Chap. 411.—An ACT to require certain gas or oil or gas and oil wells to be
plugged; to prohibit certain acts and provide certain penalties. (H 226}

Approved April 1, 1948
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. Section 1. It shall be unlawful for any person to permit crude

oil and-natural gas to waste or escape from any well or pipe line, when
it is reasonably possible to prevent such waste, after the owner or opera-
tor of such gas or oil well, or pipe line, has had a reasonable length of
time to shut in such gas in the well, or make the necessary repairs to
such well or pipe line to prevent such waste; provided, however, that
(a) if, in the process of drilling a well for oil or gas, or both, gas is
found in such well, and the owner or operator thereof desires to continue
to search for oil or gas, or both, by drilling deeper in search of lower
oil or gas-bearing strata, or (b) if it becomes necessary to make repairs
to any well producing oil or gas, commonly known as “cleaning out”,
and if in either event it is necessary for the oil or gas in such well to
escape therefrom during the process of drilling or making repairs, as
the case may be, then the owner or operator of such well shall prosecute
such drilling or repairs with reasonable diligence, so that the waste of oil
or gas from the well shall not continue longer than reasonably necessary,
and if, during the progress of such deeper drilling or repairs; any tem-
porary suspension thereof becomes necessary, the owner or operator of
such well shall use all reasonable means to shut in the oil or gas and
prevent its waste during such temporary suspension; provided further,
That in all cases where both oil and gas are found and produced from
the same oil and gas-bearing stratum, and where it is necessary for the
gas therefrom to waste in the process of producing the oil, the owner
or operator shall use all reasonable diligence to conserve and save from
waste so much of such gas as it is reasonably possible to save.
Section 2. If the owner or operator of any such well shall neglect
or refuse to drill, case and equip, or plug and abandon or shut in and
conserve from waste the gas or oil produced therefrom as required to
be done and performed by the preceding section of this act, for a
period of twenty days after a written notice so to do, which notice
may be served personally upon the owner or operator, or may be posted
in a conspicuous place at or near the well, it shall be lawful for the
owner or operator of any adjacent or neighboring lands to enter upon
the premises where such well is situated and properly case and equip
such well, or, in case the well is to be abandoned, to properly plug and
abandon it, or in case the well is wasting gas or oil to properly shut it in
and make such needed repairs to the well to prevent the waste of gas
or oil; the reasonable cost and expense incurred by an owner or operator
in so doing shall be paid by the owner or operator of such well and
may be recovered as debts of like amount are by law recoverable.
Section 3. In addition to the imposition of any penalties under this
act, it shall be the duty 8f£ any circuit court in the exercise of its
equitable jurisdiction to hear and determine any bill or bills in equity
which may be filed to restrain the waste of natural gas or oil in viola-
tion of this act, and to grant relief by injunction or by other decrees or
orders, in accordance with the principles and practice in equity. The
plaintiff in such bill shall have sufficient standing to maintain the same
if he shall aver and prove that he is interested in the lands situated
within the distance of one mile from such well, either as an owner of
such land, or of the oil or gas, or both, thereunder, in fee simple, or as
an owner of leases thereof or of rights therein for the production of oil
and gas or either of them.

Section 4. Any person or persons, firm, partnership, partnership
association, or corporation wilfully violating any of the provisions of this
act shall be guilty of a misdemeanor, and, on conviction thereof, shall be
punished accordingly.