West Virginia Code Chapter 55. Actions, Suits and Arbitration; Judicial Sale § 55-12A-7. When special commissioner may convey title in mineral interest to surface owner; form of deed; final report of special Commissioner; unknown owners; transfer of funds; rulemaking

(b) The special Commissioner’s deed may be made in the following form, or to the same effect:

This deed, made the ________day of ________________, 19_____, between ____________________, special Commissioner, grantor, and _________________________, grantee,

Witnesseth, that whereas, grantor, in pursuance of the authority vested in him or her by an order of the circuit court of ________ county, West Virginia, entered on the ______day of __________, 19___, in civil action no._____ therein pending, to convey the mineral interest more particularly described below to the grantee,

Now, therefore, this deed witnesseth: That grantor grants unto grantee, subject to the special commissioner’s lease mentioned below, and further subject to all other liens and encumbrances of record, that certain mineral interest in __________ county, West Virginia, more particularly described in the cited order of the circuit court as follows: (here insert the description in the order); and being (here specify “all” or “a portion”) of the mineral interest described in that certain special commissioner’s lease dated _____, 19____, of record in the office of the clerk of ________ county, in _____book_____, at page _____.

Witness the following signature.

_________________________

Special Commissioner

(c) Upon the delivery of the deed or deeds and the payment or payments as directed in subsection (a) of this section, the special commissioner shall make a final report to the court; and upon approval thereof, the court shall order the discharge of the special commissioner's bond.

(d) Prior to the delivery of the special commissioner’s deed, no deed or will from a surface owner to another shall sever ownership of the surface as such from ownership of any benefits under this article. The provisions of any deed or will granting or reserving an interest purporting to create such a severance shall be void.

(e) The amendments to this section made during the 2020 regular session of the Legislature which provided for certain accumulated proceeds to be payable to the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund, shall take effect July 1, 2020, and any funds shall be transferred that have been unclaimed for seven years or more after the date of the special Commissioner’s lease whether or not the special Commissioner’s lease was signed before or after the effective date of the amendments to this section.

(f) The Department of Environmental Protection may propose rules for legislative approval in accordance with § 29A-3-1 et seq. of this code to carry out the provisions of this section relating to transfer of funds to the Oil and Gas Reclamation Fund.