Pennsylvania § 3271 Well plugging funds

Pennsylvania Statutes

§ 3271 — Well plugging funds

Pennsylvania § 3271

JurisdictionPennsylvania

Title 58OIL AND GAS

PartPART III

Ch. 32DEVELOPMENT

Subch.MISCELLANEOUS PROVISIONS

This text of Pennsylvania § 3271 (Well plugging funds) is published on Counsel Stack Legal Research, covering Pennsylvania primary law. Counsel Stack provides free access to over 12 million legal documents including statutes, case law, regulations, and constitutions.

Bluebook

58 Pa. Cons. Stat. § 3271 (2026).

Text

(a)Appropriation.--Fines, civil penalties and permit and registration fees collected under this chapter are appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(b)Surcharge.--To aid in indemnifying the Commonwealth for the cost of plugging abandoned wells, a $50 surcharge is added to the permit fee established by the department under section 3211 (relating to well permits) for new wells. Money collected as a result of the surcharge shall be paid into a restricted revenue account in the State Treasury to be known as the Abandoned Well Plugging Fund and expended by the department to plug abandoned wells threatening the health and safety of persons or property or pollution of waters of this Commonwealth.

(c)Orphan Well Plugging Fund.--The following shall apply:

(1)

Free access — add to your briefcase to read the full text and ask questions with AI

(a) Appropriation.--Fines, civil penalties and permit and registration fees collected under this chapter are appropriated to the department to carry out the purposes of this chapter.

(b) Surcharge.--To aid in indemnifying the Commonwealth for the cost of plugging abandoned wells, a $50 surcharge is added to the permit fee established by the department under section 3211 (relating to well permits) for new wells. Money collected as a result of the surcharge shall be paid into a restricted revenue account in the State Treasury to be known as the Abandoned Well Plugging Fund and expended by the department to plug abandoned wells threatening the health and safety of persons or property or pollution of waters of this Commonwealth.

(c) Orphan Well Plugging Fund.--The following shall apply:

(1) A restricted revenue account to be known as the Orphan Well Plugging Fund is created. A $100 surcharge for wells to be drilled for oil production and a $200 surcharge for wells to be drilled for gas production are added to the permit fee established by the department under section 3211 for new wells. The surcharges shall be placed in the Orphan Well Plugging Fund and expended by the department to plug orphan wells. If an operator rehabilitates a well abandoned by another operator or an orphan well, the permit fee and the surcharge for the well shall be waived.

(2) The department shall study its experience in implementing this section and shall report its findings to the Governor and the General Assembly by August 1, 1992. The report shall contain information relating to the balance of the fund, number of wells plugged, number of identified wells eligible for plugging and recommendations as to alternative funding mechanisms.

(3) Expenditures by the department for plugging orphan wells are limited to fees collected under this chapter. No money from the General Fund shall be expended for this purpose.

Legislative History

(July 19, 2022, P.L.1622, No.96, eff. imd.; Nov. 3, 2022, P.L.1987, No.136, eff. 60 days) 2022 Amendments.Act 96 amended subsec. (c)(1) and Act 136 amended subsec. (c)(1).