§9-17-153. Protection against pollution and escape of gas; property rights.

(a) The board shall issue such orders, rules and regulations as may be necessary for the purpose of protecting any such storage facility against pollution, invasion, and the escape or migration of gas therefrom, including such necessary orders, rules and regulations as may pertain to the drilling into or through such storage facility.

(b) Any and all hydrocarbons which are within the storage facility on May 21, 1992 and at all times thereafter and which have been acquired by the storage operator by condemnation or otherwise and any and all gas injected into said facility by the storage operator shall be deemed the property of the storage operator, his heirs, successors and assigns, and in no event shall such hydrocarbons or injected gas be subject to the right of the owner of the surface of the lands or of any mineral interest therein under which such storage facility shall lie or be adjacent to or of any person other than the storage operator, his heirs, successors and assigns, to produce, take, reduce to possession, waste or otherwise interfere with or exercise any control thereover.

(Acts 1992, No. 92-564, p. 1172, §4.)