Current through September 2, 2024
Section 20.07.02.220 - BONDING01.Individual Bond. The Department shall, except as hereinafter provided, require from the owner or operator a good and sufficient bond in the sum of not less than ten thousand dollars ($10,000) plus one dollar ($1) for each foot of planned well length in favor of the Department. The bond shall be conditioned upon the performance of the owner's or operator's duty to comply with the requirements of the Act and the rules of the Commission, with respect to the drilling, maintaining, operating, and plugging of each well drilled for oil and gas and the reclamation of surface disturbance associated with these activities. Said bond shall remain in force and effect until the plugging of said well is approved by the Department and the well site is reclaimed as described in Section 510 of these rules, or the bond is released by the Department.02.Blanket Bond. In lieu of the bond in Subsection 220.01 of this rule, any owner or operator may file with the Department a good and sufficient blanket bond covering all active wells drilled or to be drilled in the state of Idaho. The amount of the blanket bond will be as follows according to the number of active wells covered by the bond: a. Up to ten (10) wells, fifty thousand dollars ($50,000);b. Eleven (11) to thirty (30) wells, one hundred thousand dollars ($100,000); orc. More than thirty (30) wells, one hundred fifty thousand dollars ($150,000).03.Inactive Well Bond. An owner or operator must provide the Department with a bond of at least ten thousand dollars ($10,000) plus eight dollars ($8) for each foot of planned well length for each inactive well conditioned upon the performance of the duty to comply with the requirements of the Act and the rules of the Commission, with respect to the drilling, maintaining, operating, and plugging of each well drilled for oil and gas. Said bond shall remain in force and effect until the plugging of said well is approved by the Department, or the bond is released by the Department. Inactive wells may not be covered by a blanket bond as provided in Subsection 220.02 of this rule.04.Additional Bonding. The Department may impose additional bonding on an owner or operator given sufficient reason, such as non-compliance, unusual conditions, horizontal drilling, or other circumstances that suggest a particular well or group of wells has potential risk or liability in excess of that normally expected. The owner or operator may request a hearing to appeal either the decision to impose an additional bond or the proposed amount of the bond.05.Authorized Bonds. The bond(s) referred to in Section 220 must be by a corporate surety authorized to do business in the state of Idaho or in cash. If cash is used to satisfy the bonding requirements in these rules, interest on the cash will be allocated to the general fund.Idaho Admin. Code r. 20.07.02.220