Title 82, Title 82

There is an oil and gas education and research account within the state special revenue fund established in 17-2-102. Interest or other income earned on money in the oil and gas education and research account accrues to that account.

(Temporary) Powers and duties of board. (1) The board shall make investigations that it considers proper to determine whether waste exists or is imminent or whether other facts exist that justify any action by the board under the authority granted by this chapter. (2) Subject to …

Subject to the provisions of 76-2-109, the board may cooperate with any other state, interstate, or federal agency and other governmental agencies of the state to effect the objects and purposes of this chapter and expend funds reasonably necessary.

(1) Except as provided in subsection (4), any information that is furnished to the board or the board's staff or that is obtained by either of them is a matter of public record and open to public use. Except as provided in subsection (4), information unique to the owner or operat…

(Temporary) Fees for processing applications. (1) The board shall establish a fee schedule to defray the expenses incurred for processing an application from an operator or producer of oil seeking approval of a new or expanded enhanced recovery project, as defined in 15-36-303. T…

Waste of oil and gas or either of them as waste is defined in this chapter is prohibited.

(Temporary) Notice of intention to drill or conduct seismic operations -- notice to surface owner. It is unlawful to commence the drilling of a well for oil or gas without first filing with the board written notice of intention to drill and obtaining a drilling permit as provided…

(Temporary) Requirements for oil and gas operations. Subject to the administrative control of the department under 2-15-121, the board shall require: (1) identification of ownership of oil or gas wells, producing properties, and tanks; (2) the making and filing of acceptable well…

Subject to the administrative control of the department under 2-15-121, the board shall, for the purpose of preventing waste: (1) regulate the drilling, producing, and plugging of wells, the shooting and chemical treatment of wells, the spacing of wells, operations voluntarily en…

(1) An owner drilling a well for gas or oil shall make available to the board at its field offices representative cores or chips, when available, the cuttings from the well, and the bottom-hole temperatures of the wells, in order to facilitate the discovery of geothermal potentia…

The board may make available to the authorized personnel or representatives of the bureau of mines and geology such facilities, equipment, records, and cores and cuttings or samples of cores and cuttings as are or may be required by the bureau in the furtherance of its oil and ga…

(Temporary) Prohibited activity -- Makoshika state park. (1) A person may not: (a) cause pollution of any state waters or place or cause to be placed any liquid, gaseous, solid, or other substance in a location where the substance is likely to cause pollution of any state waters;…

(1) For the purpose of providing funds for defraying the expenses of the operation and enforcement of this chapter and expenses of the board, an operator or producer of oil and gas shall pay an assessment of 0.3% of the market value of each barrel of crude petroleum produced, sav…

In addition to the privilege and license tax, before commencing the drilling of an oil or gas well or stratigraphic test well or core hole, a person shall secure from the board a drilling permit and shall pay to the board therefor the following amounts: (1) for each well whose es…

The state treasurer shall deposit all money distributed to the board under 15-36-331 and collected under this chapter in the state special revenue fund. The money must first be used for the purpose of paying all expenses of the board as provided in 15-36-331(2)(a) and then alloca…

(Temporary) Expenditure of funds from bonds for plugging wells. The board may accept and expend all funds received by it from bonds for properly plugging dry or abandoned wells as authorized in 82-11-123(5).

(Temporary) Class II injection well operating fee. (1) For the purpose of providing funds for defraying the expenses of operating and enforcing the class II injection well regulatory program, as defined by the federal environmental protection agency or any successor agency, each …

The board may adopt rules necessary to regulate well injections to restore or enhance the microbial conversion of hydrocarbon substrates to methane gas as class II injection wells.

(1) Unless otherwise provided, the Montana Administrative Procedure Act applies to this chapter. (2) An order or amendment of an order, except in an emergency, may not be made by the board without a public hearing upon at least 10 days' notice. The public hearing must be held at …

(1) If the Montana Administrative Procedure Act does not apply, the board may subpoena witnesses, administer oaths, and require the production of records, books, and documents for examination at any hearing or investigation conducted by it. Witnesses subpoenaed under this subsect…

A person adversely affected by a rule or order of the board may within 20 days after its effective date apply to the board in writing for a rehearing. The application for rehearing must be acted upon at the board's next regularly scheduled meeting after filing of the application,…

Any interested person adversely affected by any provision of this chapter or by any rule or order adopted by the board hereunder or by any act done or threatened thereunder may obtain court review and seek relief by a suit for an injunction against the board as defendant, which s…

(1) A temporary restraining order or temporary injunction of any kind may not be granted against the board and its members or against the attorney general or against an employee of the board, restraining the board and its members or employees or the attorney general from enforcin…

An appeal to the supreme court may be taken from any final judgment, decree, or order in the action, as provided in the Montana Rules of Appellate Procedure.

(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, if the board finds upon receipt of evidence: (a) that a person is violating or threatening to violate this chapter or a rule or order of the board, the board may bring suit against that person in the district court of any …

A person is guilty of a misdemeanor and shall be subject to a fine of not more than $10,000 per day of violation or imprisonment in a county jail for a term not exceeding 6 months or to both the fine and imprisonment if that person willfully violates any lawful rule or order of t…

(1) A person is guilty of a misdemeanor and is subject to a civil penalty of at least $75 and not more than $10,000 a day for each violation if that person violates any rule or order of the board or a provision of this chapter. Each day of violation constitutes a separate violati…

When requested by the board, the attorney general or the county attorneys within their respective counties shall perform legal services and conduct legal proceedings necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The board may also employ legal counsel to enforce this chapt…

(1) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, if the administrator or a board member finds that a person is committing or about to commit an act in violation of this chapter or any order or rule issued under it that, if it occurs or continues, will cause substantial p…

(Temporary) Oil and gas production damage mitigation account -- statutory appropriation. (1) There is an oil and gas production damage mitigation account within the state special revenue fund established in 17-2-102. The oil and gas production damage mitigation account is control…

(Temporary) Landowner's bond on noncommercial well. If the owner of the surface land upon which has been drilled a well that fails to produce oil or gas in commercial quantities acquires the well for domestic purposes, the board may cancel and absolve the bond required in 82-11-1…

(1) The oil and gas production damage mitigation account has a lien in the amount of the expenditure from the account under 82-11-161(4), plus interest accrued at the rate of 10% a year, against all real and personal property in this state owned by the responsible person or in wh…

Sections 82-11-172 through 82-11-174 may be known as the "Coal Bed Methane Production Offset Act".

(1) The legislature finds that a delay in the development of certain coal bed methane wells may inadvertently result in the loss of coal bed methane resources. (2) The legislature further finds that because of the nature of this subsurface mineral resource, it is highly susceptib…

The board is authorized and directed to issue, upon application and subject to the regulatory requirements of the program and 82-11-175, permits for coal bed methane production wells that will offset permitting by federal agencies, tribal agencies, or agencies of other states of …

(1) Coal bed methane production wells that involve the production of ground water must comply with this section. (2) Ground water produced in association with a coal bed methane well must be managed in any of the following ways: (a) used as irrigation or stock water or for other …

(1) Title 82, chapter 11, parts 1 and 2, and the issuance of a permit for a carbon dioxide injection well pursuant to Title 82, chapter 11, parts 1 and 2, do not: (a) prejudice the rights of property owners within a geologic storage reservoir to exercise rights that have not been…

(Effective on occurrence of contingency) Geologic storage reservoir administrative fee -- account established. (1) (a) A geologic storage operator shall pay to the board a fee on each ton of carbon dioxide injected for storage for the purpose of carrying out the state's responsib…

(Effective on occurrence of contingency) Liability for carbon dioxide during injection. (1) Until the certificate of project completion is issued pursuant to 82-11-183(1) and title to the stored carbon dioxide and geologic storage reservoir is transferred to the state pursuant to…

(Effective on occurrence of contingency) Certificate of completion -- department of environmental quality participation -- transfer of liability. (1) Pursuant to subsection (3), after carbon dioxide injections into a reservoir end and upon completion of the certification requirem…

(Effective on occurrence of contingency) Conversion of enhanced recovery wells. (1) A well regulated under this chapter in which carbon dioxide is injected for the purpose of enhancing the recovery of oil and gas may be converted to a carbon dioxide injection well. (2) (a) The bo…

(Effective on occurrence of contingency) Makoshika state park requirements. (1) Except as provided in subsection (3), on lands managed as Makoshika state park pursuant to Title 23, chapter 1, and under the control of the department of fish, wildlife, and parks by grant, acquisiti…

(1) An operator or producer of an oil or gas enhanced recovery project may request that the board certify the quantity of carbon dioxide being stored incidentally through the enhanced recovery project. (2) The operator or producer shall submit a plan to account for the incidental…

(Temporary) Establishment of well spacing units. (1) To prevent or to assist in preventing waste of oil or gas prohibited by this chapter, to avoid the drilling of unnecessary wells, or to protect correlative rights, the board, upon its own motion or upon application of an intere…

(1) (a) When two or more separately owned tracts are embraced within a temporary or permanent spacing unit or when there are separately owned interests in all or a part of the spacing unit, then the persons owning those interests may pool their interests for the development and o…

(1) An agreement for the unit or cooperative development and operation of a field or pool or any part of either or for conducting repressuring or pressure maintenance operations, cycling or recycling operations, including the extraction and separation of liquid hydrocarbons from …