§82. Definitions

            As used in this Part, the following terms shall have the meanings ascribed to them in this Section, unless the context or use clearly indicates otherwise:

            (1) "Assistant secretary" means the assistant secretary of the office of conservation within the Department of Energy and Natural Resources or his authorized representatives.

            (2) "Bonds" means revenue bonds, notes, certificates, or other evidences of indebtedness issued by an issuer pursuant to R.S. 30:83.1.

            (3) "Commission" means the Oilfield Site Restoration Commission.

            (4) "Department" means the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

            (5) "Fund" means the Oilfield Site Restoration Fund.

            (6) "Issuer" means a public trust and public corporation organized and existing by, under, and pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 9:2341 through 2347, whose beneficiary is the state of Louisiana, and who is authorized to issue revenue bonds on behalf of the state of Louisiana.

            (7) "Nonproducing oilfield site" means an oilfield site which is not a producing oilfield site and which has not been declared an orphaned oilfield site by the assistant secretary.

            (8) "Oilfield site" or "exploration and production (E&P) site" means any oilfield site or exploration and production site as defined in R.S. 30:29(I)(5).

            (9) "Orphaned oilfield site" means an oilfield site which has no continued useful purpose for the exploration, production, or development of oil or gas and which has been declared to be an orphaned oilfield site by the assistant secretary under R.S. 30:91.

            (10) "Producing oilfield site" means an oilfield site which is associated with the production of oil or gas for at least six months of the preceding calendar year.

            (11) "Responsible party" means the operator of record according to the office of conservation records, who last operated the property on which the oilfield site is located at the time the site is about to be abandoned, ceases operation, or becomes an unusable oilfield site, and that operator's partners and working interest owners of that oilfield site. A working interest owner is the owner of a mineral right who is under an obligation to share in the costs of drilling or producing a well on the oilfield site.

            (12) "Revenues" means the revenues described in R.S. 30:83.1(A)(2).

            (13) "Secretary" means the secretary of the Department of Energy and Natural Resources.

            (14) "Site restoration" means any and all oilfield site restoration activities required of a responsible party of an oil or gas property by regulations adopted by the office of conservation pursuant to this Subtitle, including without limitation plugging of oil and gas wells, pit closure, site remediation, and removal of oilfield equipment.

            (15) "Unusable oilfield site" means an oilfield site which has no continued useful purpose for the exploration, production, or development of oil or gas and for which a responsible party can be located.

            Acts 1993, No. 404, §2; Acts 2006, No. 312, §1, eff. June 8, 2006; Acts 2016, No. 666, §1, eff. June 17, 2016; Acts 2023, No. 150, §5, eff. Jan. 10, 2024.