Bill Text: PA SB275 | 2009-2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Establishing the Coal Methane Review Board to resolve disputes between property owners over the location of coal bed methane wells and access roads.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 14-7)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-04-29 - Referred to ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY [SB275 Detail]

Download: Pennsylvania-2009-SB275-Introduced.html

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PRINTER'S NO. 279
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
SENATE BILL
No. 275 Session of2009
INTRODUCED BY D. WHITE, PILEGGI, WONDERLING, WAUGH, BROWNE, EARLL, FERLO, STOUT, GREENLEAF, RAFFERTY, ROBBINS, BAKER, ORIE, MUSTO, KASUNIC, O'PAKE, YAW, COSTA, M. WHITE, WARD AND BOSCOLA, FEBRUARY 19, 2009
REFERRED TO ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, FEBRUARY 19, 2009
AN ACT
Establishing the Coal Methane Review Board to resolve disputes
between property owners over the location of coal bed methane
wells and access roads.
The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
hereby enacts as follows:
Section 1. Short title.
This act shall be known and may be cited as the Coal Bed
Methane Well Dispute Resolution Act.
Section 2. Definitions.
The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
context clearly indicates otherwise:
"Alternative dispute resolution." The procedure for dispute
resolution provided in this act.
"Board." The Coal Bed Methane Review Board established in
section 4.
"Coal bed methane." Gas which can be produced from a coal
seam, a mined-out area or a gob well.
"Coal bed methane well." A hole or well which is sunk,
drilled, bored or dug into the earth for the production of coal
bed methane from a coal seam, a mined-out area or a gob well for
consumption or sale. The term includes a horizontal borehole.
The term does not include any of the following:
(1) A shaft, hole or well which is sunk, drilled, bored
or dug into the earth for core drilling or production of coal
or water.
(2) A borehole drilled or being drilled for the purpose
of or to be used for degasifying coal seams if a condition in
one of the following subparagraphs is met:
(i) The borehole is:
(A) Used to vent methane to the outside
atmosphere from an operating coal mine.
(B) Regulated as part of the mining permit under
the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as
The Clean Streams Law, and the act of May 31, 1945
(P.L.1198, No.418), known as the Surface Mining
Conservation and Reclamation Act.
(C) Drilled by the operator of the operating
coal mine for the purpose of increased safety.
(ii) The borehole is used to vent methane to the
outside atmosphere under a federally funded or
Commonwealth-funded abandoned mine reclamation project.
(3) A well or borehole drilled in a coal seam from
within an underground coal mine for the production of coal
bed methane. This paragraph includes a well or borehole
connected to a well or borehole which is sunk, drilled or dug
from the surface.
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"Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Permit." A well permit issued pursuant to the act of
December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the Oil and Gas
Act.
"Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection of
the Commonwealth.
"Surface owner." A person who owns any of the following
interests in the surface upon which a coal bed methane well or
associated access road may be constructed:
(1) A fee interest.
(2) An interest for life.
(3) A remainder interest.
The term does not include:
(1) The Federal or State Government or any agency or
political subdivision thereof.
(2) A person who is entitled to royalties for removal or
recovery of coal bed methane.
(3) A person who owns a lease, easement, right-of-way,
license, privilege or other similar interest in the surface.
"Well operator." A person who has filed or who is required
to file for a permit under the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.
1140, No.223), known as the Oil and Gas Act.
Section 3. Legislative purpose and intent.
It is the purpose of this act to establish an alternative
procedure to court action for consideration and resolution of
objections to the location of certain coal bed methane wells or
roads associated with those wells to be constructed on surface
lands and to modify the procedure for review of permit
applications to the extent necessary to allow for the procedure
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for alternative dispute resolution.
Section 4. Coal Bed Methane Review Board.
(a) Establishment.--There is established the Coal Bed
Methane Review Board.
(b) Members.--The following shall apply:
(1) The board shall consist of the following members:
(i) One member appointed by the Governor from a list
of three individuals submitted by the Pennsylvania Farm
Bureau.
(ii) One member appointed by the Governor from a
list of three individuals prepared jointly by the
Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Oil
and Gas Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania
Coal Association.
(iii) One member appointed by the Governor who is an
individual with expertise in petroleum geology or
petroleum engineering with at least three years of
experience in practice in Pennsylvania who is appointed
from a list of three individuals prepared jointly by the
deans of the College of Agricultural Sciences and the
College of Earth and Mineral Sciences of The Pennsylvania
State University.
(2) The lists required by paragraph (1) shall be
submitted to the Governor within 30 days of the effective
date of this section, and the Governor's appointments shall
be made within 90 days of the effective date of this section.
(3) Upon occurrence of a vacancy, the appropriate entity
shall submit a new list within 30 days of the vacancy, and
the Governor shall make an appointment within 30 days of
receipt of the list.
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(c) Terms.--The term of appointment of a board member shall
be three years or until a successor is duly appointed. A board
member may be appointed for successive terms.
(d) Support.--The department shall provide administrative
and clerical support to the board as requested.
(e) Purpose.--The purpose of the board shall be to consider
objections and attempt to reach agreement on or determine a
location for the coal bed methane well or access road.
(f) Compensation.--Members of the board shall be compensated
at the appropriate per diem rate based on the prevailing formula
administered by the Commonwealth, but not less than $150 per
day, plus all reasonable expenses incurred while performing
their official duties. Compensation shall be adjusted annually
by the secretary to account for inflation based on the rate of
inflation identified by the Consumer Price Index published by
the United States Department of Labor. The individual member may
waive his right to all or part of the compensation set forth in
this subsection.
Section 5. Procedures.
(a) Notification.--A well operator who intends to drill a
coal bed methane well or construct an access road associated
with a coal bed methane well shall provide written notification
to the surface owner in the manner prescribed in section 201(b)
of the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the
Oil and Gas Act. The notification shall also include the
following statement on a form provided by the department in at
least twelve-point print:
Right to Participate in Alternative Dispute Resolution
You have the right to have your objections to the well
operator's proposed location of the well or of the access
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road associated with the well heard and decided by the
three-member Coal Bed Methane Review Board, created under
the act of , 2009 (P.L. , No. ), known as
the Coal Bed Methane Well Dispute Resolution Act. You may
participate with or without a lawyer in any conference
session the board may hold to hear your objections.
Important: To exercise this right, you must file your
objections in writing with the Coal Bed Methane Review
Board through the Department of Environmental Protection
at:
(Address)
(City, State, Zip)
within fifteen (15) days of the date you received this
notification. Otherwise, you will be considered to have
waived this right to resolve your objections through the
Coal Bed Methane Review Board. Your objection may be
filed in person or by certified mail.
(b) Filing of written objections.--A surface owner who
intends to invoke alternative dispute resolution shall file
written objections to the well operator's proposed location for
coal bed methane well or access road with the board within 15
days of the date of receipt of the written notification and plat
described in subsection (a). The written objections may indicate
an alternative location at which the proposed coal bed methane
well could be drilled or the access road could be located to
overcome the objections. If no objections are filed in the time
prescribed in this subsection, the department shall accept an
application from the operator and proceed to issue or deny the
permit, provided the department shall not accept a permit
application unless the applicant demonstrates that the
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notification requirements of subsection (a) have been satisfied.
(c) Conference.--If objections are filed by a surface owner
pursuant to subsection (b), an employee of the department
responsible for receiving such objections on behalf of the board
shall, within two days, notify the operator and the board of the
objections, and the board shall fix a time and place for holding
the dispute resolution conference and shall notify the surface
owner and well operator of the time and place where the
conference will be held. The conference shall be scheduled to
commence not more than ten business days from the date of
service of the objections on the well operator, provided,
however, that, if the board cannot be fully convened for a
conference within this time, the conference shall be scheduled
to commence on the earliest reasonable date in which the board
can be fully convened, but no later than 15 business days from
the date of the service of the objections on the well operator.
For purposes of this section, the term "fully convened" shall
mean the participation of all three members of the board. The
conference shall be held at the applicable regional or district
office of the department closest to the tract which is the
subject of the objection. The board may use, and the department
shall provide, clerical assistance and the use of regional or
district offices for the board in conducting conference
sessions.
(d) Proceedings.--At the conference the well operator and
surface owner or owners as are present or represented shall
consider the objections and attempt to agree upon a location for
the coal bed methane well or access road. The board may hold
more than one conference session. The conference shall be
completed within ten business days of the date that the
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conference is originally commenced. However, the board, in its
sole discretion, may extend the time for completion of the
conference by an additional five business days, and the parties
to the conference may extend the time for completion of the
conference to a date mutually agreed upon. Any agreement reached
at the conference shall be consistent with the requirements of
the Oil and Gas Act and shall be reduced to writing by the board
and submitted to the department within ten business days of the
date that the conference is completed. Upon receipt of notice
that the board's conference resulted in a mutual agreement
between the operator and the surface owner, the department shall
accept an application with a plat showing the agreed-upon
location of the well from the operator and shall proceed to
issue or deny the permit. If the parties to the conference
before the board fail to agree upon a location of the coal bed
methane well or access road or if only the party requesting
review participates in the conference, the board shall make a
determination in writing establishing a location of the coal bed
methane well or access road that, in the judgment of the
majority of the board, will cause only those surface impairments
that are reasonably necessary for purposes of extracting the
underlying coal bed methane. Issuance of the written
determination shall be made within ten business days of the date
of completion of the conference and shall be served on the date
of issuance by certified mail upon the surface owner, the well
operator and the department. Failure by the board to issue a
written determination within the prescribed period of ten
business days shall be deemed a final determination by the board
to affirm the location of the well or access road proposed by
the well operator. Within 15 business days of the date of
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completion of the conference, the board shall issue a written
statement setting forth findings of fact and reasons in support
of its determination and shall serve copies of the written
statement by certified mail upon the surface owner, the well
operator and the department. Failure by the board to issue the
written statement of findings of fact and reasons in support of
its determination within the prescribed period of 15 business
days shall not preclude an aggrieved person from exercising the
right of appeal to a court of common pleas as provided under
subsection (f). If no appeal of the board's determination is
filed under subsection (f), the department shall accept an
application with a plat showing the location of the well as
determined by the board from the operator and shall proceed to
issue or deny the permit.
(e) Determination.--Any determination by the board, made
under subsection (d), shall be binding on the department. The
board's determination shall not limit or otherwise affect the
department's regulatory authority under the Oil and Gas Act, the
act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as The Clean
Streams Law, or any other applicable law administered by the
department.
(f) Appeal.--Any person aggrieved by a determination of the
board issued under subsection (d) shall have the right, within
15 days of receipt of the written or final determination, to
appeal the determination to the court of common pleas in the
judicial district in which the affected property is located. A
copy of the appeal shall be served upon all the parties to the
conference. The board or the department shall not be a party to
the appeal. The court shall hold a hearing on the appeal within
30 days of filing of the appeal and shall render its decision in
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the appeal within 60 days of filing of the appeal. In any
appeal, the only issue to be determined by the court is whether
the location of the disputed well or access road, as the case
may be, determined by the board, will cause only those surface
impairments that are reasonably necessary for purposes of
extracting the underlying coal bed methane. If the court agrees
that the board's determination meets this standard, it shall
affirm the board's determination. If the court determines that
the board's determination does not meet this standard, it shall
issue an order indicating the location of the disputed well or
access road, as the case may be, that, in the opinion of the
court, will cause only those surface impairments that are
reasonably necessary for purposes of extracting the underlying
coal bed methane. Upon issuance of an order by the court, the
department shall accept an application from the operator and
shall proceed to issue or deny the permit.
Section 6. Ordinances and resolutions superseded.
This act supersedes the ordinances and resolutions of
political subdivisions dealing with material regulated by this
act.
Section 7. Enforcement actions.
The provisions of this act shall not be construed to affect,
limit or impair any enforcement action taken by the department
under the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as
the Oil and Gas Act.
Section 8. Other remedies.
Nothing in this act precludes a person from seeking other
remedies allowed by statute, common law, deed or contract, nor
does this act diminish or alter rights previously established or
granted by statute, common law, deed or contract.
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Section 9. Notification.
The department shall publish a notice in the Pennsylvania
Bulletin when all initial members of the board established in
section 4 have been appointed.
Section 10. Effective date.
This act shall take effect as follows:
(1) Section 5 shall take effect upon publication of the
initial notice under section 9.
(2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
immediately.
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