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Pennsylvania State Senate
04/24/2024 06:39 AM
Pennsylvania State Senate
https://www.legis.state.pa.us/cfdocs/Legis/CSM/showMemoPublic.cfm?chamber=S&SPick=20150&cosponId=16051
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Senate of Pennsylvania
Session of 2015 - 2016 Regular Session

MEMORANDUM

Posted: December 18, 2014 02:13 PM
From: Senator Gene Yaw
To: All Senate members
Subject: Abandonment of Mineral Rights
 
I plan on introducing legislation, mirrored on statutes in Indiana, Ohio, and Michigan, addressing the abandonment of mineral rights. The legislation would declare the subsurface rights abandoned in favor of the surface owner when any person claiming to own [or unknown owners] have failed to “exercise the subsurface rights” for a period in excess of 20 years. This concept of abandonment of mineral rights has been upheld as constitutional in the highest court in their respective states and by the United States Supreme Court.

Landowners across Pennsylvania purchased property believing they owned the surface and the mineral interests underlying their property. Unfortunately, in many cases, the minerals were severed from the surface estate over a century ago without any knowledge by the current landowner or current heirs.

Exercising the subsurface rights includes, and are not limited to, any of the following:
  1. The production of any coal or other minerals and the production of any oil and gas under subsurface rights.
  2. Operations being conducted under subsurface rights for injection, withdrawal, storage or disposal of water, oil, gas or other fluid substances.
  3. A mortgage, assignment, conveyance or order or agreement to pool or unitize subsurface rights recorded in the recorder’s office in the county in which the right or interests is located.
  4. Payment of taxes or fees on subsurface rights by the owner or owner’s agent.
  5. Issuance of a valid permit of any government agency pertaining to the use of subsurface rights.
  6. A statement describing subsurface rights and claiming ownership of the right and the intention to preserve the subsurface rights filed with the court and recorded in the county where the subsurface rights are located prior to entry of a final judgement.
  7. Use of the surface, the strata between the surface and the situs of the mineral and the strata where the mineral is situated for, without limitation, exploration, evaluation, surveying, digging, extraction, production, draining, ventilation, cleaning, storing, blending and transportation for and of the mineral.