§83. Oilfield Site Restoration Commission; Department of Energy and Natural Resources

            A. The Oilfield Site Restoration Commission is hereby created within the office of the secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources. The commission shall have the power to sue and be sued and shall be domiciled in the parish of East Baton Rouge. Venue for any suit brought by or against the commission shall be in the Nineteenth Judicial District Court.

            B. The commission shall consist of ten members comprised as follows:

            (1) The secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, who shall serve as the chairman, and the assistant secretary, who shall serve as vice chairman. The undersecretary of the department may serve as a proxy member of the board in the absence of the secretary with full authority to act for the secretary as a member of the board.

            (2) One person appointed by the governor, who shall serve at the pleasure of the governor.

            (3) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association for an initial term of four years.

            (4) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Louisiana Mid-Continent Oil and Gas Association for an initial term of two years.

            (5) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association who shall serve an initial term of four years.

            (6) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Louisiana Independent Oil and Gas Association who shall serve an initial term of two years.

            (7) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Louisiana Landowners Association who shall serve an initial term of three years.

            (8) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by representatives of the Louisiana division of the Sierra Club, the Louisiana Wildlife Federation, and the Louisiana division of the Audubon Society, who shall serve an initial term of three years.

            (9) One person appointed by the governor from a list of three persons submitted by the Nature Conservancy for an initial term of three years.

            (10) The assistant secretary for the office of conservation or his designee shall serve as vice chairman of the commission. The assistant secretary shall not be counted to determine the number needed to constitute a quorum but shall be counted to establish a quorum. When the secretary is present, the assistant secretary shall not be a voting member.

            C. Each person appointed by the governor shall be subject to confirmation by the Louisiana Senate. After the initial term, each successor shall be appointed in the same manner as the initial appointments and shall serve terms of four years.

            D. A majority of the membership of the commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction of business. The commission shall hold regular quarterly meetings and may meet more often as its business may require. Meetings of the commission shall take place at its domicile; however, no more than two meetings per year may be held at places in the state other than East Baton Rouge Parish.

            E. The members of the commission shall receive no compensation from the commission nor shall the members of the commission receive any reimbursement for expenses associated with attendance at the meetings of the commission.

            F. The powers of the commission shall be limited to the following:

            (1) Approve and evaluate a priority list for site restoration annually.

            (2) At the direction of the secretary, pledge the revenues available to fund authorized purposes and to secure the issuance of bonds to fund such purposes provided in R.S. 30:83.1, provided that annual debt service shall not be in excess of fifty percent of the pledged revenues estimated to be received in the calendar year the bonds are issued.

            (3) Approve lists of contractors acceptable to conduct site assessment and site restoration.

            (4) Approve a cooperative endeavor agreement between the commissioner and an organization seeking to assist with plugging orphaned wells in order to alleviate the burden on operators in meeting financial security requirements.

            (5) Review administration of site restoration activities and review the adequacy of site restoration assessments and reopen the funding needs and arrangements for site-specific trust accounts every four years. However, unless the oilfield site is transferred from one party to another after the adoption of a standard for evaluation, site-specific trust accounts established prior to the adoption of a standard for evaluation by the Department of Energy and Natural Resources, office of conservation shall not be reassessed if the operator of record provides to the office on an annual basis, utilizing the methodology in use at the time that the site-specific trust account was established, proof that the security is adequate to ensure proper closure of the wells upon completion of activity.

            (6) Provide general administration and management of the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund, funds collected from financial security instruments previously tied to a specific well or wells that have since been plugged or are otherwise not tied to a specific well or wells, and all site-specific trust accounts. However, the commission shall have no authority to expend, disburse, or invest monies in the fund.

            (7) Request from the executive director, by a majority vote, any information regarding any matter concerning their powers enumerated in this Section. Additionally, the commission may request the secretary to review the appointment of the serving executive director upon a two-thirds vote of the appointed members of the commission.

            (8) Perform any function authorized by this Part or which is consistent with its purpose and not otherwise assigned by this Part to the secretary or assistant secretary.

            G. The records, documents, and meetings of the commission shall be subject to the same requirements and exceptions regarding access by the public as are the records, documents, and meetings of the State Mineral and Energy Board.

            H. The Department of Energy and Natural Resources shall adopt rules and regulations, in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act, to implement the provisions of this Part and to provide for procedures for site assessments and restoration.

            I. Nothing in this Part shall be construed to authorize the commission to expend, disburse, or invest monies in the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund.

            Acts 1993, No. 404, §2; Acts 1995, No. 297, §1, eff. July 1, 1995; Acts 1997, No. 994, §§1, 2; Acts 2001, No. 15, §1; Acts 2006, No. 145, §1; Acts 2006, No. 812, §1, eff. June 30, 2006; Acts 2008, No. 384, §1; Acts 2009, No. 196, §2, eff. July 1, 2009; Acts 2016, No. 666, §1, eff. June 17, 2016; Acts 2018, No. 105, §1; Acts 2020, No. 242, §1; Acts 2022, No. 10, §1, eff. May 13, 2022; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.