RÉSUMÉ DIGEST
ACT 362 (HB 784) 2015 Regular Session Dove
New law increases existing fees and fee caps, creates new fees collected by the office of
conservation, and creates an expedited permit process.
Existing 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.
New law increases the caps on these annual fees beginning Fiscal Year 2015-2016 as
follows:
Prior Fee New Fee
Capable oil and gas wells$2,450,000 $3,675,000
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
Existing law requires from the revenue collected from mineral leases on state-owned land,
$15 per acre be deposited into the La. Wildlife Conservation Fund. Prior law also required
$5 from additional revenues to be deposited into the Oil and Gas Regulatory Fund.
New law changes prior law by increasing the amount deposited into the Oil and Gas
Regulatory Fund from $5 to $15.
Prior law authorized the office of conservation to collect application fees in a form and
schedule prescribed by the office and authorized the increase of those fees, through the
Administrative Procedure Act, not to exceed 8.5% of the fees charged on July 1, 2002.
New law changes prior law by authorizing, in addition to the fees charged 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 and 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 Transfer stations regulatory fee for exploration $2,500
and production waste
Request to transport exploration and production $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
New law authorizes the commissioner of conservation to develop and implement a program
to expedite the processing of permits, modifications, licenses, registrations, and variances.
Requires that the notice for an expedited permit indicate that the permit is being expedited.
New law establishes the fee for expediting the permit as the cost of the overtime hours that
employees of the office of conservation or a contractor spends processing the application and
an amount not to exceed 20% for administrative costs. The overtime rate shall not exceed
the maximum per hour salary, including benefits, of a civil service employee of the office
of conservation.
New law requires the commissioner to adopt rules and regulations in accordance with the
Administrative Procedure Act to implement new law.
New law provides the rules shall require a public notice be given when an expedited permit
is requested.
Effective Aug. 1, 2015.
(Amends R.S. 30:21(B)(1) and 136.1(D); Adds R.S. 30:4(P))