Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 9, September 20, 2024
A.
The state wind lessee and state wind lease operator shall schedule a
pre-operations meeting with and submit an operations packet to the Office of
Mineral Resources at least 30 days prior to commencement of construction. The
operations packet shall contain the following items:
1. notice of beginning of wind lease
operations form;
2. proof of
general liability insurance for the leased premises in the amount of at least
$1,000,000 issued by an insurer to whom A.M. Best Company has given not less
than an A rating, specifically covering all damages, and name as insured the
state of Louisiana and its departments, agencies and boards:
a. subsequent to the commencement of
construction, an updated proof of general liability insurance is required to be
submitted by January 31 of each year. Failure to submit updated proof of
general liability insurance may cause the Office of Mineral Resources to levy
liquidated damages of $100 per day until such proof is received;
3. financial security in a form
acceptable to the State Mineral Board. The financial security amount for
individual turbines shall be, at a minimum, $150,000 per turbine for turbines
in one location. Blanket financial security for lessees and operators with wind
leases in more than one area shall be calculated at a minimum of $150,000 per
turbine divided by the number of different wind farm locations. Compliance with
this financial security requirement shall be provided by any of the following
or a combination thereof:
a. a certificate of
deposit issued in sole favor of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources
in a form prescribed by the board from a financial institution acceptable to
the board; or
b. a performance bond
in sole favor of the Louisiana Department of Natural Resources in a form
prescribed by the board issued by an appropriate institution authorized to do
business in the state of Louisiana; or
c. a letter of credit in sole favor of the
Louisiana Department of Natural Resources in a form prescribed by the board
issued by a financial institution acceptable to the board;
4. an updated plan of operations that
includes all the items set forth in
§1017. C.3 a-I;
5. any updated environmental impact
documentation supporting
§1011. D 8;
6. an updated list of project participants as
set forth in
§1017. C 5;
7. any other information and documentation
required by the Office of Mineral Resources.
B. At the expiration of the primary term,
production of wind generated electric power shall be required to maintain the
lease in force. If the lessee is producing wind generated electric power, the
lease shall continue in force so long as production of wind generated electric
power continues without lapse of more than 180 days. Any lapse in production of
wind generated electric power greater than 180 days shall result in automatic
termination of the lease.
C. On or
before five years after the lessee commences the production of wind generated
electric power on the lease, or five years from the end of the primary term,
whichever is sooner (said date being the "Undeveloped Acreage Release Date"),
the lessee shall release undeveloped acreage pursuant to the requirements of
this Subpart, as well as those set forth in §1027
1. Lessee shall survey the exact locations of
any physical improvements that it has made upon the property including, but not
limited to, turbines, towers, controller boxes, foundations, guy wires, roads,
overhead and underground electrical wires, communication lines, poles and cross
members, and substations and transmission facilities, and shall further show on
such survey the areas of land containing the improvements with the following
boundaries:
a. approximately 50 feet from the
closest point on which a meteorological tower, road, guy wire, or transmission
line is located;
b. approximately
150 feet from the perimeter of any substation; and
c. approximately 400 feet from the axis of
horizontal rotation of any turbine.
2. Lessee shall contain the whole of the
retained acreage, including the buffer acreage within the boundaries set forth
in Subparagraphs 1.a-c, within a single contiguous block of acreage.
D. Any and all wind data collected
during the primary term of the lease by the state wind lessee shall be released
to public record at the end of the primary term.
E. The Office of Mineral Resources may
require periodic reporting.
AUTHORITY NOTE:
Promulgated in accordance with
R.S.
41:1734.
