Illinois Administrative Code
Title 62 - MINING
Part 240 - THE ILLINOIS OIL AND GAS ACT
Subpart A - GENERAL PROVISIONS
Section 240.134 - Lease Validation Petitions
Current through Register Vol. 48, No. 12, March 22, 2024
a) The following definitions are applicable to this Subpart:
"Current Permittee" means the permittee of record for wells located within the prior oil and gas leases.
"New Oil and Gas Leases" means recorded operative oil and gas lease instruments or assignments of those oil and gas leases or recorded after the prior oil and gas leases, submitted by the proposed permittee in support of an application for a permit to operate, drill, deepen, transfer, amend or convert to a well subject to this Part and describing all or a portion of the lands described in the prior oil and gas leases.
"Prior Oil and Gas Leases" means recorded oil and gas lease instruments or assignments of those oil and gas leases in place when the Department granted the current permittee a permit to operate, drill, deepen, transfer, amend or convert to a well subject to this Part on the lands covered by the prior oil and gas leases.
"Proposed Permittee" means the person seeking to obtain a new permit to operate, drill, deepen, transfer, amend or convert to a well subject to this Part that is located on lands covered by prior oil and gas leases upon which a current permittee was previously granted a permit by the Department.
b) Petition
A proposed permittee seeking a permit to operate, drill, deepen, transfer, amend or convert to a well subject to this Part that is located on lands subject to a prior oil and gas lease or leases under which the current permittee was previously granted a permit by the Department may submit a petition requesting the Department to determine whether the new oil and gas leases submitted by the proposed permittee in support of the permit application are operative on the basis that the prior oil and gas leases covering the same lands have terminated due to nondevelopment or nonproduction.
c) Contents of the petition shall include:
d) Execution and Filing
e) Review of Petition; Rebuttable Presumption
f) Service of Determination on Current Permittee
Upon the Department's determination of a rebuttable presumption that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated due to nonproduction or nondevelopment and are of no further force and effect and that the new oil and gas leases are operative and effective, the Department shall serve the current permittee notice of the determination according to the notice requirements set forth in Section 240.125. The current permittee shall have 30 days from the receipt of notice to request a hearing to rebut the presumption that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated. (Section 6.2 of the Act)
g) Default for Failure to Request Hearing
Failure by the current permittee to request a hearing within 30 days after receipt of the notice of the Department's determination, as set forth in subsection (f), will result in default and issuance of a final order by the Department finding that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated and that the new oil and gas leases are operative and effective as set forth in subsection (p).
h) Scheduling and Notice of Hearing
Following a timely request for hearing by the current permittee, the Department will schedule a hearing at which the current permittee can rebut the presumption that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated. Notice of the hearing shall be served on the current permittee and the proposed permittee by the Department according to Section 240.125 at least 14 days prior to the hearing.
i) Pre-Hearing Conferences
Upon his or her own motion or the motion of a party, the Hearing Officer shall direct the parties or their counsel to meet for a conference in order to:
j) Hearing
Every hearing shall be conducted by a Hearing Officer designated by the Director. The Hearing Officer shall take all necessary action to avoid delay, to maintain order, and to develop a clear and complete record, and shall have all powers necessary and appropriate to conduct a fair hearing and to render a decision on the petition, including the power to:
All hearings under this Subpart shall be conducted in the Department's offices located in Springfield, Illinois. However, the Department may conduct a hearing under this Subpart at a site located closer than Springfield, Illinois to the production and injection/disposal well identified in the Notice of Hearing if facilities are available and satisfactory to the Department.
Every interested person wishing to participate at the hearing shall enter an appearance in writing. The Hearing Officer shall determine if the interested person will be allowed to enter as a party of record. The Hearing Officer shall base that determination on the same standards used to determine parties in Circuit Court.
k) Evidence
A party shall be entitled to present his or her case by oral or documentary evidence, to submit rebuttal evidence, and to conduct cross-examination as may be required for a full and true disclosure of the facts. Any oral or documentary evidence received by the presiding Hearing Officer shall exclude evidence that is irrelevant, immaterial or unduly repetitious. The rules of evidence and privilege applied in civil cases in the courts of the State of Illinois shall be followed; however, evidence not admissible under those rules of evidence may be admitted, except when it would have been precluded by reasonable, prudent men in the conduct of their affairs. Subject to these requirements, when a hearing will be expedited and the interests of the parties will not be prejudiced, a Hearing Officer shall allow evidence to be received in written form.
Official notice may be taken of any material fact not appearing in evidence in the record if the circuit courts of this State could take judicial notice of that fact. In addition, notice may be taken of generally recognized technical or scientific facts within the Department's specialized knowledge.
The proposed permittee shall open the proof. Other parties of record shall be heard immediately following the proposed permittee. The Hearing Officer or Department representatives may examine any witnesses. In all cases, the Hearing Officer shall designate the order of proof and may limit the scope of examination or cross-examination.
The Hearing Officer may require or allow parties to submit written briefs to the Hearing Officer within 10 days after the close of the hearing or within such other time as the Hearing Officer shall determine is consistent with the Department's responsibility for an expeditious decision.
l) Testimony
Any person testifying shall be required to do so under oath. However, relevant unsworn statements, comments and observations by any interested person may be heard and considered by the Department and included in the record.
m) Postponement or Continuance of Hearing
A hearing may be postponed or continued for due cause by the Hearing Officer upon his or her own motion or upon the motion of a party to the hearing. A motion filed by a party to the hearing shall set forth facts attesting that the request for continuance is not for the purpose of delay. Except in the case of an emergency, motions requesting postponement or continuance shall be made in writing and shall be received by all parties to the hearing.
n) Default After Hearing Requested
If a party, after proper service of notice, fails to appear at the pre-hearing conference or at a hearing, and if no continuance is granted, the Department may proceed to make its decision in the absence of that party. If the failure to appear at the pre-hearing conference or hearing is due to an emergency situation beyond the party's control, and the Department is notified of the situation on or before the scheduled pre-hearing conference or hearing date, the pre-hearing conference or hearing will be continued or postponed pursuant to subsection (m). Emergency situations include sudden unavailability of counsel, sudden illness of a party or his or her representative, or similar situations beyond the party's control.
o) Hearing Officer Recommended Findings
After the conclusion of the hearing, the Hearing Officer shall render recommended findings of fact, recommended conclusions of law, and recommendations as to the disposition of the case. If the Hearing Officer finds that the affidavits and other evidence provided at the hearing or available to the Department reasonably indicate that there has been no development or production of oil and gas on the lands described in the prior oil and gas leases for at least 24 consecutive months subsequent to the expiration of the primary term or any extension of the primary term as set forth in the prior oil and gas leases, the Hearing Officer shall recommend whether the rebuttable presumption was not overcome and that the prior oil and gas leases have terminated and are of no further force and effect or that the new oil and gas leases are operative and effective.
p) Order - Final Administrative Decision