North Dakota Century Code Title 47. Property § 47-31-09. Injection of substances to facilitate production of oil, gas, or other minerals

1. This chapter may not be construed to limit the rights or dominance of a mineral estate to drill or recomplete a well under chapter 38-08. Injection or migration of substances into pore space for disposal operations, for secondary or tertiary oil recovery operations, or otherwise to facilitate production of oil, gas, or other minerals is not unlawful and, by itself, does not constitute trespass, nuisance, or other tort.

2. This section and chapter 38-08 may not be construed to impair the obligations of any contract for use of the surface estate for disposal operations, provided the contract was entered before the effective date of the unit approved by the commission pursuant to sections 38-08-09 through 38-08-09.17, and provided the disposal well is located within the unit area of the approved unit.

3. This section and chapter 38-08 may not be construed to allow the operator of a disposal well where the contract has expired after the effective date of the unit approved by the commission pursuant to sections 38-08-09 through 38-08-09.17 to claim the surface owner should not be compensated as if the new contract for the disposal well on which the contract has expired had been entered after the effective date of the approved unit.

4. The owner of the surface estate upon which the surface location of a disposal well is located does not lose, and may not be deemed to have lost, a claim for trespass, nuisance, or other tort if the operator of the disposal well commences or continues operations of the disposal well in violation of subsections 2 or 3.