Leavell v. Department of Natural Resources

State: Illinois

Court: 5th District Appellate

Docket No: 5-08-0298 Rel

Case Date: 01/19/2010

Preview:Rule 23 order filed December 4, 2009; Motion to publish granted January 19, 2010, corrected February 9, 2010.

CONSOLIDATED NO. 5-08-0298 IN THE APPELLATE COURT OF ILLINOIS

FIFTH DISTRICT ___________________________________________________________________________ EVA LOVENE LEAVELL, d/b/a L & L SUPPLY COMPANY, ) Appeal from the ) Circuit Court of ) White County. Plaintiff-Appellant, ) ) v. ) Nos. 01-MR-4, 02-MR-8, 04-MR-4, ) 04-MR-5, & 04-L-2 THE DEPARTMENT OF ) NATURAL RESOURCES, ) Honorable ) David K. Frankland, Defendant-Appellee. ) Judge, presiding. ___________________________________________________________________________ JUSTICE STEWART delivered the opinion of the court: The plaintiff, Eva Lovene Leavell, doing business as L & L Supply Company, operated approximately 90 oil wells located in Crawford County, Edwards County, Hamilton County, Wayne County, and White County, Illinois. The defendant, the Illinois Department of Natural Resources (the Department), is charged with the duty of enforcing the Illinois Oil and Gas Act (the Act) (225 ILCS 725/1 et seq. (West 2000)) and the rules, regulations, and orders promulgated pursuant to the Act. 225 ILCS 725/3 (West 2000). This consolidated appeal involves appeals from judgments in favor of the Department in five separate cases filed in the White County circuit court. Each of the five cases involved oil wells that had been operated by Leavell and that were found to be abandoned in various administrative hearings. In each case, Leavell raised constitutional and statutory issues concerning the notice that the Department had given her of the administrative hearings that were conducted to determine whether the wells were abandoned. For the following reasons, we affirm.

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I. Cause Nos. 01-MR-4, 02-M R-8, and 04-MR-5 All the cases in this consolidated appeal involve various administrative hearings that resulted in a finding that the wells Leavell operated were abandoned for various reasons. The Act requires oil wells to be plugged when they are abandoned, and it gives the Department the power to determine what constitutes an abandonment. 225 ILCS 725/19 (West 2000). Regulations established by the Department are codified in the Illinois Administrative Code (the Code). Section 240.1600 of Title 62 of the Code (62 Ill. Adm. Code

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