No lease executed under the authority of this Subpart shall be valid unless the agency obtains its approval by the State Mineral and Energy Board. The authority of the State Mineral and Energy Board shall be ministerial with regard to whether or not the agency has correctly followed the procedural steps in granting the lease in question, and discretionary with regard to whether or not the terms of the agency lease are in the best interest of the agency and the public which it serves. A lease made under the provisions of this Subpart which is not approved by the State Mineral and Energy Board and countersigned by the duly authorized officer of that body is null and void.
La. R.S. § 30:158