West Virginia state regulatory program signed into law

Seneca Rocks, West Virginia (source: dancingnomad3 / flick, creative commons)

Gov. Jim Justice has signed into law House Bill 4098 which sets up a state regulatory program for geothermal energy in West Virginia. We had previously reported on the bill getting approval from the House Judiciary Committee of West Virginia Legislature.

HB 4098 gives regulatory oversight of geothermal energy development to the West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection (DEP). The DEP is tasked to create a permitting system for geothermal development, as well as specific rules for geothermal drilling and site reclamation after a well has been abandoned. The permitting system must take into consideration temperature levels and volumetric flow rates of potential resources.

It also grants ownership rights to geothermal resources to the owner of the surface property, unless there is clear documentation of severance of ownership.

Research being done by the West Virginia University, as we reported, was the stimulus that gave momentum to this legislation. The research will involve drilling a well to about 4500 meters depth to evaluate the potential for supplying geothermal heating to the university campus.

According to House Energy and Manufacturing Committee counsel Robert Akers, the permit for the university is the only one that will be pending initially under the newly established geothermal regulatory program.

Scope and penalties

Geothermal heating and cooling heat pump systems for private residential units, as well as any horizontal system less than 30 feet deep, will be excluded from DEP jurisdiction created by the new law. Instead, the lawmakers intend that the bill only be applied to systems with wells that are drilled thousands of feet underground.

The new law also allows the DEP to issue civil penalties ranging from USD 100 to 500 for each violation of the rules established by the bill.

Source: Charleston Gazette Mail