                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

 ORPHANED WELL FUND; ORPHANED WELLS (§ 45.2-1642)

A. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special nonreverting fund to
be known as the Orphaned Well Fund, referred to in this section as &#8220;the
Fund.&#8221; All moneys appropriated to it and any surcharges collected pursuant
to subsection D 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 it. The Fund shall be established on the books of the Comptroller. 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. Moneys
from the Fund shall be used solely for purposes of restoration and plugging of
orphaned wells. 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. The Director shall conduct a survey to determine the condition and location
of orphaned wells in the Commonwealth. He shall establish priorities for the
plugging and restoration of the identified orphaned wells. The plugging and
restoration of orphaned well sites that pose an imminent danger to public safety
shall have the highest priority.

C. In performing his duties under this section, the Director shall make every
reasonable effort to identify and obtain the permission of a surface owner prior
to entering onto the surface owner&#8217;s land. In all cases, the Director
shall as soon as practicable cause to be published in a newspaper of general
circulation in the county or city wherein an orphaned well is located a notice
of the proposed plugging and restoration work to be conducted on the property.

D. Each operator who applies for a new permit for any activity other than
geophysical operations shall pay a $200 surcharge per permit into the Fund. Such
surcharge shall continue until the Director determines that all orphaned wells
in the Commonwealth are properly plugged and their sites are properly
stabilized.

E. In the event of a discontinuance of the Fund, any amounts remaining in the
Fund shall be placed in the Gas and Oil Plugging Restoration Fund created
pursuant to &#xA7; 45.2-1634.

HISTORY: 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.40; 2017, c. 18; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.