{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-349.010","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 349.010","heading":"Definitions for chapter.","body":"As used in this chapter:\n(1) \"Abandoned\" when used in connection with a well or hole means a well or hole\nwhich has never been used, or which, in the opinion of the department, will no\nlonger be used for the production of coalbed methane  or the injection or\ndisposal of fluid therein;\n(2) \"Coal interest holder\" means every record coal owner, record coal lessee, mine\nlicensee as defined in KRS  352.010(1)(r) and mine permittee as defined in\nKRS  350.010(21) whose coalbed is penetrated, or proposed to be penetrated,\nby a coalbed methane well;\n(3) \"Coalbed\" or \"coal seam\"  means  a seam  of coal, whether workable or\nunworkable;\n(4) \"Coalbed methane\" means gas produced from a reservoir found in a coalbed,\na mined-out area, or gob;\n(5) \"Coalbed methane  well\" means  any well drilled, deepened, converted, or\nreopened for the purpose of capturing coalbed methane for sale or use. Any\nwell initially used for a coal mining-related purpose, such as a vent well, but\nwhich is subsequently used for the purpose of recovering coalbed methane for\nsale or use, shall then be deemed  to be a coalbed methane well and shall\ncomply with the provisions of this chapter at the time that the well is converted\nor used for the purpose of recovering coalbed methane for sale or use;\n(6) \"Commissioner\" means  the commissioner of the Department for Natural\nResources;\n(7) \"Correlative rights\" means  the reasonable opportunity of each person entitled\nto recover, without waste, the coalbed methane in and under his or her tract or\ntracts, or the equivalent thereof;\n(8) \"Department\" means the Department for Natural Resources;\n(9) \"Director\" means the director of the Division of Oil and Gas as established in\nKRS  353.530;\n(10) \"Drilling unit\" means  the maximum  area in a pool which may  be drained\nefficiently by one  (1) well so as to produce the reasonable maximum\nrecoverable coalbed methane in the area. Where the department has provided\nrules for the establishment of a drilling unit and an operator, proceeding within\nthe framework of the rules so prescribed, has taken the action necessary to\nhave a specified area established for production from a well, the area shall be\na drilling unit;\n(11) \"Division\" means  the Division of Mine Permits in the Department for Natural\nResources;\n(12) \"Field rules\" means rules established by orders of the review board relating to\nthe drilling, completion, production of, and specifications for coalbed methane\nwells in a particular geographic area as defined by an order;\n(13) \"Gob\" means the de-stressed zone associated with any full-seam extraction of\ncoal that extends above and below the mined-out coalbed;\n(14) \"Gob well\" means a well drilled or a vent hole converted to a well pursuant to\nthis chapter which produces or is capable of producing coalbed methane for\nsale or use, from a de-stressed zone associated with any full seam extraction\nof coal that extends above or below a mined-out coalbed;\n(15) \"Horizontally drill\" or \"horizontal drilling\" means the intentional act of drilling a\nborehole, shaft, or hole, which deviates from vertical for the purpose of\npenetrating a coal seam to produce coalbed methane;\n(16) \"Mine licensee\" means the mine licensee as defined in KRS 352.010(1)(r);\n(17) \"Mine permittee\" means the permittee as defined in KRS 350.010(21);\n(18) \"Nonparticipating working interest owner\" means a coalbed methane owner or\nlessee of a tract included in a drilling unit who elects to share in the operation\nof the coalbed methane well on a carried basis by agreeing to have his or her\nproportionate share of the costs allocable to his or her interest charged against\nhis or her share of production from the coalbed methane well;\n(19) \"Nonparticipating operator\" means  a nonparticipating working interest owner\nwho  is also the operator of the coalbed methane well;\n(20) \"Operator\" means any owner of the right to drill, develop, operate, and produce\ncoalbed  methane  from a pool and  to appropriate the coalbed methane\nproduced therefrom, either for himself or herself, or for himself, herself, and\nothers; in the event there is no coalbed methane  lease in existence with\nrespect to the tract in question, the owner of the coalbed methane  rights\ntherein shall be considered as an \"operator\" to the extent of seven-eighths (7/8)\nof the coalbed methane in that portion of the pool underlying the tract owned by\nthat owner, and as a \"royalty owner\" as to one-eighth (1/8) interest in that\ncoalbed methane;\n(21) \"Other interested coalbed methane parties\" means all working interest owners\nother than the operator, all royalty and overriding royalty interest owners or\nholders, and any other party who owns or holds a right or interest in a drilling\nunit, coalbed methane well site for which a drilling permit has been issued or is\npending,  and  all associated equipment, facilities, infrastructure, and\nimprovements;\n(22) \"Participating working interest owner\" means  a coalbed methane owner or\nlessee who elects to bear a share of the risks and costs of drilling, completing,\nequipping, operating, plugging, and abandoning a coalbed methane well equal\nto the proportion which the acreage in the drilling unit he or she owns or holds\nunder lease bears to the total acreage of the drilling unit;\n(23) \"Participating operator\" means  a participating working interest owner who is\nalso the operator of the coalbed methane well;\n(24) \"Person\" means  any person, corporation, association, partnership, limited\nliability company,  receiver, governmental agency  subject to this chapter,\ntrustee, so-called common  law  or statutory trust, guardian, executor,\nadministrator, or fiduciary of any kind, federal agency, state agency, city,\ncommission, political subdivision of the Commonwealth, or any interstate body;\n(25) \"Plat\" means a map, drawing, or print showing the location of a well;\n(26) \"Review board\" means the Coalbed Methane Well Review Board;\n(27) \"Royalty owner\" means  any owner of coalbed methane in place, or coalbed\nmethane  rights, to the extent that the owner is not an operator as defined in\nsubsection (20) of this section;\n(28) \"Stimulate\" means any action taken to increase the flow of coalbed methane,\nor the inherent productivity of a coalbed methane well, including but not limited\nto fracturing, shooting, acidizing, or waterflooding, but excluding cleaning out,\nbailing, or workover operations;\n(29) \"Surface owner\" means  the person in whose name  the surface of the land is\nassessed for purposes of taxes imposed according to the property valuation\nadministrator;\n(30) \"Unit\" means  any tract or tracts which the department has determined are\nunderlaid by a pool or pools of coalbed methane and are not drilling units as\ndefined in subsection (10) of this section;\n(31) \"Unitization\" means the act of combining separately owned tracts or separate\ninterests therein into a unit constituting all or some  portion of a coalbed that\nproduces or is capable of producing coalbed methane and the joint operation of\nthat unit;\n(32) \"Unit operator\" means the party designated in a pooling order to develop a unit\nby the drilling of one (1) or more coalbed methane wells;\n(33) \"Vent hole\" means  a borehole, shaft driven, or hole dug, drilled, deepened,\nconverted or reopened, which is used for the purpose of releasing or venting\ncoalbed methane to the atmosphere and not for the purpose of capturing or\nproducing coalbed methane for sale or use;\n(34) \"Venting\" means the act of releasing coalbed methane to the atmosphere;\n(35) \"Well\" means  any borehole, shaft driven, or hole dug, drilled, deepened,\nconverted or reopened for the purpose of capturing or producing coalbed\nmethane for sale or use; and\n(36) \"Workable coalbed\" means:\n(a) Any coalbed twenty-four (24) inches or more in thickness;\n(b) Any coalbed actually being operated commercially;\n(c) Any coalbed that the department decides can be operated commercially,\nand  the operation of which can reasonably be expected to commence\nwithin not more than ten (10) years; or\n(d) Any  coalbed that, from outcrop indication or other definite evidence,\nproves to the satisfaction of the department to be workable and, when\noperated, will require protection if wells are drilled through or into it.","path":["KRS Chapter 349"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=46543","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:34Z","sha256":"f462d26384bf8d4e875789c6bf0a969b2e84cef35415ad27c2d8d5d348769ac6","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-349.005","next":"us-ky/krs-349.015"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}