review of adjudication proceedings before the secretary may be obtained whether or not the plaintiff has applied for a rehearing. A preliminary, procedural, or intermediate action or ruling by the secretary is immediately reviewable if review of the final decision of the secretary would not provide an adequate remedy and would inflict irreparable injury.

(2) Within thirty days after service of the petition or within further time allowed by the court, the secretary shall transmit to the reviewing court the original or a certified copy of the entire record of the proceeding under review. By stipulation of all parties to the review proceedings, the record may be shortened. A party unreasonably refusing to stipulate to limit the record may be taxed by the court for the additional costs. The court may require or permit subsequent corrections or additions to the record.

(3) If, before the date set for hearing, application is made to the court for leave to present additional evidence, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the court that the additional evidence is material and that there were good reasons for failure to present it in the proceeding before the secretary, the court may order that the additional evidence be taken before the secretary upon conditions determined by the court. The secretary may modify his findings and decision by reason of the additional evidence and shall file that evidence and any modifications, new findings, or decisions with the reviewing court.

(4) The review shall be conducted by the court without a jury and shall be confined to the record. In cases of alleged irregularities in procedure before the secretary not shown in the record, proof thereon may be taken in the court. The court, upon request, shall hear oral argument and receive written briefs.

(5) The court may affirm the decision of the secretary or remand the case for further proceedings. The court may reverse or modify the decision if substantial rights of the appellant have been prejudiced because the administrative findings, inferences, conclusions, or decisions are:

(a) In violation of constitutional or statutory provisions;

(b) In excess of the statutory authority of the agency;

(c) Made upon unlawful procedure;

(d) Affected by other error of law;

(e) Arbitrary or capricious, or characterized by abuse of discretion or clearly unwarranted exercise of discretion; or

(f) Manifestly erroneous in view of the reliable, probative, and, substantial evidence on the whole record. In the application of the rule, where the secretary has the opportunity to judge the credibility of witnesses by first-hand observation of demeanor on the witness stand and the reviewing court does not, due regard shall be given to the secretary's determination on credibility issues.

C.(1) Any suit for an injunction brought under this Section shall be tried summarily, and the attorney representing the secretary may have the case set for trial after ten days' notice to the plaintiff or his attorney of record.

(2) The burden of proof shall be upon the plaintiff, and all pertinent evidence with respect to the validity or reasonableness of the order of the secretary complained of shall be admissible. The law, the provision of this Chapter, or the rule, regulation, or order complained of shall be taken as prima facie valid. This presumption shall not be overcome in connection with any application for injunctive relief, including a temporary restraining order, by verified petition or affidavit of or in behalf of the applicant.

D. The right of appeal shall lie as hereinafter set forth in this Chapter.

Acts 1983, No. 409, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:732 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 732
Regulation of compressed natural gas
Status: in_force

The secretary shall have the authority to regulate all activities related to the safety of compressed natural gas and shall establish by regulation minimum safety standards for compressed natural gas compression and conversion equipment including the installation and operation of such equipment. For vehicles equipped for and capable of using liquefied petroleum gas, each vehicle shall first be inspected for safety of operation by an inspector of the Louisiana Liquefied Petroleum Gas Commission.

Acts 1990, No. 927, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1990, NO. 927, §3.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:98.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 98.1
Legislative declaration; purpose
Status: in_force

A. The legislature declares that the management, protection, and development of water resources in the state are essential for public welfare, economic prosperity, and environmental sustainability. To fulfill these objectives, it is necessary to provide a framework for comprehensive water resource management, balancing environmental needs with human and economic activities. Accordingly, the legislature grants broad authority to the Department of Conservation and Energy to establish a comprehensive water resource management program taking into consideration the requirements, needs, and obligations of all stakeholders of water in the state of Louisiana. The program shall be based on good management practices, sound science, and economics according to generally accepted principles in those disciplines. It shall include as a goal the long-term sustainability of the state's water resources and of the state's ecological welfare, while considering the economic value of the state's role in interstate commerce and the economic welfare of its citizens. Further, it shall provide for the efficient administration in the utilization and management of water resources, including the gathering of data related to the state's water resources. Thus, the state's water resources shall be protected, conserved, managed, and replenished in an effective manner with due regard for the foregoing considerations and the best interest of all the citizens of the state.

B. The legislature hereby recognizes the need for uniformity in the establishment of a comprehensive water resource management program. Therefore, the state shall have exclusive jurisdiction over the management of water resources and this Part shall supersede and preempt any rule, regulation, code, statute, or ordinance of any political subdivision or other unit of local government. However, nothing contained in this Part shall be construed to deny such local government the authority over siting facilities pursuant to any general land use planning or zoning ordinance or to deny soil and water conservation districts powers granted pursuant to R.S. 3:1208.

C. In accordance with the legislative intent provided in this Section, the statewide water resource management program and any rule, regulation, or order of the secretary shall recognize historic use of water resources in the state and may incorporate the use of appropriate incentives to encourage conservation of water resources and the appropriate utilization of alternate water supplies where appropriate. Consistent with the provisions of this Chapter and in consultation with the secretary, the incentives and provisions of alternate water resources may be provided by the state, or any local subdivision thereof, by virtue of tax incentives, tax credits, and physical projects transporting or providing alternate water resources to existing water users and by any private person with an interest in conserving such water resources for public use.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:681.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 681.1
Legislative findings
Status: in_force

The Legislature of Louisiana hereby finds that:

(1) The state of Louisiana and the nation are rapidly depleting their reserves of oil and natural gas upon which the United States as a whole is heavily dependent for its energy requirements.

(2) States and the federal government are beginning to study the feasibility of alternative energy supplies to supplement the declining oil and gas reserves.

(3) Preliminary studies by professional staffs at Louisiana universities and by private firms within the state indicate that Louisiana may have within its borders uniquely large reservoirs of superheated, highly pressurized water which may also be saturated with natural gas in solution.

(4) These reservoirs can be a potential source of commercial quantities of energy in the form of steam, hot water, and natural gas.

(5) Professional staffs at Louisiana State University have obtained a small grant from the federal Energy Research and Development Administration to begin studies to determine the location of commercial size reservoirs by utilizing the services of state geologists in the Department of Conservation and Energy to examine and chart the massive numbers of well logs available.

(6) Parallel research efforts should be instituted simultaneously with the above mentioned study to tap known reservoirs to determine pressures, temperatures, and extent of gas saturation as well as numerous other scientific experiments necessary to provide an adequate basis from which to draw conclusions.

(7) Additionally, this potential energy resource opens a new area of legal consequences which must be examined and a determination made of the ramifications and effects of the development of this resource on private and public rights.

(8) By Act No. 16 of the 1973 Extraordinary Session of the Louisiana Legislature, the Louisiana Legislature created the Louisiana Energy Commission and included in its duties the authorization to undertake or contract for studies and research regarding alternate fuel resources for the state; that the secretary, by Act 16, is authorized to prepare all necessary studies on the sources of energy available to Louisiana and to conduct appropriate research in connection therewith; and that the Department of Conservation and Energy is staffed and administratively capable of exercising this authority.

(9) This Act is intended to provide the framework and guidelines for the state, through the Department of Conservation and Energy, to begin a concerted effort to exploit this potential geothermal and geopressure energy resource.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 735, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.

1 R.S. 30:681.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:919 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 919
Release of performance bonds or deposits
Status: in_force

A. The permittee may file a request with the commissioner for the release of all or part of a performance bond or deposit. Within thirty days after any application for bond or deposit release has been filed with the commissioner, the operator shall submit a copy of an advertisement placed at least once a week for four successive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality of the surface coal mining operation. Such advertisement shall be considered part of any bond release application and shall contain a notification of the precise location of the land affected, the number of acres, the permit and the date approved, the amount of the bond filed and the portion sought to be released, and the type and appropriate dates of reclamation work performed, and a description of the results achieved as they relate to the operator's approved reclamation plan. In addition, as part of any bond release application, the applicant shall submit copies of letters which he has sent to adjoining property owners, local governmental bodies, planning agencies, and sewage and water treatment authorities, or water companies in the locality in which the surface coal mining and reclamation activities took place, notifying them of his intention to seek release from the bond.

B. Upon receipt of the notification and request, the commissioner shall within thirty days conduct an inspection and evaluation of the reclamation work involved. Such evaluation shall consider, among other things, the degree of difficulty to complete any remaining reclamation, whether pollution of surface and subsurface water is occurring, the probability of continuance of future occurrence of such pollution, and the estimated cost of abating such pollution. The commissioner shall notify the permittee in writing of its decision to release or not to release all or part of the performance bond or deposit within sixty days from the filing of the request, if no public hearing is held pursuant to Subsection F of this Section, and if there has been a public hearing held pursuant to Subsection F of this Section, within thirty days thereafter.

C. The commissioner shall release in whole or in part said bond or deposit if the commissioner is satisfied the reclamation covered by the bond or deposit or portion thereof has been accomplished as required by this Chapter according to the following schedule:

(1) When the operator completes the backfilling, regrading, and drainage control of a bonded area in accordance with his approved reclamation plan, the release of 60 per centum of the bond or collateral for the applicable permit area.

(2) After revegetation has been established on the regraded mined lands in accordance with the approved reclamation plan. When determining the amount of bond to be released after successful revegetation has been established, the commissioner shall retain that amount of bond for the revegetated area which would be sufficient for a third party to cover the cost of reestablishing revegetation for the period specified for operator responsibility in R.S. 30:915 of reestablishing revegetation. No part of the bond or deposit shall be released under this Paragraph so long as the lands to which the release would be applicable are contributing suspended solids to streamflow or runoff outside the permit area in excess of the requirements set by R.S. 30:915(B)(10) or until soil productivity for prime farmlands has returned to equivalent levels of yield as nonmined land of the same soil type in the surrounding area under equivalent management practices as determined from the soil survey performed pursuant to R.S. 30:907(B)(16). Where a silt dam is to be retained as a permanent impoundment pursuant to R.S. 30:915(B)(8), the portion of bond may be released under this Paragraph so long as provisions for sound future maintenance by the operator or the landowner have been made with the commissioner.

(3) When the operator has completed successfully all surface coal mining and reclamation activities, the release of the remaining portion of the bond, but not before the expiration of the period specified for operator responsibility in R.S. 30:915: Provided, That no bond shall be fully released until all reclamation requirements of this Chapter are fully met.

D. If the commissioner disapproves the application for release of the bond or portion thereof, the commissioner shall notify the permittee, in writing, stating the reasons for disapproval and recommending corrective actions necessary to secure said release and allowing opportunity for a public hearing.

E. When any application for total or partial bond release is filed with the commissioner, the commissioner shall notify the municipality in which a surface coal mining operation is located by certified mail at least thirty days prior to the release of all or a portion of the bond.

F. Any person with a valid legal interest which might be adversely affected by release of the bond or the responsible officer or head of any State, Federal or local governmental agency which has jurisdiction by law or special expertise with respect to any environmental, social, or economic impact involved in the operation, or is authorized to develop and enforce environmental standards with respect to such operations, shall have the right to file written objections to the proposed release from bond to the commissioner within thirty days after the last publication of the above notice. If written objections are filed, and a hearing requested, the commissioner shall inform all the interested parties of the time and place of the hearing, and hold a public hearing in the locality of the surface coal mining operation proposed for bond release within thirty days of the request for such hearing. The date, time, and location of such public hearings shall be advertised by the commissioner in a newspaper of general circulation in the locality for two consecutive weeks, and the commissioner shall hold a public hearing in the locality of the surface coal mining operation proposed for bond release or at the State capital at the option of the objector, within thirty days of the request for such hearing.

G. Without prejudice to the rights of the objectors, the applicant, or the responsibilities of the commissioner pursuant to this section, the commissioner may establish an informal conference as provided in R.S. 30:913 to resolve such written objections.

H. For the purpose of such hearing the commissioner shall have the authority and is hereby empowered to administer oaths, subpoena witnesses, or written or printed materials, compel the attendance of witnesses, or production of the materials, and take evidence including but not limited to inspections of the land affected and other surface coal mining operations carried on by the applicant in the general vicinity. A verbatim record of each public hearing required by this Chapter shall be made, and a transcript made available on the motion of any party or by order of the commissioner.

Added by Acts 1978, No. 406, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:9.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 9.1
Termination of units; conditions; procedure; issuance of orders
Status: in_force

A. Any unit or units established pursuant to the authority contained in this Chapter shall, unless sooner terminated, extended or otherwise modified by order of the commissioner, remain in full force and effect so long as:

(1) A well is producing from the pool for which the unit or units were established;

(2) A well is completed in the pool for which the unit or units were established and, although not producing, has been proved to be capable of producing; or

(3) Drilling, reworking, recompletion, plugging back or deepening operations are being conducted on a well to secure or restore production from the pool for which the unit or units were established.

B. If a period of one year and ninety days elapses without the occurrence of any of the conditions specified in Paragraph (1), (2), or (3) of Subsection A of this Section, upon application being made therefor, the commissioner may, by order issued after ten days legal notice, and without the necessity of a public hearing in the absence of objection, terminate all units within the pool.

C. In addition to termination of all units established for a pool pursuant to the provisions of Subsections A and B of this Section, the commissioner may, upon application and by order issued after ten days legal notice, and without the necessity of public hearing in the absence of objection, terminate any unit or units established pursuant to authority contained in this Chapter when, with respect to any unit requested to be terminated, he finds that, as of the date the application for unit termination is filed with the commissioner, each of the following items apply:

(1) A period of five years has elapsed without any production from the unit.

(2) There is no well located on the unit which is capable of producing from the pool for which the unit was established.

(3) A period of a year and ninety days has elapsed without any drilling, reworking, recompletion, plugging back, or deepening operations having been conducted on a well located on the unit in an attempt to obtain or restore production from the pool for which the unit was established.

(4) There is no unexpired drilling permit for the drilling of a new well on the unit to a depth which would penetrate the pool for which the unit was established.

D. The commissioner shall prescribe, issue, amend, and rescind such orders, rules and regulations as he may find necessary or appropriate to carry out the provisions of this Section. Among other things, such orders, rules, and regulations shall prescribe the form and substance of the application for unit termination, and all statements, declarations, and supporting evidence to be filed therewith.

E. The provisions of this Section are intended to and shall affect presently existing units.

F. Any order issued pursuant to this Section shall be filed for record as provided in R.S. 30:11.1.

G. Any future wells completed within the boundaries of any unit or units terminated pursuant to this Section shall, upon a new unit application being made to the commissioner, be entitled to a unit hearing as otherwise provided for by law as fully as though the original unit or units had never been created, and any such new unit or units shall not be limited in any way by the prior hearing or pre-existing unit or units.

H. No provision of this Section shall be construed so as to in any way limit the authority otherwise granted to the commissioner to terminate, extend, or otherwise grant to the commissioner to terminate, extend, or otherwise modify any unit or units.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 671, §1; Acts 2003, No. 505, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:98.12 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 98.12
Public water supply prioritization
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, in carrying out its authorities established by this Part the department shall prioritize and protect the sustainability of public water supplies in its management and regulatory decisions, consistent with the policy established in R.S. 38:3097.6. In exercising its authority under this Part, the department shall ensure that no regulatory or permitting action undermines or adversely impacts the availability or quality of water necessary for public water supply systems.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:928 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 928
Employee protection
Status: in_force

A. After the state has assumed exclusive jurisdiction of surface coal mining operations as provided in section 503 of Public Law 95-87, 1 and as long as the state retains such jurisdiction, then, no person shall discharge, or in any other way discriminate against, or cause to be fired or discriminated against, any employee or any authorized representative of employees by reason of the fact that such employee or representative has filed, instituted, or caused to be filed or instituted any proceeding under this Chapter, or has testified or is about to testify in any proceeding resulting from the administration or enforcement of the provisions of this Chapter.

B. Any employee or a representative of employees who believes that he has been fired or otherwise discriminated against by any person in violation of Subsection A of this Section may, within thirty days after such alleged violation occurs, apply to the commissioner for a review of such firing or alleged discrimination. A copy of the application shall be sent to the person or operator who will be the respondent. Upon receipt of such application, the commissioner shall cause such investigation to be made as he deems appropriate. Such investigation shall provide an opportunity for a public hearing at the request of any party to such review to enable the parties to present information relating to the alleged violation. The parties shall be given written notice of the time and place of the hearing at least five days prior to the hearing. Any such hearing shall be of record and shall be subject to the Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act. Upon receiving the report of such investigation the commissioner shall make findings of fact. If he finds that a violation did occur, he shall issue a decision incorporating therein his findings and an order requiring the party committing the violation to take such affirmative action to abate the violation as the commissioner deems appropriate, including, but not limited to, the rehiring or reinstatement of the employee or representative of employees to his former position with compensation. If he finds that there was no violation, he will issue a finding. Orders issued by the commissioner under this Subsection shall be subject to judicial review in the same manner as orders and decisions of the commissioner are subject to judicial review under this Chapter.

C. Whenever an order is issued under this Section to abate any violation, at the request of the applicant a sum equal to the aggregate amount of all costs and expenses (including attorneys' fees) to have been reasonably incurred by the applicant for, or in connection with, the institution and prosecution of such proceedings, shall be assessed against the persons committing the violation.

D. This Section shall not be given effect (1) if the Secretary of the Interior does not require the inclusion of similar provisions in state laws as a condition for approval by the Secretary of the Interior of state programs of regulation of surface coal mining and reclamation operations pursuant to Section 503 of Public Law 95-87 1 or (2) if any such requirement of the Secretary of the Interior is declared invalid by final decree of a court of competent jurisdiction: Provided, that if similar provisions are required by the Secretary of the Interior to be included in state laws, the Secretary of Natural Resources and the commissioner may commence and prosecute an action in the appropriate federal court to have the regulation requiring inclusion declared invalid.

Added by Acts 1978, No. 406, §1.

1 30 U.S.C.A. §1253.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:731 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 731
Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this Part, the following words and phrases shall have the meanings hereinafter ascribed to them:

(1) "Compressed natural gas" means natural gas designated for vehicular use that is under pressures exceeding twenty-four hundred pounds per square inch.

(2) "Compression and conversion equipment" means all equipment used in the compression, storage, transmission, and decompression of natural gas for the purpose of powering motor vehicles.

(3) " Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy.

Acts 1990, No. 927, §1; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1990, NO. 927, §3.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2351.51 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2351.51
Public education
Status: in_force

A. The secretary shall in connection with other state agencies conduct a program of public education on lead hazards. This program shall include but not be limited to the distribution of educational materials to the general public and to persons living in the vicinity of sites known to pose a lead exposure hazard.

B. Educational programs and materials developed or authorized by the secretary, the state health officer, or other agencies may include but not be limited to the types of lead containing materials, the health effects of lead exposure, the recognition of lead hazards, proper lead control methods, procedures for reporting hazardous conditions pursuant to R.S. 30:2351.54, and the requirements of this Chapter.

C. The secretary also shall make available lists of all licensed contractors and accredited training programs.

D. The secretary shall also make available technical information regarding proper lead control methods, standards for conducting lead hazard reduction activities, and other requirements of this Chapter to property owners and contractors, supervisors, and workers.

E. All state and local agencies engaged in lead hazard reduction activities shall publish on their Internet website the lead hazard or clearance standards related to the activities performed. The standards shall match, follow, and adapt to the minimum lead levels established by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

Acts 1993, No. 224, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1085, §1; Acts 2012, No. 734, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2282 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2282
Capitol lakes
Status: in_force

A. The legislature recognizes that the lakes, which may be* located in the state capital city adjacent to the capitol building and the governor's mansion, are classified as an inactive and abandoned hazardous waste site by the Department of Environmental Quality. The legislature finds and declares that it is inappropriate for such a waste site to be located at the center of state government and that it is desirable to have the lakes cleaned up and made into an attractive area where families can engage in recreational activities. Further, the legislature finds that allowing the sediments in the lakes to remain contaminated with hazardous waste will make it prohibitive to perform any works in the lakes such as dredging for drainage purposes and adding enhancements such as fishing piers. The legislature declares that the cleanup and removal of the contaminants in the sediments in the lakes is a priority of the state and that the Department of Environmental Quality should move expeditiously to require the cleanup to commence immediately.

B. Any remediation agreement, order, or judgment by any authority to clean up or remediate any lakes that are classified as hazardous waste sites and are located in the state capital city adjacent to the governor's mansion or the grounds of the state capitol building, hereinafter referred to as "the lakes", shall provide for the cleanup or remediation of the hazardous substances in the sediments of the lakes to the extent that human health and the environment is protected, taking into consideration all reasonably anticipated future uses of the lakes, including but not limited to dredging and recreational use.

C. Not later than January 1, 1998, the department shall complete phase 1 remedial investigation to characterize the water and sediment depths and aquatic species and identify and delineate the contaminate concentrations in the sediment and the selected biota. The department shall negotiate with any and all parties that are responsible pursuant to this Subtitle to conduct further remedial action as appropriate or to pay the costs of any remedial action to be taken by the department. Should the department not enter into an agreement with any responsible party to conduct further remedial action, if required, it shall institute such legal proceedings authorized pursuant to this Subtitle by June 1, 1999, to require the responsible parties to bear the remedial costs incurred or to be incurred by the department. Nothing herein shall be construed to limit or restrict any remedy or cause of action the department may have against any person.

D. Each month the department shall deliver a status report of the activities of the department regarding actions related to the remediation of the lakes to the office of the governor, the House and Senate environment committees, the speaker of the House, the president of the Senate, and to the senator and representative in whose district the lakes lie.

Acts 1997, No. 1337, §1, eff. July 15, 1997.

*As appears in enrolled bill.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1159 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1159
Contracts for materials and services
Status: in_force

For purposes of carrying out the provisions of this Chapter, the secretary may, subject to departmental contract management, contract with any person for materials and services that cannot be performed by his staff or other state agencies and may apply for federal grants or any other funding.

Acts 1983, No. 705, §2, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 2023, No. 455, §2, eff. June 28, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:102 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 102
Lessees to notify lessors of the termination of mineral leases
Status: in_force

Within ninety days after the expiration of:

(1) Production under a mineral lease previously maintained by production and

(2) all other rights to maintain that lease,

the lessee or his assigns shall notify the lessor or his representative that the lease has terminated, unless such notification is already provided in the lease.

Acts 1984, No. 559, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:906.3 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 906.3
Department of Revenue; surface mining and reclamation fees
Status: in_force

A. Funds received by the Department of Revenue in the form of surface mining and reclamation fees shall be deposited immediately upon receipt to the state treasury.

B, C. Repealed by Acts 1992, No. 984, §18.

Acts 1986, No. 351, §1; Acts 1992, No. 984, §18; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:414 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 414
Reallocation hearings; powers and duties of the secretary; reports to the governor
Status: in_force

A. Whenever there has been a failure to supply natural gas as a result of compulsory reallocation or curtailment procedures other than as provided for at R.S. 30:413 and 571, the secretary shall call a public hearing pursuant to the Administrative Procedure Act for the purpose of determining the reasons for the compulsory action, the sustained and impending harm to the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the state as a result of the compulsory action, and the beneficiaries of the natural gas otherwise made available as a result of the compulsory action.

B. Evidence derived from the hearing shall be immediately made available to the governor for the purpose of determining the necessity of issuing emergency proclamations or orders, calling a special session of the legislature, or other action as may be necessary to protect the health, safety and welfare of the citizens of the state, or to prevent the physical and economical waste of natural resources of the state.

Added by Acts 1977, No. 674, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:905.4 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 905.4
Exclusion and exemption of water resources
Status: in_force

A. Nothing in this Chapter shall be construed as affecting in any way the right of any person to enforce or protect, under applicable law, his interest in water resources affected by a surface coal mining operation.

B. The operator of a surface coal mine shall replace the water supply of an owner of interest in real property who obtains all or part of his supply of water for domestic, agricultural, industrial, or other legitimate use from an underground or surface source where this supply has been affected by contamination, diminution, or interruption proximately resulting from the surface coal mine operation.

Acts 1985, No. 281, §1; Acts 2008, No. 278, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1202 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1202
Definitions
Status: in_force

Except where the context clearly indicates otherwise, as used in this Chapter:

(1) "Building" means any structure which includes provisions for a heating or cooling system, or both, or for a hot water system.

(2) "Commercial building" means any building other than a residential building, including any building developed for industrial or public purposes.

(3) "Energy analyst" means a person who determines the thermal or lighting efficiency of a building which is to be constructed or renovated.

(4) "Energy auditor" means a person who conducts and certifies an energy audit to determine the thermal or lighting efficiency of a building.

(5) "Light commercial building" means any commercial building of less than five thousand square feet in gross floor area and three or less stories in height.

(6) "Public building" means any building which is open to the public during normal business hours.

(7) "Residential building" means any structure which is constructed and developed for residential occupancy.

(8) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy or his designee.

Added by Acts 1978, No. 715, §1. Acts 1983, No. 705, §2, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:82 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 82
Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, unless the context or use clearly indicates otherwise:

(1) "Bonds" means revenue bonds, notes, certificates, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by an issuer pursuant to R.S. 30:83.1.

(2) "Department" means the Department of Conservation and Energy.

(3) "Fund" means the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund.

(4) "Issuer" means a public trust and public corporation organized and existing by, under, and pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 9:2341 through 2347, whose beneficiary is the state of Louisiana, and who is authorized to issue revenue bonds on behalf of the state of Louisiana or the Louisiana Local Government Environmental Facilities and Community Development Authority, pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 33:4548.1 et seq.

(5) "Nonproducing oilfield site" means an oilfield site which is not a producing oilfield site and which has not been declared an orphaned oilfield site by the secretary.

(6) "Oilfield site" or "exploration and production (E&P) site" means any oilfield site or exploration and production site as defined in R.S. 30:29(I)(5).

(7) "Orphaned oilfield site" means an oilfield site which has no continued useful purpose for the exploration, production, or development of oil or gas and which has been declared to be an orphaned oilfield site by the assistant secretary under R.S. 30:91.

(8) "Producing oilfield site" means an oilfield site which is associated with the production of oil or gas for at least six months of the preceding calendar year.

(9) "Responsible party" means the operator of record according to the department records, who last operated the property on which the oilfield site is located at the time the site is about to be abandoned, ceases operation, or becomes an unusable oilfield site, and that operator's partners and working interest owners of that oilfield site. A working interest owner is the owner of a mineral right who is under an obligation to share in the costs of drilling or producing a well on the oilfield site.

(10) "Revenues" means the revenues described in R.S. 30:83.1(A)(2).

(11) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy or his authorized representatives.

(12) "Site restoration" means any and all oilfield site restoration activities required of a responsible party of an oil or gas property by regulations adopted by the department pursuant to this Subtitle, including without limitation plugging of oil and gas wells, pit closure, site remediation, and removal of oilfield equipment.

(13) "Trust authority" means the Natural Resources Trust Authority established pursuant to R.S. 36:356.1.

(14) "Unusable oilfield site" means an oilfield site which has no continued useful purpose for the exploration, production, or development of oil or gas and for which a responsible party can be located.

Acts 1993, No. 404, §2; Acts 2006, No. 312, §1, eff. June 8, 2006; Acts 2016, No. 666, §1, eff. June 17, 2016; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 16, §§1, 2, eff. July 1, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:98.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 98.2
Definitions
Status: in_force

The department shall define through rules adopted in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act necessary terms relevant to the comprehensive water resource management program.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1107.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1107.2
Emergency preparedness
Status: in_force

A. Prior to the commencement of carbon dioxide injection, an owner or operator of a storage facility shall have in place an emergency and remedial response plan as required by the administrative rules regarding Class VI injection wells and shall provide a copy of the plan to the parish president, police jury president, or mayor-president, depending on the form of parish government, for each parish within the area of review for dissemination to the office of homeland security, local emergency preparedness committee, or other appropriate emergency preparedness or response agencies.

B. In addition to any other requirements imposed by administrative rules, the emergency and remedial response plan shall provide for continuing training programs for operating and maintenance personnel regarding potential hazards, risk scenarios, and response actions.

C. The owner or operator shall also conduct at least one tabletop exercise for each storage facility prior to the commencement of injection to simulate emergency situations and responses thereto in coordination with the appropriate emergency preparedness and response agencies, as designated by the parish president, police jury president, or mayor-president, depending on the form of parish government, for each parish within the area of review.

Acts 2024, No. 702, §1, eff. June 19, 2024.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1351 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1351
Short title
Status: in_force

This Chapter may be cited as the Energy Impacted Area Assistance Act of 1981.

Added by Acts 1981, No. 824, §1, eff. Aug. 2, 1981.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:152 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 152
Agency lands; school boards sixteenth section lands; leases authorized
Status: in_force

A. Every agency is authorized to lease its land for the development and production of minerals. School boards are authorized to lease sixteenth section lands for the development and production of minerals.

B. The provisions of R.S. 30:148.1 through 148.7 and R.S. 47:648.1 shall not authorize the breach of any term or condition of any state agency lease applying to lands or mineral interest owned or administered by any school board.

Acts 1940, No. 162, §2; Acts 1983, No. 493, §1; Acts 1988, No. 514, §1, eff. July 8, 1988.

{{NOTE: SEE ACTS 1988, NO. 514, §3 REGARDING ACT 613.}}
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:549 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 549
Accounting
Status: in_force

The commissioner shall be empowered to promulgate and enforce a uniform system of accounting by intrastate natural gas transporters, where deemed advisable by the commissioner, to assure that intrastate natural gas transporters accurately report the results of their operations thereby facilitating rate regulations in those instances where the commissioner is called upon to establish reasonable rates for the transportation and sale of gas.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:101.6 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 101.6
Powers of the secretary
Status: in_force

A. The powers of the secretary shall include without limitation the power to do the following:

(1) Negotiate and execute contracts, upon such terms as he may agree upon for underwater obstruction identification, inventory, and removal, and other services necessary to meet the purpose of this Part.

(2) Publish an annual list of underwater obstruction sites, to include an inventory of the type, size and depth of the obstruction, and any other relevant information which would aid navigation and commercial fishing in the vicinity of the obstruction.

(3) Prepare, evaluate, and approve an annual priority list for underwater obstruction removal.

(4) Prepare, evaluate, and approve a list of contractors acceptable to conduct obstruction removal.

(5) Administer and manage the Fishermen's Gear Compensation and Underwater Obstruction Removal Program for identification, inventory, and removal of underwater obstructions in the navigable coastal waters of the state.

(6) Administer and manage the Fishermen's Gear Compensation and Underwater Obstruction Removal Dedicated Fund Account.

(7) Perform any function authorized or enumerated by this Part or which is consistent with its purpose.

(8) Maintain a file on the location of known underwater obstructions.

(9) Administer the payment of appropriate compensation for commercial fishermen whose fishing gear is damaged by underwater obstructions in the Louisiana territorial waters that overlie state-owned waterbottoms that are contained within the coastal zone boundaries as defined in R.S. 49:214.24.

B. The aforementioned powers shall be in addition to and shall not limit the powers conferred on the secretary in other provisions in this Title or any other pertinent provision of any state or federal law or regulation.

Acts 1997, No. 666, §2; Acts 2021, No. 114, §18, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2022, No. 100, §2, eff. July 1, 2023; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.

NOTE: See R.S. 30:101.15 regarding the termination of Part after June 30, 2027.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2531.8 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2531.8
Duties of law enforcement officers
Status: in_force

It shall be the duty of all law enforcement officers of this state to enforce the provisions of this Part.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 148, §3.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:413 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 413
Certified emergencies; suspension of act
Status: in_force

A. Whenever there is a compulsory reallocation or curtailment of natural gas resulting in a failure to supply natural gas in Louisiana pursuant to a contract, the secretary, on call of the governor, shall hold a public hearing for the purpose of determining whether, as a result of extreme shortages of natural gas an emergency condition exists within a locality, municipality, parish or region of the state or elsewhere within the United States.

B. In the event that such an emergency is determined to exist, the secretary shall certify such fact to the governor, who shall immediately thereafter issue an official order to that effect.

C. Upon issuance of such order the effect of this Part shall be suspended and inapplicable as regards any action for damages otherwise available herein and arising as a result of compulsory reallocation or curtailment pursuant to the emergency hereinabove declared.

D. This Section shall not preclude a purchaser of natural gas in Louisiana from instituting legal proceedings otherwise available in the event of failure of a supplier to deliver natural gas pursuant to a gas sales agreement with that purchaser if curtailment or reallocation of natural gas results in whole or part from the negligence of the supplier.

Added by Acts 1977, No. 674, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2106 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2106
Nuclear power facilities; emergency planning; findings; and fees
Status: in_force

A. The legislature finds and declares that:

(1) The operation of nuclear power facilities in or adjacent to the state raises the possibility of adverse health or environmental effects which could result from radiological incidents or accidents at such facilities.

(2) To ensure the safety and welfare of the people and environmental resources of Louisiana, it is necessary to conduct environmental radiation surveillance and monitoring programs in the vicinity of nuclear power facilities and to develop, implement and maintain radiological emergency preparedness plans involving such facilities.

(3) It is appropriate that the nuclear power facilities bear the costs associated with such surveillance and monitoring programs and radiological emergency preparedness plans.

B.(1) Every person who is licensed by the United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission to construct or operate a nuclear power facility for the production of electricity shall pay an annual fee for each nuclear power facility which is located within this state or has a Plume Exposure Pathway Emergency Planning Zone, of which any part is located within this state.

(2) These fees shall be used to cover the costs of developing, maintaining, and implementing state radiological emergency preparedness plans and radiation surveillance and monitoring programs involving such facilities determined by the secretary to be necessary to ensure the safety and welfare of the people and environmental resources of the state.

(3) These fees shall be determined by the secretary using a formula developed by rules to be based upon a cost not to exceed the annual costs of radiological emergency preparedness and surveillance and monitoring activities required therewith. Such formula shall be submitted to and approved by the House Committee on Natural Resources and Environment and the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality prior to the implementation thereof.

C. The secretary is authorized to adopt and promulgate rules and regulations consistent with the general intent and purposes of this Section and R.S. 30:2104(A)(13) and (14).

Acts 1984, No. 497, §1, eff. July 6, 1984; Acts 1991, No. 21, §1, eff. June 14, 1991; Acts 1996, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 36, §1, eff. May 7, 1996; Acts 2008, No. 580, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:42 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 42
Right to purchase gas
Status: in_force

Every person, engaged in the business of purchasing and selling natural gas in this state, shall be a common purchaser thereof, and shall purchase all of the natural gas which may be offered for sale which may be brought in pipes and connecting lines by the owner or proposed seller to its trunk lines, at the sellers' expense, or to its gathering lines, without discrimination in favor of one producer as against another, or in favor of any one source of supply as against another save as authorized by the secretary after due notice and hearing. If a person is unable to purchase all the gas offered, then he shall purchase natural gas from each producer ratably, and each common purchaser of gas shall have the same right to purchase the production of a gas well that is not being utilized under the conditions of this Section. In the event the owner of the well refuses to sell, the common purchaser shall have the same rights of action against the owner as the seller has against the common purchaser who refuses to buy, and the seller refusing to sell shall be subject to the same penalties as are provided against the common purchaser who refuses to buy. This Section shall not affect in any way a municipal corporation engaged in buying and selling natural gas.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2533 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2533
Litter violations bureau
Status: in_force

A. Each court, except justice of the peace courts, may establish a litter violations bureau and provide for the operation and administration thereof, including any or all of the following:

(1) The fixing of a schedule of fines and costs for the various litter offenses within the limits of such penalties as are set by law.

(2) Providing that any person charged with such an offense may plead guilty before an officer designated by the court.

B. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to affect any ordinance of any political subdivision of the state of Louisiana in effect on the effective date of this Part or to prohibit any political subdivision of the state from adopting ordinances aimed at litter control and reduction. Parish governing authorities may enact such ordinances as further provided in R.S. 33:1236(54).

Acts 1986, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 32, §1; Acts 1989, No. 250, §1; Acts 1989, No. 296, §2; Acts 1995, No. 1019, §9.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2275 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2275
Demand by secretary; remedial action
Status: in_force

A. When the secretary determines that a discharge or disposal of a hazardous substance has occurred or is about to occur which may present an imminent and substantial endangerment to health or the environment, he shall make a written demand on every owner, generator, transporter, disposer, operator, or other responsible person who has participated in the disposal or discharge of a hazardous substance at the site to undertake remedial actions at the site in accordance with a plan approved by the secretary or pay to the secretary the cost of the remedial action to be taken by the secretary.

B. The order for remedial action shall prescribe a reasonable time for reply. If, after the time limit provided in the written demand, the secretary has received no reply or has received a refusal to comply with the demand, he shall institute a suit in the district court of proper venue demanding that the defendants bear the remedial costs at the site or asking the court to issue an order that the site be closed or any other order necessary to abate, contain, or remove the hazard.

C. If a person fails to respond to a demand to undertake remedial action, the secretary may take all actions authorized by this Subtitle prior to filing suit for recovery.

D. Notwithstanding the provisions of Subsection A of this Section, if the secretary, pursuant to his investigation, determines that it is not feasible for him to make demand on every potentially responsible person at the site of a pollution source or facility, he may limit his demand to those persons he deems most responsible based on the volume of hazardous substances disposed of or discharged, the toxicity of substances disposed of or discharged, failure to exercise due diligence in the handling, maintenance, or disposal at the site, knowledge of the risk associated with the discharge or disposal at the site, and other such criteria as the secretary may deem necessary.

E. Notwithstanding any other provision of law in this Subtitle, in any order pursuant to this Section requiring an owner, operator, or responsible person to test, monitor, and analyze to ascertain the nature and extent of any pollution source or requiring any owner, operator, or responsible person to contain, abate, or clean up the site, the secretary may waive any permits which might otherwise be required under this Subtitle. No such waiver shall be deemed to authorize any discharge or emission which would endanger the environment or public health.

Acts 1984, No. 791, §1; Acts 1986, No. 306, §1, eff. June 30, 1986; Acts 1988, No. 253, §1, eff. July 6, 1988; Acts 1988, No. 624, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2206 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2206
Contracting for hazardous waste site cleanup
Status: in_force

A. Whenever a hazardous waste site must be permanently closed, isolated, cleaned up, or otherwise rendered safe and there is no responsible party other than the state to perform the work, the secretary, in the name and on behalf of the state, may enter into contracts with a responsible person or corporation to provide the necessary services and materials. Contracting for such cleanup shall be based on priorities to be determined by the department. Any party to such an agreement must be licensed according to law before negotiating or entering into such a contract.

B. If the secretary cannot reach an agreement for the contract with a party to perform the work without inclusion within the contract of a hold-harmless clause, the secretary is hereby authorized to include such a clause, which shall be binding upon the state of Louisiana. The hold-harmless clause may obligate the state to hold harmless the party performing the work for property damages and personal injuries arising from the performance of the contract although the party may be found to be negligent in the performance of the contract. However, this agreement to hold the contractor harmless may only cover acts of ordinary negligence and shall not cover damages resulting from intentional acts or acts of gross negligence.

C. Contracts pursuant to this Section shall be negotiated informally by the secretary and shall not be subject to any other requirements of law for entering into public contracts. Prior to the execution of such contract it shall be reviewed by the secretary of the department and the commissioner of the Division of Administration.

Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984. Acts 1986, No. 319, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2011.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2011.2
Environmental justice
Status: in_force

A. The department shall examine and study the relationship between the emission of air pollutants and the discharge of wastes by facilities located in or near residential areas. The study shall determine the amount of such emissions and discharges in each residential area of the state. The study shall include permitted and unpermitted emissions and discharges. The study shall determine and set out any correlations that may exist between the emissions and discharges and residential areas.

B. The department shall deliver the report to the members of the House Committee on the Environment and to the members of the Senate Committee on Environmental Quality no later than February 1, 1998. The legislative committees are hereby authorized to meet to receive testimony with regard to the report.

C. The department shall not commence the study authorized in this Section until funds have been specifically approved for the study by the legislature. The department shall not divert existing funds or fees from other budgeted programs to fund this study but may provide in-kind services to match any federal grants received.

Acts 1997, No. 995, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:26 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 26
Applications and notification of completeness
Status: in_force

A. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy shall, after notification by the department to the applicant that the application is complete, grant or deny all applications for all permits, licenses, registrations, or compliance in this or any other Title within sixty days. The notification of completeness shall be issued within fourteen days, exclusive of holidays, by the department. If the application is not complete the department shall notify the applicant in writing of the deficiencies which cause the application not to be complete. If the secretary or the secretary does not grant the application, the secretary or the secretary shall provide written reasons for his decision to deny, and copies of the decision shall be provided to all parties. The secretary and the secretary may delegate the power to grant permits, licenses, registrations, variances, or compliance schedules to an assistant.

B. If the secretary does not grant or deny the application within the time period provided for in this Section, the applicant may file a rule as provided for in R.S. 49:978.

Acts 1990, No. 996, §3; Acts 1991, No. 828, §1; Acts 1992, No. 815, §1; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2012 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2012
Enforcement inspections
Status: in_force

A. The protection of the environment and public health requires timely and meaningful inspections of all facilities subject to the provisions of this Subtitle. Inspections of such facilities are essential to assure compliance with this Subtitle and the regulations issued pursuant thereto. The purpose of such inspections is to determine whether any of the following conditions exist:

(1) Environmental standards have been achieved.

(2) There is an emergency under the provisions of this Subtitle.

(3) There is a present or potential danger to the health or environment.

(4) A violation of the provisions of this Subtitle or rules, regulations, or orders issued pursuant thereto has occurred.

(5) Under the provisions of this Subtitle, there is an abandoned waste site.

B. Every permit shall as a matter of law be conditioned upon the right of the secretary or his representative to make an annual monitoring inspection and, when appropriate, an exigent inspection of the facility operating thereunder.

C.(1) In order to assure effective enforcement of the provisions of this Subtitle and the rules and regulations issued pursuant thereto, the inspections may be made without obtaining a warrant from the courts.

(2) When an inspection is authorized by this Section or by the regulations adopted pursuant hereto, the secretary or his authorized representative shall:

(a) Upon announcing the purpose of the inspection, have a reasonable right of entry to, upon, or through any premises of a permittee or of an industrial user of a publicly owned treatment works in which premises an effluent source is located. Any such right of entry shall be subject to the reasonable safety rules of the affected permittee or industrial user.

(b) At reasonable times, have access to and be entitled to copy at his expense, records required to be maintained under the permit, this Subtitle, or rules adopted pursuant thereto. Such inspections of records generally shall be made during normal working hours when the custodian of such records is available. The secretary shall allow a reasonable time to locate the records.

(c) Have access to and sample any discharges of any pollutants to state waters or to publicly owned treatment works resulting from the activities or operations of the permittee or an industrial user.

(d) Inspect any monitoring equipment, control equipment, and practices or operations regulated or required by law or by permit.

D.(1) Monitoring inspections of facilities operating with a permit issued pursuant to this Subtitle shall be conducted to assure compliance with this Subtitle and the regulations issued pursuant thereto. The secretary shall prepare, implement, and revise, as needed, a compliance monitoring strategy designed to achieve meaningful environmental results. Inspections shall be both intensive, designed to accomplish meaningful environmental results and routine to ensure a compliance presence in the field. The compliance monitoring strategy shall explicitly recognize that a variety of compliance monitoring tools including but not limited to self-certifications, deviation reports, stack testing reports, discharge monitoring reports, semiannual monitoring reports, and on-site inspections are available and should be used to evaluate compliance. The strategy must address inspection frequency and in doing so, the secretary shall consider the following:

(a) Facility compliance history.

(b) Location of facility.

(c) Potential environmental impact.

(d) Operational practices being steady state or seasonal.

(e) Any grant or funding commitments made by the department.

(f) Any other relevant environmental, health, or enforcement factors.

(2) The strategy shall provide for reasonable times during which inspections may be conducted.

E. Whenever there exists an imminent danger to the environment or health, an emergency under this Subtitle, an abandoned hazardous waste site, or a violation of this Subtitle or the rules or regulations issued pursuant thereto, the secretary may cause a special inspection to be made of the facility where such exigent conditions are reasonably believed to exist. While conducting the inspection the inspector shall inform the owner, operator, or any responsible person at the facility of the particular exigent condition believed to exist. The scope of the inspection shall be limited to those matters which are reasonably related to the exigent condition. However, this limitation shall not preclude the prosecution of any other violation discovered in the course of the investigation.

F. The secretary may institute a civil action to compel inspections under this Section and to obtain a permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or any other appropriate order. The venue of such an action shall be in East Baton Rouge Parish or in the parish in which the facility is located or has an office. The court shall enter, ex parte or after a hearing, an appropriate order or decree upon a showing that the owner or operator of the facility has acted to or is about to do any of the following:

(1) Interfere with the secretary or his authorized representative in carrying out the provisions of this Subtitle.

(2) Refuse to admit the secretary or his representative to a facility as necessary for the enforcement of the Subtitle.

(3) Refuse to furnish information requested by the secretary or his representative as necessary for the enforcement of this Subtitle.

(4) Refuse access to, or the copying of, such records as the secretary or his representative determines are necessary for the enforcement of this Subtitle or refuse to provide reasonable copies of such records within a reasonable time.

G. Any person who in any way impedes an inspection authorized under this Section shall be liable for the penalties provided in this Subtitle unless a court finds that the inspection was unconstitutional. In any such action involving a refusal to provide copies as provided in Subsection (F)(4) of this Section, the respondent shall have the burden of proving that the request to provide copies of records was unreasonable.

H. The secretary or his representative shall make inspections upon the presentation of identification and shall, to the extent practicable under the circumstances, observe the rules concerning safety, internal security, and fire protection of any facility inspected under this Section.

I. If the secretary or his representative obtains any samples, prior to leaving the premises, he shall give to the owner, operator, or agent in charge a receipt describing the sample obtained and, if requested and if practical, a portion of each sample equal in volume or weight to the portion retained. If any analysis is made of such samples, a copy of the results of such analysis shall be furnished promptly to the owner, operator, or agent in charge.

Acts 1982, No. 655, §1; Acts 1983, No. 97, §1, eff. Feb. 1, 1984; Acts 1990, No. 141, §1; Acts 1993, No. 270, §1; Acts 2003, No. 217, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:805 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 805
Leasing procedures
Status: in_force

Except as otherwise specifically provided herein, applications for state geothermal leases, the inspection of the lands, the quantity of land to be obtained in a single lease, the advertisement for bids, the bidding procedures and the board's authority to accept or reject bids all shall be governed by the provisions of R.S. 30:125 through R.S. 30:129 both inclusive.

Added by Acts 1975, No. 784, §1. Amended by Acts 1976, No. 134, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:561 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 561
Collection of inspection fees
Status: in_force

A. The annual fees imposed by R.S. 30:560 shall be paid to the department no later than January fifteenth of each year on forms to be prescribed by the secretary.

B. If any person fails to pay the fees imposed by R.S. 30:560, the secretary may proceed to enforce the collection thereof by utilizing the remedies and procedures set forth in Chapter 1 of this Subtitle, specifically including any authority to obtain and audit information and authority to impose interest and penalties.

C. All money received or collected by the secretary under R.S. 30:560 and this Section shall be deposited immediately upon receipt in the state treasury and shall be credited to the Oil and Gas Regulatory Dedicated Fund Account.

Acts 1985, No. 250, §2, eff. July 6, 1985; Acts 1992, No. 984, §9; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2; Acts 2003, No. 879, §1, eff. July 1, 2003; Acts 2021, No. 114, §18, eff. July 1, 2022; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:903 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 903
Purposes
Status: in_force

A. It is hereby declared to be the purpose of this Chapter to avoid the adverse effects to society and the environment resulting from unregulated surface mining operations, as defined herein; to assure that surface mining operations are not conducted where reclamation as required by this Chapter is not possible; to assure that surface mining operations are so conducted as to prevent unreasonable degradation to land and water resources; to assure that reclamation of all surface mined lands is accomplished as contemporaneously as practicable with the surface mining, recognizing that the extraction of lignite and other forms of coal by responsible mining operations is an essential and beneficial economic activity; to protect, conserve, and replenish the natural resources of the state; to prohibit and prevent the waste, wasteful use, and wasteful utilization of lignite and other forms of coal; and to prevent the use of lignite and other forms of coal in such a manner and in such quantities as to threaten the premature exhaustion, extinction, and destruction of the supply of lignite and other forms of coal in the state.

B. It is further declared to be the purpose of this Chapter to promote the reclamation of mined areas that were left without adequate reclamation prior to the enactment of the Surface Mining Control and Reclamation Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. 1201, et seq., and that continue, in their unreclaimed condition, to substantially degrade the quality of the environment, to prevent or damage the beneficial use of land or water resources, or to endanger the health or safety of the public.

Added by Acts 1976, No. 141, §1. Acts 1983, No. 573, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:7 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 7
Orders fixing allowable productions; hearing to determine initial schedules; old fields, hearing unnecessary, summary hearing
Status: in_force

A. An order fixing allowable production of oil or gas or making changes therein for any month or other period shall be issued by the commissioner on or before the twenty-third day of the month preceding the month for which the order is to be effective and it shall be promulgated by immediate publication in the official journal of the state.

B.(1) In the case of old fields or pools for which schedules of allowables had been previously issued, it shall not be necessary for the commissioner to have a hearing prior to the issuance of any subsequent order fixing or changing the schedule of allowables unless there is a written request for a hearing by an interested person. This provision permitting the issuance of a schedule of allowables for old fields without a hearing is an exception to the general rule requiring notice and hearing prior to the issuance of an order by the commissioner.

(2) In the event a schedule of allowables is promulgated without previous notice and hearing, an aggrieved producer of oil or gas may file with the commissioner at his office within seventy-two hours from the publication of the order, a sworn written statement, giving in detail the grounds of his complaint. Thereupon, the commissioner shall hold a hearing within forty-eight hours. At this hearing, oral or documentary evidence may be received by the commissioner in favor of and against the complaint. After the hearing, the commissioner shall summarily render a decision. If his decision is not made on or before the effective date of the order complained of, that order shall be suspended until a decision is rendered. During this period, the former order shall remain in force. This provision permitting a summary hearing shall be restricted to cases involving a complaint made against a schedule of allowables under the circumstances set forth in this Paragraph.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2414 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2414
Exemptions
Status: in_force

The following wastes or activities are exempt from the requirements of this Chapter:

(1) Recovered materials, except used oils, if a majority of the recovered materials at a facility are demonstrated to be sold, used, or reused within twelve months.

(2) Recovered materials, except used oils, or the products or byproducts of operations that process recovered materials which are not discharged, deposited, injected, dumped, spilled, leaked, or placed into or upon any land or water so that such products or byproducts or any constituent thereof may enter lands or be emitted into the air or discharged into the waters, including groundwaters, or otherwise enter the environment or pose a threat to public health and safety or the environment.

(3) Recovered materials which are hazardous wastes and have not been recovered from solid wastes and which are defined as hazardous wastes under applicable state or federal regulations.

(4) Those wastes exempt under the Louisiana Solid Waste Management and Resource Recovery Law and the Louisiana Solid Waste Rules and Regulations.

Acts 1989, No. 185, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1991, No. 964, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2452 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2452
Legislative findings
Status: in_force

A. Louisiana is subject to greater exposure to a major oil spill disaster than any other state. This is the result of the large volumes of stored oil, numerous production platforms and miles of pipelines, large numbers of inland barges, and heavy tanker traffic, including the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port which receives fifteen percent of the oil imported into the United States. This exposure, coupled with the limited adequate highway access to the coast and remote inland areas for rapid transport of oil spill equipment and few areas suitable for staging facilities, creates great potential for a major oil spill event and its consequences in a state which has twenty-six percent of the nation's commercial fisheries, has the nation's highest marine recreational fishery catches, leads the nation in fur production and the world in alligator production, and has more overwintering waterfowl than any other state. Commercial and recreational marine fisheries are concentrated within a few miles inshore and offshore of the coastline where oil from a major coastal spill would concentrate.

B. Added to the high exposure and inaccessibility of large portions of the coast and inland areas is the vulnerability of Louisiana's nearshore and wetland environments. The numerous shallow interconnecting waterways and gentle slope of the coastal areas would allow deep penetration of oil into the state's estuaries. The vast expanses of Louisiana's soft unconsolidated marshes lying just a few inches above sea level would, in the event of an oil spill, soak up large amounts of oil.

Acts 1991, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. April 23, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 740, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1156 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1156
Manual of design types, costs, performance and evaluation procedures for certain thermal systems
Status: in_force

The secretary shall develop a manual of design types, costs, performance, and evaluation procedures for passive and semipassive thermal systems. The evaluation procedures shall be such as will facilitate the determination of the performance of different passive and semipassive designs in different regions of Louisiana. The secretary shall also procure thermal performance data from monitoring a number of existing passive or semipassive thermal systems in buildings in Louisiana to generate data for the manual.

Acts 1983, No. 705, §2, eff. Sept. 1, 1983; Acts 2023, No. 455, §2, eff. June 28, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:527 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 527
Effective date of merger, consolidation and transfer of functions: appropriations
Status: in_force

The merger, consolidation and transfer of functions provided for by this Part shall commence on March 1, 1974, and shall be completed on or before thirty days thereafter, and it is hereby specifically provided that when and as the merger, consolidation and transfer of functions is effectuated as to each of the boards, commissions, agencies, and entities affected by this Part, all funds then remaining to the credit of each from legislative appropriations, and any funds budgeted for or otherwise available to or for the benefit of any agency, institution, facility or program to carry out the functions herein consolidated, merged and transferred, shall follow the functions and activities herein transferred to the commissioner. Thereafter the disbursement of and the accountability for said funds shall be the responsibility of the commissioner.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2368 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2368
Designated repositories
Status: in_force

A. The Emergency Response Commission shall designate the following as repositories for information gathered under this Chapter. The repositories shall be:

(1) The local emergency planning committee, as designated by the commission.

(2) The local fire department.

(3) The Department of Public Safety and Corrections, office of state police, hazardous substance control section, acting for the Emergency Response Commission.

B.(1) Each repository designated pursuant to Subsection A of this Section shall provide information gathered under this Chapter to any person upon request during reasonable office hours and may charge such person a reasonable amount for copying charges and other administrative costs. The charges for the said costs shall be the same as the charges authorized for copies of public records as provided for in R.S. 44:32.

(2) In addition, the repository may refer public requests for information regarding specific medical, toxic, and health effects to the Louisiana Regional Poison Control Center.

C. The department shall, whenever practical and feasible, enhance the capability of local governing authorities and repositories to maintain and update public information, train personnel in repository management, and to develop other capabilities to assist in their compliance with this Chapter.

D. Each local governing authority may adopt an ordinance to impose fees or charges on owners or operators whose facilities are located within the parish and who are subject to the reporting requirements of the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Title III, 42 U.S.C. 11022. The amount of the fee or charge imposed pursuant to this Subsection shall provide anticipated proceeds not to exceed the anticipated costs for performing the services required in this Section, and the Superfund Amendments and Reauthorization Act of 1986, Title III, 42 U.S.C. 11022, including those initial costs necessary to establish a system for storage, updating, and dissemination of the information herein required to be made available to the public. In no case shall the fees or charges imposed on any one person by the local governing authority exceed one dollar per page, fifty dollars per inventory report, or three hundred dollars per report including but not limited to reporting multiple facilities in one parish. In no case shall charges imposed on small businesses, as defined in this Chapter, exceed fifteen dollars per inventory report.

Acts 1985, No. 435, §1, eff. July 11, 1985; Acts 1987, No. 347, §1; Acts 1988, No. 753, §1, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1992, No. 541, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1046, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1171 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1171
Nonpayment of royalties; notice prerequisite to judicial demand
Status: in_force

If a renewable energy lessor seeks relief for the failure of his lessee to make timely or proper payment of rent or royalties, the lessor shall give his lessee written notice of the failure as a prerequisite to a judicial demand for damages or dissolution of the lease.

Acts 2023, No. 455, §1, eff. June 28, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2102 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2102
Policy; purpose
Status: in_force

The legislature finds and declares that the supervision and control of the development and operation of nuclear energy and radiation emitting processes and facilities are of vital concern to the welfare of the citizens of the state of Louisiana, as well as to the protection of the environmental resources within the state. To insure the safety and welfare of the people and environmental resources of Louisiana in this regard, it is necessary to provide for an efficient system to regulate and control the development and utilization of all sources of radiation within the state of Louisiana.

Acts 1979, No. 449, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:148.10 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 148.10
Applicability
Status: in_force

Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary contained in Subpart A of this Part, the provisions of this Subpart shall apply to leases by the State Mineral and Energy Board for the purposes set forth in R.S. 30:148.2.

Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 17, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:138 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 138
Agreements to offset, etc., to be made against any payable royalty
Status: in_force

The agreements referred to in R.S. 30:137 may provide for such offset, compensation and recovery by such lessees or other parties to be made against any royalty payable to the state of Louisiana by such lessees or other parties.

Acts 1963, No. 13, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:98.13 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 98.13
Severability
Status: in_force

If any provision of this Chapter or its application is held invalid, the invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this Chapter are severable.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1145 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1145
Prohibitions
Status: in_force

Any chemical that is not approved for agricultural application shall not be sprayed for maintenance of a solar power generation facility site.

Acts 2025, No. 279, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:218 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 218
Injunction not to lie in suits to restrain exploration for oil, etc., on state lands
Status: in_force

No injunction shall issue against lessees of the state or state employees to restrain exploration for minerals on state lands. In all cases plaintiff's remedy shall be judicial sequestration of the product of the exploration or its proceeds until the rights of all claimants are determined.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:554 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 554
Certificates of transportation; expropriation
Status: in_force

A.(1) The commissioner shall issue a certificate of transportation to each person applying therefor if, after a public hearing, he determines that it is or will be in the present or future public interest to do so; however, if any person has previously been issued a certificate of transportation by the commissioner, that certificate continues to remain valid and in force.

(2) All such persons receiving a certificate of transportation from the commissioner shall possess the right of expropriation with authority to expropriate private property under the general state expropriation laws; and shall have the right to lay, maintain, and operate pipelines, together with telegraph and telephone lines necessary and incidental to the operation of these pipelines, over private property thus expropriated; and have the further right to lay, maintain, and operate pipelines along, across, over, and under any navigable stream or public highway, street, bridge, or other public place; and also have the authority, under the right of expropriation herein conferred, to cross railroads, street railways, and other pipelines, by expropriating property necessary for the crossing under the general expropriation laws of this state. The right to run along, across, over, or under any public road, bridge, or highway, as before provided for, may be exercised only upon condition that the traffic thereon is not interfered with, and that such road or highway is promptly restored to its former condition of usefulness, at the expense of the pipeline owner, the restoration to be subject also to the supervision and approval of the proper local authorities.

(3) Anything in this Chapter, or in any rule, regulation, or order issued by the commissioner under this Chapter to the contrary notwithstanding, accepting or acting pursuant to a certificate of transportation issued under this Section, compliance with the provisions of this Chapter, or with rules, regulations, or orders issued by the commissioner under this Chapter, or voluntarily performing any act or acts which could be required by the commissioner pursuant to this Chapter, or rules, regulations, or orders issued by the commissioner under this Chapter, shall not (a) cause any intrastate natural gas transporter to become, or be classified as, a common carrier or a public utility for any purpose whatsoever; (b) subject such intrastate natural gas transporter to any duties, obligations, or liabilities as a common carrier or public utility, under the constitution and laws of this state; or (c) increase the liability of any intrastate natural gas transporter for any taxes otherwise due to the state of Louisiana in the absence of any additions or amendments to any tax laws of this state.

B. In the exercise of the privilege herein conferred, owners or operators of such pipelines shall compensate the parish, municipality or road district, respectively, for any damage done to such public road, in the laying of pipelines, telegraph or telephone lines, along, under, over or across the same. Nothing in this Section shall be construed to grant any transporter the right to use any public street or alley of any parish, incorporated city, town or village, except by express permission from the parish, city or other governing authority.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M. Amended by Acts 1976, No. 115, §1; Acts 1979, No. 393, §1; Acts 1981 No. 497, §1; Acts 1981, HCR No. 208.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:911 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 911
Revision of permits
Status: in_force

A.(1) During the term of the permit the permittee may submit an application for a revision of the permit, together with a revised reclamation plan, to the commissioner.

(2) An application for a revision of a permit shall not be approved unless the commissioner finds that reclamation as required by this Chapter and the regulations issued pursuant to this Chapter can be accomplished under the revised reclamation plan. The revision shall be approved or disapproved within a period of time established by the commissioner. The commissioner shall establish guidelines for a determination of the scale or extent of a revision request for which all permit application information requirements and procedures, including notice and hearings, shall apply. Any revisions which propose significant alterations in the reclamation plan shall, at a minimum, be subject to notice and hearing requirements. Insignificant departures, as permitted by regulations issued pursuant to this Chapter, in a permitted mining and reclamation plan which will not adversely affect the environmental impact of the surface coal mining and reclamation operations shall not require the revision of a permit pursuant to this Section. Notice of all such insignificant departures in a mining and reclamation plan shall be submitted to the commissioner in the operator's next monthly report and the commissioner may, within thirty days after receipt of the operator's monthly report, require the operator to submit an application for a permit revision pursuant to this Section.

(3) Any extensions to the area covered by the permit except incidental boundary revisions must be made by application for another permit.

B. No transfer, assignment, or sale of the rights granted under any permit issued pursuant to this Chapter shall be made without the written approval of the commissioner; Provided, that the commissioner shall approve a transfer, assignment or sale to the parent or a subsidiary of the permittee, or to an affiliate of, or a person controlled by or under common control with, the permittee, if the permittee satisfies the commissioner that the transfer, assignment or sale will not jeopardize the accomplishment of the objectives of this Chapter.

C. The commissioner shall, within a time limit prescribed in the regulations issued pursuant to this Chapter, review outstanding permits and may require reasonable revision or modification of the permit provisions during the term of such permit: Provided, that such revision or modification shall be based upon a written finding and subject to notice and hearing requirements established by the regulations issued pursuant to this Chapter.

Acts 1978, No. 406, §1. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 121, §3, eff. June 27, 1980.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:159 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 159
State banks in liquidation, leases subject to approval, how
Status: in_force

All mineral leases entered into by state banks in liquidation shall be subject to the approval of the State Mineral and Energy Board and of the district court having jurisdiction of the liquidations.

Acts 2009, No. 196, §2, eff. July 1, 2009.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2089 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2089
Fees
Status: in_force

A. The legislature finds that in order to provide for the development of Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) determinations and as otherwise may be necessary to protect the waters of the state of Louisiana, it is necessary for the Department of Environmental Quality to increase the fees assessed by the department for the purpose of this Chapter as set forth below.

B. In accordance with the provisions of Article VII, Section 2.1 of the Constitution of Louisiana, the department may increase by seven and one-half percent any fee associated with this Chapter and authorized by this Subtitle. The effective date of such increase shall not be before July 1, 1998. The department may further increase by seven and one-half percent any fee associated with this Chapter and authorized by this Subtitle, and such additional increase shall not be effective before July 1, 1999.

Acts 1997, No. 1254, §1, eff. July 15, 1997; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2050.17 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2050.17
Hearing officers; administrative review by secretary
Status: in_force

A. A party may only seek review of an order, decision, or ruling of a hearing officer by requesting an administrative review by the secretary. Judicial review of specified interlocutory orders or rulings is governed by R.S. 30:2050.18.

B. A request for administrative review shall specify the grounds upon which review is requested.

C. Upon timely filing of a request for administrative review, the secretary shall either grant or deny the request within thirty days. The secretary may deny the request or grant the request on one or more of the specified grounds. If the request for administrative review is granted, the secretary shall establish a reasonable briefing schedule considering the exigency of the circumstances.

D. When the secretary denies the request for administrative review, the order, decision, or ruling is final.

E. When the request for administrative review is granted, the secretary may take any of the following actions:

(1) Render an order, decision, or ruling as is supportable by the record.

(2) Remand the matter for a new hearing to receive additional evidence.

(3) Remand the matter with other instructions.

F. The secretary shall render an order, decision, or ruling no later than sixty days after the request for administrative review is granted, except in a matter of such complexity that the secretary determines an additional sixty days is necessary for the review.

G. Motions to reconsider a final order, decision, or ruling of the secretary shall be filed within ten days after notice of the final order, decision, or ruling. Every such motion must set forth the matters claimed to have been erroneously decided and the nature of the alleged errors. Motions for reconsiderations shall be directed to, and decided by, the secretary and filed with the hearings division.

Acts 1995, No. 947, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2460 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2460
Contingency plan provisions
Status: in_force

A. The plan shall include all of the following:

(1) Detailed emergency operating procedures for initiating actions in response to unauthorized discharges.

(2) A response command structure and state response team.

(3) An inventory of public and private equipment and its location and a list of available sources of supplies necessary for response.

(4) A table of organizations with the names, addresses, and telephone numbers of all persons and agencies responsible for implementing each phase of the plan and provisions for notification to such persons and agencies in the event of an unauthorized discharge.

(5) Plans for practice drills for the response command structure and the state response team.

(6) Establishment of a single state hotline for reporting incidents that will satisfy all state notification requirements under this Chapter and R.S. 32:1501 et seq., R.S. 30:2025(J), and R.S. 30:2361 et seq.

(7) Provisions for notifying the Department of Environmental Quality under the state oil spill contingency plan.

(8) Plans for volunteer coordination and training.

(9) Use of both proven and innovative prevention and response methods and technologies.

(10) The circumstances under which an unauthorized discharge may be declared to be a state of emergency under applicable law.

(11) The circumstances under which the unauthorized discharge may be declared to be abated and pollution may be declared to be satisfactorily removed.

(12) Designation of environmental and other priority zones to determine the sequence and methods of response and cleanup.

(13) Procedures for disposal of removed oil or hazardous substances.

(14) Procedures established in cooperation with the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Wildlife and Fisheries, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority, and the Department of Conservation and Energy for assessment of natural resources damages and plans for mitigation of damage to and restoration, protection, rehabilitation, or replacement of damaged natural resources. Pursuant to R.S. 49:214.1 et seq., the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority is responsible for integrated coastal protection in the coastal area of the state; therefore, the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority and the Coastal Protection and Restoration Authority Board shall assist the coordinator in a primary role in assessing natural resource damages in the coastal area.

(15) Any plan developed by the coordinator pursuant to this Chapter shall include appropriate local governmental authorities and shall provide for the participation and involvement of the appropriate local governmental authorities that may be affected by or involved in the prevention, response, and removal of an oil spill.

(16) Any other matter necessary or appropriate to carry out response activities, including but not limited to preapproval of the use of dispersants.

B.(1) The coordinator shall promulgate rules and a state contingency plan that, to the greatest extent practicable, conform to the national contingency plan and rules promulgated under federal law.

(2) The coordinator may impose requirements under such rules and the state oil spill contingency plan that are in addition to or vary materially from federal requirements if the state interests served by the requirements substantially outweigh the burdens imposed on those subject to the requirements.

C. The plan shall be filed with all state agencies participating in response operations and federal officials responsible for federal discharge response within waters of the state, and local political subdivisions deemed appropriate by the coordinator.

Acts 1991, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. April 23, 1991; Acts 2010, No. 734, §1; Acts 2016, No. 430, §2; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:46 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 46
Penalty
Status: in_force

Whoever violates the provisions of this Part shall be fined not less than fifty dollars nor more than five hundred dollars, or imprisoned for not more than thirty days, or both. Each day the violation continues shall constitute a separate offense.

Amended by Acts 1952, No. 132, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:912 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 912
Coal exploration and development permits
Status: in_force

A. Any person planning to conduct exploration operations as defined in this Chapter shall obtain an exploration permit from the commissioner prior to conducting such exploration operations. The commissioner shall adopt regulations controlling the issuance of such permits, and such regulations shall require at a minimum that:

(1) An application for an exploration permit include a description of the proposed exploration area and the period of the proposed exploration.

(2) All lands disturbed by exploration operations which substantially disturb the surface be reclaimed in accordance with the performance standards in Section 915 of Chapter 9. The term "land disturbed" shall include excavations, roads, drill holes, and the removal of necessary facilities and equipment.

(3) The exploration permittee properly plug all holes before abandonment and submit a report to the commissioner within six months after expiration of the permit stating and attesting further that each hole has been properly plugged when abandoned.

(4) The applicant submits an application fee of $50.00.

(5) The applicant submits such reasonable bond with security as the commissioner may require to assure performance of the required reclamation and plugging obligations, said bond to be released when the report required above has been submitted and the reclamation and plugging obligations have been satisfied.

Within thirty days after receipt of a complete application, application fee and bond the commissioner shall issue an exploration permit, with a term not to exceed one year. All logs and core analyses obtained by any person conducting exploration activities pursuant to this subsection shall be furnished to the commissioner within five years after expiration of the applicable exploration permits unless such data will be or is intended to be submitted as part of an application for a mining permit.

B. Any person planning to conduct development operations as defined in this Chapter shall obtain a development operations permit from the commissioner prior to conducting any development operations. The commissioner shall adopt regulations controlling the issuance of such permits, and such regulations shall require at a minimum that:

(1) An application for a development operations permit include a description of the area of the proposed development operations and the period of the proposed operations.

(2) All land disturbed by the development operations, including excavations, roads, drill holes and the removal of necessary facilities and equipment, be reclaimed in accordance with the performance standards in Section 915 of Chapter 9.

(3) An application contain a reclamation plan, including a description of the means to be used and an estimate of the cost of reclamation per acre.

(4) The applicant submit a $75 application fee and a reasonable bond with sufficient security to assure performance of the reclamation duties required by Chapter 9. The bond shall be released when the reclamation requirements have been completed.

Within thirty days after receipt of a complete application, application fee and bond the commissioner shall issue a development operations permit with a term not to exceed 18 months.

C. Any person who conducts any coal exploration and/or development activities which substantially disturb the natural land surface in violation of this section or regulations issued pursuant thereto shall be subject to the provisions of Section 918.

D. Coal exploration on Federal lands shall be governed by Section 4 of the Federal Coal Leasing Amendments Act of 1975 (90 Stat. 1085). 1

Acts 1978, No. 406, §1.

1 30 U.S.C.A. §201(b).
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1115 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1115
Notifications regarding applications
Status: in_force

A. Every applicant for a Class VI permit or Class V permit related to a geologic sequestration project shall comply with the following:

(1) In order for an application for a Class VI permit to be deemed administratively complete, the owner or operator shall make a reasonable search and a good faith effort to provide notice of the submission of the application via United States mail to all of the following located within the surface or subsurface extent of the area of review delineated in the permit application:

(a) The last operator of record for any oil or gas well.

(b) All mineral servitude owners, mineral lessees, and operators acting on behalf of such mineral interest owners.

(c) All surface owners.

(2) In order for an application for a Class V stratigraphic test well permit to be considered complete, the owner or operator shall make a reasonable search and a good faith effort to provide notice of the submission of the application via United States certified mail to all of the following located within five hundred feet of the proposed well:

(a) The last operator of record for any oil or gas well.

(b) All mineral servitude owners, mineral lessees, and operators acting on behalf of such mineral interest owners.

(c) All surface owners.

(3) Notice to all surface owners as required by this Section may be satisfied by notifying all persons shown on the parish assessor's rolls as the current owner of the surface rights for the land included within the applicable area of required notice.

B. The department shall also publish on its website a notice of each application for a Class VI permit or Class V permit related to a geologic sequestration project.

Acts 2024, No. 645, §1; Acts 2025, No. 414, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2134 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2134
Compact funding
Status: in_force

The legislature shall appropriate funds as required by Article III, Section d. and Article IV, Section h. of the Central Interstate Low-Level Radioactive Waste Compact (R.S. 30:2131).

Added by Acts 1982, No. 791, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:79 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 79
Recordation of notice of abandoned oilfield waste sites by landowner
Status: in_force

A. In addition to the notice required under R.S. 30:74, any landowner who has notified the department that his property contains an abandoned oilfield waste site or who owns property which has been identified by the secretary as an abandoned oilfield waste site pursuant to R.S. 30:75 shall cause notice of the identification of the location of the abandoned oilfield waste site to be recorded in the mortgage and conveyance records of the parish in which the property is located. Such notice shall be made in a form approved by the secretary and within the time specified by the secretary. If a landowner fails or refuses to record such notice, the secretary may, if he determines that the public interest requires, and after due notice and an opportunity for a hearing has been given to a landowner, cause such notice to be recorded.

B.(1) If any person wishes to remove such notice, he shall notify the secretary prior to requesting the removal from the clerk of court in the parish where the property is located. The request shall specify the facts supporting removal of the notice, including any evidence that the oilfield waste no longer poses a potential threat to health or the environment. Upon finding that the oilfield waste no longer poses a potential threat to health or the environment, the secretary shall approve removal of the notice.

(2) If approval is granted by the secretary, the request may be made by affidavit to the clerk of court for the removal of the notice and it shall be removed. Within ten days after removal, the clerk of court shall send a notice of the removal to the secretary. If the secretary objects to the removal of such notice, or fails to make a final determination upon the request within ninety days, the person desiring to have the notice removed may petition the court in the parish where the property is located for removal of the notice and after a contradictory hearing between the landowner, the clerk of court, and the secretary or his designee, the court may grant such relief upon adequate proof by the petitioner that the property no longer contains the oilfield waste which may pose a potential threat to health or to the environment.

C. This Section shall not apply to any commercial operation which is operating under a permit issued by the secretary until such time as such notice is required by an order of the secretary, by a permit, or by rule or regulation applicable to such operation.

D. The failure of a landowner to file the required notice may constitute grounds for an action in redhibition under the applicable provisions of Civil Code Articles 2520 et seq., unless the purchaser has actual or constructive knowledge that the property has been used for such purposes.

E. Any action under this Section must be commenced within one year from the date the purchaser first knows of the existence of the fact which gives rise to the action, but in any event within three years of the date upon which the purchaser acquired his ownership interest in the property. Venue shall be in any parish in which the property or any portion thereof is located.

Acts 1991, No. 352, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2573 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2573
Definitions
Status: in_force

A. As used in this Chapter, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the term:

(1) "Fabricated mercury-added product" means a product that consists of a combination of individual components that combine to make a single unit, including but not limited to mercury-added measuring devices, lamps, and switches.

(2) "Formulated mercury-added product" means a chemical product, including but not limited to laboratory chemicals, cleaning products, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and coating materials, that are sold as a consistent mixture of chemicals.

(3) "Health care facility" means any hospital, nursing home, extended care facility, long-term care facility, clinical or medical laboratory, state or private health or mental institution, clinic, physician's office, or health maintenance organization.

(4) "Manufacturer" means any person, firm, association, partnership, corporation, governmental entity, organization, combination, or joint venture which produces a mercury-added product or an importer or domestic distributor of a mercury-added product produced in a foreign country. In the case of a multi-component mercury-added product, the manufacturer is the last manufacturer to produce or assemble the product. If the multi-component product is produced in a foreign country, the manufacturer is the importer or domestic distributor.

(5) "Mercury-added novelty" means a mercury-added product intended mainly for personal or household enjoyment or adornment. Mercury-added novelties include, but are not limited to, items intended for use as practical jokes, figurines, adornments, toys, games, cards, ornaments, yard statues and figures, candles, jewelry, holiday decorations, items of apparel including footwear, or similar products.

(6) "Mercury-added product" means a product, commodity, chemical, or a product with a component that contains mercury or a mercury compound intentionally added to the product, commodity, chemical, or component in order to provide a specific characteristic, appearance, or quality or to perform a specific function or for any other reason. These products include formulated mercury-added products and fabricated mercury-added products.

(7) "Mercury fever thermometer" means a mercury-added product that is used for measuring body temperature.

B. The mere presence of mercury as a contaminate does not of itself make a product a mercury-added product.

C. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Chapter, dental amalgam, amalgam dispose caps, capsulated dental amalgam, or elemental mercury intended to be used for dental amalgam is not included in the definition of mercury-added product when dispensed by a qualified health care provider. Manufacturers of dental amalgam, amalgam dispose caps, capsulated dental amalgam and/or components of these items, and elemental mercury intended to be used for dental amalgam are subject to this Section.

Acts 2006, No. 126, §1, eff. June 2, 2006.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2050.12 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2050.12
Public hearing; location; public comment; transcript
Status: in_force

A. A public hearing may be held in conjunction with an adjudicatory hearing. It shall be conducted in an orderly and expeditious manner.

B. A hearing held under this Section shall be held in the parish in which the activity that gives rise to the hearing has occurred, is occurring, or may occur.

C. Members of the public may present their oral statements, views, recommendations, opinions, and information at a hearing under this Section. They may file written statements and other documents such as charts, data, tabulations, and recommendations with the person conducting the hearing during the public hearing or after the hearing until the record of the hearing is closed.

D. The proceedings of the hearing shall be recorded and either a copy of the recording or a verbatim transcript recording shall be filed in the record of the hearing. All written statements, and other documents such as charts, data, tabulations, and recommendations filed with the person conducting the hearing shall be entered into the record of the hearing.

E. The presiding officer shall prepare a summary or report of the hearing and file it in the record of the hearing.

Acts 1995, No. 947, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2152 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2152
Policy; purpose
Status: in_force

The legislature finds and declares that the disposal and utilization of solid waste is a matter of vital concern to all citizens of this state, and that the safety and welfare of the people of Louisiana require efficient and reasonable regulation of solid waste disposal practices as well as a coordinated statewide resource recovery and management program.

Acts 1979, No. 449, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2574 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2574
Notifications
Status: in_force

A. Effective January 1, 2007, no mercury-added product shall be offered for final sale or use or distributed for promotional purposes in Louisiana without prior notification in writing by the manufacturer of the product to the Department of Environmental Quality in accordance with the requirements of this Section. The notification to the department shall at a minimum include:

(1) A brief description of the product to be offered for sale, use, or distribution.

(2) The amount of and purpose for mercury in each unit of the product.

(3) The total amount of mercury contained in all products manufactured by the manufacturer.

(4) The name and address of the manufacturer, and the name, address and phone number of a contact at the manufacturer.

(5) For purposes of complying with this Section, the manufacturer may submit to the Department of Environmental Quality copies of reports sent by the manufacturer to the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse (IMERC). At a minimum, copies of the reports shall contain the information listed in Paragraphs (1) through (4) of this Subsection. Any changes in the information contained in these reports shall be reported to the Department of Environmental Quality when those changes are reported to IMERC.

B. Any mercury-added product for which federal law governs notice in a manner that preempts state authority shall be exempt from the requirements of this Section.

C. With the approval of the Department of Environmental Quality, the manufacturer may supply the information required above for a product category rather than an individual product. The manufacturer shall update and revise the information in the notification whenever there is significant change in the information or when requested by the Department of Environmental Quality. The Department of Environmental Quality may define and adopt specific regulations in accordance with Louisiana Administrative Procedure Act for the content and submission of the required notification.

D. Public disclosure of confidential business information submitted to the Department of Environmental Quality pursuant to this Section shall be governed by the requirements of R.S. 30:2030. Notwithstanding the requirements of R.S. 30:2030, the state may provide the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse with copies of such information and the Department of Environmental Quality and the Interstate Mercury Education and Reduction Clearinghouse may compile or publish analyses or summaries of such information provided that the analyses or summaries do not identify any manufacturer or reveal any confidential information.

Acts 2006, No. 126, §1, eff. June 2, 2006.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2306 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2306
Manner of authorizing, issuing, executing, and delivering debt or guarantees of debt of other entities
Status: in_force

A. All bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, guarantees of the debt of other entities or pledges of assets to the payment of debts of other entities shall be authorized and issued pursuant to an executive order issued by the secretary of the department, and such executive order shall include a statement as to the maximum principal amount of any such obligation, guarantee, or pledge, the maximum interest rate to be incurred or borne by such obligation or guaranteed by such obligation, the maximum redemption premium, if any, and the maximum term in years for such evidence of indebtedness, obligation, guarantee, or pledge, and such executive order shall prescribe the form, anticipated terms, security, manner of execution, redemption features, and method of fixing the final details thereof. Such executive order may provide that the secretary or his designee shall execute in connection with any such obligation any other related contract including but not limited to credit enhancement devices, indentures of trust, pledge agreements, loan agreements, or any other ancillary agreements or contracts needed to accomplish the purposes for which said evidence of indebtedness, guarantee, or pledge is given in substantially the form attached to said executive order but which final indenture, guarantee, pledge, or other contract or agreement may contain such changes, additions, and deletions as shall, in the sole opinion of the designated officer of the department executing any such contract, be determined to be appropriate under the circumstances. The bonds, notes, other evidences of indebtedness, and obligations issued under the provisions of this Section shall be subject to the general laws of the state regarding defeasance and fully registered securities of public entities.

B. Bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the department may bear, and the department may guarantee or pledge the assets of the CWSRF to the payment of debt of other entities that bear, a rate or rates of interest at fixed, variable, or adjustable rates. Any such obligation may be noninterest bearing in the form of capital appreciation obligations.

C. Bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the department shall be sold by the State Bond Commission at either public or private sale and may be sold at such price or prices, including premiums and discounts, as may be determined to be in the best interest of the department by the secretary, with the approval of the State Bond Commission. If any such evidences of indebtedness are to be sold at a public sale, a notice of the sale shall be published in accordance with the provisions of R.S. 39:1426 and shall be awarded to the best bidder therefor by the State Bond Commission, but the State Bond Commission may reject any and all bids received.

D. The department may, in connection with the sale of any bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness, use municipal bond insurance, bank guarantees, surety bonds, letters of credit, interest rate swap agreements, and other devices to enhance the credit quality of any such obligations, the cost of which may be paid from the proceeds of the bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness or other lawfully available funds. Such credit enhancement devices may be entered into prior to, at the time of, or subsequent to, the issuance of any such obligations.

E. All executive orders of the secretary authorizing the issuance of bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness of the department shall be published once in the official journal of the state. It shall not be necessary to publish exhibits to any such executive order, but such exhibits shall be made available for public inspection at the offices of the secretary of the department at reasonable times and such fact must be stated in the publication. For a period of thirty days after the date of such publication any persons in interest may contest the legality of the executive order and any provisions thereof made for the security and payment of any such bonds, notes, or other obligations, guarantees, or pledges. After such thirty-day period, no one shall have any cause or right of action to contest the regularity, formality, legality, or effectiveness of said executive order and the provisions thereof or of the bonds, notes, or other evidence of indebtedness authorized thereby or any guarantee or pledge authorized thereby for any cause whatsoever. If no suit, action, or proceeding is begun contesting the validity of the bonds, notes, or other obligations authorized pursuant to such executive order within the thirty days herein prescribed, the authority to issue the bonds, notes, or other obligations, to enter into the guarantee, or to make the pledge to provide for the payment thereof, and the legality thereof, and of all the provisions of the executive order shall be conclusively presumed, and no court shall have authority or jurisdiction to inquire into any such matter.

F. Bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness issued under the authority of this Section or Chapter 32 of Title 40 of the Louisiana Revised Statutes of 1950, shall be exempt from all taxation for state, parish, municipal, or other purposes. Such bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness may be used for deposit with any officer, board, or other political subdivision of the state, in any case where, by present or future laws, deposit of security is required for state funds.

G. Notwithstanding the provisions of this Chapter, the department shall not directly issue any bonds, notes, or other evidences of indebtedness except to any commission, authority, or public corporation of the state, any public trust, political subdivision of the state, or any other entity having the authority to issue debt for or on behalf of the state, or any other political subdivision of the state.

Acts 2010, No. 296, §1, eff. June 17, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2050.4 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2050.4
Enforcement; adjudicatory hearing; public comment
Status: in_force

A. The respondent has the right to an adjudicatory hearing on a disputed issue of material fact or of law arising from a compliance order or a penalty assessment. This right may be exercised by filing a written request with the secretary.

B. An aggrieved person other than the respondent, may request in writing an adjudicatory hearing on a disputed issue of material fact or of law arising from the compliance order or penalty assessment. The secretary may grant the request when equity and justice require it.

C. When the request for an adjudicatory hearing raises an issue of law only, the secretary may limit the parties to the presentation of oral or written arguments. When the request for an adjudicatory hearing raises an issue of material fact, the scope of the hearing may be limited to the disputed issue of material fact.

D. A request for an adjudicatory hearing shall specify the provisions of the order or assessment on which the hearing is requested and shall briefly describe the basis for the request. The secretary may require the aggrieved person to supplement the specification or description.

E. A request for an adjudicatory hearing must be filed within thirty days after notice to the respondent of the compliance order or penalty assessment. Within thirty days after the filing of the request, the secretary shall notify the person requesting an adjudicatory hearing that the request has been granted or denied unless the secretary and the applicant have mutually agreed to enter into dispute resolution discussions in accordance with Subsection J of this Section.

F. The secretary may grant an untimely request for an adjudicatory hearing when the secretary determines that the untimeliness results from excusable neglect. The decision of the secretary to grant or to deny an untimely request is not subject to judicial review.

G.(1) If the secretary grants the hearing within the time provided for in Subsection E, the matter shall proceed pursuant to the applicable rules of the department and the Administrative Procedure Act.

(2) If the secretary denies the hearing within the time provided for in Subsection E, an applicant appealing the decision of the secretary shall, within thirty days from the date of notice of the denial, file an application for de novo review of the secretary's denial in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the parish of East Baton Rouge.

(3) If within the time provided for in Subsection E, the secretary has not granted or denied the hearing, or if the secretary and the applicant have not mutually agreed, in writing, to engage in dispute resolution discussions, then this inaction by the secretary shall be deemed to be a denial of the applicant's request for hearing and the applicant seeking de novo review of the secretary's decision shall, within thirty days after the expiration of the time period provided in Subsection E, file an application for de novo review of the secretary's denial in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court for the parish of East Baton Rouge.

H.(1) When a request for an adjudicatory hearing relates only to a provision of the compliance order or the penalty assessment, the secretary may order compliance or may assess a penalty as to those provisions on which a hearing is not requested.

(2) An action by the secretary under this Subsection is a final enforcement action.

I. Prior to the adjudicatory hearing, written public comments regarding the proposed compliance order or penalty assessment may be filed with the assistant secretary for the office of environmental compliance. The assistant secretary shall make the public comments available to the parties to the adjudicatory hearing.

J.(1) If the secretary and the applicant mutually agree to enter into dispute resolution discussions, they shall execute a written agreement prior to the expiration of the time provided for in Subsection E. The secretary and the applicant shall mutually select, or may extend, the expiration date for conducting the dispute resolution discussions, provided however that the time period does not exceed one year from the date the parties first execute a written agreement.

(2) All disputes that are resolved shall be reduced to writing. Either party may withdraw from the resolution process by sending a written notice of withdrawal, certified mail, return receipt requested, to the other party. If the dispute is not resolved within the time period agreed upon, within the one-year maximum, or by the date of the withdrawal of either party, the secretary shall, within thirty days, notify the person requesting an adjudicatory hearing that the request has been granted or denied.

Acts 1995, No. 947, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 1197, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2050.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2050.2
Enforcement; compliance orders
Status: in_force

A. When information indicates that a violation has occurred, is occurring, or is about to occur, the assistant secretary for the office of environmental compliance may issue a notice of violation or a compliance order within ten days after the completion of the investigation of the violation. Any notice of violation shall describe with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation and shall advise the respondent that further enforcement action may be taken if compliance is not promptly achieved. The assistant secretary shall notify the respondent of the issuance of the notice of violation or compliance order.

B. A compliance order shall:

(1) Describe with reasonable specificity the nature of the violation.

(2) Establish a time period for achieving compliance with the requirements of this Subtitle.

(3) Notify the respondent of the right to an adjudicatory hearing.

(4) Advise the respondent that civil penalties may be assessed for a violation.

C. The compliance order becomes a final enforcement action when the period of time for filing a request for an adjudicatory hearing lapses without a request being filed.

Acts 1995, No. 947, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1996; Acts 1999, No. 303, §1, eff. June 14, 1999.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2055.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2055.2
Odor nuisance ordinances
Status: in_force

A. The governing authority of the city of Shreveport shall have the power to enact ordinances to control and abate odor nuisances. Such ordinances shall provide that no person shall cause or allow the emission of odorous air contaminants from any single source that result in detectable odors.

B. The provisions of this Section shall be applicable only to control and abatement of emission of odorous air contaminants by a rendering plant located within the corporate limits of the municipality. For purposes of this Section, "rendering plant" shall mean an establishment primarily engaged in converting waste animal tissue into stable, value-added materials. Rendering can refer generally to any processing of animal byproducts into more useful material, or more narrowly to the rendering of whole animal fatty tissue into purified fats like lard or suet.

Acts 2007, No. 340, §1, eff. July 9, 2007; Acts 2011, 1 st Ex. Sess., No. 25, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2101 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2101
Citation
Status: in_force

This Chapter shall be known and may be cited as the "Louisiana Nuclear Energy and Radiation Control Law."

Acts 1979, No. 449, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1980.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2545 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2545
Beaches; glass container prohibition
Status: in_force

A. No person shall use or carry a glass water or beverage container upon a beach in this state, nor shall any person throw, drop, deposit, discard, or otherwise dispose of such a glass container on a beach.

B. For the purposes of this Section:

(1) "Beach" means any area constituting the shore of the Gulf of Mexico within the boundaries of the state of Louisiana or Lake Pontchartrain which is operated as or held out to the public as an area of recreation associated with the respective body of water.

(2) "Beverage" means any drink, whether liquid or frozen including, but not limited to, soda pop, ale, beer, wine, fruit punch, milk, shakes, floats, whiskey, or any mixture or combination which includes these products.

(3) "Glass container" means any glass object used to hold water or a beverage, which is typically used to drink, sip, or eat the beverage from, and which is typically designed to hold between one and sixteen four-ounce servings.

C. An offender may be cited for the offense by means of a ticket, summons, or other means provided by law. Whoever violates a provision of this Section shall, upon conviction, be fined not less than one hundred nor more than five hundred dollars.

Acts 1990, No. 949, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1019, §9.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2204.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2204.1
Limitations on responsibility of landowners for removal of hazardous waste
Status: in_force

No landowner shall be held responsible, by an order of the secretary or the courts, for removal or the cost of removal of hazardous waste which has been disposed of on his land by the act of a third party without his knowledge or reasonable belief thereof or consent or by a fortuitous event. The burden of proof by clear and convincing evidence shall rest with the landowner. The provisions of this Section shall not apply to any landowner engaged in the production, transportation, or disposal of solid or liquid waste with regard to the involvement of any specific property in any such operation.

Acts 1993, No. 930, §1, eff. June 25, 1993.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1178 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1178
Manner of enforcement
Status: in_force

The renewable energy lessor may enforce his privilege in the same manner as the privilege accorded other lessors.

Acts 2023, No. 455, §1, eff. June 28, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2465 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2465
Assistance and compensation
Status: in_force

A. Subject to the coordinator's authority as authorized by this Chapter to determine otherwise, any person or discharge cleanup organization may assist in abating, containing, or removing pollution from any unauthorized discharge of oil.

B. Any person or discharge cleanup organization that renders assistance in abating, containing, or removing pollution from any unauthorized discharge of oil may receive compensation from the fund for removal costs, provided the coordinator approves compensation prior to the assistance being rendered. Prior approval for compensation may be provided for in the state oil spill contingency plan. The coordinator, on petition and for good cause shown, may waive the prior approval prerequisite.

Acts 1991, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. April 23, 1991.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:545 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 545
Noncompliance not excused by contractual obligations
Status: in_force

Noncompliance with the provisions of this Chapter, or with rules, regulations, or orders issued by the commissioner under this Chapter may not be excused on the basis of any private contractual obligation. No person who complies with the provisions of this Chapter or with the rules, regulations or orders of the commissioner issued under this Chapter shall be liable in damages either ex contractu or ex delicto by reason of such compliance.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:602 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 602
Complaints
Status: in_force

Any party to a contract of sale complaining of anything done or omitted to be done by any natural gas company in contravention of the provisions of this Part may apply to the commissioner by petition, which shall briefly state the facts, whereupon a statement of the complaint thus made shall be forwarded by the commissioner to such natural gas company, which shall be called upon to satisfy the complaint or to answer the same in writing within a reasonable time to be specified by the commissioner.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2496 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2496
Exclusive authority
Status: in_force

The provisions of this Chapter shall be the exclusive authority on oil spill prevention, response, removal, and the limitations of liability.

Acts 1991, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 7, §1, eff. April 23, 1991; Acts 1995, No. 740, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2415 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2415
Procurement by public bodies of material with recycled content; reduction in solid waste
Status: in_force

A. The division of administration, in coordination with the department, shall adopt rules to require the use and purchase of goods with recycled content by all state agencies and political subdivisions. The rules shall, at a minimum, include the Environmental Protection Agency's comprehensive guideline for procurement of products containing recovered materials. Such rules shall also allow flexibility for the consideration of product performance, price, availability, content of recovered materials, remanufactured products, and no cost manufacturer take back programs.

B. Each state agency shall adopt a policy which encourages to the maximum extent possible the utilization of products with recycled contents.

C. The division of administration shall develop rules to allow up to a five percent differential in price for the purchase of products with recycled content, provided that such products are manufactured in Louisiana. These rules shall be reviewed annually by the division and department and a written report with data and recommendations submitted to the legislature annually.

D. The division shall establish a schedule to ensure a continued use of products with recycled content by establishing goals for state procurement of specified products. Such numeric goals shall be established by the division by January 1, 2007, and shall be directed toward the utilization of the maximum amount of goods and products with recycled content. In no case shall these goals be less than five percent of total applicable goods and purchases per year over a five-year period.

E. The Department of Transportation and Development shall, by January 1, 2007, initiate rulemaking to ensure the use of the maximum amount of recycled materials in highway construction and maintenance. The rules shall, at a minimum, include the Environmental Protection Agency's comprehensive guideline for procurement of products containing recovered materials.

F. State agencies in Louisiana and all others using state general funds shall encourage the purchase of paper and paper products, tissue and paper towels, which shall contain the recommended minimum content standards as provided in R.S. 30:2412.

G. The commissioner of administration shall monitor the goals for minimum uses by the state of recycled paper products, pursuant to R.S. 30:2415.1. A goal of an increase in the total state procurement shall be established that will result in an increase of five percent annually, until such time as a minimum goal of fifty percent of the total purchased is reached within ten years. A minimum of twenty percent of this total shall consist of high-grade white paper.

H. Each department of the executive branch, the legislature, and the judicial branch of state government shall adopt a program to reduce solid waste, including but not limited to adopting paperless office programs. Likewise each branch of state government shall adopt a recycling program with emphasis on single stream recycling so as to increase compliance.

Acts 1989, No. 185, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 1995, No. 1297, §1; Acts 2006, No. 829, §1; Acts 2010, No. 852, §1, eff. June 30, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:61 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 61
Exploitation of natural resources by secretary or employees prohibited
Status: in_force

A. Neither the secretary nor any salaried officer or employee of the department shall be or become:

(1) Actively interested in the exploiting for personal gain of any natural resources in the state;

(2) Employed by any person engaged in exploiting any natural resources of the state;

(3) An officer of or a member of the board of directors of any corporation engaging in the exploitation of natural resources of the state.

B. Violation of this Section shall constitute grounds for removal from office or dismissal from employment.

Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:1502 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 1502
Affordable, reliable, and clean energy security
Status: in_force

A. The Department of Conservation and Energy shall work with the Public Service Commission and Louisiana Economic Development to prioritize affordable, reliable, and clean energy security within the state of Louisiana by:

(1) Ensuring that, except as to nuclear resources and generation, the state prioritizes fuel sources primarily produced domestically within the United States.

(2) Minimizing reliance on foreign nations for critical materials or manufacturing by prioritizing infrastructure necessary to deliver energy to Louisiana customers.

(3) Ensuring Louisiana has a sufficient supply of renewable energy production sources, as provided in 42 U.S.C. 15852(b), to satisfy the demand for the state's business and industry.

B. Energy sources shall:

(1) Be affordable.

(2) Be reliable.

(3) Deliver cost savings to residential and commercial customers relative to energy sources as listed in 42 U.S.C. 15852(b) based on the average cost per unit of energy output calculated to exclude any direct or indirect payment by any level of government for the past five years. This Section does not apply to advanced nuclear resources or advanced nuclear generation.

(4) Be dispatchable.

(5) Use energy generated by hydrocarbons as a resource.

C.(1) Reliable energy sources shall meet all of the following criteria:

(a) Be dispatchable to meet the demands of residential and commercial customers at all times of day and during all seasons of the year with minimal interruptions during high usage periods.

(b) Include energy generated by hydrocarbons.

(2) Energy resources used for power generation shall:

(a) Enable a stable energy grid that:

(i) Has a continuously dispatchable electricity output.

(ii) Has the capability to increase or decrease electricity generation within a reasonable period of time to stabilize the electrical grid.

(b) Complement the balance of energy resources on the electrical grid in such a way as to optimize the balance of energy resources with respect to the needs of the grid.

D.(1) Green energy is any energy generated by utilizing those energy sources listed in 42 U.S.C. 15852(b) or hydrocarbons which, when combusted for the purpose of electricity generation meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards set by the United States Environmental Protection Agency under the authority of the Clean Air Act, and shall include:

(a) Energy generated by nuclear reactors.

(b) Energy generated using natural gas.

(2) Green energy as defined in this Subsection shall be applicable to all state programs that fund "green energy" or "clean energy" initiatives.

Acts 2025, No. 462, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:502 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 502
Declaration of energy emergency; purpose of Chapter
Status: in_force

A. It is the determination of the legislature that existing and impending shortages of natural gas and other fossil fuels caused by inadequate domestic production, environmental constraints, impediments to the intrastate transportation of natural gas, and the unavailability of imports sufficient to satisfy domestic demand have caused, and will cause curtailment of vital public services, severe economic dislocations and hardships, including loss of jobs, closing of factories and businesses, and reduction of crop planting and harvesting, and, thus, there exists a serious threat to the health, safety and welfare of the residents of the state of Louisiana creating a statewide energy emergency, which is part of a nationwide energy emergency. These conditions require that the state of Louisiana provide for an agency to assume primary governmental responsibility for developing and enforcing emergency energy shortage contingency plans; to implement and administer delegations of authority in this area to the state by the federal government; for dealing with existing and anticipated dislocations, shortages, distribution and transportation difficulties; to protect, conserve and replenish the natural resources of the state, and to prohibit and prevent the waste, wasteful use and wasteful utilization of natural gas, and to prevent the use of natural gas in such a manner and in such quantities as to threaten the premature exhaustion, extinction and destruction of the supply of natural gas in the state; to enforce the mandatory conservation, allocation, rationing, and safe and efficient transportation of these hydrocarbons and provide for an increase in available supplies of the state's energy resources, particularly the production, and safe and efficient transportation and use of natural gas, utilizing wholly intrastate facilities, in order to minimize the adverse effect of such shortages on the economy and industrial capacity of the state. The state must insure that measures will be taken to meet these existing emergencies and to conform as nearly as practical with national commitments and national requirements governing the transportation, distribution, and use of energy resources, and particularly to assure the best utilization for the benefit of the public of such natural gas as remains within the control and direction of the state of Louisiana.

B. The purpose for which this Chapter is enacted is to protect and conserve the natural energy resources of the state, and prevent the physical and economic waste, wasteful use and wasteful utilization thereof, through the development and implementation of a comprehensive energy policy for the state of Louisiana which will regulate the use, end-use, production, transportation, conservation, sale and prices of the state's energy resources, improve the available transportation facilities for movement of intrastate natural gas between the different parts of the state, provide for the equitable distribution of energy supplies to the residents and the commercial and industrial users of these energy supplies; and insure the maintenance of the highest practical level of energy supplies commensurate with the general health, safety, welfare and prosperity of the state.

C. This Chapter is enacted under the police power of the state, the residuum of the state's power not delegated to the federal government by the Constitution of the United States and the authority of the legislature under the Constitution of Louisiana, including Paragraphs (C) and (D) of Section 1 of Article VI of the Constitution of Louisiana.

D. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, this Chapter shall not apply to natural gas, not to exceed twenty five million cubic feet per day, owned or purchased by a person at or near the field where produced and transported by the purchaser through his own pipeline solely for his own consumption or to gas acquired, through an exchange of any portion of such gas, solely for his own consumption; provided that such gas may be made subject to the provisions of Part IV of this Chapter in cases where the secretary finds that an extreme emergency exists impairing gas otherwise required for the priorities set forth in R.S. 30:572(1)(a), (b), (c), (d), and (e) which cannot be substantially otherwise provided for.

E. Notwithstanding anything herein to the contrary, Parts IV, V, VI, and VII of this Chapter and provisions of Part III relating to excess capacity shall not apply to synthetic gas which is produced from coal, lignite, or petroleum coke for use and consumption solely within the state of Louisiana, and the heat content of which synthetic gas does not exceed 800 BTUs per standard cubic foot. All other provisions of this Chapter, however, shall be applicable to such gas.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M. Amended by Acts 1980, No. 119, §1; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:702 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 702
Definitions
Status: in_force

As used in this Part, the following words and phrases have the meanings hereinafter ascribed to them:

(1) "Hazardous liquid" means:

(a) Petroleum or any petroleum product, except as specifically excluded in this Paragraph, and

(b) Any substance or material which is in liquid state, excluding liquefied natural gas and hydrocarbons incidental thereto, when transported by pipeline facilities and which, as determined by the secretary by rule or regulation in accordance with R.S. 49:950 et seq., may pose an unreasonable risk to life or property when transported by pipeline facilities.

(2) "Intrastate pipeline facility" means pipeline facilities situated wholly within the boundaries of this state and which are used in the transportation of hazardous liquids in intrastate commerce.

(3) "Person" means any individual, firm, joint venture, partnership, corporation, association, any political subdivision of this state, municipality, cooperative association, or joint stock association, and includes any trustee, receiver, assignee or personal representative thereof.

(4) "Pipeline facility" means and shall include, without limitation, new and existing pipe, right of way, and any equipment, facility, or building used or intended for use in the transportation of hazardous liquids; but, rights of way as used in this Chapter does not authorize the secretary to prescribe the location or the routing of any pipeline facility.

(5) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Conservation and Energy.

(6) "Transportation of hazardous liquids" means the movement of hazardous liquids by pipeline, or their storage incidental to such movement, in or affecting intrastate commerce; however, it shall not include any such movement through gathering lines in rural locations, onshore production, refining, or manufacturing facilities, or storage or in-plant piping systems associated with any of such facilities.

Acts 1987, No. 794, §1; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:579 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 579
Discrimination by suppliers prohibited
Status: in_force

A. No supplier shall discriminate against any purchaser by failing to make allocations as described under the emergency gas shortage allocation plan, or under any rules, regulation or order issued pursuant thereto, or by imposing terms or conditions on sales upon any single purchaser other than those imposed upon all other purchasers at an equivalent level of trade, except as may be lawful and normal in general practice.

B. It is the intent of this Section that suppliers shall deal with the purchasers of intrastate natural gas supplies under the priority allocation plan provided for by this Part and as it may be changed from time to time by the commissioner. The emergency gas shortage allocation plan shall not be construed to require intrastate natural gas suppliers to sell to others who do not arrange proper credit or payment for products. However, a supplier may not require or impose discriminatorily more stringent credit terms or payment schedules on purchasers of intrastate natural gas supplies than the supplier's normal business practice during the first half of 1972.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2246 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2246
Failure to file contribution report timely; false reports
Status: in_force

A. Unless an extension is granted in writing by the secretary as provided for in R.S. 30:2247, contribution reports are due from all disposers and generators for hazardous waste in Louisiana by October 1, 1984.

B. Upon the failure of a disposer or generator to file the contribution report by October 1, 1984, or upon the timely filing of an incorrect report with the circumstances indicating negligence or intentional disregard of the requirements of this Chapter or the requirements and rules and regulations of the secretary in preparing the incorrect report, the secretary shall:

(1) Make an estimate from the best sources available to the secretary of the dry weight tons of hazardous waste generated or disposed in Louisiana by the disposer or generator or their predecessors at the same site, which estimate shall be deemed to be the extent of the disposer's or generator's contribution to the hazardous waste content of the land in Louisiana; provided that no adjustments provided in R.S. 30:2248 shall be allowed to any estimate made under this Subsection.

(2) Add a penalty of twenty-five percent of the tax determined to be due under this Chapter, which penalty shall be collected and enforced by the secretary of the Department of Revenue as part of the assessment and tax debt created by this Chapter against the generator or disposer, their successors, or any persons who are directors and officers of the generator or disposer on October 1, 1984.

C. In addition to the actions described above, if the facts and circumstances indicate that the contribution report was not filed by October 1, 1984 or was grossly incorrect intentionally, the secretary shall add a penalty of fifty percent.

D. If any assessment has already been issued under this Chapter by the secretary of revenue, that assessment shall be increased by the amount of any estimate and penalty levied herein, which tax shall be due from the date levied.

E. The intentional failure to file a return or the intentional filing of a grossly incorrect report by the individual or officer submitting it shall be punishable by imprisonment at hard labor for up to one year.

Acts 1984, 1st. Ex. Sess., No. 8, §1, eff. March 27, 1984; Acts 1984, No. 104, §1; Acts 1997, No. 658, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2393 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2393
Definitions
Status: in_force

The following terms shall have the following meanings for the purposes of this Chapter:

(1) "Available reclaimed water source" means reclaimed water that meets all of the following requirements:

(a)(i) The source of reclaimed water is of sufficient quality for the proposed beneficial use considering all relevant factors including but not limited to safety, effects of the beneficial use based on specific constituents in the reclaimed water source, and effects on state and federal water discharge permits. The quality of the reclaimed water shall meet all applicable state and federal water quality standards and the following standards at the discharge from the producer's plant site:

BOD 5 ≤ 5 mg/L

TSS ≤ 5 mg/L

NH ³ -N ≤ 2 mg/L

TN ≤ 10 mg/L

Chlorine residual ≥ 2 mg/L

(ii) The reclaimed water producer must keep verifiable records of water quality as determined by effluent testing seven days per week. Such tests must be either flow proportional composite sampling or electronic testing with laboratory verification.

(b) The use of reclaimed water will not adversely affect downstream water quality and will not be injurious to wildlife, fish, or plant life.

(c) The reclaimed water must be furnished to the user at a cost that is equal to or less than the cost of potable water, in accordance with R.S. 30:2396.

(2) "Beneficial uses" means the technologically feasible uses of reclaimed water for domestic, municipal, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or therapeutic purposes.

(3) "Reclaimed water" means water that, as a result of treatment of waste, is suitable for a direct beneficial use or a controlled use and that is therefore considered a valuable resource.

(4) "Reclaimed water producer" means any public or private entity that produces, transmits, or distributes reclaimed water.

Acts 2003, No. 985, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2014.4 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2014.4
Transfer of permits; disclosure
Status: in_force

When a permit or license issued or under review by the Department of Environmental Quality for a commercial hazardous waste disposal facility is to be transferred to another person, the permittee, licensee, or holder of such permit or license shall disclose the identity of the person to whom the permit or license is to be transferred to the department so that the department can obtain the information required in R.S. 30:2014.2. The department shall then provide notice of the intended transfer of ownership of a permit or license for such facility to each member of the legislature in whose district the facility is located, in accordance with R.S. 30:2181.

Acts 2001, No. 596, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2421 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2421
White goods; disposal prohibited; collection for recycling
Status: in_force

A. After July 1, 1990, no person may knowingly and intentionally place, discard, or otherwise knowingly and intentionally dispose of white goods except in a collection or recycling facility in accordance with the rules and regulations of the department. However, any person engaged in the collection, transportation, and/or disposal of white goods pursuant to a contract with a parish or municipality on the effective date of this Chapter may continue to dispose of said white goods collected, transported, or presented for disposal during the term of said contract and any extension authorized under such contracts.

B. The department shall establish by rule a procedure to require that all persons engaged in the retail sale of products that will meet the definition of white goods once the product becomes inoperable or discarded post written notice at the point of sale informing the purchaser of the options and preferred methods for disposal of the used items.

C. Nothing herein shall be construed to prohibit the collection, transportation, or disposal of white goods mixed or commingled with solid waste by any person engaged in the collection, transportation, and/or disposal of solid waste, unless it can be demonstrated that such person knew that such white goods had been mixed or commingled with the solid waste collected, transported, and/or disposed and unless it can be demonstrated that it is economically and environmentally feasible to remove and recover such white goods from the solid waste collected, transported, and/or disposed.

Acts 1989, No. 185, §1, eff. Sept. 1, 1989; Acts 2006, No. 829, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:28.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 28.1
Avoiding disturbance of privately owned water well
Status: in_force

A. An owner or operator of a permitted oil and gas well shall construct and maintain the drilling activity area in such a manner as to avoid disturbing the use of any privately owned active water well existing at the time of the application for the permit to drill.

B. An owner or operator of a permitted oil and gas well may negotiate with the owner of a privately owned active water well to relocate such water well. The owner or operator of a permitted oil and gas well shall pay for the relocation and plugging of the water well.

Acts 2010, No. 646, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:24 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 24
Enforcement of well, structure, and pipeline rules, regulations, and orders
Status: in_force

A. Whenever, on the basis of any information, the commissioner determines that any person is in violation of any rule or regulation promulgated pursuant to R.S. 30:4(D), he shall give written notice to the violator of his failure to comply with such rule or regulation. If such violation extends beyond the thirtieth day after notification, the commissioner after notice and hearing may issue an order requiring compliance within a specified time period or he may commence a civil action in the district court in the parish in which the violation occurred for appropriate relief.

B. If such violator fails to take corrective action within the time specified in the order, he shall be liable for a civil penalty, to be assessed by the commissioner, of not more than two hundred dollars for each day of continued non-compliance. No penalty shall be assessed until the person charged shall have been given notice and an opportunity for a hearing on such charge. In determining the amount of the penalty, or the amount agreed upon in compromise, the gravity of the violation, and the demonstrated good faith of the person charged in attempting to achieve rapid compliance after notification of a violation, shall be considered by the commissioner.

Added by Acts 1979, No. 674, §2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:606 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 606
Rehearings; court review of orders
Status: in_force

A. Any party to an intrastate natural gas sale contract aggrieved by an order issued by the commissioner in a proceeding under this Part may apply for a rehearing within thirty days after the issuance of such order. The application for rehearing shall set forth specifically the ground or grounds upon which such application is based. Upon such application the commissioner shall have power to grant or deny rehearing or to abrogate or modify his order without further hearing. Unless the commissioner acts upon the application for rehearing within thirty days after it is filed, such application may be deemed to have been denied. No proceeding to review any order of the commissioner shall be brought by any person unless such person shall have made application to the commissioner for a rehearing thereon. Until the record in a proceeding shall have been filed in a court under Subsection (B) of this Section, the commissioner may at any time, upon reasonable notice and in such manner as he shall deem proper, modify or set aside, in whole or in part, any finding or order made or issued by him under the provisions of this Part.

B. Any party to a proceeding under this Part aggrieved by an order issued by the commissioner in such proceeding may obtain a review of such order in the district court having jurisdiction, by filing in such court, within sixty days after the order of the commissioner upon the application for rehearing, or within sixty days following the period the application for rehearing may be deemed to have been denied because of the failure of the commissioner to act, a written petition praying that the order of the commissioner be modified or set aside in whole or in part. A copy of such petition shall forthwith be transmitted by the clerk of the court to the commissioner and thereupon the commissioner shall file with the court the record upon which the order complained of was entered. Upon the filing of such petition such court shall have jurisdiction to affirm, modify, or set aside such order in whole or in part. No objection to the order of the commissioner shall be considered by the court unless such objection shall have been urged before the commissioner in the application for rehearing unless there is reasonable ground for failure so to do. The finding of the commissioner as to facts, if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive. If any party shall apply to the court for leave to adduce additional evidence, and shall show to the satisfaction of the court that such additional evidence is material and that there were reasonable grounds for failure to adduce such evidence in the proceedings before the commissioner, the court may order such additional evidence to be taken before the commissioner and to be adduced upon the hearing in such manner and upon terms and conditions as the court may deem proper. The commissioner may modify his findings as to the facts by reason of the additional evidence so taken, and he shall file with the court such modified or new findings, which if supported by substantial evidence, shall be conclusive, and his recommendation, if any, for the modification or setting aside of the original order. The judgment and decree of the court, affirming, modifying, or setting aside, in whole or in part, any such order of the commissioner, shall be final, subject to review by the appellate court under the laws relating to appeals and subject to review by the Supreme Court of Louisiana upon its writs of certiorari.

C. The filing of an application for rehearing under Subsection (A) of this Section shall not, unless specifically ordered by the commissioner, operate as a stay of the commissioner's order. The commencement of proceedings under Subsection (B) of this Section shall not, unless specifically ordered by the court, operate as a stay of the commissioner's order.

Added by Acts 1973, Ex.Sess., No. 16, §1, emerg. eff. Dec. 8, 1973, at 9:55 A.M.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:49 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 49
Reporting volumes of gas production
Status: in_force

Any person required to report volumes of gas production under the laws of this state shall report such volumes in number of thousands of standard cubic feet calculated and determined under the provisions of this Part.

Acts 1992, No. 55, §2
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:150 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 150
Louisiana Royalty Relief Dry Hole Credit Program; requirements; conditions; limitations; expiration
Status: in_force

A. Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, the Department of Conservation and Energy may by rule provide a dry hole credit program as set forth in this Section for certain drilling in mineral leases on state-owned lands or state-owned water bottoms in the coastal zone, as defined in R.S. 49:214.24.

B. The requirements for the royalty relief dry hole credit are as follows:

(1) Drilling of a well qualified to earn a dry hole credit must have started on or after July 1, 2005.

(2) The well must be drilled on state-owned lands or state-owned water bottoms in the coastal zone, as defined in R.S. 49:214.24, pursuant to a mineral lease with the state.

(3) The well must be drilled to a depth of greater than 19,999 feet true vertical depth.

(4) The well must reach the target qualifying depth, be logged by suitable geophysical techniques for presentation to and verification by the office of mineral resources, and not be commercially productive of oil or gas.

(5) The geophysical well information for the dry hole is released to the office of mineral resources for public use.

(6) Other than state income tax credit, a state tax credit or royalty modification is not otherwise available or is not claimed for the well, or is surrendered and canceled retroactively to the beginning of such credit or royalty modification if a dry hole credit is claimed.

(7) The dry hole well records and reports shall at all times be open to inspection and audit by the Department of Conservation and Energy.

(8) The royalty relief dry hole credit is available and taken subject to, and in compliance with, the provisions of this Section.

(9) The royalty relief dry hole credit is applied for and obtained prior to June 30, 2009.

C.(1) The royalty relief dry hole credit shall be in the form of a deduction from future royalty payments due to the state on production derived from depths of greater than nineteen thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine feet true vertical depth from any new well drilled on state-owned lands or state-owned water bottoms in the coastal zone, as defined in R.S. 49:214.24, subsequent to the dry hole for which drilling commences on or after July 1, 2005. The deduction shall be the lesser of: (a) five billion cubic feet of natural gas production, or (b) fifty percent of the cost of the dry hole well. The cost of the dry hole well shall be calculated and determined in accordance with rules, methods and procedures adopted by the State Mineral and Energy Board. The royalty relief shall be prorated over a thirty-six month period, provided that the net royalty payments to the state shall not be less than the minimum required by R.S. 30:127. If application of the credit would result in payments less than that required by R.S. 30:127, the office of mineral resources may extend the royalty relief credit for an additional period of up to twenty-four months to allow full use of the credit, up to a total of sixty months.

(2) The dry hole shall be proportional to the state percentage of the unit of the producing well.

(3) If the dry hole was drilled on mixed interest property, the Mineral Board shall determine the proportion of the dry hole credit to be given.

D. If a dry hole credit is offered as provided in this Section, the Department of Conservation and Energy, office of mineral resources, shall certify qualification for the royalty relief dry hole credit and provide forms and procedures relative to certification. Application and obtaining certification as a well qualified to receive the royalty relief dry hole credit shall be completed prior to drilling of the qualifying well.

E. No more than a maximum total of twenty wells shall be certified by the department under the program as qualifying for royalty relief dry hole credit. On and after June 30, 2009, no well shall be eligible or certified by the department as qualifying for royalty relief dry hole credit.

F. To utilize the royalty relief dry hole credit:

(1) Application shall be made to the office of mineral resources for approval to utilize the credit and designate the royalty obligation to which the credit will be applied.

(2) The applicant shall agree to fully compensate for the adverse impacts to coastal wetlands in an amount equal to at least one hundred twenty-five percent of the habitat value of the affected wetlands, calculated in accordance with an evaluation method adopted by the Department of Conservation and Energy.

(3) The royalty relief dry hole credit must be utilized within four years from the date the credit is issued by the office of mineral resources , except for extensions of the credit as authorized in Subsection C herein.

G. Regardless of when obtained, all royalty relief dry hole credits authorized by this Section shall expire on June 30, 2013.

H. The Department of Conservation and Energy shall promulgate and adopt rules in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act to implement the provisions of this Section if a dry hole credit program is established.

I. The provisions of this Section shall expire and terminate on June 30, 2013.

J. The provisions of this Subpart shall be known and may be cited as the Developed Resources In Louisiana (DRIL) Act of 2005.

Acts 2005, No. 298, §1, eff. June 29, 2005; Acts 2009, No. 196, §2, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024; Acts 2023, No. 378, §1, eff. June 14, 2023.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2344 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2344
Rules and regulations
Status: in_force

A. The secretary shall promulgate all rules and regulations necessary for the implementation of the provisions of this Chapter no later than December 31, 1985. The secretary shall seek the input of local educational agencies in the development of the rules and regulations.

B. The department shall promulgate specific rules and regulations governing:

(1) Procedures and requirements for certification of contractors involved in asbestos abatement activities.

(2) Objective standards to determine levels of airborne asbestos fiber concentration in school buildings above which requirements for priority abatement will be triggered.

(3) Air monitoring requirements for asbestos concentrations due to friable asbestos-containing materials in schools.

(4) Any other activities authorized by this Chapter.

(5) With respect to local education agencies, any rules or regulations by the department regarding the training of maintenance and custodial staff who may work in a building that contains asbestos-containing building material shall not exceed or be more stringent than regulations promulgated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.

C. In acting on rules and regulations, the department shall take into consideration the following:

(1) The department shall set exposure levels taking into account technologically and economically feasible monitoring methods and control procedures.

(2) The department shall base rules and regulations upon the best and most current scientific and medical data.

(3) Without endangering the public health, the department shall give due consideration to uniform rules and definitions of other states and of the United States.

D. Abatement activities shall be commenced as soon as rules and regulations concerning abatement are promulgated by the Department of Environmental Quality, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

E. The building owner shall select the method of abatement to be used from those set forth in R.S. 30:2343(1) or as provided in the rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this Chapter. Any method selected must be used in the manner that such rules and regulations require.

F. No school, which has commenced abatement work at a particular site prior to the effective date of regulations or standards adopted or imposed pursuant to this Chapter, shall be required to conduct a different type of abatement at the same site unless levels of airborne asbestos fibers exceed an abatement action level established by the regulations adopted pursuant to this Chapter which are applicable to all school buildings.

Acts 1985, No. 394, §1, eff. July 10, 1985; Acts 1986, No. 1069, §1; Acts 1992, No. 608, §1; Acts 2010, No. 295, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:148.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 148.1
Lessor defined
Status: in_force

For the purposes of this Subpart the term "lessor" shall refer to and include the State Mineral and Energy Board, any school district, levee district, drainage district, municipal or parochial subdivision of this state, any penal or charitable institution, any state university or college, and any other unit or institution deriving its authority and powers from the sovereignty of the state.

Acts 1995, No. 88, §1, eff. June 12, 1995; Acts 2008, No. 315, §1; Acts 2009, No. 196, §2, eff. July 1, 2009.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2272.1 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2272.1
Minimum remediation standards
Status: in_force

A.(1) The Department of Environmental Quality shall adopt minimum remediation standards for soil, groundwater, and surface water quality necessary for the remediation of contamination of immovable property. The standards shall be developed with input at all major points from an advisory group or task force appointed by the governor, balanced for thoroughness and fairness, composed of representatives of industry, business, state and local agencies with related jurisdiction, universities, environmental organizations, and other citizens. The remediation standards shall be developed to ensure that the potential for harm to public health and safety and to the environment is minimized to acceptable levels, taking into consideration the location, the surroundings, the intended use of the property, the potential exposure to the discharge, and the surrounding ambient conditions, whether naturally occurring or man-made. The standards shall be adopted as a rule in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act.

(2) Until the minimum remediation standards for the protection of public health and safety as described herein are adopted, the department shall not approve any voluntary remedial action plan under Part II of this Chapter.

B. In developing minimum remediation standards the department shall:

(1) Base the standards on generally accepted and peer reviewed scientific evidence or methodologies to the extent practical.

(2) Base the standards upon reasonable assumptions of exposure scenarios as to amounts of contaminants to which humans or other receptors will be exposed, when and where those exposures will occur, and the amount of that exposure.

(3) Avoid the use of redundant conservative assumptions. The department shall avoid to the maximum extent reasonable the use of redundant conservative assumptions by the use of parameters that provide an adequate margin of safety and which avoid the use of unrealistic conservative exposure parameters and which guidelines make use of the guidance and regulations for exposure assessment developed by the United States Environmental Protection Agency pursuant to the "Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980", 42 U.S.C. 9601 et seq. and other statutory authorities as applicable.

(4) Where feasible, establish the remediation standards as numeric or narrative standards setting forth acceptable levels or concentrations for particular contaminants.

Acts 1995, No. 1092, §1, eff. July 1, 1996.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:9.2 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 9.2
Cross-unit well
Status: in_force

A. The following definitions shall apply where used in this Section:

(1) "Cross-unit person" means an interested owner, interested party, or represented party as defined in LAC 43:XIX, other than a mineral lessee.

(2) "Cross-unit well" means a well drilled horizontally and completed under multiple drilling units that is designated by the commissioner after notice and public hearing to serve as a unit well, substitute unit well, or alternate unit well for said units.

(3) "Short unit" means a unit in which the proposed well shall have less than five hundred feet of perforated lateral.

(4) "Timely objection" means an objection mailed to the commissioner and the applicant at least fifteen days prior to the application hearing.

B. The commissioner is authorized to permit the drilling of cross-unit wells as provided in this Section.

C. The commissioner shall not authorize or permit a cross-unit well that is proposed to have less than five hundred feet of perforated lateral in any unit to be served by the cross-unit well if one of the following occurs:

(1) The preapplication notice and hearing application do not expressly set forth the cross-unit person's right to object to the application.

(2) A timely objection is filed by a cross-unit person who owns an interest in a short unit and, on the date of the application hearing, the short unit either is not producing or is producing only from one or more horizontal laterals with a combined length of perforated lateral less than five hundred feet.

Acts 2015, No. 253, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:108 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 108
R.S. 30:105 to 30:106 not applicable to state lands
Status: in_force

R.S. 30:105 to 30:106 1 shall not apply to minerals produced from lands belonging to the state.

1 Repealed. See, now, R.S. 31:210.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:221 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 221
Aerial photographs or mosaics; filing; copies; penalty
Status: in_force

A. Any person who takes photographs from the air in this state for the purpose of making aerial maps or mosaics must file a list of these photographs or mosaics within thirty days after their completion with the State Department of Conservation. On request of the department a copy shall be furnished on the same scale as it is offered for sale to the public. The cost of these copies shall be borne by the department.

B. This Section does not apply to any federal agency or to any person making aerial photographs or mosaics for any federal agency.

C. Whoever violates this Section shall be fined not less than five hundred dollars nor more than one thousand dollars, or imprisoned for not less than thirty days nor more than six months, or both.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2195.3 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2195.3
Source of funding; limitations on disbursements from the Tank Trust Account; limit on amount in Tank Trust Account
Status: in_force

A.(1)(a) A fee is imposed on the first sale or delivery of a motor fuel upon withdrawal from bulk of that fuel. This fee shall not, however, apply to new or used motor oil. Each operator of a bulk facility on withdrawal from bulk of a motor fuel shall either retain or collect from the person who ordered the fuel a fee in an amount determined as follows:

(i) An amount not to exceed seventy-two dollars for each separate withdrawal of nine thousand gallons as determined by the secretary after consideration of the recommendations of the board as provided for in R.S. 30:2195.8(A).

(ii) For withdrawals either greater or smaller than nine thousand gallons, the fee shall be adjusted by the cent-per-gallon conversion equivalent calculated according to the fee established in Item (i) of this Subparagraph.

(b) However, those persons ordering the withdrawal of motor fuel from a bulk facility into a cargo tank which is directly transported and completely unloaded into either tanks exempted from registration requirements as provided by R.S. 30:2194(C), those underground storage tanks exempted from taxation pursuant to R.S. 47:715 and 720, or those underground storage tanks identified in R.S. 30:2195.2(B)(1)(a) and (b) shall not be required to pay the fees established by this Paragraph. These fees shall also not apply to exchanges between registered and certified bulk facilities.

(2) The fee required under this Section shall be computed on the net (60 degrees fahrenheit) amount of a motor fuel delivered into a cargo tank.

(3) Any person who imports motor fuel in a cargo tank or a barge destined for delivery into an underground storage tank, shall pay to the secretary a fee on a number of gallons imported, computed as provided by Paragraph (1) of this Subsection. If a bulk facility operator imports motor fuel in a cargo tank or a barge, the bulk facility operator is not required to pay the fee on that imported motor fuel if the motor fuel is delivered to a bulk facility from which the motor fuel will be withdrawn from bulk.

(4) Within thirty days of beginning operation of a bulk facility, each operator of a bulk facility and each person covered by Paragraph (3) of this Subsection shall file an application with the secretary for a certificate to deliver motor fuels into a cargo tank destined for delivery into underground storage tanks, regardless of whether these tanks are exempted from the registration requirements of R.S. 30:2194(C). All applications shall be filed utilizing a form approved by the secretary. A certificate issued by the secretary under this Subsection is valid on and after the date of its issuance and until the certificate is surrendered by the holder or cancelled by the secretary.

(5) Fees required by this Section shall not apply to a delivery of motor fuel destined for export from this state.

(6) All invoices or transaction statements issued by operators of bulk facilities for the transfer of motor fuels into a cargo tank shall clearly indicate whether or not the transaction was a withdrawal from bulk as defined by R.S. 30:2194. All records documenting transfers to and from bulk facilities shall be maintained for four years and be available for inspection by the department upon request.

(7) Each operator of a bulk facility shall list, as a separate line item on each invoice, the amount of the fees due under this Section, and file the report with the secretary and remit the amount of fees required to be collected or paid during the preceding month. The report and any fees required shall be deemed received if postmarked on or before the twenty-fifth day of the month following the end of each calendar month, and shall be filed on a form approved by the secretary. Filing of the report and remittance of the fee is required of each operator of a bulk facility, regardless of whether the certificate specified in Paragraph (4) of this Subsection is sought or obtained. Fees not received in a timely manner will be subject to a late penalty of an additional five percent per month of the calculated fee that is not remitted. Late penalty charges shall not exceed fifteen percent of the fee that is not remitted for a particular month. Failure to pay the fee in accordance with this Section within ninety days after the due date shall constitute a violation and shall subject the person to applicable enforcement actions under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, including but not limited to revocation or suspension of the applicable permit, license, registration, or variance.

(8) All invoices, reports, and any other records required under this Section as well as rules adopted by the secretary pursuant to this Section, or copies thereof, shall be retained for a period of four years after the date on which the document is prepared.

(9) Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 336, §2, eff. June 16, 1995.

(10) Repealed by Acts 2018, No. 150, §2.

(11) A bulk facility operator may retain an amount not to exceed one percent of the monthly fee collected pursuant to Paragraph (1) of this Subsection by that operator as compensation for collecting and remitting the fee. One percent of the fee can be retained by the bulk facility operator if the report and fee are remitted to the secretary in the time frame specified in Paragraph (7) of this Subsection.

B. All owners of motor fuel underground storage tanks storing new or used motor oil shall pay to the secretary a fee not to exceed two hundred seventy-five dollars per eligible underground motor fuel storage tank per year. Late fees shall be established by the department by rule in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. Failure to pay the prescribed fee as provided herein, within ninety days after the due date, shall constitute a violation and shall subject the person to applicable enforcement actions under the Louisiana Environmental Quality Act, including but not limited to revocation or suspension of the applicable permit, license, registration, or variance.

C. The secretary shall not make any disbursements from the Tank Trust Account to any person who has not complied with and paid the fee assessment as required by Subsection B of this Section.

Acts 1988, No. 767, §2, eff. July 15, 1988; Acts 1989, No. 513, §1; Acts 1990, No. 1014, §§1, 2, eff. Sept. 1, 1990; Acts 1991, No. 890, §1; Acts 1993, No. 176, §1; Acts 1995, No. 336, §§1, 2, eff. June 16, 1995; Acts 1999, No. 348, §1, eff. June 16, 1999; Acts 1999, No. 349, §1, eff. June 16, 1999; Acts 2001, No. 550, §1; Acts 2004, No. 692, §1, eff. July 6, 2004; Acts 2016, No. 521, §1; Acts 2018, No. 150, §§1, 2; Acts 2021, No. 114, §18, eff. July 1, 2022 .
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2351.55 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2351.55
Discriminatory and retaliatory actions
Status: in_force

A. A person may not discriminate or take retaliatory action against a person who exercises in good faith a right established by this Chapter or a regulation promulgated under it.

B. A person claiming to be aggrieved by a discriminatory or retaliatory action may commence an action under the terms and provisions of R.S. 30:2027.

C-E. Repealed by Acts 1995, No. 1085, §2.

Acts 1993, No. 224, §1; Acts 1995, No. 1085, §§1, 2.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2364 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2364
Emergency Response Commission
Status: in_force

The Hazardous Material Information Development, Preparedness, and Response Advisory Board is hereby abolished and in its place the Emergency Response Commission, which is appointed by the governor, is hereby established and will assume the advisory function of the board. The secretary of the Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality or his designee shall also serve as a member of the Emergency Response Commission. This commission shall function under the supervision and authority of the deputy secretary, Department of Public Safety and Corrections, public safety services, office of the state police, and shall also be responsible for the following:

(1) Establishing emergency planning districts.

(2) Appointing local emergency planning committees.

(3) Supervising and coordinating the activities of the local emergency planning committees.

(4) Providing the administrator of the United States Environmental Protection Agency with information concerning notification received on certain releases of hazardous materials and substances.

(5) Designating, as necessary, additional facilities to be covered under this Chapter.

(6) Recommending a standardized inventory form to be used in gathering the required information under this Chapter and providing for alternative reporting procedures to reduce duplication of reporting.

(7) Recommending, as necessary, additional substances which should be defined as hazardous materials based on location, toxicology, known short and long term health effects, and other characteristics.

(8) Acting as the centralized advisory body for coordinating the state and federal activities concerning community "Right-to-Know" legislation with regard to hazardous materials and substances.

(9) Establishing procedures for receiving and processing requests from the public for information.

(10) Reviewing local emergency planning committee (LEPC) emergency response plans and making recommendations to the LEPC on revisions of the plan that may be necessary to ensure the coordination of such plan with emergency response plans of other emergency planning districts.

Acts 1985, No. 435, §1, eff. July 11, 1985; Acts 1987, No. 347, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1046, §1.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:129 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 129
Powers, duties, and authority of board; pooling agreements; operating units; fees
Status: in_force

A. The board shall have full supervision of all mineral leases granted by the state, in order that it may determine that the terms of these leases are fully complied with, and it has general authority to take any action for the protection of the interests of the state. The board shall take all appropriate action, including the recovery of nonproducing leased acreage whenever possible, to assure that undeveloped or nonproducing state lands and water bottoms are reasonably and prudently explored, developed, and produced for the public good. It may institute actions to annul a lease upon any legal ground. The board has authority to enter into agreements or to amend a lease in whatever manner may most benefit the state. It may join in pooling and unitization agreements covering state lands and water bottoms, and mineral and royalty rights in, to, and under state lands and water bottoms either alone or in conjunction with any other lease, mineral, or royalty rights in and under any other property, so as to create, by the agreement, one or more pooled units. The board may agree in the event of production of minerals from any unit so created, that the state shall receive and accept on account of production, whether or not production is from any part of the state property within the unit, a share of unit production or proceeds proportionate to that part of the production or proceeds which the state is fairly entitled to receive under the unit agreement. In determining this proportionate part which the state may receive, the board may consider the surface acreage, the estimated original reserves in place, the estimated ultimate recovery, sand thickness, porosity, permeability as determined by approved engineering practices, and any other relevant factors. This proportionate share of unit production or proceeds shall be in lieu of all other royalties or other payments which would accrue to the state on account of production from, or attributable to, any part of the state property included in the unit. The office of mineral resources may collect a fee of five hundred dollars to cover the cost of docketing and advertising any instrument related to the administration of mineral leases under the provisions of this Part. In addition, the office may collect a fee of thirty-five dollars per hour for each hour or portion thereof spent in verification of claims, disputes, or questions pertaining to the terms, conditions, obligations, and duties expressed or implied in the state mineral lease.

B.(1)(a) "Operating unit" as herein used means that number of surface acres of land which, under regular or special rules of the secretary or other authority having control in the premises, or by agreement of the lessors, lessees, and mineral and royalty owners, may be pooled and unitized for development and operation as a unit. An agreement creating an operating unit may provide for cycling, recycling, pressure maintenance, or repressuring in fields productive of oil, gas, and gas from which condensate, distillate, or other product may be separated or extracted.

(b) "Reworking operations" means the good faith downhole work performed on a well after its completion in a good faith effort to secure production where there has been none, restore production that has ceased, or increased production.

(c) "Commencement of operations for the drilling of a well" means actual spudding in of a well with drilling equipment adequate for the good faith drilling of a well to a depth that is reasonably calculated to establish oil and gas production affecting the lands where such well is commenced.

(2) The commencement of operations for the drilling of a well, the conducting of reworking operations, or production of minerals on any portion of a unit which embraces all or any part of the property covered by a contract of lease in effect on August 1, 1991 or thereafter shall have the same effect, under the terms of the lease as if it had occurred on the lands embraced by the lease.

(3) However, each mineral lease contract entered into by the board after August 1, 1991, shall contain a clause, commonly referred to as a "Pugh clause", which shall provide that the commencement of operations for the drilling of a well, the conducting of reworking operations, or production of minerals, on any portion of a unit which embraces all or any part of the property covered by such lease shall maintain the lease in effect under the terms of the lease only as to the part of the leased property embraced by the unit. The clause may provide that the acreage outside the unit(s) may be maintained by any means covered by the lease, but if by rental payments, then such payment may be reduced proportionately to the amount of acreage included in the unit as it bears to the total acreage in the lease, provided that the rental per acre on the outside acreage shall not be less than one-half of the cash payment paid for the lease per acre nor shall the lease on the non-unitized acreage be extended more than two years beyond the primary term.

Amended by Acts 1950, No. 46, §1. Acts 1986, No. 764, §1; Acts 1991, No. 786, §1, eff. July 19, 1991; Acts 1997, No. 229, §1; Acts 2002, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 106, §1, eff. April 18, 2002; Acts 2024, 3rd Ex. Sess., No. 17, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2025; Acts 2025, No. 458, §1, eff. Oct. 1, 2025.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:211 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 211
Geophysical and geological survey, and public lands defined
Status: in_force

A. "Public lands" means lands belonging to the state or its agencies and which may be leased under Chapter 2 of this Title.

B. "Geophysical and geological survey" means magnetometer surveys, gravitymeter surveys, torsion balance surveys, seismograph surveys, using either the reflection or the refraction method, soil analysis surveys which tend to show the presence or absence of hydrocarbons, electrical surveys, using either the Eltran or some similar method and any method utilizing short wave radio.

Amended by Acts 1950, No. 316, §18.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2303 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2303
Clean Water State Revolving Fund; authorized activities
Status: in_force

A. Money in or credited to the account of or to be received by the CWSRF, including sums to be received pursuant to letters of credit or from any other source, shall be expended, committed, or pledged, in a manner consistent with terms and conditions of the grants and other sources of such deposits, credits, and letters of credit, and of all applicable federal and state law and may be used:

(1) To make loans to eligible recipients, or to purchase debt obligations using federal funds or funds on deposit in, credited to, or to be received by the CWSRF, including from the proceeds of letters of credit, at or below market interest rates for a period not to exceed thirty years from the completion of the construction of a project approved by the department.

(2) To offer and to make or enter into loan guarantees for eligible recipients.

(3) To provide payments to reduce interest on loans and loan guarantees to eligible recipients.

(4) To provide additional subsidization to eligible recipients in the form of bond interest subsidies, forgiveness of principal, negative interest loans or grants, or any combination of these.

(5) To provide bond guarantees to eligible recipients.

(6) To provide assistance to eligible recipients with respect to the nonfederal share of the costs of a project.

(7) To finance the cost of facility planning and the preparation of plans, specifications, and estimates for construction of projects for eligible recipients as may be approved by the department.

(8) To provide financial assistance to eligible recipients for the construction and rehabilitation of a project on the state priority list.

(9) To secure principal, interest, and premium if any, on bonds or other evidence of indebtedness issued by the department, or any agency, commission, authority, or public corporation of the state, by any public trust or by any other entity having the authority to issue debt for or on behalf of the state, or any political subdivision of the state if the proceeds of such bonds are deposited in the CWSRF, if the proceeds of such bonds are used to pay for a project approved by the department, or if the proceeds of such bonds are used to refund any obligation the proceeds of which are used to pay for an approved project to the extent provided and allowed by the terms of the federal grant.

(10) To make, enter into, or provide for loan guarantees for similar revolving funds established by instrumentalities, public trusts or agencies of the state, political subdivisions, or intermunicipal or interstate agencies.

(11) To purchase or refinance, at or below market rates, debt incurred by political subdivisions for wastewater treatment projects, where such debt obligations were incurred after March 7, 1985.

(12) To improve credit market access by guaranteeing, arranging, or purchasing bond insurance or other credit enhancement devices for debt obligations issued by the department, or any eligible recipient issued for a purpose authorized by this Section.

(13) To provide any other assistance or to fund any other programs which the federal government authorizes by law, regulation, or the terms of any grants.

(14) To fund the administrative expenses of the department related to the CWSRF.

(15) To provide for any other expenditure consistent with the federal grant program and state law, including grants.

B. Money not currently needed for the operation of the Clean Water State Revolving Fund or otherwise dedicated may be invested in an interest-bearing account. All such interest earned on investments shall be credited to the Clean Water State Revolving Fund.

Acts 2010, No. 296, §1, eff. June 17, 2010.
La. Rev. Stat. § 30:2531.9 — LA Code / Code revised-statutes / Title 30 / Section 2531.9
Application of other laws
Status: in_force

A. Nothing in this Part shall limit the authority of any state agency to enforce any other laws, rules, or regulations relating to waste or the management of solid, biomedical, or hazardous waste.

B. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to affect any ordinance of any political subdivision of the state of Louisiana in effect on June 16, 1998, or to prohibit any political subdivision of the state from adopting ordinances aimed at litter control and reduction. Parish governing authorities may enact such ordinances as further provided in R.S. 33:1236(54).

C. Nothing in this Part shall be deemed to supersede, amend, or delete the provisions of R.S. 30:2545 and 2546.

D. Any occurrence in violation of this Part and otherwise regulated by any other Chapter of this Subtitle may be prosecuted under this Part. However, no person shall be prosecuted for an occurrence in violation of this Part if the person is being prosecuted for the same occurrence under any other Chapter of this Subtitle.

Acts 1998, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 148, §3.