N.Y. Environmental Conservation Law § 23-0305
8. With respect to oil pools or fields and natural gas pools or fields, the department shall have power to: a. Make such investigations as it deems proper to determine whether waste exists or is imminent. b. Require identification of ownership of producing leases, tanks, plants, structures and facilities for the transportation and refining of oil and gas. c. Classify and reclassify pools as oil or gas pools, or wells as oil or gas wells, including the delineation of boundaries for purposes material to the interpretation or administration of this article. d. Require the drilling, casing, operation, plugging and replugging of wells and reclamation of surrounding land in accordance with rules and regulations of the department in such manner as to prevent or remedy the following, including but not limited to: the escape of oil, gas, brine or water out of one stratum into another; the intrusion of water into oil or gas strata other than during enhanced recovery operations; the pollution of fresh water supplies by oil, gas, salt water or other contaminants; and blowouts, cavings, seepages and fires. e. Enter, take temporary possession of, plug or replug any abandoned well as provided in the rules and regulations, whenever any owner or operator neglects or refuses to comply with such rules and regulations. Such plugging or replugging by the department shall be at the expense of the owner or operator whose duty it may be to plug the well and who shall hold harmless the state of New York for all accounts, damages, costs and judgments arising from the plugging or replugging of the well and the surface restoration of the affected land. Primary liability for the expense of such plugging or replugging and first recourse for the recovery thereof shall be to the operator unless a contract for the production, development, exploration or other working of the well, to which the lessor or other grantor of the oil and gas rights is a party, shall place such liability on the owner or on the owner of another interest in the land on which the well is situated. When an operator violates any provision of this article, any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or any order issued pursuant thereto in reference to plugging or replugging an abandoned well, the operator may not transfer the operator's responsibility therefor by surrendering the lease. Prior to the commencement of drilling of any well, the operator shall be required to furnish to the department, and continuously maintain, a bond acceptable to it conditioned upon the performance of said operator's plugging responsibilities with respect to said well. Upon the approval of the department, in lieu of such bond, the operator may deposit cash or negotiable bonds of the United States Government of like amount in an escrow account conditioned upon the performance of said operator's plugging responsibilities with respect to said well. Any interest accruing as a result of the aforementioned escrow deposit shall be the exclusive property of the operator. The aforementioned bonding requirements shall remain the obligation of the original operator regardless of changes in operators unless a subsequent operator has furnished the appropriate bond or substitute as herein provided acceptable to the department and approval for the transfer of the well plugging responsibilities to the subsequent operator has been granted by the department. The failure of any operator to maintain a bond or other financial security as prescribed herein shall be deemed a breach of plugging responsibilities and entitle the department to claim the proceeds of the bond or other financial security. The cost of plugging or replugging any well, where such action is necessary or incident to the commencing or carrying on of storage operations pursuant to section 23-1103 or 23-1301 shall be borne by the operator of the storage facility. f. Require that every person who produces, sells, purchases, acquires, stores or injects oil or gas and associated fluids and every person who transports oil or gas in this state shall keep and maintain complete and accurate records of the quantities thereof. Quantities of associated fluids injected or produced may be reported as estimated volumes. True copies or duplicates shall be kept or made available for examination within this state by the department or its agents at all reasonable times and every such person shall file with the department such reports concerning production, sales, purchases, acquisitions, injection, transportation or storage on a form provided by the department or approved by the department prior to submittal. g. In addition to the powers provided for in titles 1, 3, 5 and 13 of article 71, order an immediate suspension of drilling or production operations whenever such operations are being carried on in violation of this article or any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder or order issued pursuant thereto. Any order issued pursuant to this paragraph may be reviewed upon application of an aggrieved party by means of an order to show cause which order shall be issued by any justice of the supreme court in the judicial district in which any order applies and shall be returnable on the third succeeding business day following the issuance of such order. Service of such show cause order shall be made upon the regional office of the department for the region in which such order applies, and upon the attorney general by delivery of such order to an assistant attorney general at an office of the attorney general in the county in which venue of the proceeding is designated, or if there is no office of the attorney general within such county, at the office of the attorney general nearest such county. Except as hereinabove specified, the proceeding to review an order under this paragraph shall be governed by article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. h. Require the immediate reporting of any non-routine incident including but not limited to casing and drill pipe failures, casing cement failures, fishing jobs, fires, seepages, blowouts and other incidents during drilling, completion, producing, plugging or replugging operations that may affect the health, safety, welfare or property of any person. The department may require the operator, or any agent thereof, to record any data which the department believes may be of subsequent use for adequate evaluation of a non-routine incident. i. Require the taking and making of well logs, well samples, directional surveys and reports on well locations and elevations, drilling and production, and further require their filing pursuant to the provisions of this article. Upon the request of the state geologist, the department shall cause such duplicate samples or copies of records and reports as may be required pursuant to this article to be furnished to him. j. Give notice to persons engaged in underground mining operations of the commencement of any phase of oil or gas well operations which may affect the safety of such underground mining operations or of the mining properties involved. Rules and regulations promulgated under this article shall specify the distance from underground mining operations within which such notice shall be given and shall contain such other provisions as in the judgment of the department shall be necessary in the interest of safety. The department shall not be required to furnish any notice required by this paragraph unless the person or persons engaged in underground mining operations or having rights in mining properties have notified the department of the existence and location of such underground mining operations or properties. k. (1) Except as to production of gas from lands under the waters of Lake Erie, in order to satisfy the financial security requirements contained in paragraph e of this subdivision for wells less than six thousand feet in depth for which the department either shall have issued or shall issue permits to drill such wells or, on or after June fifth, nineteen hundred seventy-three, shall have issued acknowledgements of notices of intention to drill such wells, without any way affecting any obligations to plug such wells, the operator shall provide a bond or other financial security acceptable to the department in the following amount:
9. With respect to solution mining areas the department shall have the power to: a. Require identification of ownership of producing leases and solution mining equipment such as structures, tanks, gathering systems and facilities for the transportation of salt brine. b. Require the drilling, casing, operation and plugging of wells in accordance with rules and regulations of the department in such a manner as to prevent the loss or escape of oil or gas reserves to the surface or to other strata; the intrusion of brine or water into commercial oil or gas reserves; the pollution of fresh water supplies by oil, gas or salt water, and to facilitate the efficient use of ground and surface waters in solution mining. c. Give notice to persons engaging in underground mining operations of the commencing of any phase of solution mining well operations which may affect the safety of such underground mining operations or of the mining properties involved. Rules and regulations of the department adopted pursuant hereto shall specify the distance from such underground mining operations within which such notice shall be given and shall contain such other provisions as in the judgment of the department shall be necessary in the interest of safety. The department shall not be required to furnish any notice pursuant hereto unless the person or persons engaged in underground mining operations or having rights in mining properties have notified the department of the existence and location of such underground mining operations or properties. d. Require metering or other measuring of brine produced by solution mining, and the maintenance of the records from each cavity or group of interconnected cavities until the wells in a cavity have been plugged and abandoned. These records shall be given to the department on request. e. Enter, take temporary possession of, plug or replug any abandoned well as provided in the rules and regulations, whenever any operator neglects or refuses to comply with such rules and regulations. Such plugging or replugging by the department shall be at the expense of the owner or operator whose duty it shall be to plug the well and who shall hold harmless the state of New York for all accounts, damages, costs and judgments arising for the plugging or replugging of the well and the surface restoration of the affected land. Primary liability for the expense of such plugging or replugging and first recourse for the recovery thereof shall be to the operator unless a contract for the production, development, exploration or other working of the well, to which the lessor or other grantor of the solution salt rights is a party, shall place such liability on the owner or on the owner of another interest in the land on which the well is situated. When an operator violates any provision of this article, any rule or regulation promulgated thereunder, or any order issued pursuant thereto in reference to plugging or replugging an abandoned well, the operator may not transfer the operator's responsibility therefor by surrendering the lease. Prior to the commencement of drilling of any well to which this subdivision applies, the operator shall be required to furnish to the department, and continuously maintain, a bond acceptable to it conditioned upon the performance of said operator's plugging responsibilities with respect to said well. Upon the approval of the department, in lieu of such bond, the operator may deposit cash or negotiable bonds of the United States Government of like amount in an escrow account conditioned upon the performance of said operator's plugging responsibilities with respect to said well. Any interest accruing as a result of aforementioned escrow deposit shall be the exclusive property of the operator. The aforementioned bonding requirements shall remain the obligation of the original operator regardless of changes in operators unless a subsequent operator has furnished the appropriate bond or substitute as herein provided acceptable to the department and approval for the transfer of the well plugging responsibility to the subsequent operator has been granted by the department. The failure of any operator to maintain a bond or other financial security as prescribed herein shall be deemed a breach of plugging responsibilities and entitle the department to claim the proceeds of the bond or other financial security. Any order issued pursuant to this paragraph may be reviewed upon application of an aggrieved party by means of an order to show cause which order shall be issued by any justice of the supreme court in the judicial district in which any such order applies and shall be returnable on the third succeeding business day following the issuance of such order. Service of such show cause order shall be made upon the regional office of the department for the region in which such order applies, and upon the attorney general by delivery of such order to an assistant attorney general at an office of the attorney general in the county in which venue of the proceeding is designated, or if there is no office of the attorney general within such county, at the office of the attorney general nearest such county. Except as hereinabove specified, the proceeding to review an order under this paragraph shall be governed by article seventy-eight of the civil practice law and rules. f. (1) In order to satisfy the financial security requirements contained in paragraph e of this subdivision for all wells for which the department either shall have issued or shall issue permits to drill such wells or, on or after June fifth, nineteen hundred seventy-three, shall have issued acknowledgements of notices of intention to drill such wells, without in any way affecting any obligation to plug such wells, the operator shall provide a bond or other financial security acceptable to the department in the following amount: