Page:United States Statutes at Large Volume 106 Part 4.djvu/251

 PUBLIC LAW 102-486—OCT. 24, 1992 106 STAT. 2987 by such existing disputes, uncertainty, or litigation regarding ownership of such coalbed methane; (3) which do not have in effect a statutory or regulatory procedure or existing case law permitting and encouraging the development of coan)ed methane ^as within that State; and (4) which do not have extensive development of coalbed methane gas. The Secretary of the Interior, with the participation of the Secretary of Energy, shall revise such list of Affectea States from time to time. Any Affected State shall be deleted frt)m the list of Affected States upon the receipt by the Secretary of the Interior of a Governor's petition requesting such deletion, a State law requesting such deletion, or a resolution requesting such deletion enacted by the legislative body of the State. A Governor intending to petition the Secretary of the Interior to delete a State from the list of Affected States shall provide the State's legislative body with 6 months notice of such petition during a legislative session. At the end of such 6-month period, the Governor may petition the Secretary of the Interior to delete a State from the list of Affected States, unless during such 6-month period, the State's legislative body has enacted a law or resolution disapproving the Governor's petition. Until the Secretary of the Interior, with the participation of the Secretary of Energy, publishes a d^erent list, the States of West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, Indiana, and Illinois shall be the Affected States, effective on the date of the enactment of this Act. The States of Colorado, Montena, New Mexico, Wyoming, Utah, Virginia, Washington, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Alabama shall not be included on the Secretary of the Interior's list of Affected States or any extension or revision thereof. (c) FAILURE TO ADOPT STATUTORY OR REGULATORY PROCE- DURE.— If an Affected State has not placed in effect, by stotute or by regulation, a substential program promoting the permitting, drilling and production of coalbed methane wells (including pooling arrangements) within that State within 3 years after becoming an Affected State, the Secretary of the Interior, with the participation of the Secretary of Energy, shall administer this section and shall promulgate such regulations as are necessary to carry out this section in that State. (d) IMPLEMENTATION BY THE SECRETARY OF THE INTERIOR. — In implementing this section, the Secretary of the Interior, with the participation of the Secretary of Energy, shall— (A) consider existing and future coal mining plans, (B) preserve the mineability of coal seams, and (C) provide for the prevention of waste and maximization of recovery of coal ana coalbed methane gas in a manner which will protect the righto of all entities owning an interest in such coalbed methane resource. (e) SPACING. —Except where State law in an Affected State contains existing spacing requiremente regarding the minimum distance between coalbed methane wells and the minimum distance of a coalbed methane well from a property line, the Secretary of the Interior shall esteblish such requiremente within 90 days after the assertion of jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (c) of this section. (f) SPACING UNITS. —Applications to esteblish spacing unite for the drilling and operation of coalbed methane gas wells may be

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