HB1562 Summary

• Requires written consent from each mineral interest owner affected by drilling, hydraulic fracturing, or mineral removal operations before permits can be issued under the Illinois Oil and Gas Act and Hydraulic Fracturing Regulatory Act.

• Requires written consent from surface owners affected by proposed operations, unless they are also the mineral interest owner who has already provided consent.

• Establishes enforcement mechanisms including permanent cessation of violating operations and requires violators to pay treble (three times) the full market value of minerals extracted without consent to the mineral interest owner.

• Allows mineral interest owners to pursue separate civil lawsuits for compensatory or punitive damages in addition to penalties assessed by the Department of Natural Resources.

• Adds definitions of "mineral interest" and "surface owner" to both Acts, defining mineral interest as the right to extract, modify, and sell minerals including underground hydrocarbons beneath real property.