Subsurface rights of a landowner do not include which of the following?

The correct answer specifies that the subsurface rights of a landowner do not include the right to drill at a slant onto a neighbor's property. This reflects the legal principles surrounding property rights and the respect for the boundaries of adjacent ownership. Drilling at an angle onto a neighbor's land can infringe upon that neighbor's property rights and potentially lead to disputes or legal actions. Property laws generally protect landowners' rights to the surface and subsurface resources beneath their land, but these rights are limited by the need to respect the property of others.

In contrast, the other options represent rights that a landowner typically retains regarding subsurface activities. For instance, landowners generally have the right to drill vertically for minerals because that activity is confined to their property and does not interfere with adjacent property rights. The extraction of groundwater is also a right typically retained by landowners unless limited by specific regulations. Additionally, landowners often have the right to lease mineral rights to third parties, allowing them to profit from resources beneath their land without giving up ownership.

Therefore, the focus on property boundaries and respect for neighboring land clearly supports the reasoning that drilling at a slant onto a neighbor's property is not included in subsurface rights.