Summary of SB10-174

Sponsors: Schwartz

Section 5 of the bill defines "direct use" as the utilization of geothermal resources for commercial, residential, agricultural, public facilities, or other energy needs other than the commercial production of electricity.
Sections 1 and 2 of the bill allow municipalities and counties to designate geothermal development as an activity of state interest under House Bill 74-1041, except for the direct use of such resources.
Sections 3 and 4 allocate federal mineral lease revenues derived from geothermal resource development to the geothermal resource leasing fund and authorize the executive director of the department of local affairs to distribute the revenues:

• To state agencies, school districts, and political subdivisions of the state affected by the development and production of geothermal resources primarily for use by such entities in planning for and providing facilities and services necessitated by such development and production; and
• Secondarily to such entities, in consultation with the governor's energy office, for the promotion of the development of geothermal energy resources. Section 6 specifies that the property right to the following types of geothermal resources are an incident of the ownership of the overlying surface:
  • Nontributary groundwater; and
  • Not nontributary groundwater.

Section 7 adopts the reasonable accommodation doctrine regarding relations between surface owners and geothermal resource developers.
Section 8 specifies that a permit from the state engineer is not required for the direct use of a horizontal, closed-loop geoexchange system that does not use a geothermal fluid, as established by the state engineer by rule.
Section 9 specifies that "material injury" includes an alteration in the temperature of water only if the alteration adversely affects a valid, prior geothermal right.
Sections 10 through 12 require geothermal energy facilities to be valued for the purpose of property taxation in the same manner in which wind or solar energy facilities are valued.

Status:

02/26/2010 Introduced In Senate - Assigned to Local Government and Energy
03/09/2010 Senate Committee on Local Government and Energy Refer Amended to Senate Committee of the Whole
03/12/2010 Senate Second Reading Laid Over Daily
03/16/2010 Senate Second Reading Passed with Amendments
03/17/2010 Senate Third Reading Laid Over Daily
03/18/2010 Senate Third Reading Passed with Amendments
03/19/2010 Introduced In House - Assigned to Local Government
04/06/2010 House Committee on Local Government Refer Unamended to House Committee of the Whole
04/09/2010 House Second Reading Passed
04/12/2010 House Third Reading Passed
04/20/2010 Signed by the President of the Senate
04/20/2010 Signed by the Speaker of the House
04/21/2010 Sent to the Governor
04/30/2010 Governor Action - Signed

Fiscal Note

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