HLS 15RS-858 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE BILL NO. 784
BY REPRESENTATIVE DOVE
CONSERVATION/OFFICE: Provides for certain fees collected by the office of
conservation
1 AN ACT
2To amend and reenact R.S. 30:21(B)(1), 136.1(D), 560(B), and 706, relative to fees
3 collected by the commissioner of conservation; to provide for fees for activities
4 regulated by the office of conservation; to provide for application, compliance, and
5 pipeline fees; and to provide for related matters.
6Be it enacted by the Legislature of Louisiana:
7 Section 1. R.S. 30:21(B)(1), 136.1(D), 560(B), and 706 are hereby amended and
8reenacted to read as follows:
9 §21. Fees and charges of the commissioner of conservation; revisions; exceptions;
10 collections; Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund; creation; amounts; requirements
11 * * *
12 B.(1)(a) There shall be an annual fee payable to the office of conservation,
13 in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, by oil and gas
14 operators on capable oil wells and capable gas wells based on a tiered system to
15 establish parity on a dollar amount between the wells. The tiered system shall be
16 established annually by rule on capable oil and capable gas production, including
17 nonexempt wells reporting zero production during the annual base period, such that
18 the amount generated does not exceed two six million four one hundred fifty twenty-
19 five thousand dollars for each fiscal year beginning with Fiscal Year 2002-2003
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HB NO. 784
1 2015-2016. Incapable oil, stripper oil, incapable gas well gas, and incapable oil well
2 gas shall be exempt from the fee. For the purposes of this Subsection, "capable oil"
3 means crude oil and condensate not classified as incapable oil or stripper oil by the
4 Department of Revenue. "Capable gas" means natural and casing head gas not
5 classified as incapable gas well gas or incapable oil well gas by the Department of
6 Revenue.
7 (b) There shall be an annual fee payable to the office of conservation, in a
8 form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, on Class I wells in an
9 amount not to exceed four hundred thousand one million dollars for Fiscal Year
10 2000-2001 2015-2016 and thereafter.
11 (c) There shall be an annual regulatory fee payable to the office of
12 conservation, in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, on
13 Class II wells, Class III wells, storage wells, Type A facilities, and Type B facilities
14 in an amount not to exceed eight two million one hundred seventy-five eighty-seven
15 thousand five hundred dollars for Fiscal Year 2000-2001 2015-2016 and thereafter.
16 No fee shall be imposed on a Class II well of an operator who is also an operator of
17 a stripper crude oil well or incapable gas well certified pursuant to R.S. 47:633 by
18 the severance tax division of the Department of Revenue and located in the same
19 field as such Class II well.
20 (d) There shall be an application fee payable to the office of conservation,
21 in a form and schedule prescribed by the office of conservation, by industries under
22 the jurisdiction of the office of conservation. The commissioner may, in accordance
23 with the Administrative Procedure Act, increase any application In addition to any
24 other fee that is on the schedule on July 1, 2002 2015, to an amount not in excess of
25 eight and one-half percent above the amount charged for the fee on July 1, 2002. the
26 commissioner may collect the following fees:
27 (i) Application for alternate unit well, exception $504
28 to 29-E, exception to 29-B, severance tax relief,
29 downhole combinations, well product
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HB NO. 784
1 reclassification, selective completion, pilot
2 projects, waiver of production test, or critical
3 date order
4 (ii) Application for work permit - minerals$75
5 (iii) Application to amend permit to drill - minerals$50
6 (lease unit well, stripper, incapable, other)
7 (iv) Operator registration $105
8 (v) Annual compliance review fee - class III $2,000
9 solution mining cavern
10 (vi) Annual compliance review fee - class II $2,000
11 hydrocarbon storage and exploration and
12 production waste cavern
13 (vii) Class II carbon dioxide enhanced $5,000
14 recovery project
15 (viii) Community saltwater disposal system initial$125
16 notification
17 (ix) Application for work permit - injection or other$125
18 (x) Work permit to plug and abandon a well utilized $500
19 for naturally occurring radioactive waste disposal
20 (xi) Requests to modify well permit $300
21 (xii) Class V permit waiver or exemption request $250
22 (xiii) Witnessed verification of mechanical $250
23 integrity tests
24 (xiv) Transfer stations regulatory fee for exploration$2,500
25 and production waste
26 (xv) Request to transport exploration and $150
27 production waste to commercial facilities
28 or transfer stations
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HB NO. 784
1 (xvi) Authorization for after-hours disposal $150
2 of exploration and production waste
3 (xvii) Exploration and production waste $300
4 determination
5 (xviii) Commercial facility transfer station application$1,500
6 (xix) Commercial facility application exclusive $3,000
7 of an associated well
8 (xx) Commercial facility annual closure plan and$300
9 cost estimate review
10 (xxi) Commercial facility reuse material applications$300
11 (xxii) Reuse material applications not associated with$400
12 a commercial facility
13 * * *
14 §136.1. Proceeds from mineral royalties, leases, and bonuses; payment into the
15 Bond Security and Redemption Fund; payment into the Louisiana Investment
16 Fund for Enhancement (L.I.F.E.)
17 * * *
18 D. After deposit to the Bond Security and Redemption Fund as required
19 under the provisions of Article VII, Section 9(B) of the Constitution of Louisiana,
20 an additional fifteen dollars per acre shall be collected from the mineral lessees and
21 deposited into the Louisiana Wildlife and Fisheries Conservation Fund, and an
22 additional five fifteen dollars per acre shall be collected from the mineral lessees and
23 deposited into the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund created by R.S. 30:21. The funds
24 deposited under the provisions of this Subsection shall be used to supplement funds
25 available to the recipient agencies and shall not be used to supplant other funds
26 available to those recipient agencies.
27 * * *
28 §560. Pipeline safety inspection fees
29 * * *
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HB NO. 784
1 B. There is hereby imposed upon all distributors of jurisdictional gas which
2 own and operate any jurisdictional gas distribution system which comes under the
3 supervision of the assistant secretary pursuant to R.S. 30:551(B) an annual safety and
4 odorization inspection fee not to exceed twenty-two thirty-nine dollars and forty
5 twenty cents per mile of pipeline used in a jurisdictional gas distribution system, or
6 four eight hundred dollars per pipeline facility, whichever is greater. The
7 commissioner shall annually review the fee amount and may revise it in accordance
8 with the Administrative Procedure Act.
9 * * *
10 §706. Fees
11 In order to implement this Part, every person engaged in the transportation
12 of hazardous liquids or who owns or operates intrastate pipeline facilities for the
13 transportation of hazardous liquids shall be assessed an annual fee which shall not
14 exceed twenty-two thirty-nine dollars and forty twenty cents for each mile or fraction
15 thereof of pipeline operated or four eight hundred dollars per pipeline facility,
16 whichever is greater. The commissioner shall annually review the fee amount and
17 may revise it not to exceed twenty-two thirty-nine dollars and forty twenty cents per
18 mile in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. All fees collected by the
19 commissioner shall be reasonably related to the services provided and shall be used
20 by the office of conservation solely for the purposes of that program.
DIGEST
The digest printed below was prepared by House Legislative Services. It constitutes no part
of the legislative instrument. The keyword, one-liner, abstract, and digest do not constitute
part of the law or proof or indicia of legislative intent. [R.S. 1:13(B) and 24:177(E)]
HB 784 Original 2015 Regular Session Dove
Abstract: Increases existing fees and fee caps and creates new fees collected by the office
of conservation.
Present law authorizes the office of conservation in the Dept. of Natural Resources to collect
annual fees from operators of capable oil and gas wells based on a tiered system and on
injection wells and facilities.
Proposed law increases the caps on these annual fees beginning Fiscal Year 2015-2016 as
follows:
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HB NO. 784
Present Fee Proposed Fee
Capable oil and gas wells$2,450,000 $6,125,000
Class I wells $ 400,000 $1,000,000
Class II, III, and storage $ 875,000 $2,187,500
wells and type A and B
facilities
Present law requires from the revenue collected from mineral leases on state-owned land,
$15 per acre be deposited into the La. Wildlife Conservation Fund and $5 into the Oil and
Gas Regulatory Fund.
Proposed law changes present law by increasing the amount deposited into the Oil and Gas
Regulatory Fund from $5 to $15.
Present law levies fees for safety inspections on transporters of gas by pipeline and a fee on
transporters of hazardous liquids by pipeline in an amount not to exceed $22.40 per mile or
$400 per pipeline facility, whichever is greater.
Proposed law increases the fee on both types of pipelines from the greater of $22.40 per mile
or $400 per pipeline facility to the greater of $39.20 or $800 per pipeline facility.
Present law authorizes the office of conservation to collect application fees in a form and
schedule prescribed by the office and authorizes the increase of those fees, through the
Administrative Procedure Act, not to exceed 8½% of the fees charged on July 1, 2002.
Proposed law changes present law by authorizing, in addition to the fees charges on July 1,
2015, collecting the following fees:
Application for alternate unit well, exception $504
to 29-E, exception to 29-B, severance tax relief,
downhole combinations, well product
reclassification, selective completion, pilot
projects, waiver of production test, or critical
date order
Application for work permit - minerals $75
Application to amend permit to drill - minerals $50
(lease unit well, stripper, incapable, other)
Operator registration $105
Annual compliance review fee - class III $2,000
solution mining cavern
Annual compliance review fee - class II $2,000
hydrocarbon storage and exploration and
production waste cavern
Class III carbon dioxide enhanced $5,000
recovery project
Community saltwater disposal system initial $125
notification
Application for work permit - injection or other $125
Work permit to plug & abandon a well utilized $500
for naturally occurring radioactive waste disposal
Requests to modify well permit $300
Class V permit waiver or exemption request $250
Witnessed verification of mechanical $250
integrity tests
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HB NO. 784
Transfer stations regulatory fee for exploration $2,500
and production waste
Request to transport exploration andproduction $150
waste to commercial facilities or transfer stations
Authorization for after-hours disposal $150
of exploration and production waste
Exploration and production waste $300
determination
Commercial facility transfer station application $1,500
Commercial facility application exclusive $3,000
of an associated well
Commercial facility annual closure plan and $300
cost estimate review
Commercial facility reuse material applications $300
Reuse material applications not associated with $400
a commercial facility
(Amends R.S. 30:21(B)(1), 136.1(D), 560(B), and 706)
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