Public Act 099-0138
 
SB1378 EnrolledLRB099 10502 AMC 30729 b

    AN ACT concerning regulation.
 
    Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
represented in the General Assembly:
 
    Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by
adding Sections 6.2 and 9.1 as follows:
 
    (225 ILCS 725/6.2 new)
    Sec. 6.2. Oil and gas leases; termination due to
non-development or non-production. The Department shall have
the authority to adopt rules and hold hearings to determine if
oil and gas leases submitted with an application for a permit
or transfer of a permit for a well are operative on the basis
that prior oil and gas leases covering the same lands have
terminated due to non-development or non-production.
Department determinations under this Section shall be based
upon affidavits of non-development or non-production from
knowledgeable individuals familiar with the history of
development and production of oil or gas as to such lands,
together with other evidence, which create a rebuttable
presumption that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated
and are of no further force and effect and that the submitted
oil and gas leases are operative and effective. To create a
rebuttable presumption, such affidavits, together with other
evidence provided to or available from the Department, shall
reasonably indicate that there has been no development or
production of oil and gas on the lands described in the prior
leases for at least 24 consecutive months subsequent to the
expiration of the primary term or any extension of the primary
term as set forth in the leases. A court order or judgment
declaring the prior leases terminated is not required for
determinations under this Section, except in extraordinary
circumstances where such determinations cannot reasonably be
concluded from the affidavits or evidence submitted to or
available from the Department. Upon the Department's
determination of a rebuttable presumption under this Section,
the Department shall provide the current permittee with notice
and a 30-day opportunity to request a hearing to rebut the
presumption before a final determination on a lease is made.
Any determination made by the Department under this Section
shall not diminish the rights or obligations of any current
permittee of a well that are otherwise provided by statute or
regulation of the Department. Any request for a determination
under this Section shall require the payment of a nonrefundable
fee of $1,000 by the applicant. All determinations on leases by
the Department under this Section shall be made no later than
90 days after the Department's receipt of a valid request for
such determination. Determinations that prior oil and gas
leases have terminated due to non-development or
non-production shall require the current permittee to properly
plug all non-plugged and non-transferred wells within the lease
boundaries of the prior leases. If the current permittee fails
to properly plug all non-plugged and non-transferred wells
within 30 days after the issuance of the determination, the
wells shall be deemed abandoned and included in the
Department's Oil and Gas Well Site Plugging and Restoration
Program. Department determinations under this Section shall
not have res judicata or collateral estoppel effect in any
judicial proceedings.
 
    (225 ILCS 725/9.1 new)
    Sec. 9.1. Notice for hearings or other proceedings.
    (a) All permittees under this Act shall provide the
Department with a current address within 90 days after the
effective date of this amendatory Act of the 99th General
Assembly for the Department's use in providing notice of any
hearings or other proceedings under this Act. Permittees must
inform the Department of any address changes within 30 days
after the effective date of the address change. Permittees
shall provide current address information and inform the
Department of any address changes on a form prescribed by the
Department.
    (b) Written notice of a hearing or proceeding required to
be provided to a permittee under this Act shall be given either
personally or by certified mail with return receipt requested
sent to the address provided to the Department as required by
subsection (a) of this Section. Permittees shall sign certified
mail return receipts for all mail received from the Department.
    (c) If notice sent by certified mail is returned unsigned
or undelivered and, upon due inquiry, the permittee cannot be
found for personal delivery, the Department shall provide
written notice of a hearing or other proceeding by publication
of the notice in a newspaper published in the county where the
well or wells at issue are located. If there is no newspaper
published in that county, then the publication shall be in a
newspaper published in an adjoining county in this State having
a circulation in the county where the well or wells at issue
are located. The notice shall be published once. The Department
shall, within 10 days after the publication of the newspaper
notice, send a copy of the notice to the address provided to
the Department as required by subsection (a) of this Section.
The certificate of an authorized representative of the
Department that newspaper notice was published and that a copy
of the newspaper notice has been sent to the permittee pursuant
to this subsection is evidence that the Department has properly
provided notice to the permittee for the hearing or other
proceeding.
    (d) Any notice required to be provided to a permittee under
this Act shall include the identification of the well or wells
at issue, the date, time, place, and nature of the hearing or
other proceeding, and the name and contact information of the
Department where additional information can be obtained.

Effective Date: 1/1/2016