KRS 353.500: Declaration of policy of KRS 353.500 to 353.720.

(1) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this Commonwealth to foster

conservation of all mineral resources, to encourage exploration for such resources,

to protect correlative rights of land and mineral owners, to prohibit waste and

unnecessary surface loss and damage and to encourage the maximum recovery of

oil and gas from all deposits thereof now known and which may hereafter be

discovered; and to promote safety in the operation thereof. To that end, KRS

353.500 to 353.720 is enacted and shall be liberally construed to give effect to such

public policy.

(2) The General Assembly finds that governmental responsibility for regulating all

aspects of oil and gas exploration, production, development, gathering, and

transmission rests with state governme nt. The department shall promulgate

regulations relating thereto and take all actions necessary to assure efficient oil and

gas operations and to protect the property, health, and safety of the citizens of the

Commonwealth in a manner consistent with KRS C hapter 353, and to the exclusion

of all other nonstate governmental entities except as provided in KRS Chapter 100.

The department shall promulgate regulations relating to gathering lines within six

(6) months after June 24, 2003. Nothing in this section s hall be construed as

limiting the rights of local governmental units to regulate the use of streets,

highways, and rights -of-way. The department shall report quarterly to the

Legislative Research Commission beginning July 1, 2003, through December 31,

2004. The report shall detail progress made in carrying out this section, and the

efficacy of the regulatory programs implemented.