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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
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State
Rep. Jesse White
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White bill would clarify Marcellus Shale mineral rights for property owners
HARRISBURG, May 4 – State Rep. Jesse White, D-Washington/Allegheny/Beaver, today introduced a bill that would allow property owners to assume the mineral rights for their land if specific conditions are not met over a 10-year period.
White emphasized that his legislation would not affect current mineral rights owners whose rights are not in dispute.
The issue is especially important to White due to his district's location on top of the Marcellus Shale natural gas deposit deep under the region.
"Designations of mineral rights for a significant number of properties are unclear due to the passage of time and the facts that in the past, some property owners did not transfer their rights, and rights under other parcels have been abandoned, leading to an underground puzzle," said White. "In most places, the pieces are in place, but in others, pieces are missing and no one is certain who has ownership.
"My bill would eventually correct that confusion to the benefit of property owners and operations that currently hold detailed mineral rights."
Under White's proposal (H.B. 1436), mineral rights owners would have up to 10 years to file a claim for subsurface minerals in a county recorder of deeds office. If, after that time, no one has laid claim to the rights, the owner of the surface land would have the ability to claim the mineral rights below the property.
"As activity to tap the Marcellus Shale rock formation continues, there's bound to be many questions of who owns which rights and where," White said. "By having my proactive legislation in place as law, we would have a process established before ownership questions arise, instead of having to react after disputes begin to pile up."
The bill also would allow surface owners to file for action that would, with the court's permission, protect their property from any future legal challenges to their subsurface mineral rights.
White's legislation is awaiting assignment to a committee for consideration.
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