PIERRE, S.D. (AP) - South Dakota is turning to the court to settle an issue with a Texas company and the 40 natural gas wells it left behind after a drilling project fell idle several years ago.

The Argus Leader reports that the South Dakota Department of Environment and Natural Resources sued Houston-based Spyglass Cedar Creek on Monday.

The lawsuit requests the court to order Spyglass and its partners to bring the Harding County wells into compliance. The state also seeks $15.5 million in penalties, the same amount regulators levied against the company in March.

It comes after the state's multiple failed attempts to get Spyglass to resume production, plug the wells or request permission to abandon them.

State officials estimate it will cost almost $900,000 to plug the wells near Buffalo. Spyglass drilled between 2006 and 2010.

Information from: Argus Leader, http://www.argusleader.com

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