A. The Inspector shall administer the laws and regulations and shall have access to all records and properties necessary for this purpose. He shall perform all duties delegated by the Director pursuant to § 45.2-105 and maintain permanent records of the following:

Terms Used In Virginia Code 45.2-1630

  • Board: means the Virginia Gas and Oil Board. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Coal operator: means any person who operates or has the right to operate a coal mine. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Coal owner: means any person who owns, leases, mines and produces, or has the right to mine and produce a coal seam. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • geophysical operation: means any activity in search of gas or oil that breaks or disturbs the surface of the earth, including road construction or core drilling. See Virginia Code 45.2-1600
  • Inspector: means the Virginia Gas and Oil Inspector appointed by the Director pursuant to § 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
  • Pipeline: means any pipe above or below the ground used or to be used to transport gas or oil. 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. Each application for a gas, oil, or geophysical operation and each permitted gas, oil, or geophysical operation;

2. Meetings, actions, and orders of the Board;

3. Each petition for mining coal within 200 feet of or through a well;

4. Each request for special plugging by a coal owner or coal operator; and

5. All other records prepared pursuant to this chapter.

B. The Inspector or another Department employee as determined by the Director shall serve as the principal executive of the staff of the Board.

C. The Inspector may take charge of well or corehole operations or pipeline emergency operations whenever a well or corehole blowout, release of hydrogen sulfide or other gas, or other serious accident occurs.

1982, c. 347, § 45.1-293; 1987, c. 452; 1989, c. 164; 1990, c. 92, § 45.1-361.28; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 387, 532.