Jan 19, 2007 - 04:01:30 CST
Oil companies are contesting a proposal to require them to delay well drilling until they've notified all surface landowners and tenants within a half-mile of the well site.Supporters say the legislation would help landowners protect their water wells. "It does not give them the right to say absolutely no drilling," said Rep. David Drovdal, R-Arnegard, the primary sponsor of the bill.
Under state law, if a water well near an oil well tests clean within a year before drilling and later becomes contaminated, the water well owner may have a legal claim against the oil company, said Lynn Helms, director of the state Department of Mineral Resources.
Tom Irgens, a Williams County farmer and member of the Dakota Resource Council, an environmental and landowner group, said his family lost a water well years ago because the family was not notified of an oil well.
"I went ahead and drilled my own (new water) well, paid for it out of my pocket, even though I know ... that well was ruined" by the oil company, Irgens told members of the House Natural Resources Committee on Thursday.
Irgens and the Dakota Resource Council are urging lawmakers to make the notice requirement one mile rather than half a mile.
Oil industry officials say even half a mile is unnecessary because there is no widespread problem, and companies would have a hard time finding all surface landowners and tenants who would need to be notified.
"Not all the time (do) the records in the county courthouse give you good information with regard to those ... owners," said Robert Harms, president of the Northern Alliance of Independent Producers.
"The trip in the bill is if you miss one of the record owners ... then the company takes the risk of being sued," he said.
Harms also said tenants, which might include farmers and hunters, often are not even officially recorded.
Greg Steiner, a drilling and production superintendent for Eagle Operating Inc. in Kenmare, said the proposal would be time-consuming and costly for him, as well as a potential legal problem if a piece of land has many owners or owners who are not specifically listed.
"If somebody wants to play hardball with you, they'll say, 'You didn't notify my sister in Washington,'" he said.
Rep. George Keiser, R-Bismarck, said oil companies might be required instead to make an effort to find nearby owners. Rep. Darrell Nottestad, R-Grand Forks, suggested removing the requirement to notify tenants. Rep. Curtis Hofstad, R-Devils Lake, suggested requiring general public notice rather than direct notification of affected landowners.
Harms said those steps would make the proposal more palatable, but said it is still burdensome and an "overreaction."
Dakota Resource Council spokeswoman Cindy Klein said the bill is an "under-protection of property rights," because it does not include a penalty if an oil company fails to notify the proper people. Harms disputed that, saying the company could be assessed damages in court.
The bill is HB1182.
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