Illinois § 1-95

§ 1-95.

Plugging; restoration. (a) The permittee shall perform and complete plugging of the well and restoration of the well site in accordance with the Illinois Oil and Gas Act and any and all rules adopted thereunder. The permittee shall bear all costs related to plugging of the well and reclamation of the well site. If the permittee fails to plug the well in accordance with this Section, the owner of the well shall be responsible for complying with this Section. (b) Prior to conducting high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations at a well site, the permittee shall cause to be plugged all previously unplugged wellbores within 750 feet of any part of the horizontal wellbore that penetrated within 400 vertical feet of the formation that will be stimulated as part of the high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations. (c) For well sites where high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations were permitted to occur, the operator shall restore any lands used by the operator other than the well site and production facility to a condition as closely approximating the pre-drilling conditions that existed before the land was disturbed for any stage of site preparation activities, drilling, and high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations. Restoration shall be commenced within 6 months of completion of the well site and completed within 12 months. Restoration shall include, but is not limited to, repair of tile lines, repair of fences and barriers, mitigation of soil compaction and rutting, application of fertilizer or lime to restore the fertility of disturbed soil, and repair of soil conservation practices such as terraces and grassed waterways. (d) Unless contractually agreed to the contrary by the permittee and surface owner, the permittee shall restore the well site and production facility in accordance with the applicable restoration requirements in subsection (c) of this Section and shall remove all equipment and materials involved in site preparation, drilling, and high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing operations, including tank batteries, rock and concrete pads, oilfield debris, injection and flow lines at or above the surface, electric power lines and poles extending on or above the surface, tanks, fluids, pipes at or above the surface, secondary containment measures, rock or concrete bases, drilling equipment and supplies, and any and all other equipment, facilities, or materials used during any stage of site preparation work, drilling, or hydraulic fracturing operations at the well site. Work on the removal of equipment and materials at the well site shall begin within 6 months after plugging the final well on the well site and be completed no later than 12 months after the last producing well on the well site has been plugged. Roads installed as part of the oil and gas operation may be left in place if provided in the lease or pursuant to agreement with the surface owner, as applicable. (Source: P.A. 98-22, eff. 6-17-13; 98-756, eff. 7-16-14.)