                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 GAS AND OIL PLUGGING AND RESTORATION FUND (§ 45.2-1634)

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to
be known as the Gas and Oil Plugging and Restoration Fund, referred to in this
section as &#8220;the Fund.&#8221; All payments made into the Fund by gas or oil
operators, all collections of debt for expenditures made from the Fund, and all
interest payments made into the Fund pursuant to the provisions of this section
shall be paid into the state treasury and credited to the Fund. Interest earned
on moneys in the Fund shall remain in the Fund and be credited to the Fund. The
Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller and any moneys
remaining in the Fund, including interest thereon, at the end of each fiscal
year shall not revert to the general fund but shall remain in the Fund.
Expenditures and disbursements from the Fund shall be made by the State
Treasurer on warrants issued by the Comptroller upon written request signed by
the Director or his designee.

B. Each permittee operating under a blanket bond pursuant to &#xA7; 45.2-1633
shall annually pay to the Fund an amount equal to $50 multiplied by the number
of permits he then holds, such payment to be submitted with the annual report
required under &#xA7; 45.2-1640, until the payments and interest accruing to the
Fund totals $100,000. Whenever the Director determines that the Fund&#8217;s
balance has fallen below $25,000 due to uncollectible debts, the Director shall
assess a fee of $50 per permit per year on each permittee with a blanket bond
until the Fund&#8217;s balance once again reaches $100,000.

C. Moneys in the Fund shall be used solely for the purpose of supplementing bond
proceeds in order to pay for the full cost of plugging and restoration in the
event of a blanket bond forfeiture.

D. The amount by which the cost of plugging and restoration exceeds the amount
of the gas or oil operator&#8217;s forfeited bond shall constitute a debt of the
operator to the Commonwealth. The Director is authorized to collect such debts
together with the costs of collection through appropriate legal action. All
moneys collected pursuant to this subsection, less the costs of collection,
shall be deposited in the Fund.

E. No permit shall be issued to a gas or oil operator until he has fully
reimbursed the Commonwealth for any debt incurred pursuant to the provisions of
subsection D.

F. In the event of a discontinuance of the Fund, any amounts remaining in the
Fund shall be returned to each gas or oil operator with a blanket bond in
proportion to the number of permits under the blanket bond of each operator.

HISTORY: 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.32; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.