(a) When a proposed gas well or well cluster is located above an active coal mine, then the owner of the coal mine may, within ten days from the receipt by the department of the plat and notice required by the Oil and Gas Act,¹ file objections, in writing, to such proposed drilling with the department, setting out in detail the ground or grounds upon which the objections are based.

(b) If any objection is filed, the department shall notify the permit applicant of the objections and shall provide the permit applicant with a copy of the written objections.

(c) In the event the well operator and the objecting coal owner or operator are unable to agree upon a drilling location, their differences shall be submitted to a panel consisting of one person selected by the objecting coal owners or operators, a second person selected by the permit applicant and a third selected by the other two. Each party shall pay the fee of the panel member it selects and one-half the fee of the third member. The panel shall convene a meeting within ten days of a request to do so by either the permit applicant or the objecting coal owner or operator.

(d) The parties shall submit their positions to the panel within such time as the panel prescribes. The panel shall receive such written or oral information as it deems appropriate. Based on the information it receives, the panel shall choose the location, if any, on the permit applicant's tract which:

In determining what location allows for the maximum recovery of gas and removal of coal, the panel shall weigh the additional cost, including the value of any oil or gas which will be lost, of drilling in a location other than the one designated by the permit applicant against the costs, including the value of coal which will be lost, which will be incurred by the objecting coal owner or operator by allowing the drilling to take place at the location designated by the permit applicant.

(e) The panel shall make its recommendation within ten days of the close of the meeting and shall immediately submit it to the department, to the collective bargaining representative of the employees of the coal operator and to the parties to this proceeding. Within 20 days from receipt of a panel's recommendation, the department shall proceed to issue a permit with the location of the gas well as recommended by the panel unless the department, pursuant to its authority under the Oil and Gas Act, has determined that the well cannot be safely drilled at such location. When such a determination is made by the department, it shall so notify the panel, stating its reasons for the rejection, and direct the panel to submit another recommendation within ten days for an alternate location of the gas well on such tract of land. Upon issuance of the permit, the location as determined by the department shall be indicated on the plat on file with the department, and the distance and direction of the new location, if any, from the original location shall be shown and the plat shall be filed and become a permanent record.

(f) Decisions of the panel shall be based on a majority vote.