A. The Director shall adopt and enforce regulations and orders necessary to ensure the safe and efficient development and production of gas and oil resources located in the Commonwealth. Such regulations and orders shall be designed to:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 45.2-1629

  • Board: means the Virginia Gas and Oil Board. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • City: means an independent incorporated community which became a city as provided by law before noon on July 1, 1971, or which has within defined boundaries a population of 5,000 or more and which has become a city as provided by law. See Virginia Code 1-208
  • Enhanced recovery: means (i) any activity involving injection of any air, gas, water, or other fluid into the productive strata; (ii) the application of pressure, heat, or other means for the reduction of viscosity of the hydrocarbons; or (iii) the supplying of additional motive force other than normal pumping to increase the production of gas or oil from any well or pool. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • First point of sale: means , for oil, the point at which the oil is (i) sold, exchanged, or transferred for value from one person to another person or (ii) when used by the original owner of the oil, transported off the permitted site and delivered to another facility for use by the original owner. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Gathering pipeline: means a pipeline that is used or intended for use in the transportation of gas or oil from the well to (i) a transmission pipeline regulated by the U. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Ground-disturbing: means any changing of land that could result in soil erosion from water or wind and the movement of sediments into state waters, including clearing, grading, excavating, drilling, and transporting and filling of land. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • 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.
  • Mineral: means the same as that term is defined in § 45. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Oil: means natural crude oil or petroleum and other hydrocarbons, regardless of gravity, that are produced at the well in liquid form by ordinary production methods and are not the result of condensation of gas after it leaves the underground reservoir. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Restoration: means all activity required to return a permitted site to other use after gas, oil, or geophysical operations have ended, as approved in the operations plan for the permitted site. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • State: when applied to a part of the United States, includes any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States Virgin Islands. See Virginia Code 1-245
  • State waters: means all water, on the surface and under the ground, that is wholly or partially within or bordering the Commonwealth or within its jurisdiction and that affects the public welfare. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Well: means any shaft or hole sunk, drilled, bored, or dug into the earth or into underground strata for the extraction, injection, or placement of any gaseous or liquid substance or any shaft or hole sunk or used in conjunction with such extraction, injection, or placement. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600

1. Prevent pollution of state waters and require compliance with the water quality standards adopted by the State Water Control Board;

2. Protect against offsite disturbances from gas, oil, or geophysical operations;

3. Ensure the restoration of all sites disturbed by gas, oil, or geophysical operations;

4. Prevent the escape of the Commonwealth’s gas and oil resources;

5. Provide for safety in coal and mineral mining and coalbed methane well and related facility operations;

6. Control wastes from gas, oil, or geophysical operations;

7. Provide for the accurate measurement of gas and oil production and delivery to the first point of sale; and

8. Protect the public safety and general welfare.

B. In adopting regulations and when issuing orders for the enforcement of the provisions of this article, the Director shall consider the following factors:

1. The protection of the citizens and environment of the Commonwealth from the public safety and environmental risks associated with the development and production of gas or oil;

2. The means of ensuring the safe recovery of coal and other minerals without substantially affecting the right of coal, minerals, gas, oil, or geophysical operators to explore for and produce coal, minerals, gas, or oil; and

3. The protection of safety and health on permitted sites for coalbed methane wells and related facilities.

C. In adopting regulations and orders, the Director may set and enforce standards governing the following: gas or oil ground-disturbing geophysical exploration; the development, drilling, casing, equipping, operating, and plugging of gas or oil production, storage, enhanced recovery, or disposal wells; the development, operation, and restoration of site disturbances for wells, gathering pipelines, and associated facilities; and gathering pipeline safety.

D. Whenever the Director determines that an emergency exists, he shall issue an emergency order without advance notice or hearing. Such order shall have the same validity as an order issued with advance notice and hearing but shall remain in force no longer than 30 days from its effective date. After issuing an emergency order, the Director shall promptly notify the public of the order by publication and hold a public hearing for the purposes of modifying, repealing, or making permanent the emergency order. An emergency order shall prevail as against a general regulation or order when in conflict with it. Emergency orders shall apply to gas, oil, or geophysical operations and to particular fields, geographical areas, subject areas, subject matters, or situations.

E. The Director also may:

1. Issue, condition, and revoke permits;

2. Issue notices of violation and orders upon the violation of any provision of this chapter or regulation adopted thereunder;

3. Issue closure orders in cases of imminent danger to persons or damage to the environment or upon a history of violations;

4. Require or forfeit bonds or other financial securities;

5. Prescribe the nature of and form for the presentation of any information or documentation required by any provision of this article or regulation adopted thereunder;

6. Maintain suit in the county or city where a violation has occurred or is threatened or wherever a person who has violated or threatens to violate any provision of this chapter is found in order to restrain the actual or threatened violation;

7. At reasonable times and under reasonable circumstances, enter upon any property and take action as necessary to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter; and

8. Inspect and review all properties and records thereof as necessary to administer and enforce the provisions of this chapter.

F. The Director has no jurisdiction to hear objections with respect to any matter subject to the jurisdiction of the Board as set out in Article 2 (§ 45.2-1613 et seq.). Such objections shall be referred to the Board in a manner prescribed by the Director.

1982, c. 347, §§ 45.1-315, 45.1-316, 45.1-317; 1987, c. 452; 1989, c. 529; 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.35; 1996, c. 854; 1998, c. 228; 2002, c. 277; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, c. 387.

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