California Environmental Quality Act: geothermal exploratory projects: geothermal technology pilot projects: Geologic Energy Management Division., the official text

An act to amend Section 21065.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to geothermal resources.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if the lead agency finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.
Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation. Existing law requires the division to be the lead agency for all geothermal exploratory projects for purposes of CEQA, except as provided. Existing law defines “geothermal exploratory project,” for purposes of CEQA, in part as a project composed of not more than 6 wells and associated drilling and testing equipment whose chief and original purpose is to evaluate the presence and characteristics of geothermal resources. Existing law requires wells included within a geothermal exploratory project to be located at least 12 mile from geothermal development wells that are capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities.
This bill would expressly include as part of a geothermal exploratory project, among other things, equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs. The bill would specify that the above-described 12 mile limit is measured from any point along the wellhead location and well course and would exclude certain wells connecting to geothermal reservoirs from this limit if written consent is provided by the owner and operator of the geothermal development well that is producing in commercial quantities, as specified.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.
Section 21065.5 of the Public Resources Code is amended to read:
21065.5.
(a) “Geothermal exploratory project” means a project as defined in Section 21065 composed of not more than six wells and associated drilling and testing equipment, including equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs, temporary roads, electric distribution lines, and infrastructure to provide power for drilling and testing equipment, whose chief and original purpose is to evaluate the presence and characteristics of geothermal resources before commencement of a geothermal field development project as defined in Section 65928.5 of the Government Code. Wells included within a geothermal exploratory project shall be located at least one-half mile, measured from any point along the wellhead location and well course, including the bottom of the wells’ interaction point, from geothermal development wells that are capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities, except wells connecting to geothermal reservoirs whose permeability or capacity to allow the flow of geothermal fluids, including water, has been increased from its natural or original state through stimulation, horizontal drilling, the use of closed-loop configurations, or other techniques if the owner and operator of the geothermal development well that is capable of producing in commercial quantities provides written consent for its location within that one-half mile.
(b) Written consent pursuant to subdivision (a) shall be executed by a responsible officer of the owner or operator, as applicable. The owner and operator of a geothermal development well capable of producing in commercial quantities may require, as conditions of providing written consent, any or all of the following:
(1) The geothermal exploratory project proponent demonstrates, through ongoing monitoring, that the project will not result in degradation of existing commercial geothermal resources, including no measurable decline in reservoir pressure, temperature, or steam output, and no induced seismicity exceeding site-specific thresholds, as verified by a third-party licensed geoscience firm approved by the Geologic Energy Management Division.
(2) The geothermal exploratory project proponent demonstrates that the project will not impose any undue harm to the productive capability of any geothermal project operating under a power plant license approved by the State Energy Resources Conservation and Development Commission or require any environmental mitigation to be imposed upon the holder of the license to operate in compliance with the project’s conditions of certification.
(3) The geothermal exploratory project proponent accepts all costs associated with safeguarding existing geothermal resources from any loss of reservoir pressure, temperature, or steam output and contamination of the reservoir with unnatural fluids, and provides adequate financial assurances, including a bond or escrow fund sufficient to cover any required remediation, compensation, or infrastructure repair.
(c) This section does not alter the Geologic Energy Management Division’s discretionary authority over well permitting pursuant to Chapter 4 (commencing with Section 3700) of Division 3.