[{"_1":2,"_99":-5,"_100":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,87],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":44,"_46":47,"_48":49,"_50":51,"_52":53,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":59,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":65,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6667116,"mediaKeyId","2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f","parentId",2273399,"title","Committee backs voluntary industry-funded bonding pool to help small oil operators meet federal bond increases","audioSeconds",0,"startMs",1689000,"endMs","viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f&start=1689&end=1689","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f/thumbnail_1689000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6667116/Wyoming/Committee-backs-voluntary-industry-funded-bonding-pool-to-help-small-oil-operators-meet-federal-bond-increases","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6667116-d1b5fc304fc41e477bd083e9e9ca6d19/orig.mp4?Expires=1777289588&Signature=WA2FAH67S14TiMmxcr50yovsabiVSv5kgYtKNVxcoETDnEJ9NM4fRQmU87rzS6p-fhyDelBfzViXJFYP8S~jIWqZLfyfpn6q8t9-yORn4OCof-VE-mWd04S9uU8MTQA7TrrIIR1VwDBlaC3ZpkIKZRVxBxAt~QzzF2GuC83WBkbazoN6Ocr5yBXpAiu8Vdf-0JOiNhTWj7WUH1u5cjK6zS06IJoZ9NUffzO7UBfz0tTasfdyBUYWXyQ9MNNyT5DgBBvVut95bgTzBYqWmwV9FMBgLvYU~VQn8Ow1TsBWzf3ZrygQTxsB2x7V7SWzCZrRLO3D4RJATv8xX2NiaNhL7g__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Wyoming Legislature","date","2025-02-12T16:30:55.877Z","article","The Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee voted to give Senate File 20 a due-pass recommendation after extended testimony from the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, industry representatives and small operators.

The bill establishes a voluntary, industry-funded financial-assurance program administered or contracted by the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission. The program would let participating operators pool resources and receive third-party-backed financial assurance as an alternative to individually posting larger surety bonds or letters of credit.

Tom Kropatch, state oil and gas supervisor, told the committee the bill is a response to a federal rule (issued June 2024) that raised minimum bond amounts for fluid mineral leases. Under the federal rule, a single-lease bond rose from $10,000 to $150,000 and a statewide bond rose from $25,000 to $500,000; the federal agency delayed the effective implementation for some requirements until June 2026 but the new amounts already affect operators who must replace expiring bonds or post new bonds. Kropatch said those amounts exceed annual gross revenue for more than 25% of operators in Wyoming.

Senate File 20 directs the commission to promulgate rules to implement a bonding pool and authorizes three funding and operating mechanisms: (1) a third-party contract to establish and manage the pool; (2) a commission-run pool if a third-party arrangement is infeasible; and (3) a “backstop to the backstop” that permits use of existing conservation-tax funds in WY Statute 35-1-16 (the conservation tax account) only after other funding sources are exhausted. Participating operators would pay an assessment modeled on the commission’s mill levy; the bill sets the assessment initially at zero and allows the commission beginning July 1, 2030 to set it up to 0.5 mills on the dollar (for comparison the existing conservation tax range is 0–0.8 mills and is currently 0.5 mills).

Tom Van Cleef, a small operator who participated in the interim working group, described the program as a lifeline for small companies facing federal rebonding costs and estimated roughly 470 small operators would be affected statewide. Industry groups and the Petroleum Association of Wyoming supported the measure. Van Cleef and other witnesses emphasized three features they said were crucial: voluntary participation, transferability of bonding to successor operators when a well or lease is sold, and a layered funding structure that prioritizes operator assets and surety before any state conservation-tax funds.

Representatives asked about risk management and how fee levels would be set. Kropatch said the commission would rely on surety expertise and rulemaking to evaluate operator risk and set appropriate fees; participation would be restricted to operators in good standing and the commission could remove participants who fell out of compliance. The bill requires annual reporting to the joint minerals and joint appropriations committees if the program uses conservation-tax funds as a backstop.

After discussion Representative Lolli moved and Representative Schmidt seconded advancing the bill; the committee recorded eight ayes, zero nays, and one excused. Representative Lawley volunteered to carry Senate File 20 to the floor.

Committee members and witnesses framed the measure as an industry-funded, state-administered mechanism intended to preserve small operators, protect jobs and reduce the likelihood that the state or taxpayers would be called on to cover orphan-well plugging costs.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","House Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee, February 12, 2025","oneSentenceSummary","Senate File 20 creates a voluntary bonding pool and related rulemaking for oil- and gas-operator financial assurance, aiming to help small operators comply with recent federal increases in lease and statewide bond minimums.","taxTitle","Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee, House of Representative, Committees, Legislative, Wyoming","taxId",64732,"location","Wyoming","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_46":81,"_48":82,"_50":83,"_52":84,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":85,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":86,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6667120,"Panel approves requirement to notify Wind River tribes about large industrial siting applications",725,700000,1425000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f&start=700&end=1425","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f/thumbnail_700000.jpg","/articles/6667120/Wyoming/Panel-approves-requirement-to-notify-Wind-River-tribes-about-large-industrial-siting-applications","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6667120-0ff848bd68c9a2ec7966d36d55076a04/orig.mp4?Expires=1777289588&Signature=cymXSoCzWGIn~rMmRfHhcq8VANn3uy4jhvKzQaf~EtFXMUk0dY-x9Sq2lgbveL3ZJbWLkQ6NShADtyBCUpX7kujtEVGe5or0HJBqpu-rIzw1~xKf2OzDidhQN0lunvQjvYkQiJk85z~0hDcJHe6c4OjB0fwdRir8xqhA~8cD-TXkMGS8q8BBW41G0Bg3nxSbYMV1FtU~FA0lsDzGi6N5fHAJzOzC8mNWgF-UXnPMdgXRnldi8ol~0H5K2GEOKFbGIaQpbIjAUQdCUOY~Zn~Ql8wChOjKhR-uGuSiVJNBHK6CUROTskSQGawvQU~ye8ZU-ttePH2XE97fKTwb2Fp4ow__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee voted to report Senate File 16 as due pass after brief testimony from the Department of Environmental Quality and representatives of the governor’s tribal liaisons and the Northern Arapaho Tribe.

Senate File 16 amends the Industrial Siting Act to require that the director serve written or electronic notice to tribal governments—the Eastern Shoshone Tribe, the Northern Arapaho Tribe and any cooperative tribal governing body—when an applicant requests a waiver or files for an industrial siting permit for a facility located in the same or an adjacent county.

Jenny Staben, administrator of industrial siting at DEQ, told the committee the bill codifies an existing courtesy practice. “This bill…require[s] notice when an industrial siting project is placed within a county that is within the same or adjacent to tribal where tribal government is located,” she said, noting the change does not make tribes parties to the permit and that tribal governments may submit a written “limited appearance statement” under the contested-case process that governs industrial siting permits.

Representatives of the governor’s office tribal liaison staff and tribal officials testified in support. Claire Johnson, attorney general for the Northern Arapaho Tribe, told the committee the tribe is in “strong support of the bill as is.” The governor’s office said the measure was agreeable to both Wind River tribes and had been discussed in the interim tribal select committee.

Committee members clarified timing: the bill requires notice within seven days following a request for a waiver and within 10 days following receipt of a permit application. The sponsor and DEQ emphasized the provision provides notification only and does not confer permitting authority or additional legal rights on tribal governments.

Representative Knapp volunteered to carry Senate File 16 to the floor after the committee voted. The roll-call vote recorded seven ayes and no nays; one member was recorded as excused.

The committee record shows the bill’s purpose is to ensure consistent written notice to the Wind River tribes so they may track large industrial projects and exercise participation rights available under contested-case procedures.","Senate File 16 requires the Industrial Siting Division to serve notice to the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho tribal governments for pending industrial siting waiver requests and permit applications located in the same or adjacent county.",{"_33":88,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":89,"_41":90,"_43":91,"_45":92,"_46":93,"_48":94,"_50":95,"_52":96,"_54":55,"_56":57,"_58":97,"_60":61,"_62":63,"_64":98,"_66":67,"_68":69,"_70":71,"_72":73,"_74":73},6667125,"Committee approves change to oil-and-gas statute to allow centralized produced-water reservoirs",511,149000,660000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f&start=149&end=660","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/2273399-6a77967ee15be56473d390aebb1fc95f/thumbnail_149000.jpg","/articles/6667125/Wyoming/Committee-approves-change-to-oil-and-gas-statute-to-allow-centralized-produced-water-reservoirs","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6667125-e839441755a8e11ec9c5d2457ca766fe/orig.mp4?Expires=1777289588&Signature=l19T1zybeTRFMRjRVw7uQqgCIz23h0KlIOv0LQdIYAtiLrKgQNhx6xWZp824h1UhyA~6e2FJzvz2DNMdkXnXF9F92NTCbIsW7W81aDUqj4oslrNstSkGjVGWuHjAbcn4QFZ113szPoCcE2V3E~ffcqHTEYul30WsPJkICmAInuwSM6RxGM6B~dp5RDPsR5x7qupaBuAOPPjUuacs~xCuhlAE3eI65BEM6KI9N-PJnsfvuLYuc8Bj1yueQo9srSebMTjbyBBPmVv0OwDnMTf3ewDS8k6QYnAKcEFV~WzBwav1QlKpD23WwnBhBxoBDXEnh~MhLtOHSjrWnkZoNvqohw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee voted to give Senate File 15 a due-pass recommendation after hearing testimony from the state Oil and Gas Supervisor and industry representatives.

The bill strikes language in Wyoming Statute 30-5-104(d)(a) that historically limited the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission’s authority to regulate oilfield pits to locations ‘‘on a lease unit or communitized area,’’ allowing the commission to permit centralized produced-water reuse reservoirs that may lie outside a single lease or unit.

Tom Kropatch, state oil and gas supervisor for the Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, told the committee the change responds to technological shifts such as horizontal drilling and the increasing reuse of produced water in hydraulic fracturing and completions. “As industry starts to reuse the produced water, restricting the location of where these reservoirs could be constructed... essentially made industry permit more of them,” Kropatch said. He added the bill does not change construction, monitoring, or leak-detection requirements for those reservoirs.

Committee members asked how the change would interact with the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). Kropatch said DEQ retains authority to permit commercial oilfield waste disposal facilities but that centralized reuse reservoirs—used by a single operator to store produced water for reuse—are not disposal facilities and are not commercial operations. “If, for example, there was a leak… then we’d work together with the DEQ to make sure it was remediated appropriately,” he said. He described required safeguards, including double liners with leak detection between liners and routine monitoring.

Pete Obermueller, president of the Petroleum Association of Wyoming, offered brief industry support. There were no members of the public who opposed the bill.

Vice Chair Tarver moved and Representative Campbell seconded the motion to advance the bill; the committee took a roll-call vote. The clerk recorded ayes from Representatives Campbell, Knapp, Larson, Schmidt, Tarver, Weber and Chairman Heiner; two members were noted as excused. The committee reported the bill as “due pass.” Representative Campbell volunteered to carry Senate File 15 to the floor.

The committee record indicates the change is limited to where the commission may permit produced-water reservoirs and does not relax technical or monitoring requirements for reservoir construction or operation. The commission and DEQ retain their existing authorities for permitting and remediation.

Looking ahead, the commission will implement the statutory change through its permitting process and continue coordinating with DEQ on leak response and remediation when necessary.","The Minerals, Business & Economic Development Committee gave a due-pass recommendation to Senate File 15, which removes language limiting regulation of produced-water reservoirs to lease units or communitized areas so operators can locate centralized reuse reservoirs across multiple leases.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Committee backs voluntary industry-funded bonding pool to help small oil operators meet federal bond increases

Panel approves requirement to notify Wind River tribes about large industrial siting applications

Committee approves change to oil-and-gas statute to allow centralized produced-water reservoirs