Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 458A - Oil, Gas, and Other Minerals

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• Amendment: A proposal to alter the text of a pending bill or other measure by striking out some of it, by inserting new language, or both. Before an amendment becomes part of the measure, thelegislature must agree to it.
• and: includes the word "or" and the use of the word "or" includes the word "and". See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Answer: The formal written statement by a defendant responding to a civil complaint and setting forth the grounds for defense.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Certificate: means a certificate of title. See Iowa Code 462A.2
• Commission: means the environmental protection commission of the department. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of natural resources created under section 455A. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Director: means the director of the department or a designee. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Discovery: Lawyers' examination, before trial, of facts and documents in possession of the opponents to help the lawyers prepare for trial.
• Equitable: Pertaining to civil suits in "equity" rather than in "law." In English legal history, the courts of "law" could order the payment of damages and could afford no other remedy. See damages. A separate court of "equity" could order someone to do something or to cease to do something. See, e.g., injunction. In American jurisprudence, the federal courts have both legal and equitable power, but the distinction is still an important one. For example, a trial by jury is normally available in "law" cases but not in "equity" cases. ^{Source: U.S. Courts}
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Exploration: means an on-site geologic examination from the surface of an area by core, rotary, percussion, or other drilling for the purpose of obtaining stratigraphic or metallic mineral resource information or establishing the nature of a known metallic mineral deposit. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Fiduciary: A trustee, executor, or administrator.
• Field: means the general area underlaid by one or more pools. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Foreclosure: A legal process in which property that is collateral or security for a loan may be sold to help repay the loan when the loan is in default. ^{Source: OCC}
• Gas: means and includes all natural gas and all other fluid hydrocarbons which are produced at the wellhead and not defined in this section as oil. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Illegal gas: means gas which has been produced from any well within this state in excess of the quantity permitted by any rule or order of the department. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Illegal oil: means oil which has been produced from any well within the state in excess of the quantity permitted by any rule or order of the department. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Illegal product: means any product derived in whole or in part from illegal oil or illegal gas. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Lease: A contract transferring the use of property or occupancy of land, space, structures, or equipment in consideration of a payment (e.g., rent). ^{Source: OCC}
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Metallic mineral resources: means the valuable minerals of an area containing metals such as, but not restricted to, lead, copper, zinc, and iron that are presently recoverable or may be recoverable in the future. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• oath: includes affirmation in all cases where an affirmation may be substituted for an oath, and in like cases the word "swear" includes "affirm". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Oath: A promise to tell the truth.
• Oil: means and includes crude petroleum oil and other hydrocarbons regardless of gravity which are produced at the wellhead in liquid form and the liquid hydrocarbons known as distillate or condensate recovered or extracted from gas, other than gas produced in association with oil and commonly known as casinghead gas. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Operate: means to navigate or otherwise use a vessel or motorboat. See Iowa Code 462A.2
• Owner: means the person who has the right to drill into and produce from a pool and to appropriate the oil or gas that person produces therefrom either for that person or others or for that person and others. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: means and includes any natural person, corporation, association, partnership, receiver, trustee, personal representative, guardian, fiduciary or other representative of any kind, and includes any department, agency, or instrumentality of the state or of any governmental subdivision thereof. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• Pool: means an underground reservoir containing a common accumulation of oil or gas or both; each zone of a structure which is completely separated from any other zone in the same structure is a pool, as that term is used in this chapter. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Proceeds: includes whatever is received when collateral or proceeds are sold, exchanged, collected, or otherwise disposed of. See Iowa Code 462A.2
• Product: means any commodity made from oil or gas and includes refined crude oil, crude tops, topped crude, processed crude, processed crude petroleum, residue from crude petroleum, cracking stock, uncracked fuel oil, fuel oil, treated crude oil, residuum, gas oil, casinghead gasoline, natural-gas gasoline, kerosene, benzine, wash oil, waste oil, blended gasoline, lubricating oil, blends or mixtures of oil with one or more liquid products or by-products derived from oil or gas, and blends or mixtures of two or more liquid products or by-products derived from oil or gas, whether hereinabove enumerated or not. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Reasonable market demand: means the demand for oil or gas for reasonable current requirements for consumption and use within and without the state, together with such quantities as are reasonably necessary for building up or maintaining reasonable working stocks and reasonable reserves of oil or gas or product. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, includes the District of Columbia and the territories, and the words "United States" may include the said district and territories. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• undertaking: means a promise or security in any form. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Use: means to operate, navigate, or employ a vessel. See Iowa Code 462A.2
• Waste: means and includes all of the following:
   a. See Iowa Code 458A.2
• Well: means any hole drilled to determine stratigraphic sequence, mineralization, or for the discovery of oil or gas. See Iowa Code 458A.2