Sec. 2. (a) If a permit is revoked under this chapter, the commission may do either of the following:
(1) Order the owner or operator to plug and abandon the well.
(2) Plug and abandon the well.
(b) The revocation of a permit under this chapter does not relieve the owner or operator of the well to which the permit relates of the responsibility imposed by IC 14-37-8 for the plugging and abandonment of the well.
(c) If the commission elects to plug and abandon a well under subsection (a)(2), the commission may apply the bond or other security provided under:
(1) IC 14-37-6; or
(2) IC 13-8-8 (before its repeal);
to the costs of plugging and abandoning the well.
(d) If the commission elects to plug and abandon a well under subsection (a)(2), the owner or operator of the well remains liable for the costs of plugging and abandoning the well.
(e) The state has a lien on:
(1) the casing and all equipment located on or removed from the well site;
(2) the leasehold of the land upon which the well is located; and
(3) any crude oil stored on the well site or recovered at the time the well is plugged and abandoned;
to secure the cost of plugging and abandoning. Except as provided in subsection (f), the lien may be foreclosed on order of the commission in the name of the state of Indiana by the attorney general in a circuit or superior court having jurisdiction in any county where the land is located.
(f) If the commission elects to plug and abandon a well under subsection (a)(2), the commission may also enter an order authorizing its agents, employees, or contractors to dispose of:
(1) casing and all equipment located on or removed from the well site; and
(2) any crude oil stored on the well site or recovered;
at the time the well is plugged and abandoned. An inventory of the casing and all equipment and any crude oil shall be made, and the salvage or other reasonable market value of the casing and all equipment and any crude oil shall be applied as a credit to offset the actual cost incurred by the commission to plug and abandon the well.
[Pre-1995 Recodification Citation: 13-8-15-2.]
As added by P.L.1-1995, SEC.30. Amended by P.L.236-2001, SEC.5.