Section 38-12-02 - Jurisdiction of commissionThe commission has jurisdiction and authority over all persons and property, public and private, necessary to enforce effectively the provisions of this chapter. Subject to the provisions of section 38-08-21, the director of mineral resources shall act as a supervisor charged with the duty of enforcing the regulations and orders of the commission applicable to the subsurface mineral resources of this state and the provisions of this chapter. The commission has authority to make such investigations as it deems proper to determine whether facts exist which justify action by the commission. The commission acting through the director of mineral resources has the authority:
1. To require: a. The furnishing of a reasonable bond with good and sufficient surety, conditioned upon the full compliance with the provisions of this chapter, and the rules and orders of the commission prescribed to govern the exploration, development, and production of subsurface minerals on state and private lands within the state of North Dakota. The person required to furnish the bond may elect to deposit a collateral bond, self-bond, cash, or any alternative form of security approved by the commission, or combination thereof, by which a permittee assures faithful performance of all requirements of this chapter and the rules and orders of the industrial commission.b. The delivery, free of charge, to the state geologist of the basic exploration data collected by the operator, within thirty days of field collection of such data. This data must include:(1) Sample cuts, core chips, or whole cores.(2) Sample logs, radioactivity logs, resistivity logs, or other types of electrical or mechanical logs.(3) Elevation and location information on the data collection points.(4) Other pertinent information as may be requested by the state geologist. The data so submitted is confidential for a period of one year when so requested by the operator and such period may be further extended upon approval by the commission.
c. The filing of monthly production reports in the manner prescribed by the commission and any other reports deemed necessary by the commission.d. The conducting of all exploration, development, and production operations in such a manner as to prevent pollution of freshwater supplies, to provide for the protection of the environment and public safety, and to ensure the optimum recovery of the mineral resource.e. The reclamation of all land disturbed by operations regulated by this chapter to a condition consistent with prior land use and productive capacity.2. To regulate the drilling and abandonment of exploration test holes and producing wells and all other exploration, development, production, and reclamation operations.3. To promulgate and to enforce rules, regulations, and orders to effectuate the purposes and the intent of this chapter.4. To inspect all exploration, development, and production sites. For the purposes of this subsection, the director of mineral resources or the director's representative shall have access to all exploration, development, or production installations for purposes of inspection and shall have the authority to require the operator's aid if it is necessary and is requested.