The Republican. [volume] (Oakland, Md.) 1877-current, 1953-08-06

'can exercise their own discretion
in the matter. However, j. Edward
Helbig, president Of the local gov
erning body, stated that public
comment would be useful in max
ing the final decision and said that
the Commissioners would welcome
it.
While they cannot amend the
rules laid down by the geology de-
partment, the Commissioners can
reject any part of them
Well Spacing Law Rejected
One of the more controversial
issues the geology department pro-
posed was that only one well would
be permitted in a unit of 300 acres
except in the Accident area where
each unit would be 500 acres. This
the Commissioners rejected as too
confirming. They also turned down
proposal that would require the
consent of the owner Of land
adjacent to the drilling site.
Accept Permit Regulation
The section dealing with permits
was accepted entirely. 1t requires
that the owner of the we'll must
secure a permit to drill the well
from the Department of Geology,
to be accompanied with the follow
ing more pertinent parts of the
proposal:
A map showing location and Gle
walton of the proposed we'll boun-
diaries of the tract of land and
names of owners of adjoining tracts
of land.
A bond payable to the State of
Maryland in the amount of 81. 800
conditioned for the compliance with
all provisions of the Maryland
laws and rules and regulations Of
the Department with regard to
drilling, plugging, and abandoning
the wells. This bond will not be
released until all obligations have
been fulfilled to the satisfaction of
the Department.
A log of drilling operations,
initial flow or volume of the well
and closed in pressure.
Reject Part of Sealing Provision
While approving the methods of
sealing and plugging wells that
have been abandoned, such as seal
ing the different strata with con-
crete to stop any seepage of gas
or water and at the same time
keep the pressure at the bottom of
the well from lessening, the Com
missioners rejected a part of the
provision calling for the erection
of monument or marker extend
ing at least 80 inches above the
surface after the we'll is abandoned.
Consent of Adjacent Land Owner
Another section turned down was
the requirement for a written
agreement from the adjacent land
owner to drilling site. The pro-
posal by the geology department
reads as follows: No permit will be
issued to drill a well within 1000
feet of the boundary of tract of
land unless the owner has made a
satisfactory written agreement
with the oil and gas owner and
lessee of such adjacent land.
Location Rule Changed Slightly
The Commissioners approved for
the most part regulation to limit
drilling no closer than 300 feet of
any occupied dwelling house,
school, church, or public building.
They struck out phase pertaining
to a place of public meeting and
confined permission to drill with
in these areas to the written per-
mission of the land owners and not
to the discretion of the geology de-
partment.
Well Spacing Rejected Entirely
Spacing of wells in 300 acre plots.
and in the Accident area in 600
acre plots, was also tentatively re-
iectcd by the Commissioners. The
proposal would regulate the num-
Der of wells in the producing area,
and this the Commissioners felt
was too combining. 1t provided that
all land owners in the plots would
be included for royalty benefits of
the one we'll.
The proposed regulations become
automatically effective when the
local governing body accepts them
by written resolution to the Depart
ment of Geology.