reglab/statecodes huggingface dataset:
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 7. Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation › §22-7-2. Definitions

(a) In this article, unless the context or subject matter otherwise requires:
(1) “Agricultural production” means the production of any growing grass or crop attached to the surface of the land, whether or not the grass or crop is to be sold commercially, and the production of any farm animals, whether or not the animals are to be sold commercially;
(2) “Drilling operations” means the actual drilling or redrilling of an oil or gas well commenced subsequent to June 9, 1983, and the related preparation of the drilling site and access road, which requires entry, upon the surface estate;
(3) “Oil and gas developer” means the person who secures the drilling permit required by article six of this chapter;
(4) “Person” means any natural person, corporation, firm, partnership, partnership association, venture, receiver, trustee, executor, administrator, guardian, fiduciary or other representative of any kind, and includes any government or any political subdivision or agency thereof;
(5) “Surface estate” means an estate in or ownership of the surface of a particular tract of land overlying the oil or gas leasehold being developed; and
(6) “Surface owner” means a person who owns an estate in fee in the surface of land, either solely or as a coowner.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 7. Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation › §22-7-3. Compensation of Surface Owners for Drilling Operations

(a) The oil and gas developer shall be obligated to pay the surface owner compensation for:
(1) Lost income or expenses incurred as a result of being unable to dedicate land actually occupied by the drillers operation or to which access is prevented by such drilling operation to the uses to which it was dedicated prior to commencement of the activity for which a permit was obtained measured from the date the operator enters upon the land until the date reclamation is completed, (2) the market value of crops destroyed, damaged or prevented from reaching market, (3) any damage to a water supply in use prior to the commencement of the permitted activity, (4) the cost of repair of personal property up to the value of replacement by personal property of like age, wear and quality, and (5) the diminution in value, if any, of the surface lands and other property after completion of the surface disturbance done pursuant to the activity for which the permit was issued determined according to the actual use made thereof by the surface owner immediately prior to the commencement of the permitted activity.
The amount of damages may be determined by any formula mutually agreeable between the surface owner and the oil and gas developer.
(b) Any reservation or assignment of the compensation provided in this section apart from the surface estate except to a tenant of the surface estate is prohibited.
(c) In the case of surface lands owned by more than one person as tenants in common, joint tenants or other co-ownership, any claim for compensation under this article shall be for the benefit of all such co-owners. The resolution of a claim for compensation provided in this article shall operate as a bar to the assertion of additional claims under this section arising out of the same drilling operations.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 7. Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation › §22-7-4. Common Law Right of Action Preserved; Offsets

(a) Nothing in section three or elsewhere in this article shall be construed to diminish in any way the common law remedies, including damages, of a surface owner or any other person against the oil and gas developer for the unreasonable, negligent or otherwise wrongful exercise of the contractual right, whether express or implied, to use the surface of the land for the benefit of the developer's mineral interest.
(b) An oil and gas developer shall be entitled to offset compensation agreed to be paid or awarded to a surface owner under section three of this article against any damages sought by or awarded to the surface owner through the assertion of common law remedies respecting the surface land actually occupied by the same drilling operation.
(c) An oil and gas developer shall be entitled to offset damages agreed to be paid or awarded to a surface owner through the assertion of common-law remedies against compensation sought by or awarded to the surface owner under section three of this article respecting the surface land actually occupied by the same drilling operation.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 7. Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation › §22-7-5. Notification of Claim

Any surface owner, to receive compensation under section three of this article, shall notify the oil and gas developer of the damages sustained by the person within two years after the date that the oil and gas developer files notice that reclamation is commencing under section thirty, article six of this chapter. Such notice shall be given to surface owners by registered or certified mail, return receipt requested, and shall be complete upon mailing. If more than three tenants in common or other co-owners hold interests in such lands, the developer may give such notice to the person described in the records of the sheriff required to be maintained pursuant to section eight, article one, chapter eleven-a of this code or publish in the county in which the well is located or to be located a Class II legal advertisement as described in section two, article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, containing such notice and information as the director shall prescribe by rule.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 7. Oil and Gas Production Damage Compensation › §22-7-6. Agreement; Offer of Settlement

Unless the parties provide otherwise by written agreement, within sixty days after the oil and gas developer received the notification of claim specified in section five of this article, the oil and gas developer shall either make an offer of settlement to the surface owner seeking compensation, or reject the claim. The surface owner may accept or reject any offer so made.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-1. Scope of Article

Every person, corporation or company now engaged, or which shall hereafter engage, in the business of transporting or storing petroleum, by means of pipeline or lines or storage by tanks, shall be subject to the provisions of this article and shall conduct such business in conformity herewith: Provided, That the provisions of this article shall be subject to all federal laws regulating interstate commerce on the same subject.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-2. Duty of Pipeline Companies to Accept and Transport Oil

Any company heretofore or hereafter organized for the purpose of transporting petroleum or other oils or liquids by means of pipeline or lines shall be required to accept all petroleum offered to it in merchantable order in quantities of not less than two thousand gallons at the wells where the same is produced, making at its own expense all necessary connections with the tanks or receptacles containing such petroleum, and to transport and deliver the same at any delivery station, within or without the state, on the route of its line of pipes, which may be designated by the owners of the petroleum so offered.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-3. Oil of 35 Degrees Baume at 60 Degrees Fahrenheit; Inspection, Grading and Measurement; Receipt; Deduction for Waste

All petroleum of a gravity of thirty-five degrees Baume or under, at a temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit, offered for transportation by means of pipeline or lines, shall, before the same is transported, as provided by section two of this article, be inspected, graded and measured at the expense of the pipeline company, and the company accepting the same for transportation shall give to the owner thereof a receipt stating therein the number of barrels or gallons so received, and the grade, gravity and measurement thereof, and within a reasonable time thereafter, upon demand of the owner or the owner's assigns, shall deliver to the owner or the owner's assigns at the point of delivery a like quantity and grade or gravity of petroleum in merchantable condition as specified in such receipt; except that the company may deduct for waste one percent of the amount of petroleum specified in such receipt.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-4. Oil Over 35 Degrees Baume at 60 Degrees Fahrenheit; Inspection and Measurement; Loss

All petroleum of a gravity exceeding thirty-five degrees Baume, at a temperature of sixty degrees Fahrenheit, offered for transportation by means of pipeline or lines, shall be inspected and measured at the expense of the company transporting the same, before the same is transported. The company accepting the same for transportation shall give to the owner thereof, or to the person in charge of the well or wells from which such petroleum has been produced and run, a ticket signed by its gauger, stating the number of feet and inches of petroleum which were in the tank or receptacle containing the same before the company began to run the contents from such tank, and the number of feet and inches of petroleum which remained in the tank after such run was completed. All deductions made for water, sediment or the like shall be made at the time such petroleum is measured. Within a reasonable time thereafter the company shall, upon demand, deliver from the petroleum in its custody to the owner thereof, or to the owner's assignee, at such delivery station on the route of its line of pipes as the owner or the owner's assignee may elect, a quantity of merchantable petroleum, equal to the quantity of petroleum run from such tank, or receptacle, which shall be ascertained by computation; except that the company transporting such petroleum may deduct for evaporation and waste two percent of the amount of petroleum so run, as shown by such run ticket, and except that in case of loss of any petroleum while in the custody of the company caused by fire, lightning, storm or other like unavoidable cause, such loss shall be borne pro rata by all the owners of such petroleum at the time thereof. But the company shall be liable for all petroleum that is lost while in its custody by the bursting of pipes or tanks, or by leakage from pipes or tanks; and it shall also be liable for all petroleum lost from tanks at the wells produced before the same has been received for transportation, if such loss be due to faulty connections made to such tanks; and the company shall be liable for all petroleum lost by the overflow of any tanks with which pipeline connections have been made, if such overflow be due to the negligence of such company, and for all the petroleum lost by the overflow of any tanks with which pipeline connections should have been made under the provisions of this article, but were not so made by reason of negligence or delay on the part of the company.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-6. Accepted Orders and Certificates for Oil -- Negotiability

Accepted orders and certificates for petroleum, issued by any company engaged in the business of transporting and storing petroleum in this state by means of pipeline or lines and tanks, shall be negotiable, and may be transferred by indorsement either in blank or to the order of another, and any person to whom such accepted orders and certificates shall be so transferred shall be deemed and taken to be the owner of the petroleum therein specified.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-7. Same -- Further Provisions

No receipt, certificate, accepted order or other voucher shall be issued or put in circulation, nor shall any order be accepted or liability incurred for the delivery of any petroleum, crude or refined, unless the amount of such petroleum represented in or by such receipt, certificate, accepted order, or other voucher or liability, shall have been actually received by and shall then be in the tanks and lines, custody and control of the company issuing or putting in circulation such receipt, certificate, accepted order or voucher, or written evidence of liability. No duplicate receipt, certificate, accepted order or other voucher shall be issued or put in circulation, or any liability incurred for any petroleum, crude or refined, while any former liability remains in force, or any former receipt, certificate, accepted order or other voucher shall be outstanding and uncanceled, except such original papers shall have been lost, in which case a duplicate, plainly marked "duplicate" upon the face, and dated and numbered as the lost original was dated and numbered, may be issued. No receipt, voucher, accepted order, certificate or written evidence of liability of such company on which petroleum, crude or refined, has been delivered, shall be reissued, used or put in circulation. No petroleum, crude or refined, for which a receipt, voucher, accepted order, certificate or liability incurred, shall have been issued or put in circulation, shall be delivered, except upon the surrender of the receipt, voucher, order or liability representing such petroleum, except upon affidavit of loss of such instrument made by the former holder thereof. No duplicate receipt, certificate, voucher, accepted order or other evidence of liability, shall be made, issued or put in circulation until after notice of the loss of the original, and of the intention to apply for a duplicate thereof, shall have been given by advertisement over the signature of the owner thereof as a Class II legal advertisement in compliance with the provisions of article three, chapter fifty-nine of this code, and the publication area for such publication shall be the county where such duplicate is to be issued. Every receipt, voucher, accepted order, certificate or evidence of liability, when surrendered or the petroleum represented thereby delivered, shall be immediately canceled by stamping and punching the same across the face in large and legible letters with the word "canceled", and giving the date of such cancellation; and it shall then be filed and preserved in the principal office of such company for a period of six years.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-8. Dealing in Oil Without Consent of Owner

No company, its officers or agents, or any person or persons engaged in the transportation or storage of petroleum, crude or refined, shall sell or encumber, ship, transfer, or in any manner remove or procure, or permit to be sold, encumbered, shipped, transferred, or in any manner removed from the tanks or pipes of such company engaged in the business aforesaid, any petroleum, crude or refined, without the written order of the owner or a majority of the owners in interest thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-9. Monthly Statements

Every company now or hereafter engaged in the business of transporting by pipelines or storing crude or refined petroleum in this state shall, on or before the tenth day of each month, make or cause to be made and posted in its principal business office in this state, in an accessible and convenient place for the examination thereof by any person desiring such examination, and shall keep so posted continuously until the next succeeding statement is so posted, a statement plainly written or printed, signed by the officer, agent, person or persons having charge of the pipes and tanks of such company, and also by the officer or officers, person or persons, having charge of the books and accounts thereof, which statement shall show in legible and intelligible form the following details of the business: (a) How much petroleum, crude or refined, was in the actual and immediate custody of such company at the beginning and close of the previous month, and where the same was located or held; describing in detail the location and designation of each tank or place of deposit, and the name of its owner; (b) how much petroleum, crude or refined, was received by such company during the previous month; (c) how much petroleum, crude or refined, was delivered by such company during the previous month; (d) for how much petroleum, crude or refined, such company was liable for the delivery or custody of to other corporations, companies or persons at the close of the month; (e) how much of such liability was represented by outstanding receipts or certificates, accepted orders or other vouchers, and how much was represented by credit balances; (f) that all the provisions of this article have been faithfully observed and obeyed during the previous month. The statement so required to be made shall also be sworn to by such officer, agent, person or persons before some officer authorized by law to administer oaths, which shall be in writing, and shall assert the familiarity and acquaintance of the deponent with the business and condition of such company, and with the facts sworn to, and that the statements made in such report are true.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-10. Statements of Amount of Oil

All amounts in the statements required by this article, when the petroleum is handled in bulk, shall be given in barrels and hundredths of barrels, reckoning forty-two gallons to each barrel, and when such petroleum is handled in barrels or packages, the number of such barrels or packages shall be given, and such statements shall distinguish between crude and refined petroleum, and give the amount of each. Every company engaged in the business aforesaid shall at all times have in their pipes and tanks an amount of merchantable oil equal to the aggregate of outstanding receipts, certificates, accepted orders, vouchers, acknowledgments, evidences of liability, and credit balances, on the books thereof.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-11. Penalty -- Wrongful Issuance, Sale or Alteration of Receipts, Orders, etc.

Any company, or its officers or agents, who shall make or cause to be made, sign or cause to be signed, issue or cause to be issued, put in circulation or cause to be put in circulation, any receipt, accepted order, certificate, voucher or evidence of liability, or shall sell, transfer or alter the same, or cause such sale, transfer or alteration, contrary to the provisions of this article, or shall do or cause to be done any of the acts prohibited by section seven of this article, or omit to do any of the acts by said section directed, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined not exceeding $1,000, and, if the offender be a natural person, imprisoned not less than ten days nor exceeding one year.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-12. Same -- Dealing in Oil Without Consent of Owner in Interest

Any company, its officers or agents, who shall sell, encumber, transfer or remove, or cause or procure to be sold, transferred or removed from the tanks or pipes of such company, any petroleum, crude or refined, without the written consent of the owner or a majority of the owners in interest thereof, shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $1,000 and, if the offender be a natural person, imprisoned in the county jail not less than ninety days nor more than one year.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 8. Transportation of Oils › §22-8-13. Same -- Failure to Make Report and Statement

Any company engaged in the business of transporting by pipelines or storing petroleum, crude or refined, and each and every officer or agent of such company, who shall neglect or refuse to make the report and statement required by section nine of this article, within the time and the manner directed by said section, shall forfeit and pay the sum of $1,000, and in addition thereto the sum of $500 for each day after the tenth day of the month that the report and statement required by said section nine shall remain unposted as therein directed.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-3. Filing of Maps and Data by Persons Operating Coal Mines

(a) Any person owning or operating a coal mine, who has not already done so pursuant to the former provisions of article four, chapter twenty-two-b of this code, shall, within thirty days from the effective date of this article, file with the director a map, prepared by a competent engineer, showing the outside coal boundaries of the said operating coal mine, the existing workings and exhausted areas and the relationship of said boundaries to identifiable surface properties and landmarks. Any person who is storing or contemplating the storage of gas in the vicinity of such operating coal mines shall, upon written request, be furnished a copy of the aforesaid map by the coal operator and such person and the director shall thereafter be informed of any boundary changes at the time such changes occur. The director shall keep a record of such information and shall promptly notify both the coal operator and the storage operator if it is found that the coal mine and the storage reservoir are within ten thousand linear feet of each other.
(b) Any person owning or operating any coal mine which, on March 10, 1955, is or which thereafter comes within ten thousand linear feet of a storage reservoir, and where the coal seam being operated extends over the storage reservoir or the reservoir protective area, shall within forty-five days after such person has notice from the director of such fact, file with the director and furnish to the person operating such storage reservoir, a map in the form hereinabove provided and showing in addition, the existing and projected excavations and workings of such operating coal mine for the ensuing eighteen-month period, and also the location of any oil or gas wells of which said coal operator has knowledge. Such person owning or operating said coal mine shall each six months thereafter file with the director and furnish to the person operating such storage reservoir a revised map showing any additional excavations and workings, together with the projected excavations and workings for the then ensuing eighteen-month period which may be within ten thousand linear feet of said storage reservoir: Provided, That the director may require a coal operator to file such revised map at more frequent intervals if material changes have occurred justifying such earlier filing. Such person owning or operating said coal mine shall also file with the director and furnish the person operating said reservoir prompt notice of any wells which have been cut into, together with all available pertinent information.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-4. Notice by Persons Operating Coal Mines

(a) Any person owning or operating a coal mine on June 8, 1955, and having knowledge that it overlies or is within two thousand linear feet of a gas storage reservoir, shall within thirty days notify the director and the storage operator of such fact unless such notification has already been provided to the director pursuant to the provisions of former article four, chapter twenty-two-b of this code.
(b) When any person owning or operating a coal mine hereafter expects that within the ensuing nine-month period such coal mine will be extended to a point which will be within two thousand linear feet of any storage reservoir, such person shall notify the director and the storage operator in writing of such fact.
(c) Any person hereafter intending to establish or reestablish an operating coal mine which when established or reestablished will be over a storage reservoir or within two thousand linear feet of a storage reservoir, or which upon being established or reestablished may within nine months thereafter be expected to be within two thousand linear feet of a storage reservoir, shall notify the director and the storage operator in writing before doing so and such notice shall include the date on which it is intended the operating coal mine will be established or reestablished.
Any person who serves such notice of an intention to establish or reestablish an operating coal mine under this subsection, without intending in good faith to establish or reestablish such mine, shall be liable for continuing damages to any storage operator injured by the serving of such improper notice and shall be guilty of a misdemeanor under this article and subject to the same penalties as set forth in section twelve of this article.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-6. Inspection of Facilities and Records; Reliance on Maps; Burden of Proof

(a) In determining whether a particular coal mine or operating coal mine is or will be within any distance material under this article from any storage reservoir, the owner or operator of such coal mine and the storage operator may rely on the most recent map of the storage reservoir or coal mine filed by the other with the director.
(b) In any proceeding under this article where the accuracy of any map or data filed by any person pursuant to the requirements of this article is in issue, the person filing the same shall at the request of any party to such proceeding be required to disclose the information and method used in compiling such map and data and such information as is available to such person that might affect the current validity of such map or data. If any material question is raised in such proceeding as to the accuracy of such map or data with respect to any particular matter or matters contained therein, the person filing such map or data shall then have the burden of proving the accuracy of the map or data with respect to such matter or matters.
(c) The person operating any storage reservoir affected by the terms of this article shall, at all reasonable times, be permitted to inspect the applicable records and facilities of any coal mine overlying such storage reservoir or the reservoir protective area, and the person operating any such coal mine affected by the terms of this article, shall similarly, at all reasonable times, be permitted to inspect the applicable records and facilities of any such storage reservoir underlying any such coal mine. In the event that either such storage operator or coal operator shall refuse to permit any such inspection of records or facilities, the director shall, on the director's own motion, or on application of the party seeking the inspection after reasonable written notice, and a hearing thereon, if requested by either of the parties affected, make an order providing for such inspection.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-7. Exemptions

(a) The provisions of this article shall not apply to strip mines and auger mines operating from the surface.
(b) Injection of gas for storage purposes in any workable coal seam, whether or not such seam is being or has been mined, shall be prohibited. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prohibit the original extraction of natural gas, crude oil or coal. No storage operator shall have authority to appropriate any coal or coal measure whether or not being mined, or any interest therein.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-8. Alternative Method

(a) Whenever provision is made in this article by reference to this section for using an alternative method or material in carrying out any obligation imposed by the article, the person seeking the authority to use such alternative method or material shall file an application with the director describing such proposed alternative method or material in reasonable detail. Notice of filing of any such application shall be given by registered mail to any coal operator or operators affected. Any such coal operator may within ten days following such notice, file objections to such proposed alternative method or material. If no objections are filed within said ten-day period or if none is raised by the director, the director shall forthwith issue a permit approving such proposed alternative method or material.
(b) If any such objections are filed by any coal operator or are raised by the director, the director shall direct that a conference be held in accordance with section ten of this article within the ten days following the filing of such objections. At such conferences the person seeking approval of the alternative method or material and the person who has filed such objections shall attempt to agree on such alternative method or material or any modification thereof, and if such agreement is reached and approved by the director, the director shall forthwith issue a permit approving the alternative method or material. If no such agreement is reached and approved, the director shall direct that a hearing be held in accordance with section ten of this article: Provided, That if the alternative method or material involves a new development in technology or technique the director may, before such a hearing is held, grant such affected parties a period not to exceed ninety days to study and evaluate said proposed alternative method or material. Following such hearing, if the director shall find that such proposed alternative method or material will furnish adequate protection to the workable coal seams, the director shall by order approve such alternative method or material; otherwise the director shall deny the said application.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-9. Powers and Duties of Director

(a) The director may review the maps and data filed under sections two and three hereof for the purpose of determining the accuracy thereof. Where any material question is raised by any interested storage operator or coal operator or owner as to the accuracy of any such map or data, the director shall hold hearings thereon and shall by an appropriate order require the person filing such map or data to correct the same if they are found to be erroneous.
(b) It shall be the duty of the director to receive and keep in a safe place for public inspection any map, data, report, well log, notice or other writing required to be filed with it pursuant to the provisions of this article. The director shall keep such indices of all such information as will enable any person using the same to readily locate such information either by the identity of the person who filed the same or by the person or persons affected by such filing or by the geographic location of the subject matter by political subdivision. The director shall also keep a docket for public inspection of all proceedings, in which shall be entered the dates of any notices, the names of all persons notified and their addresses, the dates of hearings, conferences and all orders, decrees, decisions, determinations, rulings or other actions issued or taken by the director and such docket shall constitute the record of each and every proceeding before the director.
(c) The director shall have authority to make any inspections and investigations of records and facilities which are deemed necessary or desirable to perform the director's functions under this article.
(d) Where in any section of this article provision is made for the filing of objections, such objections shall be filed in writing with the director, by the person entitled to file the same or by the director, and shall state as definitely as is reasonably possible the reasons for such objections. The person filing such objections shall send a copy thereof by registered mail to the person or persons affected thereby.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-12. Penalties

Any person who shall willfully violate any order of the director issued pursuant to the provisions of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be punished by a fine not exceeding $2,000, or imprisoned in jail for not exceeding twelve months, or both, in the discretion of the court, and prosecutions under this section may be brought in the name of the State of West Virginia in the court exercising criminal jurisdiction in the county in which the violation of such provisions of the article or terms of such order was committed, and at the instance and upon the relation of any citizen of this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 9. Underground Gas Storage Reservoirs › §22-9-13. Orders Remain in Effect

All orders in effect upon the effective date of this article pursuant to the provisions of former article four, chapter twenty-two-b of this code, shall remain in full force and effect as if such orders were adopted by the division established in this chapter but all such orders shall be subject to review by the director to ensure they are consistent with the purposes and policies set forth in this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-2. Legislative Findings; Legislative Statement of Policy and Purpose

(a) The Legislature finds and declares that:
(1) Oil and gas have been continuously produced in West Virginia for over one hundred years, during which time operators of wells have been required by the laws of this state to plug wells upon cessation of use;
(2) The plugging requirements for certain older oil and gas and other wells may not have been sufficient to protect underground water supplies, to prevent the movement of fluids between geologic horizons, to allow coal operators to mine through such wells safely, nor to allow for enhanced recovery of oil, gas or other mineral resources of this state;
(3) Many wells may exist in West Virginia which are abandoned and either not plugged or not properly plugged in a manner to protect underground water supplies, to prevent the movement of fluids between geologic horizons, to allow coal operators to mine through such wells safely, to allow for enhanced recovery of oil, gas and other mineral resources, and generally to protect the environment and mineral resources of this state, as aforesaid;
(4) Requirements for financial responsibility to assure plugging of abandoned wells have not been required in this state for older wells, and adequate financial responsibility should be established with respect to all wells;
(5) Programs and policies should be implemented to foster, encourage and promote through the fullest practical means the proper plugging of abandoned wells to protect the environment and mineral resources of this state;
(6) Criteria should be established with respect to priorities for the expenditure of moneys available for plugging abandoned wells and identifying those abandoned wells which, as a matter of public policy, should be plugged first; and
(7) The plugging of many abandoned wells may be accomplished through the establishment of rights and procedures allowing interested persons to apply for a permit to plug an abandoned well.
(b) The Legislature hereby declares that it is in the public interest and it is the public policy of this state, to foster, encourage and promote the proper plugging of all wells at the time of their abandonment to protect the environment and mineral resources of this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-3. Definitions

Unless the context in which it is used clearly requires a different meaning, as used in this article:
(a) "Abandoned well" means any well which is required to be plugged under the provisions of section nineteen, article six of this chapter and rules promulgated pursuant thereto.
(b) "Director" means for the purpose of this article, the director of the Division of Environmental Protection as established in article one of this chapter or such other person to whom the director may delegate authority or duties pursuant to sections six or eight, article one of this chapter.
(c) "Interested party" means, for the purpose of this article, any owner, operator or lessee of the surface, oil, gas, water, coal or other mineral resource under, on, adjacent or in close proximity to any lands upon which an abandoned well exists, and whose lands, rights or interests are or might be affected by such abandoned well.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-4. Financial Responsibility -- Applicability

(a) Operators of all wells, not otherwise required to demonstrate financial responsibility through bonding or otherwise in accordance with the provisions of article six of this chapter, shall, no later than July 1, 1993, demonstrate financial responsibility in accordance with the methods and in the amounts prescribed by this article.
(b) If the operator demonstrates to the satisfaction of the director that an unjust hardship to an operator will occur as a result of the financial responsibility requirements of this article:
(1) The director may suspend such financial responsibility requirements to a date no later than July 1, 1995; or
(2) The director may authorize an operator to demonstrate such financial responsibility by supplying twenty percent of any required amount by no later than July 1, 1994; forty percent no later than July 1, 1995; sixty percent no later than July 1, 1996; eighty percent by July 1, 1997; and one hundred percent by July 1, 1998.
(c) The operator making a demonstration of financial responsibility pursuant to this section shall provide the director with information sufficient to establish the location and identification of the well, any well completion, recompletion and reworking records which may exist and such other information as the director may reasonably require.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-5. Financial Responsibility -- Amount

The financial responsibility requirements applicable to all wells shall be as set forth in section twenty-six, article six of this chapter, except that the amount of financial responsibility through bonding or otherwise, as provided for in said section, for an individual well shall be in the amount of $5,000. In lieu of separate, single well bonds, an operator may either furnish a blanket bond in the sum of $50,000 in accordance with the provisions of subsection (c) of section twenty-six, article six of this chapter, or if the operator has previously provided a blanket bond in the sum of $50,000 which remains in effect, the operator may cover wells subject to this article by such existing blanket bond.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-6. Establishment of Priorities for Plugging Expenditures

(a) The director shall promulgate legislative rules establishing a priority system by which available funds from the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund, established pursuant to 22-6-29 of this code, will be expended to plug abandoned wells. The rules shall, at a minimum, establish three primary classifications to be as follows:
(1) Wells which are an immediate threat to the environment or which may hinder or impede the development of mineral resources of this state so as to require immediate plugging;
(2) Wells which are not an immediate threat to the environment or which do not hinder or impede the development of mineral resources of this state, but which should be plugged consistent with available resources; and
(3) Wells which are not a threat to the environment and which do not hinder or impede the development of mineral resources of this state and for which plugging may be deferred for an indefinite period.
(b) The classifications shall, among other things, take into consideration the following factors, as appropriate:
(1) The age of the well;
(2) The length of time the well has been abandoned;
(3) The casing remaining in the well;
(4) The presence of any leaks either at the surface or underground;
(5) The possibility or existence of groundwater contamination;
(6) Whether the well is located in an area to be developed for enhanced recovery;
(7) Whether the well hinders or impedes mineral development; and
(8) Whether the well is located in close proximity to population.
(c) Notwithstanding the other provisions of this section, the bond posted for the well shall first be used to plug the well and mitigate environmental issues related to oil and gas development on the land where the well is located if:
(1) The bond is forfeited as a result of failure to plug the abandoned well, repair the well that is causing immediate threat to the environment, or which hinders or impedes the development of mineral resources of this state; or
(2) The well operator was cited for and then failed to correct an immediate threat to the environment or hinderance or impediment to the development of mineral resources of this state; or
(3) The operator failed to reclaim the surface disturbance causing immediate threat to the environment or which hinders or impedes the development of mineral resources of this state.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-8. Arbitration; Fees and Costs

(a) If the interested person who plugs a well and the surface owner are unable to agree as to the adequacy of the repairs performed or the amount of compensation to which the surface owner may be entitled, either party upon written notice to the other may elect to have such issue finally determined by binding arbitration pursuant to article ten, chapter fifty-five of this code.
(b) The adequacy of the repairs or compensation to which the surface owner may be entitled shall, if such election is made, be determined by a panel of three disinterested arbitrators. The first arbitrator shall be chosen by the party electing to arbitrate in such person's notice of election; the second arbitrator shall be chosen by the other party within ten days after receipt of the notice of election; and the third arbitrator shall be chosen jointly by the first two arbitrators within twenty days thereafter. If they are unable to agree upon the third arbitrator within twenty days, then the two arbitrators are hereby empowered to and shall forthwith submit the matter to the court under the provisions of section one, article ten, chapter fifty-five of this code, so that, among other things, the third arbitrator can be chosen by the judge of the circuit court of the county wherein the surface estate lies.
(c) The following persons shall be deemed interested and not be appointed as arbitrators: Any person who is personally interested in the land on which the plugging is being performed or has been performed, or in any interest or right therein, or in the compensation and any damages to be awarded therefor, or who is related by blood or marriage to any person having such personal interest, or who stands in the relation of guardian and ward, master and servant, principal and agent, or partner, real estate broker, or surety to any person having such personal interest, or who has enmity against or bias in favor of any person who has such personal interest or who is the owner of, or interested in, such land or the oil and gas development thereof. No person shall be deemed interested or incompetent to act as arbitrator by reason of being an inhabitant of the county, district or municipal corporation wherein the land is located, or holding an interest in any other land therein.
(d) The panel of arbitrators shall hold hearings and take such testimony and receive such exhibits as shall be necessary to determine the required repairs or the amount of compensation to be paid to the surface owner. However, no award requiring repairs or compensation shall be made to the surface owner unless the panel of arbitrators has first viewed the surface estate in question. A transcript of the evidence may be made but shall not be required.
(e) Each party shall pay the compensation of such party's own arbitrator and one half of the compensation of the third arbitrator, and such party's own costs.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-9. Civil Penalties

(a) Any person who fails to plug an abandoned well within thirty days, or upon a showing of good cause, within a longer period as determined by the director not to exceed one hundred eighty days, from the date such plugging is ordered by the director, shall be liable for a civil penalty of $25,000 which penalty shall be recovered in a civil action in the circuit court wherein the abandoned well is located.
(b) The net proceeds of all civil penalties collected pursuant to subsection (a) of this section shall be deposited into the oil and gas reclamation fund established pursuant to section twenty-nine, article six of this chapter.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-10. Rulemaking; Procedure; Judicial Review

(a) The director shall have the power and authority to promulgate legislative rules, procedural rules and interpretive rules in accordance with the provisions of chapter twenty-nine-a of this code in order to carry out and implement the provisions of this article.
(b) Any hearings or proceedings before the director on any matter other than rule making shall be conducted and heard by the director or a representative designated by the director and shall be in accordance with the provisions of article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
(c) Any person having an interest which is or may be adversely affected, who is aggrieved by an order of the director issued pursuant to this article, or by the issuance or denial of a permit pursuant to this article or by the permit's terms or conditions, is entitled to judicial review thereof. All of the pertinent provisions of section four, article five, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code shall apply to and govern such judicial review with like effect as if the provisions of said section four were set forth in extenso in this section.
(d) The judgment of the circuit court shall be final unless reversed, vacated or modified on appeal to the Supreme Court of Appeals in accordance with the provisions of section one, article six, chapter twenty-nine-a of this code.
2023 West Virginia Code › Chapter 22. Environmental Resources › Article 10. Abandoned Well Act › §22-10-11. Existing Rights and Remedies Preserved

(a) It is the purpose of this article to provide additional and cumulative remedies to address abandoned wells in this state and nothing herein contained shall abridge or alter rights of action or remedies now or hereafter existing, nor shall any provisions in this article, or any act done by virtue of this article, be construed as estopping the state, municipalities, public health officers or persons in the exercise of their rights to suppress nuisance or to abate any pollution now or hereafter existing, or to recover damages.
(b) An order of the director, the effect of which is to find that an abandoned well exists, or in ordering an abandoned well to be plugged, or any other order, or any violation of any of the provisions of this article shall give rise to no presumptions of law or findings of fact inuring to or for the benefit of persons other than the State of West Virginia.
(c) Nothing contained in this article shall be construed to place any duty or responsibility on the landowner, well owner or operator or lessee to plug a well in addition to those set forth in article six of this chapter.