{"data":{"id":"us-ky/krs-353.5901","jurisdiction":"us-ky","citation":"KRS 353.5901","heading":"Operations and reclamation plan -- Contents, distribution, and","body":"agreement or mediation -- Mediation report -- Review under KRS 353.700.\n(1) A well operator shall submit to the department an operations and reclamation plan\nat the time of filing an application for permit to drill, deepen, or reopen a well. The\nplan shall be filed on forms provided by the department and shall include:\n(a) A narrative description of those best management practices intended to be\nemployed to prevent pollution, erosio n, and sedimentation from the well site\nand all disturbed areas, including roads. The description shall be updated\nwhen the best management practices utilized on site differ from those\ndescribed in the plan;\n(b) A narrative description of the location of a ll areas to be disturbed, including\nthe location of roads, gathering lines, the well site, tanks and other storage\nfacilities, and any other information that may be required by the department.\nAccompanying this narrative description shall be a plat depicti ng the location\non the land of all of these disturbances or facilities; and\n(c) Any additional information that the department may require.\n(2) The plan shall include at a minimum a narrative describing the following categories:\n(a) Site plans;\n(b) Construction practices to be used;\n(c) Reclamation methods to be used after well completion;\n(d) Maintenance of the reclaimed site; and\n(e) Site closure describing plugging, abandonment, and reclamation procedures.\n(3) The department shall review and approve the operations and reclamation plan prior\nto permit issuance in cases where there has not been a severance of the ownership of\nthe oil and gas from the ownership of the surface to be disturbed.\n(4) In all cases where there has been a complete severance of the ownership of the oil\nand gas from the ownership of the surface and the surface owners of all disturbed\nareas have not signed agreements with the well operator agreeing to the operations\nand reclamation plan, at the time of filing the application the well o perator shall\ncause to be delivered to the surface owners of all disturbed areas who have not\nagreed to the operations and reclamation plan, by certified mail, return receipt\nrequested:\n(a) A copy of the operations and reclamation plan required by paragrap h (a) of\nsubsection (1) of this section, and the narrative description of land\ndisturbances and plat required by paragraph (b) of subsection (1) of this\nsection; and\n(b) A notice to read as follows: \"If you do not agree with the proposed use of your\nland b y the well operator, the well operator may request mediation of your\ndispute by the Energy and Environment Cabinet's Office of Administrative\nHearings. If mediation is requested, and you decide to participate, each party\nto the mediation will be charged on e hundred dollars ($100) to help cover the\ncost of mediation. You will be notified of the time and place for mediation, if\nthe well operator chooses mediation, and of your right to participate.\"\nThe certified mail receipt, w hen returned, shall be filed by the well operator with\nthe department and made part of the permit application.\n(5) If the well operator has been unable to reach agreement with the surface owners of\nall areas to be disturbed in all cases where there has bee n a complete severance of\nthe ownership of the oil and gas from the ownership of the surface to be disturbed,\nthe permit required by this chapter shall not be issued until the dispute has been\nreferred to mediation to be conducted by the Energy and Environ ment Cabinet's\nOffice of Administrative Hearings, and mediation has been concluded either by\nagreement between the parties or by a report of the mediator, in accordance with\nsubsection (6) of this section.\n(6) The well operator may request mediation any ti me after filing the permit\napplication, and all parties participating in the mediation shall pay a nonrefundable\nfee of one hundred dollars ($100) to the Kentucky State Treasurer, which shall be\nfor the sole use of the department and shall be in addition t o any money\nappropriated by the General Assembly for the use of the department. The\ndepartment may waive the mediation fee for surface owners who submit verifiable\nproof of financial inability to pay. The department shall notify the well operator and\nall surface owners of areas to be disturbed by drilling who have not agreed to the\noperation and reclamation plan of the date and time mediation shall be conducted by\ncertified mail, return receipt requested. The department shall conduct mediation at\nthe site proposed to be disturbed within fifteen (15) days from the date requested, if\npracticable. At the mediation, the mediator will attempt to facilitate an agreement\nbetween the well operator and the surface owner. If an agreement is not forthcoming\nafter media tion, the mediator shall, within five (5) days after mediation, issue a\nreport to the director recommending that the director:\n(a) Accept the plan as submitted by the well operator; or\n(b) Accept the plan with modifications set forth by the mediator.\n(7) If an agreement between the well operator and the surface owners of all disturbed\nareas is not forthcoming after mediation, the mediator shall consider the following\nfactors as to the reasonable use of the surface by the well operator in issuing a report\nto the director:\n(a) The location of roads, gathering lines, and tank batteries;\n(b) The timing of the operation, considering seasonal uses of the land by the\nsurface owner and the need of the well operator to drill expeditiously;\n(c) The impact on the other  uses of the land by the surface owner, including the\nlocation of timber, houses, barns, ponds, crops, and other improvements;\n(d) Whether the plan includes a plan for timely, effective reclamation of all\ndisturbed areas; and\n(e) Any other information deemed appropriate by the mediator.\n(8) The director shall make a final agency determination within five (5) days of the\nreceipt of the mediation report accepting the plan as submitted by the well operator,\naccepting the plan with modifications set forth by th e mediator, or approving a plan\ncontaining elements of both the original and the modified plan.\n(9) Any order or final determination of the department under this section shall be\nsubject to review in accordance with KRS 353.700 and any administrative\nregulations promulgated thereunder.","path":["KRS Chapter 353"],"source_url":"https://apps.legislature.ky.gov/law/statutes/statute.aspx?id=47760","current_through":"Includes enactments through the 2026 Regular Session","vintage":"09/05/2026","retrieved_at":"2026-09-05T20:58:39Z","sha256":"9d2a8903f49ef95c64ce5a650a5b21e1dc3f3a7fb3c51be5010980ebec3771fd","source_id":"us-ky","stale":false,"prev":"us-ky/krs-353.590","next":"us-ky/krs-353.591"},"notice":"GroundRules: Original legal text. Not legal advice."}