ND HB1347

Amends section 38-08-04.5 of the North Dakota Century Code to establish the abandoned oil and gas well plugging and site reclamation fund with revenue sources including permit fees, forfeited bonds, federal moneys, donations, and civil penalties.

Fund moneys may be used for plugging abandoned wells, reclaiming drilling and production sites, paying mineral owner royalties, remediating oil and gas-related pipelines, and restoring land and water resources impacted by oil and gas development abandoned before August 1, 1983, up to $1.5 million per biennium.

Appropriates $5,000,000 for biennium July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2019 for brine pond and soil remediation studies in the north central portion of the state, including studies of contaminated sites active between 1951-1984 and pilot remediation projects.

Requires the industrial commission to report study results to the energy development and transmission committee by September 30, 2018, and to provide biennial reports on fund balance and expenditures to the budget section of legislative management.

Directs the industrial commission to use $500,000 from the oil and gas research fund for pipeline leak detection technology study by the energy and environmental research center, with results due September 30, 2018.