HB1562 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

LRB101 00160 XWW 45160 b

101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY
State of Illinois
2019 and 2020
HB1562

Introduced , by Rep. Will Guzzardi

SYNOPSIS AS INTRODUCED:

225 ILCS 725/1	from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5401
225 ILCS 725/6	from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5409
225 ILCS 725/8e new
225 ILCS 732/1-5
225 ILCS 732/1-35
225 ILCS 732/1-90 new

Amends the Illinois Oil and Gas Act and the Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act. Requires as part of the permit application for drilling or hydraulic fracturing operations the written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the removal of minerals in the conduct of the proposed operations and each surface owner affected by the removal of minerals in the conduct of the proposed operations, unless he or she is the mineral interest owner and has provided consent as such. Provides that notwithstanding any other provision of statutory or common law, a person shall not drill, conduct hydraulic fracturing operations, or remove minerals as a result of any means regulated by the Acts including, but not limited to, horizontal drilling, without the express, written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the operations or removal of minerals in the conduct of the operations. Provides for enforcement by the Department of Natural Resources with penalties and cessation of operations for violations, and payment of treble the full market value of the mineral resource extracted in violation to the owner of the mineral interest.

FISCAL NOTE ACT MAY APPLY

A BILL FOR

AN ACT concerning regulation.

Be it enacted by the People of the State of Illinois, represented in the General Assembly:

Section 5. The Illinois Oil and Gas Act is amended by changing Sections 1 and 6 and by adding Section 8e as follows:

(225 ILCS 725/1) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5401)

Sec. 1. Unless the context otherwise requires, the words defined in this Section have the following meanings as used in this Act.

"Person" means any natural person, corporation, association, partnership, governmental agency or other legal entity, receiver, trustee, guardian, executor, administrator, fiduciary or representative of any kind.

"Oil" means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods or by the use of an oil and gas separator and which are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir.

"Gas" means all natural gas, including casinghead gas, and all other natural hydrocarbons not defined above as oil.

"Mineral interest" means the right to extract, modify, and sell minerals, including underground hydrocarbons, that underlie a defined parcel of real property.

"Pool" means a natural, underground reservoir containing in whole or in part, a natural accumulation of oil or gas, or both. Each productive zone or stratum of a general structure, which is completely separated from any other zone or stratum in the structure, is deemed a separate "pool" as used herein.

"Field" means the same general surface area which is underlaid or appears to be underlaid by one or more pools.

"Permit" means the Department's written authorization allowing a well to be drilled, deepened, converted, or operated by an owner.

"Permittee" means the owner holding or required to hold the permit, and who is also responsible for paying assessments in accordance with Section 19.7 of this Act and, where applicable, executing and filing the bond associated with the well as principal and who is responsible for compliance with all statutory and regulatory requirements pertaining to the well.

When the right and responsibility for operating a well is vested in a receiver or trustee appointed by a court of competent jurisdiction, the permit shall be issued to the receiver or trustee.

"Orphan Well" means a well for which: (1) no fee assessment under Section 19.7 of this Act has been paid or no other bond coverage has been provided for 2 consecutive years; (2) no oil or gas has been produced from the well or from the lease or unit on which the well is located for 2 consecutive years; and (3) no permittee or owner can be identified or located by the Department. Orphaned wells include wells that may have been drilled for purposes other than those for which a permit is required under this Act if the well is a conduit for oil or salt water intrusions into fresh water zones or onto the surface which may be caused by oil and gas operations.

"Owner" means the person who has the right to drill into and produce from any pool, and to appropriate the production either for the person or for the person and another, or others, or solely for others, excluding the mineral owner's royalty if the right to drill and produce has been granted under an oil and gas lease. An owner may also be a person granted the right to drill and operate an injection (Class II UIC) well independent of the right to drill for and produce oil or gas. When the right to drill, produce, and appropriate production is held by more than one person, then all persons holding these rights may designate the owner by a written operating agreement or similar written agreement. In the absence of such an agreement, and subject to the provisions of Sections 22.2 and 23.1 through 23.16 of this Act, the owner shall be the person designated in writing by a majority in interest of the persons holding these rights.

"Department" means the Department of Natural Resources.

"Director" means the Director of Natural Resources.

"Mining Board" means the State Mining Board in the Department of Natural Resources, Office of Mines and Minerals.

"Mineral Owner's Royalty" means the share of oil and gas production reserved in an oil and gas lease free of all costs by an owner of the minerals whether denominated royalty or overriding royalty.

"Waste" means "physical waste" as that term is generally understood in the oil and gas industry, and further includes:

(1) the locating, drilling, and producing of any oil or gas well or wells drilled contrary to the valid order, rules and regulations adopted by the Department under the provisions of this Act;

(2) permitting the migration of oil, gas, or water from the stratum in which it is found, into other strata, thereby ultimately resulting in the loss of recoverable oil, gas or both;

(3) the drowning with water of any stratum or part thereof capable of producing oil or gas, except for secondary recovery purposes;

(4) the unreasonable damage to underground, fresh or mineral water supply, workable coal seams, or other mineral deposits in the operations for the discovery, development, production, or handling of oil and gas;

(5) the unnecessary or excessive surface loss or destruction of oil or gas resulting from evaporation, seepage, leakage or fire, especially such loss or destruction incident to or resulting from the escape of gas into the open air in excessive or unreasonable amounts, provided, however, it shall not be unlawful for the operator or owner of any well producing both oil and gas to burn such gas in flares when such gas is, under the other provisions of this Act, lawfully produced, and where there is no market at the well for such escaping gas; and where the same is used for the extraction of casinghead gas, it shall not be unlawful for the operator of the plant after the process of extraction is completed, to burn such residue in flares when there is no market at such plant for such residue gas;

(6) permitting unnecessary fire hazards;

(7) permitting unnecessary damage to or destruction of the surface, soil, animal, fish or aquatic life or property from oil or gas operations.

"Drilling Unit" means the surface area allocated by an order or regulation of the Department to the drilling of a single well for the production of oil or gas from an individual pool.

"Enhanced Recovery Method" means any method used in an effort to recover hydrocarbons from a pool by injection of fluids, gases or other substances to maintain, restore or augment natural reservoir energy, or by introducing immiscible or miscible gases, chemicals, other substances or heat or by in-situ combustion, or by any combination thereof.

"Surface owner" has the meaning as defined in Section 1 of the Severed Mineral Interest Act.

"Well-Site Equipment" means any production-related equipment or materials specific to the well, including motors, pumps, pump jacks, tanks, tank batteries, separators, compressors, casing, tubing, and rods.

(Source: P.A. 99-78, eff. 7-20-15.)

(225 ILCS 725/6) (from Ch. 96 1/2, par. 5409)

Sec. 6. The Department shall have the authority to conduct hearings and to make such reasonable rules as may be necessary from time to time in the proper administration and enforcement of this Act, including the adoption of rules and the holding of hearings for the following purposes:

(1) To require the drilling, casing and plugging of wells to be done in such a manner as to prevent the migration of oil or gas from one stratum to another; to prevent the intrusion of water into oil, gas or coal strata; to prevent the pollution of fresh water supplies by oil, gas or salt water.

(2) To require the person desiring or proposing to drill, deepen or convert any well for the exploration or production of oil or gas, for injection or water supply in connection with enhanced recovery projects, for the disposal of salt water, brine, or other oil or gas field wastes, or for input, withdrawal, or observation in connection with the storage of natural gas or other liquid or gaseous hydrocarbons before commencing the drilling, deepening or conversion of any such well, to make application to the Department upon such form as the Department may prescribe and to comply with the provisions of this Section. The drilling, deepening or conversion of any well is hereby prohibited until such application is made and the applicant is issued a permit therefor as provided by this Act. Each application for a well permit shall include the following: (A) the The exact location of the well, (B) the name and address of the manager, operator, contractor, driller, or any other person responsible for the conduct of drilling operations, (C) the proposed depth of the well, (C-3) written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the removal of minerals in the conduct of the proposed drilling operations, (C-5) written consent of each surface owner affected by the removal of minerals in the conduct of the proposed drilling operations, unless he or she is the mineral interest owner and has provided consent under subparagraph (C-3) of this paragraph (2), (D) lease ownership information, and (E) such other relevant information as the Department may deem necessary or convenient to effectuate the purposes of this Act.

Additionally, each applicant who has not been issued a permit that is of record on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991, or who has not thereafter made payments of assessments under Section 19.7 of this Act for at least 2 consecutive years preceding the application, shall execute, as principal, and file with the Department a bond, executed by a surety authorized to transact business in this State, in an amount estimated to cover the cost of plugging the well and restoring the well site, but not to exceed $5000, as determined by the Department for each well, or a blanket bond in an amount not to exceed $100,000 for all wells, before drilling, deepening, converting, or operating any well for which a permit is required that has not previously been plugged and abandoned in accordance with the Act. The Department shall release the bond if the well, or all wells in the case of a blanket bond, is not completed but is plugged and the well site restored in accordance with the Department's rules or is completed in accordance with the Department's rules and the permittee pays assessments to the Department in accordance with Section 19.7 of this Act for 2 consecutive years.

In lieu of a surety bond, the applicant may provide cash, certificates of deposit, or irrevocable letters of credit under such terms and conditions as the Department may provide by rule.

The sureties on all bonds in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991 shall remain liable as sureties in accordance with their undertakings until released by the Department from further liability under the Act. The principal on each bond in effect on the effective date of this amendatory Act of 1991 shall be released from the obligation of maintaining the bond if either the well covered by a surety bond has been plugged and the well site restored in accordance with the Department's rules or the principal of the surety has paid the initial assessment in accordance with Section 19.7 and no well or well site covered by the surety bond is in violation of the Act.

No permit shall be issued to a corporation incorporated outside of Illinois until the corporation has been authorized to do business in Illinois.

No permit shall be issued to an individual, partnership, or other unincorporated entity that is not a resident of Illinois until that individual, partnership, or other unincorporated entity has irrevocably consented to be sued in Illinois.

(3) To require the person assigning, transferring, or selling any well for which a permit is required under this Act to notify the Department of the change of ownership. The notification shall be on a form prescribed by the Department, shall be executed by the current permittee and by the new permittee, or their authorized representatives, and shall be filed with the Department within 30 days after the effective date of the assignment, transfer or sale. Within the 30 day notification period and prior to operating the well, the new permittee shall pay the required well transfer fee and, where applicable, file with the Department the bond required under subsection (2) of this Section.

(4) To require the filing with the State Geological Survey of all geophysical logs, a well drilling report and drill cuttings or cores, if cores are required, within 90 days after drilling ceases; and to file a completion report with the Department within 30 days after the date of first production following initial drilling or any reworking, or after the plugging of the well, if a dry hole. A copy of each completion report submitted to the Department shall be delivered to the State Geological Survey. The Department and the State Geological Survey shall keep the reports confidential, if requested in writing by the permittee, for 2 years after the date the permit is issued by the Department. This confidentiality requirement shall not prohibit the use of the report for research purposes, provided the State Geological Survey does not publish specific data or identify the well to which the completion report pertains.

(5) To prevent "blowouts", "caving" and "seepage" in the same sense that conditions indicated by such terms are generally understood in the oil and gas business.

(6) To prevent fires.

(7) To ascertain and identify the ownership of all oil and gas wells, producing leases, refineries, tanks, plants, structures, and all storage and transportation equipment and facilities.

(8) To regulate the use of any enhanced recovery method in oil pools and oil fields.

(9) To regulate or prohibit the use of vacuum.

(10) To regulate the spacing of wells, the issuance of permits, and the establishment of drilling units.

(11) To regulate directional drilling of oil or gas wells.

(12) To regulate the plugging of wells.

(13) To require that wells for which no logs or unsatisfactory logs are supplied shall be completely plugged with cement from bottom to top.

(14) To require a description in such form as is determined by the Department of the method of well plugging for each well, indicating the character of material used and the positions and dimensions of each plug.

(15) To prohibit waste, as defined in this Act.

(16) To require the keeping of such records, the furnishing of such relevant information and the performance of such tests as the Department may deem necessary to carry into effect the purposes of this Act.

(17) To regulate the disposal of salt or sulphur-bearing water and any oil field waste produced in the operation of any oil or gas well.

(18) To prescribe rules, conduct inspections and require compliance with health and safety standards for the protection of persons working underground in connection with any oil and gas operations. For the purposes of this paragraph, oil and gas operations include drilling or excavation, production operations, plugging or filling in and sealing, or any other work requiring the presence of workers in shafts or excavations beneath the surface of the earth. Rules promulgated by the Department may include minimum qualifications of persons performing tasks affecting the health and safety of workers underground, minimum standards for the operation and maintenance of equipment, and safety procedures and precautions, and shall conform, as nearly as practicable, to corresponding qualifications, standards and procedures prescribed under the Coal Mining Act.

(19) To deposit the amount of any forfeited surety bond or other security in the Plugging and Restoration Fund, a special fund in the State treasury which is hereby created; to deposit into the Fund any amounts collected, reimbursed or recovered by the Department under Sections 19.5, 19.6 and 19.7 of this Act; to accept, receive, and deposit into the Fund any grants, gifts or other funds which may be made available from public or private sources and all earnings received from investment of monies in the Fund; and to make expenditures from the Fund for the purposes of plugging, replugging or repairing any well, and restoring the site of any well, determined by the Department to be abandoned or ordered by the Department to be plugged, replugged, repaired or restored under Sections 8a, 19 or 19.1 of this Act, including expenses in administering the Fund.

For the purposes of this Act, the State Geological Survey shall co-operate with the Department in making available its scientific and technical information on the oil and gas resources of the State, and the Department shall in turn furnish a copy to the State Geological Survey of all drilling permits as issued, and such other drilling and operating data received or secured by the Department which are pertinent to scientific research on the State's mineral resources.

(Source: P.A. 86-205; 86-364; 86-1177; 87-744.)

(225 ILCS 725/8e new)

Sec. 8e. Mineral interest owner consent.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of statutory or common law, a person shall not drill or remove minerals as a result of any means regulated by this Act, including, but not limited to, horizontal drilling, without the express, written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the drilling or removal of minerals in the conduct of the drilling operations.

(b) Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of this Section shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 8a and 19.1 of this Act.

(c) If the Department finds that a person or permittee has violated this Section, in addition to permanent cessation of the operations in violation of this Section and any civil or other penalty assessed by the Department, the person or permittee shall be ordered to pay treble the full market value of the mineral resource extracted in violation of this Act to the owner of the mineral interest.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit any owner of a mineral interest from initiating a civil cause of action in any court with jurisdiction for an alleged violation of this Section for compensatory or punitive damages, or both.

Section 10. The Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act is amended by changing Sections 1-5 and 1-35 and by adding Section 1-90 as follows:

(225 ILCS 732/1-5)

Sec. 1-5. Definitions. For the purposes of this Act, unless the context otherwise requires:

"Agency" means the Illinois Environmental Protection Agency.

"Aquatic life" means all fish, reptiles, amphibians, crayfish, and mussels.

"Aquifer" means saturated (with groundwater) soils and geologic materials that are sufficiently permeable to readily yield economically useful quantities (at least 70 gallons per minute) of fresh water to wells, springs, or streams under ordinary hydraulic gradients. "Aquifer" is limited to aquifers identified as major sand and gravel aquifers in the Illinois State Water Survey's Illinois Community Water Supply Wells map, Map Series 2006-01.

"Base fluid" means the continuous phase fluid type, including, but not limited to, water used in a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operation.

"BTEX" means benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene, and xylene.

"Chemical" means any element, chemical compound, or mixture of elements or compounds that has its own specific name or identity, such as a Chemical Abstracts Service number, regardless of whether the chemical is subject to the requirements of paragraph (2) of subsection (g) of 29 Code of Federal Regulations §1910.1200.

"Chemical Abstracts Service" means the division of the American Chemical Society that is the globally recognized authority for information on chemical substances.

"Chemical Abstracts Service number" or "CAS number" means the unique identification number assigned to a chemical by the Chemical Abstracts Service.

"Completion combustion device" means any ignition device, installed horizontally or vertically, used in exploration and production operations to combust otherwise vented emissions.

"Delineation well" means a well drilled in order to determine the boundary of a field or producing reservoir.

"Department" means the Illinois Department of Natural Resources.

"Diesel" means a substance having any one of the following Chemical Abstracts Service Registry numbers: 68334-30-5; 68476-34-6; 68476-30-2; 68476-31-3; 8008-20-6; or 68410-00-4. "Diesel" includes any additional substances regulated by the United States Environmental Protection Agency as diesel fuel used in hydraulic fracturing activities under the federal Safe Drinking Water Act.

"Director" means the Director of Natural Resources.

"Enhanced oil recovery operation" means any secondary or tertiary recovery method used in an effort to recover hydrocarbons from a pool by injection of fluids, gases or other substances to maintain, restore, or augment natural reservoir energy, or by introducing gases, chemicals, other substances, or heat, or by in-situ combustion, or by any combination thereof.

"Flare" means a thermal oxidation system using an open, enclosed, or semi-enclosed flame. "Flare" does not include completion combustion devices as defined in this Section.

"Flowback period" means the process of allowing fluids to flow from a well following a treatment, either in preparation for a subsequent phase of treatment or in preparation for cleanup and returning the well to production. "Flowback period" begins when the material the hydraulic fracturing fluid returns to the surface following hydraulic fracturing or re-fracturing. "Flowback period" ends with either well shut in or when the well is producing continuously to the flow line or to a storage vessel for collection, whichever occurs first.

"Fresh water" means surface and subsurface water in its natural state that is suitable for drinking water for human consumption, domestic livestock, irrigation, industrial, municipal and recreational purposes, that is capable of supporting aquatic life, and contains less than 10,000 ppm total dissolved solids.

"Gas" means all natural gas, including casinghead gas, and all other natural hydrocarbons not defined as oil.

"Groundwater" means any water below the land surface that is within the saturated zone or geologic materials where the fluid pressure in the pore space is equal to or greater than atmospheric pressure.

"Health professional" means a physician, physician assistant, nurse practitioner, a registered professional nurse, emergency medical technician, or other individual appropriately licensed or registered to provide health care services.

"High volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations" means all stages of a stimulation treatment of a horizontal well as defined by this Act by the pressurized application of more than 80,000 gallons per stage or more than 300,000 gallons total of hydraulic fracturing fluid and proppant to initiate or propagate fractures in a geologic formation to enhance extraction or production of oil or gas.

"High volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit" means the permit issued by the Department under this Act allowing high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations to occur at a well site.

"High volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing treatment" shall have the same definition as "High volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations".

"Horizontal well" means a well with a wellbore drilled laterally at an angle of at least 80 degrees to the vertical and with a horizontal projection exceeding 100 feet measured from the initial point of penetration into the productive formation through the terminus of the lateral in the same common source of hydrocarbon supply.

"Hydraulic fracturing additive" means any chemical substance or combination of chemicals, including, but not limited to, any chemical or proppant that is added to a base fluid for the purposes of preparing a hydraulic fracturing fluid for a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operation.

"Hydraulic fracturing flowback" means all hydraulic fracturing fluid and other fluids that return to the surface after a stage of high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations has been completed and prior to the well being placed in production.

"Hydraulic fracturing fluid" means the mixture of the base fluid and all the hydraulic fracturing additives, used to perform high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing.

"Hydraulic fracturing string" means any pipe or casing string used for the transport of hydraulic fracturing fluids during the conduct of the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations.

"Intake" means a pipe or other means to withdraw raw water from a water source.

"Landowner" means the legal title holder or owner of real property and includes an owner of an undivided interest, a life tenant, a remainderman, a public or private corporation, a trustee under an active trust, and the holder of the beneficial interest under a land trust. "Landowner" does not include a mortgagee, a trustee under a trust deed in the nature of a mortgage, a lien holder, or a lessee.

"Low pressure well" means a well with reservoir pressure and vertical well depth such that 0.445 times the reservoir pressure (in psia) minus 0.038 times the vertical well depth (in feet) minus 67.578 psia is less than the flow line pressure at the sales meter.

"Mineral interest" means the right to extract, modify, and sell minerals, including underground hydrocarbons, that underlie a defined parcel of real property.

"Nature preserve" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 3.11 of the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act.

"Oil" means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, which are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods or by the use of an oil and gas separator and which are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir.

"Operator" means the individual or entity controlling the right to drill or produce a horizontal well in accordance with the requirements of the Illinois Oil and Gas Act.

"Owner" shall have the same meaning as provided in Section 1 of the Illinois Oil and Gas Act.

"Perennial stream" means a stream that has continuous flow in its stream bed during all of the calendar year.

"Permit" means a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit.

"Permittee" means a person holding a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit under this Act.

"Person" means any individual, partnership, co-partnership, firm, company, limited liability company, corporation, association, joint stock company, trust, estate, political subdivision, state agency, or any other legal entity or their legal representative, agent, or assigns.

"Pollution or diminution" means:

(1) in groundwater, any of the following:

(A) detection of benzene or any other carcinogen in any Class I, Class II, or Class III groundwater;

(B) detection of any constituent in item (i) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subsection (a) of 35 Ill. Adm. Code 620.310 equal to or above the listed preventive response criteria in any Class I, Class II, or Class III groundwater;

(C) detection of any constituent in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 620.410 (a), (b), (c), (d) or (e) equal to or above the listed standard in any Class I, Class II, or Class III groundwater;

(D) detection of any constituent in Class III groundwater equal to or above a standard established under 35 Ill. Adm. Code 620.260; or

(E) detection of any constituent in Class I, Class II, or Class III groundwater equal to or above a cleanup objective listed in 35 Ill. Adm. Code 742.

(2) in surface water, exceeding any applicable numeric or narrative standard in 35 Ill. Adm. Code Part 302 or Part 304.

"Produced water" means water, regardless of chloride and total dissolved solids content, that is produced in conjunction with oil or natural gas production or natural gas storage operations, but does not include hydraulic fracturing flowback.

"Proppant" means sand or any natural or man-made material that is used during high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations to prop open the artificially created or enhanced fractures.

"Public water supply" means all mains, pipes, and structures through which water is obtained and distributed to the public, including wells and well structures, intakes and cribs, pumping stations, treatment plants, reservoirs, and storage tanks and appurtenances, collectively or severally, actually used or intended for use for the purpose of furnishing water for drinking or general domestic use, and which serves at least 15 service connections or which regularly serves at least 25 persons at least 60 days per year.

"Register of Land and Water Reserves" means the list of areas registered in accordance with Section 16 of the Illinois Natural Areas Preservation Act and Part 4010 of Title 17 of the Illinois Administrative Code.

"Release" means any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing into the environment.

"Serious violation" means any violation set forth in 62 Ill. Adm. Code 240.140(c).

"Service connection" means the opening, including all fittings and appurtenances, at the water main through which water is supplied to the user.

"Surface owner" has the meaning as defined in Section 1 of the Severed Mineral Interest Act.

"Surface water" means all water that is open to the atmosphere and subject to surface runoff.

"Total water volume" means the total quantity of water from all sources used in the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including surface water, groundwater, produced water, or recycled water.

"True vertical depth" or "TVD" means the vertical distance from a depth in a planned or existing wellbore or well to a point at the surface.

"Water pollution" means any alteration of the physical, thermal, chemical, biological, or radioactive properties of any waters of the State, or the discharge of any contaminant into any water of the State, as will or is likely to create a nuisance or render the waters harmful, detrimental, or injurious to public health, safety, or welfare, or to domestic, commercial, industrial, agricultural, recreational, or other legitimate uses, or to livestock, wild animals, birds, or fish or other aquatic life.

"Water source" means (1) any existing water well or developed spring used for human or domestic animal consumption, or (2) any river, perennial stream, aquifer, natural or artificial lake, pond, wetland listed on the Register of Land and Water Reserves, or reservoir.

"Well" means any drill hole required to be permitted under the Illinois Oil and Gas Act.

"Well site" means surface areas, including the well, occupied by all equipment or facilities necessary for or incidental to high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, drilling, production, or plugging a well.

"Wildcat well" means a well outside known fields or the first well drilled in an oil or gas field where no other oil and gas production exists.

"Wildlife" means any bird or mammal that are by nature wild by way of distinction from those that are naturally tame and are ordinarily living unconfined in a state of nature without the care of man.

(Source: P.A. 98-22, eff. 6-17-13.)

(225 ILCS 732/1-35)

Sec. 1-35. High volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit application.

(a) Every applicant for a permit under this Act shall first register with the Department at least 30 days before applying for a permit. The Department shall make available a registration form within 90 days after the effective date of this Act. The registration form shall require the following information:

(1) the name and address of the registrant and any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof;

(2) disclosure of all findings of a serious violation or an equivalent violation under federal or state laws or regulations in the development or operation of an oil or gas exploration or production site via hydraulic fracturing by the applicant or any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof within the previous 5 years; and

(3) proof of insurance to cover injuries, damages, or loss related to pollution or diminution in the amount of at least $5,000,000, from an insurance carrier authorized, licensed, or permitted to do this insurance business in this State that holds at least an A- rating by A.M. Best & Co. or any comparable rating service.

A registrant must notify the Department of any change in the information identified in paragraphs (1), (2), or (3) of this subsection (a) at least annually or upon request of the Department.

(b) Every applicant for a permit under this Act must submit the following information to the Department on an application form provided by the Department:

(1) the name and address of the applicant and any parent, subsidiary, or affiliate thereof;

(2) the proposed well name and address and legal description of the well site and its unit area;

(3) a statement whether the proposed location of the well site is in compliance with the requirements of Section 1-25 of this Act and a plat, which shows the proposed surface location of the well site, providing the distance in feet, from the surface location of the well site to the features described in subsection (a) of Section 1-25 of this Act;

(4) a detailed description of the proposed well to be used for the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations including, but not limited to, the following information:

(A) the approximate total depth to which the well is to be drilled or deepened;

(B) the proposed angle and direction of the well;

(C) the actual depth or the approximate depth at which the well to be drilled deviates from vertical;

(D) the angle and direction of any nonvertical portion of the wellbore until the well reaches its total target depth or its actual final depth; and

(E) the estimated length and direction of the proposed horizontal lateral or wellbore;

(5) the estimated depth and elevation, according to the most recent publication of the Illinois State Geological Survey of Groundwater for the location of the well, of the lowest potential fresh water along the entire length of the proposed wellbore;

(6) a detailed description of the proposed high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including, but not limited to, the following:

(A) the formation affected by the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including, but not limited to, geologic name and geologic description of the formation that will be stimulated by the operation;

(B) the anticipated surface treating pressure range;

(C) the maximum anticipated injection treating pressure;

(D) the estimated or calculated fracture pressure of the producing and confining zones; and

(E) the planned depth of all proposed perforations or depth to the top of the open hole section;

(7) a plat showing all known previous wellbores within 750 feet of any part of the horizontal wellbore that penetrated within 400 vertical feet of the formation that will be stimulated as part of the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations;

(8) unless the applicant documents why the information is not available at the time the application is submitted, a chemical disclosure report identifying each chemical and proppant anticipated to be used in hydraulic fracturing fluid for each stage of the hydraulic fracturing operations including the following:

(A) the total volume of water anticipated to be used in the hydraulic fracturing treatment of the well or the type and total volume of the base fluid anticipated to be used in the hydraulic fracturing treatment, if something other than water;

(B) each hydraulic fracturing additive anticipated to be used in the hydraulic fracturing fluid, including the trade name, vendor, a brief descriptor of the intended use or function of each hydraulic fracturing additive, and the Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS), if applicable;

(C) each chemical anticipated to be intentionally added to the base fluid, including for each chemical, the Chemical Abstracts Service number, if applicable; and

(D) the anticipated concentration in the base fluid, in percent by mass, of each chemical to be intentionally added to the base fluid;

(9) a certification of compliance with the Water Use Act of 1983 and applicable regional water supply plans;

(10) a fresh water withdrawal and management plan that shall include the following information:

(A) the source of the water, such as surface or groundwater, anticipated to be used for water withdrawals, and the anticipated withdrawal location;

(B) the anticipated volume and rate of each water withdrawal from each withdrawal location;

(C) the anticipated months when water withdrawals shall be made from each withdrawal location;

(D) the methods to be used to minimize water withdrawals as much as feasible; and

(E) the methods to be used for surface water withdrawals to minimize adverse impact to aquatic life.

Where a surface water source is wholly contained within a single property, and the owner of the property expressly agrees in writing to its use for water withdrawals, the applicant is not required to include this surface water source in the fresh water withdrawal and management plan;

(11) a plan for the handling, storage, transportation, and disposal or reuse of hydraulic fracturing fluids and hydraulic fracturing flowback. The plan shall identify the specific Class II injection well or wells that will be used to dispose of the hydraulic fracturing flowback. The plan shall describe the capacity of the tanks to be used for the capture and storage of flowback and of the lined reserve pit to be used, if necessary, to temporarily store any flowback in excess of the capacity of the tanks. Identification of the Class II injection well or wells shall be by name, identification number, and specific location and shall include the date of the most recent mechanical integrity test for each Class II injection well;

(12) a well site safety plan to address proper safety measures to be employed during high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations for the protection of persons on the site as well as the general public. Within 15 calendar days after submitting the permit application to the Department, the applicant must provide a copy of the plan to the county or counties in which hydraulic fracturing operations will occur. Within 5 calendar days of its receipt, the Department shall provide a copy of the well site safety plan to the Office of the State Fire Marshal;

(13) a containment plan describing the containment practices and equipment to be used and the area of the well site where containment systems will be employed, and within 5 calendar days of its receipt, the Department shall provide a copy of the containment plan to the Office of the State Fire Marshal;

(14) a casing and cementing plan that describes the casing and cementing practices to be employed, including the size of each string of pipe, the starting point, and depth to which each string is to be set and the extent to which each string is to be cemented;

(15) a traffic management plan that identifies the anticipated roads, streets, and highways that will be used for access to and egress from the well site. The traffic management plan will include a point of contact to discuss issues related to traffic management. Within 15 calendar days after submitting the permit application to the Department, the applicant must provide a copy of the traffic management plan to the county or counties in which the well site is located, and within 5 calendar days of its receipt, the Department shall provide a copy of the traffic management plan to the Office of the State Fire Marshal;

(16) the names and addresses of all owners of any real property within 1,500 feet of the proposed well site, as disclosed by the records in the office of the recorder of the county or counties;

(16.3) the written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the removal of minerals in the conduct of the proposed hydraulic fracturing operations;

(16.5) written consent of each surface owner affected by the conduct of the proposed hydraulic fracturing operations, unless he or she is the mineral interest owner and has provided consent under paragraph (16.3) of this subsection (b);

(17) drafts of the specific public notice and general public notice as required by Section 1-40 of this Act;

(18) a statement that the well site at which the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operation will be conducted will be restored in compliance with Section 240.1181 of Title 62 of the Illinois Administrative Code and Section 1-95 of this Act;

(19) proof of insurance to cover injuries, damages, or loss related to pollution in the amount of at least $5,000,000; and

(20) any other relevant information which the Department may, by rule, require.

(c) Where an application is made to conduct high volume horizontal fracturing operations at a well site located within the limits of any city, village, or incorporated town, the application shall state the name of the city, village, or incorporated town and be accompanied with a certified copy of the official consent for the hydraulic fracturing operations to occur from the municipal authorities where the well site is proposed to be located. No permit shall be issued unless consent is secured and filed with the permit application. In the event that an amended location is selected, the original permit shall not be valid unless a new certified consent is filed for the amended location.

(d) The hydraulic fracturing permit application shall be accompanied by a bond as required by subsection (a) of Section 1-65 of this Act.

(e) Each application for a permit under this Act shall include payment of a non-refundable fee of $13,500. Of this fee, $11,000 shall be deposited into the Oil and Gas Resource Management Fund for the Department to use to administer and enforce this Act and otherwise support the operations and programs of the Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management. The remaining $2,500 shall be deposited into the Illinois Clean Water Fund for the Agency to use to carry out its functions under this Act. The Department shall not initiate its review of the permit application until the applicable fee under this subsection (e) has been submitted to and received by the Department.

(f) Each application submitted under this Act shall be signed, under the penalty of perjury, by the applicant or the applicant's designee who has been vested with the authority to act on behalf of the applicant and has direct knowledge of the information contained in the application and its attachments. Any person signing an application shall also sign an affidavit with the following certification:

"I certify, under penalty of perjury as provided by law and under penalty of refusal, suspension, or revocation of a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit, that this application and all attachments are true, accurate, and complete to the best of my knowledge.".

(g) The permit application shall be submitted to the Department in both electronic and hard copy format. The electronic format shall be searchable.

(h) The application for a high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit may be submitted as a combined permit application with the operator's application to drill on a form as the Department shall prescribe. The combined application must include the information required in this Section. If the operator elects to submit a combined permit application, information required by this Section that is duplicative of information required for an application to drill is only required to be provided once as part of the combined application. The submission of a combined permit application under this subsection shall not be interpreted to relieve the applicant or the Department from complying with the requirements of this Act or the Illinois Oil and Gas Act.

(i) Upon receipt of a permit application, the Department shall have no more than 60 calendar days from the date it receives the permit application to approve, with any conditions the Department may find necessary, or reject the application for the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing permit. The applicant may waive, in writing, the 60-day deadline upon its own initiative or in response to a request by the Department.

(j) If at any time during the review period the Department determines that the permit application is not complete under this Act, does not meet the requirements of this Section, or requires additional information, the Department shall notify the applicant in writing of the application's deficiencies and allow the applicant to correct the deficiencies and provide the Department any information requested to complete the application. If the applicant fails to provide adequate supplemental information within the review period, the Department may reject the application.

(Source: P.A. 98-22, eff. 6-17-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14; 99-139, eff. 7-24-15.)

(225 ILCS 732/1-90 new)

Sec. 1-90. Mineral interest owner consent.

(a) Notwithstanding any other provision of statutory or common law, a person shall not conduct hydraulic fracturing operations or remove minerals as a result of any means regulated by this Act, including, but not limited to, horizontal wells, without the express, written consent of each owner of a mineral interest affected by the hydraulic fracturing operations or removal of minerals in the conduct of the hydraulic fracturing operations.

(b) Any person who violates or refuses to comply with any of the provisions of this Section shall be subject to the provisions of Sections 8a and 19.1 of the Illinois Oil and Gas Act.

(c) If the Department finds that a person or permittee has violated this Section, in addition to permanent cessation of the operations in violation of this Section and any civil or other penalty assessed by the Department, the person or permittee shall be ordered to pay treble the full market value of the mineral resource extracted in violation of this Act to the owner of the mineral interest.

(d) Nothing in this Section shall be construed to prohibit any owner of a mineral interest from initiating a civil cause of action in any court with jurisdiction for an alleged violation of this Section for compensatory or punitive damages, or both.