Illinois Statutes Chapter 20. Executive Branch § 801/10-5. Office of Mines and Minerals

(a) The Department of Natural Resources shall have within it an Office of Mines and Minerals, which shall be responsible for the functions previously vested in the Department of Mines and Minerals and the Abandoned Mined Lands Reclamation Council and such other related functions and responsibilities as may be provided by law.

(b) The Office of Mines and Minerals shall have a Director and a Manager.

The Director of the Office of Mines and Minerals shall be a person thoroughly conversant with the theory and practice of coal mining but who is not identified with either coal operators or coal miners. The Director of the Office of Mines and Minerals must hold a certificate of competency as a mine examiner issued by the Illinois Mining Board.

The Manager of the Office of Mines and Minerals shall be a person who is thoroughly conversant with the theory and practice of coal mining in the State of Illinois.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of this Act or any other law to the contrary, the Department of Natural Resources may have within it an Office of Oil and Gas Resource Management, which may be responsible for the functions previously vested in the Department of Mines and Minerals relating to oil and gas resources, such other related functions and responsibilities as may be provided by law, and other functions and responsibilities at the discretion of the Department of Natural Resources.