North Dakota Century Code Title 38. Mining and Gas and Oil Production § 38-12.1-01. Legislative findings

1. The discovery and evaluation of coal or commercial leonardite deposits is advantageous in an industrial society.

2. Coal or commercial leonardite occurs hidden under the ground and must be searched for by diverse techniques, and that the search, exploration, or prospecting for coal or commercial leonardite is a necessary and expensive prerequisite to coal or commercial leonardite extraction and for land use planning in coal-bearing or commercial leonardite-bearing areas.

3. It is to the benefit of society to allow coal or commercial leonardite exploration and to require the information generated from exploration to be available to the office of the state geologist.