SDCL § 45-9-52: Agreement for cooperative development or operation of field or pool--Approval by board--Failure to submit for approval not evidence of antitrust law violation.

An agreement for the unit or cooperative development or operation of a field, pool, or part of the field or pool, may be submitted to the Board of Minerals and Environment for approval as being in the public interest or reasonably necessary to prevent waste or protect correlative rights. The approval constitutes a complete defense to any suit charging violation of any statute of the state relating to trusts and monopolies on account of the agreement or on account of operations conducted pursuant to the agreement. The failure to submit such an agreement to the board for approval does not for that reason imply or constitute evidence that the agreement or operations conducted pursuant to the agreement are in violation of laws relating to trusts and monopolies.