Opinion ID: 6536714
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Whether gas in a pipeline is adjacent to the mine or mining claim to constitute a dump is a factual question left to the trier of fact.

Text: Gas in a pipeline also must be at the mine or mining claim or adjacent to it to qualify as a dump. 82 The statute does not clearly answer whether a large receptacle located partly on the mine, but mostly off the mine, can qualify as being at the mine or on the mining claim or adjacent to it. To determine whether a pipeline that is only partially on a mine or mining claim satisfies the requirement, courts will need to engage in a fact-specific inquiry to determine if the off-mine portions are close enough to be considered adjacent to the mine. Because neither the bankruptcy court nor the district court made findings about the exact location and size of the pipelines at issue in these cases, we leave these conclusions to the triers of fact. 83