American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2018 - 116

ConventionCoverage: Eastern Kansas Oil & Gas Association
hampered progress on the regulatory review somewhat, but said the division had
identified several areas of focus. "Those
have to do with temporary abandonment,
amendments to licensing, and potential
amendments to what I will call our procedural regulations (such as) publishing
application notices and protests," he told
EKOGA.
At the district level, reviewed Troy
Russell, District III Supervisor in Chanute,
Ks., one area of focus has been compliance agreements. "We encourage you to
be proactive," he urged EKOGA members.
"We have several in place now that have
worked out. Regardless what your situation may be, we would be more than
happy to discuss it with you. We have
background and experience to work out
some of these things."
The District III staff also has been
spending a lot of time responding to complaints, and was on pace to investigate
more than 50 this year, Russell continued.
"Most of the time it is a surface owner
who maybe doesn't have a clear understanding of what exactly is going on," he
mused. "We do our best to evaluate those
and remedy the situation if we do find
something. Our primary goal is to put resources into correcting the problem and
potentially preventing or reducing its occurrence. It is not to be strictly punitive."
On other issues, Russell said District
III was:
· On pace to investigate approximately 120 spills;
· Processing 300 temporary abandonment forms a month; and
· Likely to complete 1,800 mechanical
integrity tests this year.
From another state agency, Lynn Kent,
oil and gas section manager within the
Department of Revenue's Division of
Property Valuation, reported on three tax
appeal cases "that could result in some
policy changes."
She said a case involving River Rock
Energy that revolved around minimum
interest value was under appeal. "We
have a summary judgment that doesn't
really favor the counties," she remarked.
Alliance Drilling has a case pending
at the district court level, Kent continued,
seeking to classify a drilling rig as commercial and industrial equipment rather
than oil and gas property. Finally, she
said, a case that involves several issues
relating to valuing commercial saltwater
disposal wells is ready to go before the
State Board of Tax Appeals.

the $50 range," he surmised.
The oil and gas industry does have
some leverage in the discussion, Bleakley
intimated, in that changing filing fees requires legislative approval.

New Executive Director Tom Palace delivers his report at the Eastern Kansas
Oil & Gas Association's annual meeting,
Oct. 2-4 at the Prairie Band Casino Convention Center in Mayetta, Ks. In addition
to updating members on the association's legislative priorities, Palace encouraged them to get involved in the
legislative process, emphasizing the importance of developing personal relationships with lawmakers.

Register Of Deeds Filing Fee
Another key issue for EKOGA, Bleakley offered, is a proposal by the state's
register of deeds association to raise
county filing fees significantly. He recalled
that in 2015, the state legislature eliminated
the mortgage registration tax, which resulted in a loss of revenue for many
counties. "For the past three years, (registers of deeds) have been stepping up
recording fees," he observed.
Today, recording fees run $21.00 for
the first page and $17 for each additional
page. Under its "predictable fees" plan,
Bleakley said, the register of deeds association is proposing counties charge a
flat $75 for filings between one and 20
pages long, and $15 for each additional
page thereafter.
Reflecting that most oil and gas industry
filings are one or two pages-and certainly
fewer than five-"A $75 fee every time
we walk in the door is prohibitive," Bleakley contended.
He said EKOGA's counterproposal
suggested a flat $25 for filings up to five
pages, $50 for up to 10 pages, $75 for up
to 15 and $100 for up to 20, with a $5
per-page fee for anything above that.
"That probably will catch about everything
we do in the $25 (category), and especially

116 THE AMERICAN OIL & GAS REPORTER

Member Involvement
The filing fees help illustrate the importance of talking with lawmakers, emphasized Palace. "Your help is going to be
vital," he told EKOGA members. "Legislators are more interested in their constituents
than professional mouthpieces. (Lobbyists)
can talk all we want, but we need you to
come to the table. It is like the activists,
who are making headway. We have to stop
it through your involvement."
A good way to begin, Eberhart suggested, is to attend the oil and gas industry
breakfast Jan. 23 in Topeka.
Palace described the event as a relaxed
atmosphere for oilmen to visit with their
representatives. "It is important for them
to see you there," he insisted, reflecting
that lawmakers tended to reflect the views
of constituents who reached out to them.
"We have some very misinformed legislators who are siding with these activists,"
he warned.
Eberhart remarked that while Palace
had developed relations with legislators
in Topeka, "We also have relationships
locally. So go to breakfast with them; go
to lunch with them. Make it personal.
Make sure they understand we aren't 'big
oil.' We are family-owned businesses. We
hire people in the areas they represent.
Make sure they know we have regulations
from the KCC that allow us to operate,
but they also make us operate safely. We
don't need more regulations.
"The only way we are going to accomplish that is by each and every one
of us talking with people," he charged.
For any EKOGA members wanting
to meet with a legislator, Palace offered,
"I am happy to set that up in Topeka or
your home area. Also, if you know a legislator personally, I would like to know
so that during the session, we can work
on whatever issue may arise."
Legislative Preview
Turning to legislative issues, Palace
noted that this year, the industry was
able to turn back misguided surfaceowner legislation as well as several antiinjection-well bills that included restricting
injection volumes and well locations, instituting new fees on injection wells, and
requiring liability insurance for induced

American Oil and Gas Reporter - November 2018

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