If the commission, its agents, employees, or contractors, plugs or replugs a well or reclaims a well site, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant under the provisions of sections 38-08-04.4, 38-08-04.5, 38-08-04.7, 38-08-04.8, 38-08-04.9, and
38-08-04.10, the state has a cause of action for all reasonable expenses incurred in the plugging, replugging, or reclamation against the operator at the time the well is required to be plugged and the well or facility is required to be abandoned or any or all persons who own a working interest in the well, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant at the time the well is required to be plugged and the well, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant abandoned as a result of the ownership of a lease or mineral interest in the property on which the well, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant is located. The term "working interest owner" does not mean a royalty owner or an overriding royalty interest owner. The commission shall seek reimbursement for all reasonable expenses incurred in plugging any well or reclaiming any well site, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant through an action instituted by the attorney general. The liability of any working interest owner under this section shall be limited to that proportion of the reasonable expenses incurred by the commission that the interest of any such working interest owner bears to the entire working interest in the well. Any money collected in a suit under this section must be deposited in the state abandoned oil and gas well plugging and site reclamation fund. Any suit brought by the commission for reimbursement under this section may be brought in the district court for Burleigh County, the county in which the plugged well or reclaimed well site, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant is located, or the county in which any defendant resides.
38-08-04.9. Confiscation of equipment and salable oil to cover plugging and reclamation costs. When the commission intends to exercise or has exercised its right to plug a well or reclaim a well site, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant, the commission, as compensation for its costs, may confiscate any equipment and salable oil at the well site, pipeline facility, production facility, saltwater handling facility, or treating plant. The equipment subject to confiscation is limited to that owned by the operator, former operator, or working interest owner. If the commission exercises its authority under this section and there is salable oil at the well site, that oil must be confiscated. The commission shall pay the mineral owners the royalty interest in the oil confiscated at the well site. In determining the mineral owners and their royalty interests, the commission may rely upon the most recent division order it is able to obtain. If one is unavailable or the commission finds the order unreliable, the commission may rely upon any other source of information the commission deems reasonable to determine and pay mineral owners. A confiscation must be by an order of the commission after notice and hearing. A confiscation order transfers title to the commission.