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353.565 Kentucky Oil and Gas Conservation Commission.
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There is hereby created in the Department for Natural Resources, the "Kentucky Oil
and Gas Conservation Commission" which shall be composed of five (5) members.
Four (4) of the members shall be appointed by the Governor and the fifth member,
who shall serve as chairman of the commission, shall be the director of the Division
of Oil and Gas and who shall serve in an ex officio capacity as a nonvoting member
except in the case of a tie. The four (4) members appointed by the Governor shall be
residents of this state and not more than one (1) of them may be directly employed
in the exploration for or the production of oil or gas, or deriving more than fifty
percent (50%) of that person's income from the exploration for or production of oil
or gas, or engaged in a business directly servicing or supplying these activities. No
member of the commission shall participate in the deliberations of the commission
or vote on any matter before the commission in which he, his employer, or any
business unit in which he has a financial interest is an interested party, but a
member of the commission is not prohibited from deliberating or voting on matters
of general interest, such as the fixing of statewide spacing patterns, affecting him,
his employer, or a business unit in which he has financial interest as a member of a
class of persons to be affected by an administrative regulation or order of the
commission. The commission shall not contain more than one (1) representative
from any one (1) operator, including subsidiaries or affiliates. Of the four (4)
members appointed by the Governor, two (2) shall be residents of eastern Kentucky
and two (2) shall be residents of western Kentucky. Longitude 84 deg. 30 min. shall
be deemed as the division line between eastern Kentucky and western Kentucky.
The members of the commission, except the chairman, shall be appointed for terms
of four (4) years each, except that:
(a) The original appointments shall be for terms of one (1), two (2), three (3), and
four (4) years respectively; and
(b) Of the members appointed after July 15, 1998, one (1) member appointed to
fill the term expiring June 21, 1999, shall serve until January 21, 2000; one (1)
member appointed to fill the term expiring June 21, 2000, shall serve until
January 21, 2001; one (1) member appointed to fill one (1) of the two (2)
terms expiring June 21, 2001, shall serve until January 21, 2002; and one (1)
member appointed to fill the second of the two (2) terms expiring June 21,
2001, shall serve until January 21, 2003; and subsequent appointments shall
be for four (4) year terms ending on January 21. Each member appointed by
the Governor shall serve until his successor has been appointed and qualified.
Members may be reappointed by the Governor to serve successive terms. The
members of the commission, before performing any duty hereunder, shall take
an oath which shall be certified by the officer administering it. The oath in
writing and the certificate shall be filed in the office of the Secretary of State.
Vacancies in the membership appointed by the Governor shall be filled by
appointment by him and for the unexpired term of the member whose office
shall be vacant, and the appointment shall be made by the Governor within
sixty (60) days of the occurrence of a vacancy. Any member appointed by the
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Governor may be removed by the Governor in case of incompetency, neglect
of duty, gross immorality, or malfeasance of office.
The commission shall meet at times and places as shall be designated by the
chairman. The chairman may call a meeting of the commission at any time, and he
shall call a meeting of the commission upon the written request of two (2) members.
Notification of each meeting shall be given in writing to each member by the
chairman at least five (5) days in advance of the meeting. Any three (3) members,
one (1) of which may be the chairman, shall constitute a quorum for the transaction
of any business, including the holding of hearings. A majority of the commission
present shall be required to determine any issue brought before it for decision.
Each member of the commission, except the chairman, shall receive one hundred
fifty dollars ($150) per diem not to exceed one hundred (100) days per calendar year
while actually engaged in the performance of his duties as a member of the
commission. Each member of the commission, including the chairman, shall also be
reimbursed for all reasonable and necessary expenses actually incurred in the
performance of his duties as a member of the commission.
The commission shall execute and carry out, administer, and enforce the provisions
of KRS 353.651 and 353.652. The commission may make any investigation of
records and facilities as it deems proper.
If an emergency is found to exist by the commission which, in its judgment,
requires the making, changing, renewal, or extension of an administrative regulation
or order without first having a hearing, an emergency regulation may be
promulgated in accordance with KRS Chapter 13A and an emergency order may be
issued in accordance with KRS 13B.125.
The commission shall have specific authority to:
(a) Promulgate and enforce reasonable administrative regulations and issue orders
reasonably necessary to prevent waste, protect correlative rights, govern the
practice and procedure before the commission, and otherwise administer the
provisions of KRS 353.651 and 353.652; and
(b) Issue subpoenas for the attendance of witnesses and subpoenas duces tecum
for the production of any books, records, maps, charts, diagrams, and other
pertinent documents, and administer oaths and affirmations to witnesses,
whenever, in the judgment of the commission, it is necessary to do so for the
effective discharge of its duties under the provisions of KRS 353.651 and
353.652.
Any interested person may have the commission call a hearing for the purpose of
taking action in respect to any matter within the jurisdiction of the commission by
making a request therefor in writing. Upon the receipt of any request, the
commission promptly shall call a hearing thereon, and, after the hearing and with all
convenient speed, and in any event within thirty (30) days after the conclusion of
the hearing, shall take appropriate action with regard to the subject matter thereof as
it may deem appropriate. If the hearing is adjudicatory in nature, it shall be
conducted in accordance with KRS Chapter 13B.
(9)
Agreements made in the interest of conservation of oil or gas, or both, or for the
prevention of waste, between and among owners or operators, or both, owning
separate holdings in the same field or pool, or in any area that appears from
geologic or other data to be underlaid by a common accumulation of oil or gas, or
both, and agreements between and among these owners or operators, or both, and
royalty owners therein, for the purpose of bringing about the development and
operation of the field, pool, or area, or any part thereof, as a unit, and for
establishing and carrying out a plan for the cooperative development and operation
thereof, when the agreements are approved by the commission, are hereby
authorized and shall not be held or construed to violate any of the laws of this state
relating to trusts, monopolies, or contracts and combinations in restraint of trade.
(10) Nothing in this section shall be construed as giving to the commission the right or
authority to supersede the authority of the department in the administration of KRS
353.060.
Effective: July 15, 2010
History: Amended 2010 Ky. Acts ch. 24, sec. 1906, effective July 15, 2010. -Amended 2000 Ky. Acts ch. 139, sec. 2, effective July 14, 2000. -- Amended 1998
Ky. Acts ch. 194, sec. 11, effective July 15, 1998. -- Amended 1996 Ky. Acts ch.
318, sec. 340, effective July 15, 1996. -- Amended 1984 Ky. Acts ch. 111, sec. 145,
effective July 13, 1984. -- Amended 1978 Ky. Acts ch. 154, sec. 39, effective June
17, 1978. -- Created 1974 Ky. Acts ch. 45, sec. 3.
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