Illinois § 2

§ 2.

Before the right of condemnation may be exercised for the acquisition of property, or any interest therein, for underground storage of gas, said corporation shall make application to the Illinois Commerce Commission (hereafter referred to in this Act as the Commission) for an order and must receive an order approving the proposed storage project. No such order shall be issued by the Commission unless it shall contain and be based on findings that the proposed storage will be confined to geological stratum or strata lying more than five hundred feet below the surface of the soil; that the proposed storage will not injure any water resources; that the proposed storage will involve no condemnation of any interest in any geological stratum or formation within the area of the proposed storage project containing oil, gas or coal within such area in commercial paying quantities, producible through primary production methods, either with or without pressure maintenance, or secondary recovery methods of any type; that the public convenience and necessity of a substantial portion of the gas consuming public in the state will be served by such acquisition; and unless said order contains conditions and restrictions which will reasonably protect: (a) private property or any interest therein not appropriated; (b) the rights of the owners of the lands lying within the boundaries of said proposed storage area or persons claiming under them, or of the owners of the minerals thereunder or those claiming under them to explore for, drill for, produce, develop, conduct secondary recovery operations (such as waterflood or gas injection operations) for the recovery of oil or gas on or under said lands, or to drill wells on said lands for the development and production of water or the disposal of salt water, fresh water or waste matter, all from or into strata other than any stratum to be condemned for gas storage. (c) any public resources of the state which may be affected by such use. The Commission shall in such order require such corporation to carry public liability insurance in an amount determined by the Commission, with an insurer satisfactory to the Commission, or at the election of the corporation to deposit collateral approved by the Commission in an amount determined by the latter, to secure payment of any damage resulting from any occurrence arising out of or caused by operation or use of the gas storage reservoir. The Commission order shall require that such insurance be maintained for a term of ten years from the date of the beginning of operation or use of the project and that such corporation appear before it not less than 90 days prior to the expiration of such ten year term and show cause why such insurance should not be renewed for an additional term of ten years with a like obligation on the corporation as to further renewal at the end of such latter term. Such procedure shall apply thereafter for successive ten year terms so long as the Commission continues to require such insurance. (Source: Laws 1951, p. 395.)