Rep. Norm Thurston — Voting Record

Bill

Number

S.B. 191 (2018GS)

Sponsor

Sen. Van Tassell, K.

Final action

Governor Signed 3/26/2018

Outcome

Became law — signed by Gov. Gary R. Herbert

Summary

What it does

• This bill:
• defines the term "oil and gas activity";
• states that, subject to federal law, state regulation of oil and gas activity occupies the whole regulatory field;
• provides that a municipality or county may regulate surface activity that is incident to an oil and gas activity in certain circumstances; and
• makes technical changes.

Every vote on this bill

Bill text

STATE REGULATION OF OIL AND GAS
GENERAL SESSION
STATE OF UTAH
Chief Sponsor: Kevin T. Van Tassell
House Sponsor: 
Carl R. Albrecht
LONG TITLE
General Description:
This bill deals with the regulation of oil and gas activity.
Highlighted Provisions:
This bill:
▸ defines the term "oil and gas activity";
▸ states that, subject to federal law, state regulation of oil and gas activity occupies the
whole regulatory field;
▸ provides that a municipality or county may regulate surface activity that is incident
to an oil and gas activity in certain circumstances; and
▸ makes technical changes.
Money Appropriated in this Bill:
None
Other Special Clauses:
This bill provides a special effective date.
Utah Code Sections Affected:
AMENDS:
10-9a-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2007, Chapter 363
17-27a-102
, as last amended by Laws of Utah 2015, Chapter 465
ENACTS:
40-6-2.5
, Utah Code Annotated 1953
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the state of Utah:
Section 1. Section 
10-9a-102
 is amended to read:
10-9a-102.
Purposes -- General land use authority.
(1) The purposes of this chapter are to provide for the health, safety, and welfare, and
promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace and good order, comfort, convenience, and
aesthetics of each municipality and its present and future inhabitants and businesses, to protect
the tax base, to secure economy in governmental expenditures, to foster the state's agricultural
and other industries, to protect both urban and nonurban development, to protect and ensure
access to sunlight for solar energy devices, to provide fundamental fairness in land use
regulation, and to protect property values.
(2) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, municipalities may enact all
ordinances, resolutions, and rules and may enter into other forms of land use controls and
development agreements that they consider necessary or appropriate for the use and
development of land within the municipality, including ordinances, resolutions, rules,
restrictive covenants, easements, and development agreements governing uses, density, open
spaces, structures, buildings, energy efficiency, light and air, air quality, transportation and
public or alternative transportation, infrastructure, street and building orientation and width
requirements, public facilities, fundamental fairness in land use regulation, considerations of
surrounding land uses and the balance of the foregoing purposes with a landowner's private
property interests, height and location of vegetation, trees, and landscaping, unless expressly
prohibited by law.
(3) (a) Any ordinance, resolution, or rule enacted by a municipality pursuant to its
authority under this chapter shall comply with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil
and gas activity, as described in Section 
40-6-2.5
.
(b) A municipality may enact an ordinance, resolution, or rule that regulates surface
activity incident to an oil and gas activity if the municipality demonstrates that the regulation:
(i) is necessary for the purposes of this chapter;
(ii) does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
(iii) does not interfere with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
activity, as described in Section 
40-6-2.5
.
Section 2. Section 
17-27a-102
 is amended to read:
17-27a-102.
Purposes -- General land use authority.
(1) (a) The purposes of this chapter are to provide for the health, safety, and welfare,
and promote the prosperity, improve the morals, peace and good order, comfort, convenience,
and aesthetics of each county and its present and future inhabitants and businesses, to protect
the tax base, to secure economy in governmental expenditures, to foster the state's agricultural
and other industries, to protect both urban and nonurban development, to protect and ensure
access to sunlight for solar energy devices, to provide fundamental fairness in land use
regulation, and to protect property values.
(b) To accomplish the purposes of this chapter, counties may enact all ordinances,
resolutions, and rules and may enter into other forms of land use controls and development
agreements that they consider necessary or appropriate for the use and development of land
within the unincorporated area of the county or a designated mountainous planning district,
including ordinances, resolutions, rules, restrictive covenants, easements, and development
agreements governing uses, density, open spaces, structures, buildings, energy-efficiency, light
and air, air quality, transportation and public or alternative transportation, infrastructure, street
and building orientation and width requirements, public facilities, fundamental fairness in land
use regulation, considerations of surrounding land uses and the balance of the foregoing
purposes with a landowner's private property interests, height and location of vegetation, trees,
and landscaping, unless expressly prohibited by law.
(2) Each county shall comply with the mandatory provisions of this part before any
agreement or contract to provide goods, services, or municipal-type services to any storage
facility or transfer facility for high-level nuclear waste, or greater than class C radioactive
waste, may be executed or implemented.
(3) (a) Any ordinance, resolution, or rule enacted by a county pursuant to its authority
under this chapter shall comply with the state's exclusive jurisdiction to regulate oil and gas
activity, as described in Section 
40-6-2.5
.
(b) A county may enact an ordinance, resolution, or rule that regulates surface activity
incident to an oil and gas activity if the county demonstrates that the regulation:
(i) is necessary for the purposes of this chapter;
(ii) does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
(iii) does not interfere with the state's exclusive juridisdciton to regulate oil and gas
activity, as described in Section 
40-6-2.5
.
Section 3. Section 
40-6-2.5
 is enacted to read:
 40-6-2.5.
Preemption.
(1) (a) As used in this section, "oil and gas activity" means activity associated with the
exploration, development, production, processing, and transportation of oil and gas as set forth
in Title 40, Chapter 6, Board and Division of Oil, Gas, and Mining, including:
(i) drilling;
(ii) hydraulic fracture stimulation;
(iii) completion, maintenance, reworking, recompletion, disposal, plugging, and
abandonment of wells;
(iv) construction activities;
(v) secondary and tertiary recovery techniques;
(vi) remediation activities; and
(vii) any other activity identified by the Board of Oil, Gas, and Mining.
(b) Oil and gas activity does not include any activity or authority directly authorized or
granted to a political subdivision by the state.
(2) Subject to relevant federal law, regulation of oil and gas activity is of statewide
concern and the state regulation of oil and gas activity occupies the whole field of potential
regulation.
(3) The legislative body of a political subdivision may enact, amend, or enforce a local
ordinance, resolution, or rule consistent with its general land use authority that:
(a) regulates only surface activity that is incident to an oil and gas activity;
(b) does not effectively or unduly limit, ban, or prohibit an oil and gas activity; and
(c) is not otherwise preempted by state or federal law.
Section 4. 
Effective date.
If approved by two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, this bill takes effect
upon approval by the governor, or the day following the constitutional time limit of Utah
Constitution, Article VII, Section 8, without the governor's signature, or in the case of a veto,
the date of veto override.