PRIOR PRINTER'S NO. 1908 PRINTER'S NO. 1984
No. 1330 Session of 2008
INTRODUCED BY D. WHITE, WOZNIAK, KASUNIC, REGOLA, BROWNE,
GREENLEAF, ORIE, MUSTO, ROBBINS, M. WHITE, STOUT, MADIGAN AND
BAKER, APRIL 3, 2008
SENATOR M. WHITE, ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, AS
AMENDED, APRIL 29, 2008
AN ACT
1 Establishing the Coal Methane Review Board to resolve disputes
2 between property owners over the location of coal bed methane
3 wells and access roads.
4 The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
5 hereby enacts as follows:
6 Section 1. Short title.
7 This act shall be known and may be cited as the Coal Bed
8 Methane Well Dispute Resolution Act.
9 Section 2. Definitions.
10 The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
11 have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
12 context clearly indicates otherwise:
13 "Alternative dispute resolution." The procedure for dispute
14 resolution provided in this act.
15 "Board." The Coal Bed Methane Review Board established in
16 section 4.
17 "Coal bed methane." Gas which can be produced from a coal
1 seam, a mined-out area or a gob well.
2 "Coal bed methane well." A hole or well which is sunk,
3 drilled, bored or dug into the earth for the production of coal
4 bed methane from a coal seam, a mined-out area or a gob well for
5 consumption or sale. The term includes a horizontal borehole.
6 The term does not include any of the following:
7 (1) A shaft, hole or well which is sunk, drilled, bored
8 or dug into the earth for core drilling or production of coal
9 or water.
10 (2) A borehole drilled or being drilled for the purpose
11 of or to be used for degasifying coal seams if a condition in
12 one of the following subparagraphs is met:
13 (i) The borehole is:
14 (A) Used to vent methane to the outside
15 atmosphere from an operating coal mine.
16 (B) Regulated as part of the mining permit under
17 the act of June 22, 1937 (P.L.1987, No.394), known as
18 The Clean Streams Law, and the act of May 31, 1945
19 (P.L.1198, No.418), known as the Surface Mining
20 Conservation and Reclamation Act.
21 (C) Drilled by the operator of the operating
22 coal mine for the purpose of increased safety.
23 (ii) The borehole is used to vent methane to the
24 outside atmosphere under a federally funded or
25 Commonwealth-funded abandoned mine reclamation project.
26 (3) A well or borehole drilled in a coal seam from
27 within an underground coal mine for the production of coal
28 bed methane. This paragraph includes a well or borehole
29 connected to a well or borehole which is sunk, drilled or dug
30 from the surface.
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1 "Department." The Department of Environmental Protection of
2 the Commonwealth.
3 "Permit." A well permit issued pursuant to the act of
4 December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the Oil and Gas
5 Act.
6 "Secretary." The Secretary of Environmental Protection of
7 the Commonwealth.
8 "Surface owner." A person who owns any of the following
9 interests in the surface upon which a coal bed methane well or
10 associated access road may be constructed:
11 (1) A fee interest.
12 (2) An interest for life.
13 (3) A remainder interest.
14 The term does not include:
15 (1) The Federal or State government or any agency or
16 political subdivision thereof.
17 (2) A person who is entitled to royalties for removal or
18 recovery of coal bed methane.
19 (3) A person who owns a lease, easement, right-of-way,
20 license, privilege or other similar interest in the surface.
21 "Well operator." A person who has filed or who is required
22 to file for a permit under the act of December 19, 1984
23 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as the Oil and Gas Act.
24 Section 3. Legislative purpose and intent.
25 It is the purpose of this act to establish an alternative
26 procedure to court action for consideration and resolution of
27 objections to the location of certain coal bed methane wells or
28 roads associated with those wells to be constructed on surface
29 lands and to modify the procedure for review of permit
30 applications to the extent necessary to allow for the procedure
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1 for alternative dispute resolution.
2 Section 4. Coal Bed Methane Review Board.
3 (a) Establishment.--There is established the Coal Bed
4 Methane Review Board.
5 (b) Members.--The board shall consist of the following three
6 members:
7 (1) One member shall be appointed by the Pennsylvania
8 Farm Bureau.
9 (2) One member shall be appointed jointly by the
10 Pennsylvania Oil and Gas Association, the Independent Oil and
11 Gas Association of Pennsylvania and the Pennsylvania Coal
12 Association.
13 (3) One member shall be an individual with expertise in
14 petroleum geology or petroleum engineering with at least
15 three years of experience in practice in Pennsylvania who is
16 selected APPOINTED jointly by the deans of the College of <--
17 Agricultural Sciences and the College of Earth and Mineral
18 Sciences of The Pennsylvania State University.
19 (c) Terms.--The term of appointment of a board member shall
20 be three years or until a successor is duly appointed. A board
21 member may be appointed for successive terms.
22 (d) Support.--The department shall provide administrative
23 and clerical support to the board as requested.
24 (e) Purpose.--The purpose of the board shall be to consider
25 objections and attempt to reach agreement on or determine a
26 location for the coal bed methane well or access road.
27 (f) Compensation.--Members of the board shall be compensated
28 at the appropriate per diem rate based on the prevailing formula
29 administered by the Commonwealth, but not less than $150 per
30 day, plus all reasonable expenses incurred while performing
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1 their official duties. Compensation shall be adjusted annually
2 by the secretary to account for inflation based on the rate of
3 inflation identified by the Consumer Price Index published by
4 the United States Department of Labor. The individual member may
5 waive his right to all or part of the compensation set forth in
6 this subsection.
7 Section 5. Procedures.
8 (a) Notification.--A well operator who intends to drill a
9 coal bed methane well or construct an access road associated
10 with a coal bed methane well shall provide written notification
11 to the surface owner in the time and manner prescribed in
12 section 201(b) of the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140,
13 No.223), known as the Oil and Gas Act. The notification shall
14 also include the following statement in at least ten-point
15 print:
16 Right to Participate in Alternative Dispute Resolution
17 You have the right to have your objections to the well
18 operator's proposed location of the well or of the access
19 road associated with the well heard and decided by the
20 three-member Coal Bed Methane Review Board, created under
21 the act of , 2008 (P.L. , No. ), known as
22 the Coal Bed Methane Well Dispute Resolution Act. You may
23 participate with or without a lawyer in any conference
24 session the board may hold to hear your objections.
25 Important: To exercise this right, you must file your
26 objections in writing with the regional office of the
27 Department of Environmental Protection at:
28 (Address)
29 (City, State, Zip)
30 within fifteen (15) days of the date you received this
20080S1330B1984 - 5 -
1 notification. Otherwise you will be considered to have
2 waived this right to resolve your objections through the
3 Coal Bed Methane Review Board. Your objection may be
4 filed in person or by first-class mail.
5 (b) Filing of written objections.--A surface owner who
6 intends to invoke alternative dispute resolution shall file
7 written objections to the well operator's proposed location for
8 coal bed methane well or access road with the department within
9 15 days of the date of receipt of the written notification and
10 plat described in subsection (a). The written objections may
11 indicate an alternative location at which the proposed coal bed
12 methane well could be drilled or the access road could be
13 located to overcome the objections. If no objections are filed
14 in the time prescribed in this subsection, the department shall
15 proceed to issue or deny the permit.
16 (c) Conference.--If objections are filed by a surface owner
17 pursuant to subsection (b), the department shall, within two
18 days, notify the operator and the board of the objections, and
19 the board shall fix a time and place for holding the dispute
20 resolution conference and shall notify the surface owner and
21 well operator of the time and place where the conference will be
22 held. The conference shall be scheduled to commence not more
23 than ten business days from the date of service of the
24 objections on the well operator, provided, however, that if the
25 board cannot be fully convened for a conference within this
26 time, the conference shall be scheduled to commence on the
27 earliest reasonable date in which the board can be fully
28 convened, but no later than 15 business days from the date of
29 the service of the objections on the well operator. FOR PURPOSES <--
30 OF THIS SECTION, THE TERM "FULLY CONVENED" SHALL MEAN THE
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1 PARTICIPATION OF ALL THREE MEMBERS OF THE BOARD. The conference
2 shall be held at the applicable regional or district office of
3 the department closest to the tract which is the subject of the
4 objection. The board may use, and the department shall provide,
5 clerical assistance and the use of regional or district offices
6 for the board in conducting conference sessions.
7 (d) Proceedings.--At the conference the well operator and
8 surface owner or owners as are present or represented shall
9 consider the objections and attempt to agree upon a location for
10 the coal bed methane well or access road. The board may hold
11 more than one conference session. The conference shall be
12 completed within ten days of the date that the conference is
13 originally commenced. However, the board, in its sole
14 discretion, may extend the time for completion of the conference
15 by an additional five business days, and the parties to the
16 conference may extend the time for completion of the conference
17 to a date mutually agreed upon. Any agreement reached at the
18 conference shall be consistent with the requirements of the Oil
19 and Gas Act and shall be reduced to writing by the board and
20 submitted to the department within ten business days of the date
21 that the conference is completed. Upon receipt of notice that
22 the board's conference resulted in a mutual agreement between
23 the operator and the surface owner, the department shall proceed
24 to issue or deny the permit. If the parties to the conference
25 before the board fail to agree upon a location of the coal bed
26 methane well or access road or if only the party requesting
27 review participates in the conference, the board shall make a
28 determination in writing establishing a location of the coal bed
29 methane well or access road that, in the judgment of the
30 majority of the board, will cause only those surface impairments
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1 that are reasonably necessary for purposes of extracting the
2 underlying coal bed methane. Issuance of the written
3 determination shall be made within ten business days of the date
4 of completion of the conference and shall be served on the date
5 of issuance by certified mail upon the surface owner, the well
6 operator and the department. Failure by the board to issue a
7 written determination within the prescribed period of ten
8 business days shall be deemed a final determination by the board
9 to affirm the location of the well or access road proposed by
10 the well operator. Within 15 business days of the date of
11 completion of the conference, the board shall issue a written
12 statement setting forth findings of fact and reasons in support
13 of its determination and shall serve copies of the written
14 statement by certified mail upon the surface owner, the well
15 operator and the department. Failure by the board to issue the
16 written statement of findings of fact and reasons in support of
17 its determination within the prescribed period of 15 business
18 days shall not preclude an aggrieved person from exercising the
19 right of appeal to a court of common pleas as provided under
20 subsection (f). If no appeal of the board's determination is
21 filed under subsection (f), the department shall proceed to
22 issue or deny the permit.
23 (e) Determination.--Any determination by the board shall be
24 binding on the department.
25 (f) Appeal.--Any person aggrieved by a determination of the
26 board issued under subsection (d) shall have the right, within
27 15 days of receipt of the written OR FINAL determination, to <--
28 appeal the determination to the court of common pleas in the
29 judicial district in which the affected property is located. A
30 copy of the appeal shall be served upon all the parties to the
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1 conference. The board or the department shall not be a party to
2 the appeal. The court shall hold a hearing on the appeal within
3 30 days of filing of the appeal and shall render its decision in
4 the appeal within 60 days of filing of the appeal. In any
5 appeal, the only issue to be determined by the court is whether
6 the location of the disputed well or access road, as the case
7 may be, determined by the board, will cause only those surface
8 impairments that are reasonably necessary for purposes of
9 extracting the underlying coal bed methane. If the court agrees
10 that the board's determination meets this standard, it shall
11 affirm the board's determination. If the court determines that
12 the board's determination does not meet this standard, it shall
13 issue an order indicating the location of the disputed well or
14 access road, as the case may be, that, in the opinion of the
15 court, will cause only those surface impairments that are
16 reasonably necessary for purposes of extracting the underlying
17 coal bed methane. Upon issuance of a decision AN ORDER by the <--
18 court, the department shall proceed to issue or deny the permit.
19 Section 6. Ordinances and resolutions superseded.
20 This act supersedes the ordinances and resolutions of
21 political subdivisions dealing with material regulated by this
22 act.
23 Section 7. Enforcement actions.
24 The provisions of this act shall not be construed to affect,
25 limit or impair any enforcement action taken by the department
26 under the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223), known as
27 the Oil and Gas Act, prior to the effective date of this act.
28 Section 8. Other remedies.
29 Nothing in this act precludes a person from seeking other
30 remedies allowed by statute, common law, deed or contract, nor
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1 does this act diminish or alter rights previously established or
2 granted by statute, common law, deed or contract.
3 Section 9. Notification.
4 The department shall publish a notice in the Pennsylvania
5 Bulletin when the board established in section 4 has appointed <--
6 all initial members. ALL INITIAL MEMBERS OF THE BOARD <--
7 ESTABLISHED IN SECTION 4 HAVE BEEN APPOINTED.
8 Section 10. Effective date.
9 This act shall take effect as follows:
10 (1) Section 5 shall take effect upon publication of the
11 initial notice under section 9.
12 (2) The remainder of this act shall take effect
13 immediately.
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