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91_HB1969
LRB9104731ACtm
1 AN ACT to amend the Oil and Gas Act by changing Section
2 1.2.
3 Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois,
4 represented in the General Assembly:
5 Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by
6 changing Section 1.2 as follows:
7 (225 ILCS 725/1.2) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5403)
8 Sec. 1.2. The Director shall appoint an Oil and Gas Board
9 consisting of 7 6 members, 6 of whom who shall be actively
10 engaged in the oil and gas industry. In appointing the 6
11 members representing the oil and gas industry, the Director
12 shall give due consideration to the recommendations of
13 organizations and associations representing the various
14 interests of the oil and gas industry and shall appoint
15 individuals in such a manner as to assure representation of
16 petroleum engineering, petroleum geology, oil and gas
17 operations and production, and the servicing of oil and gas
18 operations and production. The one remaining member shall be
19 appointed by the Director upon consultation with the Illinois
20 Farm Bureau and the member must be active in production
21 agriculture. Members shall be appointed to 2 year terms
22 commencing on the third Monday in January of odd numbered
23 years, and may be reappointed for additional terms provided
24 that no member may be reappointed for a term which would
25 cause his continued service to exceed 8 years. Any
26 appointment to fill a vacancy shall be for the unexpired
27 portion of the term. The Director may remove any member who
28 fails to attend 2 consecutive meetings of the Board without
29 sufficient excuse or for any other good cause as determined
30 by the Director.
31 Members of the Oil and Gas Board shall be reimbursed for
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1 all reasonable and necessary expenses incurred in attending
2 Board meetings and may receive a per diem stipend as
3 determined by the Director from appropriations made available
4 for that purpose.
5 The Oil and Gas Board shall meet at least quarterly and
6 at such other times as the Department or the Board deems
7 necessary to:
8 (1) Review all federal and State rules and laws
9 affecting the oil and gas industry in Illinois.
10 (2) Advise and consult with the Director concerning
11 the adoption of rules pertaining to the conservation of
12 oil and gas.
13 (3) Review technical information and operations
14 concerning the improvement of methods, conditions, and
15 equipment for the production of oil and gas.
16 (4) Advise and consult with the Director concerning
17 the proper drilling, casing and plugging of oil wells.
18 (5) Review the methods and procedures for the
19 issuance of proper permits to drill oil and gas wells.
20 (6) Advise and consult with the Director in the
21 administration of the Oil and Gas Well Site Plugging and
22 Restoration Program.
23 (7) Advise and consult with the Director on any and
24 all other subjects about which the Department should seek
25 information in relation to the oil and gas industry.
26 The Oil and Gas Board, by a record vote of a majority of
27 its membership, may make specific recommendations to the
28 Department on any of the matters enumerated above, but the
29 Board shall act solely as an advisory body to the Department
30 and its recommendations shall have no binding effect on the
31 Department.
32 Before proposing any new rule or any changes to existing
33 rules implementing the provisions of this Act under Section
34 5.01 of the Illinois Administrative Procedure Act, and prior
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1 to adopting any new form or changing any existing form
2 required to be completed by a person regulated under this
3 Act, the Department shall first present the proposed rule or
4 form to the Oil and Gas Board for its review and
5 recommendations. If the Oil and Gas Board, by a unanimous
6 record vote of its membership, makes specific objection to a
7 proposed new rule or proposed change to an existing rule, the
8 Department shall set forth the objection in its notice of
9 proposed rulemaking together with the reasons for proposing
10 the rule notwithstanding the objection of the Oil and Gas
11 Board.
12 The Department shall annually publish and present to the
13 Oil and Gas Board a financial report describing the income,
14 expenditures, and obligations of the Underground Resources
15 Conservation Enforcement Fund and the Plugging and
16 Restoration Fund. The annual report shall provide
17 information on the administration of the Oil and Gas Well
18 Site Plugging and Restoration Program, and shall include the
19 number of orphan wells identified and the status of closure
20 of these wells.
21 In situations involving drilling or operations through
22 veins or seams of mineable coal, the entire authority and
23 discretion of the Department shall be vested in the Mining
24 Board.
25 (Source: P.A. 87-744.)
26 Section 99. Effective date. This Act takes effect upon
27 becoming law.