§22-10-1. Short Title
This article may be cited as 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 […]
§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 […]
§22-10-12. Provisions of Article Supplemental
The provisions of this article shall be in addition to and supplement all other provisions of article eight of this chapter and rights with respect to plugging or replugging wells. Nothing in this article shall be construed to eliminate the permit requirement for plugging and replugging wells.
§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;
§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, […]
§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 […]
§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 […]
§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 […]
§22-10-7. Right of Interested Person to Plug, Replug and Reclaim Abandoned Wells
(a) Upon twenty days' advance written notice, it shall be lawful for any interested person, the operator or the director to enter upon the premises where any abandoned well is situated and properly plug or replug such abandoned well, and to reclaim any area disturbed by such plugging or replugging in the manner required by […]
§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 […]
§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 […]