Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:89 – A. After due notice and hearing and upon certification from the assistant secretary that a responsible party has failed to undertake site restoration of an unusable oilfield site, th
Terms Used In Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:89
- Assistant secretary: means the assistant secretary of the office of conservation within the Department of Energy and Natural Resources or his authorized representatives. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Commission: means the Oilfield Site Restoration Commission. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Department: means the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Fund: means the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- 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 La. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
- Responsible party: means the operator of record according to the office of conservation 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. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Secretary: means the secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- 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 office of conservation pursuant to this Subtitle, including without limitation plugging of oil and gas wells, pit closure, site remediation, and removal of oilfield equipment. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
- Trust account: A general term that covers all types of accounts in a trust department, such as estates, guardianships, and agencies. Source: OCC
- 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. See Louisiana Revised Statutes 30:82
A. After due notice and hearing and upon certification from the assistant secretary that a responsible party has failed to undertake site restoration of an unusable oilfield site, the secretary or assistant secretary is authorized to disburse such funds as are necessary for site restoration from the site-specific trust account.
B. The assistant secretary, upon notice and hearing, pursuant to rules adopted by the assistant secretary in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, may declare an oilfield site to be an unusable oilfield site. Upon failure of a responsible party to undertake site restoration as ordered by the assistant secretary, the secretary or assistant secretary is authorized to disburse such funds as are necessary for site restoration from the site-specific trust account.
C. For sites restored pursuant to Subsections A and B of this Section, after site restoration has been completed and approved by the assistant secretary, funds from the site-specific trust account will be disbursed as follows:
(1) The balance of the account existing in the site-specific trust account will be remitted to the responsible party. Such account shall thereafter be closed.
(2) If the funds in the site-specific trust account are depleted prior to the payment of all site restoration costs, the department is authorized to collect the remainder of site restoration costs from the responsible party or ensure that the responsible party completes the site restoration to the satisfaction of the assistant secretary.
(3) If the funds in the site-specific trust account are depleted prior to the payment of all site restoration costs, and if the assistant secretary subsequently declares that oilfield site to be an orphaned oilfield site and upon approval of the commission, the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund shall contribute the balance of the restoration costs for that orphaned oilfield site.
D. If a responsible party fails or is unable to restore a site and there is no site-specific trust account, the assistant secretary shall declare the site orphaned in accordance with La. Rev. Stat. 30:91(B).
Acts 1993, No. 404, §2; Acts 1995, No. 297, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 994, §1; Acts 2022, No. 10, §1, eff. May 13, 2022.