Section 250.20  Designation of State Lands

a)         Any person may request the Office to designate a tract of State owned land, where the State owns 100% of the underlying mineral interests and the tract covers a large enough acreage to allow a properly spaced oil and/or gas well to be drilled in accordance with the Illinois Oil and Gas Act, as proven or unknown territory.

b)         If the tract of State owned land requested to be designated as proven or unknown territory is owned by the Department of Natural Resources no extraction activities shall be performed nor production equipment located on Department lands. Requests for extraction activities underlying lands owned by the Department of Natural Resources that utilize directional drilling techniques may be permitted at the discretion of the Department and will be designated in accordance with this Section. The Department shall not grant permits or leases for the extraction of oil, gas, and other petroleum deposits from the following classifications of lands if the State owns 100% of the underlying mineral interests under the proposed drilling unit:

1)         lands where threatened or endangered species occur, as determined pursuant to the federal Endangered Species Act (16 USCA 1531) or the Illinois Endangered Species Act [525 ILCS 10];

2)         Illinois Natural Area Inventory sites;

3)         nature preserves dedicated under the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act [525 ILCS 30];

4)         lands containing a wild and scenic river as designated under the Wild or Scenic River Area Act [20 ILCS 855];

5)         lands registered under the Register of Land and Water Reserves under 17 Illinois Administrative Code 4010; and

6)         lands on which federal or State laws or regulations prohibit the surface extraction or production facility activity.   [5 ILCS 615/2]

c)         The request must be submitted to the Office in writing and include:

1)         a legal description of the land;

2)         a brief synopsis of the oil and gas potential;

3)         documentation evidencing State ownership of the mineral rights; and

4)         general overview of the anticipated development or exploration plans.

d)         If the Office determines, based upon the information included in the designation request, that a tract of State owned land should be designated as unknown territory due to the lack of proven petroleum reserves, the entity submitting such request may apply for an exploration permit in accordance with Section 250.30 of this Part.

e)         If the Office determines, based upon the information included in the designation request, that a tract of State owned land should be designated as proven territory, in accordance with Section 250.50(a) and (b) of this Part, the designation request shall be processed in accordance with Section 250.50(c) of this Part.

f)         The Office will respond in writing to the inquiring party as to the final designation of the State land.