Section 324.61003 - Divestiture of severed oil and gas rights; reuniting oil and gas rights with surface rights; deed restriction; reversion of subsurface rights(1) The department shall implement procedures in compliance with this part that allow the department, after consultation with the natural resources trust fund board and approval of the natural resources commission, to divest itself of severed oil and gas rights and reunite the oil and gas rights with the surface rights. The department is not required to divest itself of oil and gas rights to land that is in production or is leased or permitted for production, or to land which the department determines has unusual or sensitive environmental features that should be reserved by the state and maintained in an undeveloped state, or to land which the department may consider offering for exchange to consolidate inholdings within management areas.(2) When the department transfers oil and gas rights under this part, the department shall include a deed restriction that restricts the oil and gas rights from being severed from the surface rights in the future. If the landowner severs the subsurface rights from the surface rights, the subsurface rights revert to this state.Add. 1998, Act 117, Imd. Eff. 6/9/1998 .