1. A. The Corporation Commission is hereby vested with jurisdiction over the drilling for and production and disposal of brine for commercial purposes. The Commission is hereby authorized to enact such rules and regulations as are reasonably necessary to effectuate the purposes of this act, including rules and regulations governing the drilling of production, injection or disposal wells and the injection of effluent into underground formations. The Commission shall also have jurisdiction to enact regulations to ensure that the drilling, casing and plugging of wells is done in such a manner as to prevent the escape of brine and effluent from one formation to another and to prevent the pollution of fresh water supplies throughout the state. The Commission shall also have jurisdiction to regulate the return of brine or effluent to the same formation from which it was produced or to other formations in such a manner as is proper to prevent damage to the formation.
2. B. This act shall not apply to nor shall the Corporation Commission have jurisdiction over the solution mining of brine from depths of less than three hundred (300) feet below the surface of the ground and being done pursuant to a mining permit issued by the Department of Mines.

Laws 1990, SB 263, c. 255, § 4, eff. September 1, 1990.