Ch. 778                                          LAWS OF MARYLAND

(b) The Department shall inspect, read, or test any meters,
through which natural gas is being measured upon the request of
any lessor, lessee, operator, or royalty owner from whose land,
lease, or royalty interest, natural gas is being produced.

6-114.

Any person who willfully violates any provision of this
subtitle is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction in a
court of competent jurisdiction is subject to a fine not
exceeding $1,000 for each offense with costs imposed in the
discretion of the court.

SECTION 2. AND BE IT FURTHER ENACTED, That this Act shall
take effect July 1, 1988.

Approved May 27, 1988.

CHAPTER 778
(House Bill 297)

AN ACT concerning

Oil and Gas - Chesapeake Bay, Its Tributaries,

and Other State Waters
Leasing of Areas Beneath State Lands and Waters

FOR the purpose of requiring the Board of Public Works at certain
times to select the Secretary of Natural Resources to
prepare certain statements of the environmental, fiscal, and

economic impact of a proposed lease in certain State waters;
providing for the preparation, filing, public inspection,
and content of those impact statements; prohibiting the
Board of Public Works from issuing a lease in certain State
waters under certain conditions; requiring certain approval
by the Chesapeake Bay Critical Area Commission before
granting a lease under this Act; requiring an applicant for
a lease in certain State waters to adhere to certain
criteria and permit conditions; providing for inspections of
certain facilities; authorizing the Board of Public Works to
lease certain areas beneath lands or waters of the State for
certain purposes; authorizing the Board of Public Works to
adopt certain regulations concerning award of certain
leases, nomination of certain areas of the State for
possible leasing for oil and gas production or reserve,
prohibition against leasing certain areas for oil and gas
production and reserve, and recovery of certain costs from
certain persons; requiring the Board of Public Works, after

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