45.1-361.32 - Gas and Oil Plugging and Restoration Fund. - Virginia Statutes

§ 45.1-361.32. Gas and Oil Plugging and Restoration Fund.

A. The Gas and Oil Plugging and Restoration Fund is hereby established as anon-lapsing revolving fund to be administered by the Department pursuant tothe provisions of this section. The Fund shall consist of all payments madeinto the Fund by gas or oil operators, all collections of debt forexpenditures made from the Fund and all interest payments made into the Fundpursuant to the provisions of this section. Interest earned on the Fundshall be credited to the Fund. The Fund shall be established on the books ofthe Comptroller and any funds remaining in such Fund at the end of thebiennium shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund.In the event of a discontinuance of the Fund, any amounts remaining in theFund shall be returned to all gas or oil operators with blanket bonds inproportion to the number of permits under the blanket bonds of each operator.

B. Pursuant to § 45.1-361.31, each gas or oil operator who has posted ablanket bond shall pay into the Fund a fee of fifty dollars per permit held,by July 31, 1990. Each permittee operating under a blanket bond shallannually pay to the Fund an amount equal to fifty dollars multiplied by thenumber of permits he then holds, such payment to be submitted with the annualreport required under § 45.1-361.38, until the payments and interest accruingto the Fund totals $100,000.

C. Disbursements from the Fund shall be used only to supplement bond proceedsin order to pay for the full cost of plugging and restoration in the event ofa blanket bond forfeiture.

D. The amount by which the cost of plugging and restoration exceeds theamount of the gas or oil operator's forfeited bond shall constitute a debt ofthe operator to the Commonwealth. The Director is authorized to collect suchdebts together with the costs of collection through appropriate legal action. All moneys collected pursuant to this subsection, less the costs ofcollection, shall be deposited in the Fund.

E. Once the initial balance of the Fund exceeds $100,000, and thereafterwhenever the Director determines that the Fund's balance has fallen below$25,000 due to uncollectible debts, the Director shall assess a fee of fiftydollars per permit per year on all permittees with blanket bonds until theFund's balance once again reaches $100,000.

F. No permit shall be issued to a gas or oil operator until he has fullyreimbursed the Commonwealth for any debt incurred pursuant to the provisionsof subsection D of this section.

(1990, c. 92.)