Title 47 — MINES AND MINING

47-201. Geological survey created — Purpose — Advisory board. There is hereby created the Idaho geological survey, to be administered as a special program at the university of Idaho under the authority of the board of regents of the university of Idaho. The survey shall be the le…

47-202. Meetings — Office — State geologist. The advisory board shall hold an annual meeting at the university of Idaho, Boise state university or Idaho state university and such other meetings as it may determine. The chief office of said survey shall be maintained at the univer…

47-203. Duties — Publications — Cooperation with other agencies — Satellite offices. It shall be the duty of the said state survey to conduct statewide studies in the field; laboratory studies; prepare and publish reports on the geology, hydrogeology, geologic hazards and mineral…

47-204. Reports. The state geological survey shall annually, on or before the first day of January, make to the governor of the state and to the president of the university of Idaho a report detailing major events during the previous year concerning the geology and mineral resour…

47-306. preservation and use of samples and Records — Reports of determinations and identifications. The Idaho geological survey shall preserve any samples or records deposited with it pertaining to mineral, oil or gas resources, exploration or production on lands within the stat…

47-307. Use of information. The Idaho geological survey is hereby authorized to utilize in its study of regional geology, mineral deposits, industrial minerals and aggregates, oil and gas resources, and groundwater resources, in its dissemination of geological and mineral data, a…

47-309. Title. This act may be cited as the Oil and Gas Conservation Act.

47-310. Definitions. Unless the context otherwise requires, the terms defined in this section shall have the following meanings when used in this act. The use of the plural includes the singular, and the use of the singular includes the plural. (1) "Administrator" means the divis…

47-311. Public interest. It is declared to be in the public interest to foster, encourage and promote the development, production and utilization of natural resources of oil and gas in the state of Idaho in such a manner as will prevent waste; to provide for uniformity and consis…

47-312. Act not construed to restrict production — waste prohibited. It is not the intent or purpose of this law to require the proration or distribution or the production of oil and gas among the fields of Idaho on the basis of market demand. This act shall never be construed to…

47-313. Lands subject to this act. This act shall apply to all lands located in the state, however owned, including any lands owned or administered by any government or any agency or political subdivision thereof, including lands of the United States, or lands subject to the juri…

47-314. Oil and gas conservation commission created — Powers — limit on local restrictions — Attorney general. (1) There is hereby created an oil and gas conservation commission of the state of Idaho within the department of lands. The commission shall consist of a county commiss…

47-315. Authority of commission. (1) The commission is authorized and it is its duty to regulate the exploration for and production of oil and gas, to prevent waste of oil and gas, to protect correlative rights, and to otherwise administer and enforce this act. It has jurisdictio…

47-316. Permit to drill or treat a well — fees. (1) It shall be unlawful to commence operations for the drilling or treating of a well for oil and gas without first giving notice to the commission of intention to drill or treat and without first obtaining a permit from the commis…

47-317. spacing units. (1) To prevent or assist in preventing the waste of oil and gas, to avoid drilling unnecessary wells or to protect correlative rights, the department may, on its own motion or on the application of an interested person, and after notice and opportunity for …

47-319. setbacks. (1) Except as provided in this section, oil and gas wells, tank batteries and gas processing facilities shall not be constructed within three hundred (300) feet of an existing occupied structure, domestic water well, canal, ditch or the natural or ordinary high-…

47-320. Integration of tracts — Orders of department. (1) When two (2) or more separately owned tracts are embraced within a spacing unit, or when there are separately owned interests in all or a part of a spacing unit, the interested persons may integrate their tracts or interes…

47-321. unit operations. (1) An agreement for the unit or cooperative development or operation of a field, pool, or part thereof may be submitted to the department for approval as being in the public interest or reasonably necessary to prevent waste or protect correlative rights.…

47-322. oil and gas metering systems. (1) Each meter shall be properly constructed, maintained, repaired and operated to continually and accurately register the quantity of oil and gas produced from the well. (2) The meter shall be installed, used and operated according to indust…

47-323. commingling of production. A producer shall not, prior to metering, commingle production from two (2) or more oil and gas wells without prior approval from the department after notice and opportunity for hearing.

47-324. reporting requirements. (1) All reporting parties shall file the applicable reports described in this section to the department within the time frames provided. Each report shall be completed on forms prescribed by the department. (a) Monthly production report. Operators …

47-325. Falsification of records — Limitation of actions. (1) Any person who, for the purpose of evading this act or any rule, regulation or order of the commission shall make or cause to be made any false entry in any report, record, account, or memorandum required by this act, …

47-326. public data. (1) Subject only to any applicable provisions of section 47-327, Idaho Code, the following data is public information that shall not be considered trade secret information under chapter 8, title 48, Idaho Code, nor be exempt from public records disclosure und…

47-327. confidentiality of well and trade information. (1) Information that shall be held confidential from the public includes logs of a well granted confidential well status pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, electrical or radioactivity logs, electromagnetic or magneti…

47-328. Rules for commission — administrative procedures. (1) The commission shall have authority to hear rulemaking proceedings, complaints filed with it pursuant to this chapter and appeals from the administrator’s decision on an application filed pursuant to this chapter, and …

47-329. Powers of commission — Witnesses — Penalty. (1) The commission shall have the power to summon witnesses, to administer oaths, and to require the production of records, books, and documents for examination at any hearing or investigation conducted by the commission. (2) In…

47-330. Oil and gas conservation fund created — Tax. (1) For the purposes of paying the expenses of administration of this act and for the privilege of extracting oil and gas in this state, there is hereby levied and imposed on all oil and gas produced, saved and sold or transpor…

47-331. Obligation to pay royalties as essence of contract — interest. (1) The obligation arising under an oil and gas lease to pay oil and gas royalties to the royalty owner or the owner’s assignee, to deliver oil and gas to an end purchaser to the credit of the royalty owner or…

47-332. reports to royalty owners. (1) Each royalty payment shall be accompanied by an oil and gas royalty check stub that includes the following information: (a) Lease or well identification; (b) Month and year of sales included in the payment; (c) Total volumes of oil, condensa…

47-333. Action for accounting for royalty. (1) Whenever an owner of a royalty interest makes a written demand for an accounting of the oil and gas produced, but no more frequently than once every twenty-four (24) months, and makes written demand for delivery or payment of his roy…

47-334. use of surface land by owner or operator. (1) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions shall apply: (a) "Surface land" means land upon which oil and gas operations are conducted. (b) "Crops" means any growing vegetative matter used for an agricultural p…

47-335. producers — monthly statements — idaho state tax commission. (1) Every producer engaged in the production of oil or gas from any well or wells in the state shall each month file with the Idaho state tax commission, on forms prescribed by the Idaho state tax commission, a …

47-336. INTERSTATE COMPACT FOR CONSERVATION OF OIL AND GAS RATIFIED. (1) The state of Idaho does hereby ratify, approve, adopt and confirm the interstate compact to conserve oil and gas heretofore executed in the city of Dallas, Texas, on February 16, 1935, and is now deposited w…

47-601. Mining claim locations authorized. Persons are authorized to locate mining claims upon that public domain in the state of Idaho which is open to location under the mining laws of the United States. The location of a mining claim shall be made by posting notice of location…

47-602. Method of locating mining claim. The locator of a mining claim must at the time of making his location designate his claim by posting at one (1) corner of the claim his notice of location in writing in which there shall be stated: 1. The name of the locator or locators. 2…

47-604. Notice must be recorded. Within ninety (90) days after the location of the claim the locator or his assigns must file for record in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the claim is situated, a copy of his notice of location. Failure to file notice of …

47-605. Record of additional certificate. If at any time the locator of any mining claim heretofore or hereafter located, or his assigns, shall apprehend that his original certificate was defective, erroneous, or that the requirements of the law had not been complied with before …

47-606. Affidavit of performance of labor — Notice of acceptance of waiver, suspension or extension — Fees — Effect as evidence. Within sixty (60) days after any time set or period allowed for the performance of labor, or making improvements upon any lode or placer claim, the per…

47-607. Location of abandoned claim. The location of abandoned claims shall be done in the same manner as if the location were of a new claim including the erection of new posts or monuments.

47-608. Notice must claim only one location. No location notice shall claim more than one location, whether the location is made by one or several locators, and if it purport to claim more than one location it is absolutely void.

47-609. Security to surface owners — Injunction. When the right to mine is in any case separate from the ownership or right of occupancy of the surface ground, the owners or rightful occupants of the surface ground may demand satisfactory security from the miners, and if it be re…

47-611. Affidavit of locators. At or before the time of presenting a location notice for record, whether it be for a quartz lode or placer claim, one (1) of the locators named in the same must make and subscribe an affidavit, in writing on or attached to the notice, substantially…

47-612. Manner of recording notices. The location notice herein required to be recorded must be recorded in the office of the county recorder of the county in which the claim is located (when the legal fee therefor is tendered), in a book kept for that purpose. Said book must be …

47-613. Certain surveys may qualify as annual labor. Annual assessment work or labor upon a mining claim as required by the United States mining laws shall be defined to include, without being limited to, geological, geochemical and geophysical surveys conducted by qualified expe…

47-614. Definitions. As used in section 47-613: (1) the term "geological surveys" means surveys on the ground for mineral deposits by the proper application of the principles and techniques of the science of geology as they relate to the search for and discovery of mineral deposi…

47-618. Lode and placer claims — Official patent survey as labor on improvement. It is hereby declared that an official patent survey of a lode or placer mining claim or claims by a United States mineral surveyor constitutes and is labor performed upon an improvement made upon or…

47-619. Lode and placer claims — Official patent survey as credit on annual assessment work. An official patent survey of a lode or placer mining claim or claims by a United States mineral surveyor may be credited to annual assessment work or labor, but in no case shall the credi…

47-701. Reservation of mineral deposits to state — Terms defined. (1) The terms "mineral lands," "mineral," "mineral deposits," "deposit," and "mineral right," as used in this chapter, and amendments thereto shall be construed to mean and include all coal, oil, oil shale, gas, ph…

47-701A. Definition. As used in section 47-701, Idaho Code, the term "salable minerals," means a mineral substance that can be taken from the earth and that has a value in and of itself separate and apart from the earth and includes, but is not limited to, building stone, cinders…

47-702. Right of exploration and withdrawal. (1) All lands belonging to the state of Idaho in which the mineral deposits, excepting oil and gas and geothermal resources, are owned by the state, and which have not been located, leased, or withdrawn in accordance with the terms of …