                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 DISTANCE LIMITATIONS OF CERTAIN WELLS (§ 45.2-1612)

A. If the well operator and the objecting coal owners who are present or
represented at a hearing to consider the objections to the proposed drilling
unit or location are unable to agree upon a drilling unit or location for a new
well within 2,500 linear feet of the location of an existing well or a well for
which a permit application is on file, then the permit or drilling unit shall be
refused.

B. The distance limitation established by this section shall not apply if (i)
the proposed well will be drilled through an existing or planned pillar of coal
required for protection of a preexisting well drilled to any depth and (ii) the
proposed well will neither require enlargement of the pillar nor otherwise have
an adverse effect on existing or planned coal mining operations.

HISTORY: 1982, c. 347, § 45.1-319; 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.12; 2021, Sp. Sess.
I, c. 387.