THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA

HOUSE BILL

INTRODUCED BY WANSACZ, STABACK, SIPTROTH, CARROLL, CREIGHTON, GEORGE, GOODMAN, HALUSKA, HESS, KORTZ, MOUL, SAYLOR, PICKETT AND GINGRICH, MARCH 13, 2009

REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON ENVIRONMENTAL RESOURCES AND ENERGY, MARCH 13, 2009  

AN ACT

Amending the act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223),

entitled "An act relating to the development of oil and gas

and coal; imposing duties and powers on the Department of

Environmental Resources; imposing notification requirements

to protect landowners; and providing for definitions, for

various requirements to regulate the drilling and operation

of oil and gas wells, for gas storage reservoirs, for various

reporting requirements, including certain requirements

concerning the operation of coal mines, for well permits, for

well registration, for distance requirements, for well casing

requirements, for safety device requirements, for storage

reservoir obligations, for well bonding requirements, for a

Well Plugging Restricted Revenue Account to enforce oil and

gas well plugging requirements, for the creation of an Oil

and Gas Technical Advisory Board, for oil and gas well

inspections, for enforcement and for penalties," providing

for secured meters; and further providing for well reporting

requirements.

The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania

hereby enacts as follows:

Section 1.  The act of December 19, 1984 (P.L.1140, No.223),

known as the Oil and Gas Act, is amended by adding a section to

read:

Section 205.1.  Secured meters.

(a)  Every well operator shall install a secured meter at

each installation site where a well has been drilled to remove a

natural resource pursuant to an agreement with the owner.

(b)  The meter shall display the volume of gas or other

appropriate measure to denote the amount of natural resource

being removed. The meter shall include an overlaying locked box

or other mechanism to prevent the meter's being read without an

access device, such as a key or other similar device, and shall

otherwise be secured in a manner so that no competing well

operator or individual may be able to review the information

from the meter at any time without the operator, its employees

or authorized agents present.

(c)  No person, other than the well operator, its employees

and authorized agents, may possess or exercise control over the

access device.

(d)  The operator shall, within ten days of receipt of a

request from the owner, provide the owner with access to the

meter for the purpose of conducting a meter reading. The owner

may not make a request for access more frequently than once

during any six-month period.

(e)  The operator shall establish and maintain a written log

of requests made by the owner to access the meter and shall

bring the log to the well when the owner gains access to the

meter. After the owner has been given the opportunity to read

the meter, the owner and operator shall date and sign the log.

The operator shall provide a copy of the signed log to the owner

at the time of the meter reading.

Section 2.  Section 212(a) of the act, amended July 2, 1992

(P.L.365, No.78), is amended and the section is amended by

adding a subsection to read:

Section 212.  Well reporting requirements.

(a)  Every well operator shall file with the department, on a

form provided by the department, an annual report specifying the

amount of production on the most well-specific basis available.

Annual reports shall also specify the status of each well;

however, in subsequent years, only changes in the status need be

reported. The department shall keep all such reports

confidential for five years: Provided, however, That the

Commonwealth shall have the right to utilize such information in

enforcement proceedings, in making designations or

determinations under section 1927-A of the act of April 9, 1929

(P.L.177, No.175), known as The Administrative Code of 1929, or

in aggregate form for statistical purposes[.]; and Provided,

further, That owners shall have the right to view those portions

of the reports relating to their properties in accordance with

subsection (a.1).

(a.1)  (1)  An owner may, at any time after an annual report

is filed under subsection (a) and not more frequently than

once within a six-month period, review the relevant portion

of the annual report that states the total amount of natural

resources removed from property of the owner and on which the

owner has granted permission of a well operator to remove.

(2)  The owner must submit a written request for review

of the annual report to the department, on a form prescribed

by the department.

(3)  The department shall review the request within ten

days of receipt of the request and, if the request is

approved, make the relevant portion of the annual report

available to the owner within that ten-day period. The

department shall retain the written request and the request

shall be open to public inspection.

* * *

Section 3.  This act shall take effect in 60 days.