HLS 15RS-1472 ORIGINAL
2015 Regular Session
HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOL UTION NO. 155
BY REPRESENTATIVE GISCLAIR
ENERGY/OIL & GAS: Requests that the office of conservation enforce plug and abandon
policies to prevent subsidence and erosion in the coastal zone
1 A CONCURRENT RESOL UTION
2To urge and request that the office of conservation in the Department of Natural Resources
3 enforce current rules, regulations, and policies or, if necessary, adopt rules,
4 regulations, and policies providing for plugging and abandoning wells so as to
5 prevent subsidence and erosion in the coastal zone.
6 WHEREAS, Louisiana Constitutional Article IX Section 1 requires the natural
7resources of the state, including air and water, and the healthful, scenic, historic, and esthetic
8quality of the environment shall be protected, conserved, and replenished insofar as possible
9and consistent with the health, safety, and welfare of the people; and
10 WHEREAS, R.S. 30:4 authorizes the commissioner of conservation to "require the
11plugging of each dry and abandoned well and the closure of associated pits, the removal of
12equipment, structures, and trash, and to otherwise require a general site cleanup" along with
13the authority to require a reasonable bond for the performance of such requirements; and
14 WHEREAS, the coastal region of Louisiana has been experiencing rapid change for
15many decades, primarily as a result of coastal land loss to such a degree that the state and
16its partners have made coastal protection and restoration a priority by funding projects that
17help to sustain the coastal economy, environment, and infrastructure; and
18 WHEREAS, it is as paramount to the oil and gas industry, as it is to all of the other
19state's partners, to protect and restore the coast as the coastal wetlands provide protection for
20the industry's vital infrastructure and support services necessary to supply the nation's energy
21needs; and
Page 1 of 2 HLS 15RS-1472 ORIGINAL
HCR NO. 155
1 WHEREAS, it is necessary to ensure that plugged and abandoned well sites are not
2the primary contributing factor in future localized subsidence or erosion and thus prevent an
3impediment to coastal restoration and a hazard to critical infrastructure.
4 THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Legislature of Louisiana does hereby
5urge and request that the office of conservation in the Department of Natural Resources
6enforce current rules, regulations, and policies or, if necessary, adopt rules, regulations, and
7policies providing for plugging and abandoning wells so as to prevent subsidence and
8erosion in the coastal zone.
9 BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a suitable copy of this Resolution be transmitted
10to the commissioner of conservation.
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)]
HCR 155 Original 2015 Regular Session Gisclair
Urges and requests that the office of conservation in the Dept. of Natural Resources enforce
current rules, regulations, and policies or, if necessary, adopt rules, regulations, and policies
providing for plugging and abandoning wells so as to prevent subsidence and erosion in the
coastal zone.
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