§ 23-1303 — Authority to acquire property

§ 23-1303. Authority to acquire property.\n 1. Any corporation empowered to produce, transport, distribute or\nstore gas within this state for ultimate public use, which holds an\nunderground storage permit from the department or which is otherwise\nlawfully operating an underground storage reservoir and its buffer zone,\nand which after reasonable effort is unable to obtain rights in real\nproperty and wells thereon necessary for activation, operation, or\nprotection of the storage reservoir and its buffer zone shall, subject\nto the applicable provisions of the eminent domain procedure law, have\nthe authority to acquire such rights as may be required adequately to\nexamine, prepare, maintain, operate and protect, and for access to such\nunderground storage reservoir and its buffer zone; provided that no\nright of acquisition under this section shall extend to any lands or\ninterests therein which have been acquired, or, in the hands of the\npresent holder, could have been acquired by acquisition; and, provided\nfurther, that any acquisition of cemetery lands or burial grounds shall\nbe in the sound discretion of the court and with due provision for the\nrelocation of human remains.\n 2. Underground gas storage operators authorized by this section to\nmaintain acquisition proceedings before filing a suit for such\nacquisition shall have filed with the department a map showing the\nlocation, boundaries and estimated size of surface acreage of the\nunderground storage reservoir and its buffer zone.\n 3. Any operator of an underground gas storage reservoir who at any\ntime controls less than one hundred per cent of the storage rights\nwithin that reservoir and its buffer zone and is authorized by this\nsection to maintain a proceeding shall acquire the storage rights\nremaining in the reservoir and its buffer zone acreage by negotiation or\nfile and proceed with acquisition proceedings within a reasonable time\nbut not to exceed a two year period after the first injection of gas, or\nafter the effective date of this section, whichever is later or within\nany extension granted by the department.\n 4. Any operator who seeks to acquire underground gas storage and\nbuffer zone rights as authorized by this section shall name as parties\ndefendant all the owners of all the parcels of property located within\nthe boundaries of the reservoir and its buffer zone from whom storage\nrights have not previously been legally acquired by grant, lease, or\nother voluntary agreement; provided, however, that a failure to join the\nowners of any parcel in the reservoir and its buffer zone due to\ninadvertence shall not constitute a jurisdictional defect in any\nproceeding of acquisition.\n 5. The value of any property acquired pursuant to this section shall\ninclude the value of any commercially recoverable native oil and gas in\nplace to the extent that the holder of the property interest being\nacquired has a right thereto. The same provision shall apply to the\nholder of salt rights.\n 6. The cost of, or possible necessity for, plugging any well or wells,\nwhen such plugging or replugging is or may be made necessary by reason\nof the storage use made possible or facilitated by acquisition shall not\nbe considered in computing the value of property or any interest therein\ntaken under this section.\n 7. The use of salt cavities for the storage of gas or other petroleum\nproducts or byproducts shall be at the discretion of the owner of the\nsalt deposits at the location of the cavity. Salt cavities may be used\nfor salt recovery and storage with the consent and agreement of the\nowners of the salt cavity and the stored material. Conversion of any\nsalt cavity for the storage of gas or other petroleum products or\nbyproducts shall be in accordance with section 23-1103 or 23-1301 of\nthis article.\n