{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-349.005","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 349.005","heading":"Legislative findings, purpose, and public policy.","body":"(1) The General Assembly hereby declares:\n(a) The venting of coalbed methane and degasification of coal seams is approved\nby the Commonwealth for the purpose of ensuring the safe recovery of coal;\n(b) The positive economic impact of coal mining to the Commonwe alth is\ncurrently greater than that of coalbed methane production;\n(c) Coalbed methane is not found in conventional gas reservoirs;\n(d) Any development of coalbed methane should be undertaken in a way to\nprotect and preserve the environment and protect and  preserve the coal for\nfuture safe mining and the maximum recovery of coal;\n(e) Commercial recovery and marketing of coalbed methane should be facilitated\nwhenever appropriate to meet the energy needs of both the Commonwealth\nand the United States;\n(f) The extraction of methane from mineable coal enhances mine safety,\npromotes environmental goals and objectives, and conserves an important\nenergy resource; and\n(g) The Energy Policy Act of 1992 was enacted, in part, to encourage coalbed\nmethane development an d the Commonwealth should enact legislation to\ncarry out the purpose of that act.\n(2) Therefore, in order to encourage and ensure the fullest practical safe recovery of\nboth coal and coalbed methane, consistent with the above declarations and findings,\nthis chapter is established to:\n(a) Authorize coalbed methane well permits;\n(b) Regulate the design of coalbed methane wells and recovery techniques;\n(c) Authorize coalbed methane well drilling units and pooling interests therein;\n(d) Establish field rules; and\n(e) Provide a process to enable coalbed methane well operators and coalbed\nmethane owners to proceed with the orderly development and production of\ncoalbed methane pending the judicial resolution of issues relating to coalbed\nmethane ownership.\n(3) Notwithstanding subsections (1) and (2) of this section, the General Assembly\nexpressly finds that establishing an orderly process to permit and produce coalbed\nmethane shall in no way be construed to create an inference or presumption as to the\nownership of coalbed methane in any judicial or administrative proceeding, or be\nconstrued to or be used or interpreted to apply to any well otherwise permitted,\napproved, or regulated under KRS Chapter 353, except for any wells that are to be\npermitted, converted to, or operated as coalbed methane wells.\n(4) It is hereby declared to be the public policy of this Commonwealth and in the public\ninterest to:\n(a) Safeguard, preserve, and protect coal seams for safe mining; facilitate the\nexpeditious, safe evacuation of c oalbed methane from the coalbeds of this\nstate; and maintain the ability and right of coal operators at all times to vent\ncoalbed methane from mine areas for the safe recovery of coal;\n(b) Foster, encourage, and promote the commercial development of the\nCommonwealth's coalbed methane by establishing procedures for issuing\npermits and forming drilling units for coalbed methane wells without\nadversely affecting the safety of mining or the mineability of coal seams;\n(c) Safeguard, protect, and enforce the corr elative rights of coalbed methane\noperators and coalbed methane owners in a pool of coalbed methane so that\neach operator and owner may obtain his or her just and equitable share of\nproduction from coalbed methane;\n(d) Create a state permitting procedure a nd authority to provide for and facilitate\ncoalbed methane development as encouraged by the Energy Policy Act of\n1992; and\n(e) Seek the deletion of the Commonwealth of Kentucky from the list of affected\nstates by the Secretary of the United States Department of Interior as provided\nfor in the Energy Policy Act of 1992.","path":["KRS Chapter 349"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=32724","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:34Z","sha256":"204b3b33b72dc7b7c5d257106b1b9bf53ca77e29bfb2a05fe515ba956a003948","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-347.060","next":"us-ky/krs-349.010"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}