Oil and Gas at Your Door? (2005 Edition) - Earthworks

Legal and Regulatory Issues
FIGURE II-3. SELECTED STATES’ NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS 399
tenant, however, the operator has no obligation to consult with them unless the surface owner
appoints the tenant for consultation. 400
Similarly, in Illinois, operators must make an offer to discuss access, placements of roads, construction
and placement of pits, restoration of fences, use of surface waters, removal of trees
and surface water drainage changes caused by drilling operations. 401 Once discussions are conducted,
there is nothing that obligates a company to accommodate the surface owner’s concerns.
There is, however, a provision for surface owner compensation that acts as an incentive
for companies to limit the damages done to the surface estate. Otherwise, the company may
be taken to court by the surface owner (and if the surface owner’s case is successful, the company
pays for attorney fees). 402
In Wyoming, if the negotiations with surface owners are unsuccessful, a company wanting to
develop coalbed methane (CBM) may go to state court to try to get “right of access” to the surface
owner’s property—this could include access to the wells, roads, reservoirs, pumping stations
and other facilities. In order for a company to obtain court-ordered access over the surface
to develop the CBM, the operator must prove that it made “reasonable and diligent efforts”
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