Effective: September 30, 2021
Latest Legislation: House Bill 110 - 134th General Assembly
(A)(1) No person shall construct or operate a well, that causes damage to other permeable strata, underground sources of drinking water, or the surface of the land or that threatens the public health and safety or the environment.
(2) No owner of a well shall permit a well to leak fluids or gases.
(3) Upon the discovery that the casing in a well is defective or that a well was not adequately constructed, the person that owns the well or that is responsible for the well shall notify the chief of the division of oil and gas resources management within twenty-four hours of the discovery, and shall immediately repair the casing, correct the construction inadequacies, or plug and abandon the well.
(B) When the chief finds that a well should be plugged, the chief shall issue an order to the person that owns the well or that is responsible for the well to plug the well and shall specify in the order a reasonable time within which to comply. No person shall fail or refuse to plug a well within the time specified in the order. Each day on which such a well remains unplugged thereafter constitutes a separate offense.
Where the plugging method prescribed by rules adopted pursuant to section 1509.15 of the Revised Code cannot be applied or if applied would be ineffective in carrying out the protection that the law is meant to give, the chief may designate a different method of plugging. The abandonment report shall show the manner in which the well was plugged.
(C) In case of oil or gas wells abandoned prior to September 1, 1978, the board of county commissioners of the county in which the wells are located may submit to the electors of the county the question of establishing a special fund, by general levy, by general bond issue, or out of current funds, which shall be approved by a majority of the electors voting upon that question for the purpose of plugging the wells. The fund shall be administered by the board and the plugging of oil and gas wells shall be under the supervision of the chief, and the board shall let contracts for that purpose, provided that the fund shall not be used for the purpose of plugging oil and gas wells that were abandoned subsequent to September 1, 1978.
Last updated September 10, 2021 at 5:28 PM
Structure Ohio Revised Code
Title 15 | Conservation of Natural Resources
Chapter 1509 | Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management - Oil and Gas
Section 1509.01 | Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management - Oil and Gas Definitions.
Section 1509.02 | Division of Oil and Gas Resources Management; Chief; Oil and Gas Well Fund.
Section 1509.021 | Surface Locations of New Wells.
Section 1509.022 | Location of Wells Using Directional Drilling.
Section 1509.03 | Administrative Rules.
Section 1509.04 | Enforcement - Injunction Against Violation.
Section 1509.05 | Permit Required to Drill, Reopen, Convert or Plug Back Well.
Section 1509.06 | Application for Permit to Drill, Reopen, Convert, or Plug Back a Well.
Section 1509.061 | Request to Revise Existing Tract Upon Which Exists Producing or Idle Well.
Section 1509.062 | Temporary Inactive Well Status.
Section 1509.07 | Liability Insurance Coverage.
Section 1509.071 | Forfeiting Bond.
Section 1509.072 | Duty to Restore Disturbed Land Surface.
Section 1509.073 | Fluid Drilling Requirements.
Section 1509.08 | Determinations if Well in Coal Bearing Township.
Section 1509.09 | Changing Location of Well After Issuance of Permit.
Section 1509.10 | Well Log to Be Filed With Division - Contents - Form.
Section 1509.11 | Statement of Production of Oil, Gas and Brine.
Section 1509.12 | Defective Wells and Well Plugging.
Section 1509.13 | Permit to Plug and Abandon Well - Application.
Section 1509.14 | Report of Abandonment of Well.
Section 1509.15 | Rules for Methods of Plugging.
Section 1509.151 | Plugging at Expense of Operator.
Section 1509.16 | Disclosure Forms for Oil Country Tubular Goods.
Section 1509.17 | Encasing Wells.
Section 1509.18 | Well Drilled Within Limits of Mining Operation.
Section 1509.181 | Suspension of Drilling or Reopening of Well in Coal Bearing Townships.
Section 1509.19 | Well Stimulation.
Section 1509.20 | Prevention of Waste - Gas Flaring.
Section 1509.21 | Permits for Secondary or Additional Recovery Operations.
Section 1509.22 | Storage or Disposal of Brine, Crude Oil, Natural Gas, or Other Fluids.
Section 1509.222 | Registration Certificate and Identification Number for Transportation of Brine.
Section 1509.223 | Agreements for Transporting Brine - Duties of Transporters.
Section 1509.224 | Suspension or Revocation for Pattern of Negligent or Willful Violations.
Section 1509.225 | Surety Bond.
Section 1509.226 | Surface Applications of Brine by Local Governments.
Section 1509.227 | Permits for Operations in Existence Prior to 1/1/2014.
Section 1509.23 | Health and Safety Rules for Drilling of Wells and Production of Oil and Gas.
Section 1509.231 | Database of Information for Responding to Emergencies.
Section 1509.24 | Minimum Acreage Requirements for Drilling Units and Minimum Distances for Wells.
Section 1509.25 | Special Order for Drilling Unit Requirements in Particular Pool.
Section 1509.26 | Agreements to Pool Tracts to Form Drilling Unit.
Section 1509.27 | Mandatory Pooling Orders.
Section 1509.28 | Order Providing for Unit Operation of a Pool or Part Thereof.
Section 1509.29 | Order Establishing Tract as Exception Tract.
Section 1509.30 | Reports to Holder of Royalty Interest.
Section 1509.32 | Complaint Alleging Failure to Restore Disturbed Land Surfaces.
Section 1509.33 | Civil Penalties.
Section 1509.35 | Oil and Gas Commission.
Section 1509.36 | Appeal to Commission.
Section 1509.37 | Appeal to Court of Common Pleas.
Section 1509.38 | Technical Advisory Council.
Section 1509.40 | Limitation on Production.
Section 1509.41 | Anti-Trust Violations.
Section 1509.50 | Oil and Gas Regulatory Cost Recovery Assessment.
Section 1509.60 | Notice of Filing for Permit to Drill New Well.