Alaska Administrative Code

(a) An operator shall file an application for a geothermal exploration permit before drilling shallow holes for purposes of measuring heat flow or temperature gradient. (b) The application fee prescribed by 11 AAC 05.140 must accompany each application for an exploration permit. …

The operator shall submit a report to the commissioner within 60 days after completion of geothermal exploration and include the following information: (1) final hole designation and location; (2) a drilling log noting any water table, aquifers, and sale and mineral deposits enco…

The permittee may be required to furnish a personal or corporate surety bond acceptable to the commissioner and conditioned upon compliance with all the terms of the permit. The commissioner will determine the amount of the bond based on the scope of the activity planned. Operati…

(a) Unless authorized under 11 AAC 87.030, a drilling permit is required before the drilling, redrilling, or deepening of any well and before the reentry of an abandoned well. However, in an emergency, oral approval by the commissioner of any operation covered by 11 AAC 87.070 - …

(a) An applicant for a drilling permit shall file an indemnity bond for each well drilled, redrilled, or deepened, or a statewide bond for the drilling, redrilling, or deepening of one or more wells on the same lease or unit area. The bond must be in the amount the commissioner d…

An operator wishing to relinquish the role of operator shall notify the commissioner in writing. The newly designated operator shall notify the commissioner in writing of acceptance of the obligations as operator and shall furnish a bond as provided in 11 AAC 87.080. Notes 11 AAC…

(a) Every well and every operating geothermal drilling rig must be identified by a sign posted in a conspicuous place on or near the well. The sign must be of durable construction, large enough to be legible under normal conditions at a distance of 50 feet, and maintained in legi…

(a) An operator of a well shall keep detailed and accurate drilling and well logs, core records, production and inspection records, and, if taken, appropriately bagged and identified samples of drill cuttings. (b) The logs for geothermal wells must show the lithologic characteris…

(a) A proposed casing and cementing program must be included in the application for a drilling permit. A casing program must be designed to(1) handle stress imposed by the maximum expected temperature and pressure and the physical effects of produced fluids and gases on casing an…

(a) All necessary precautions must be taken to keep all wells under control at all times. The following general procedures must be followed, unless waived or amended by the commissioner: (1) Blowout preventers and related well control equipment must be installed, tested immediate…

The commissioner will approve a proposed well spacing and production rate program or prescribe modifications determined necessary for proper development and conservation of geothermal resources to qualify a proposed well spacing and production rate program for approval, consideri…

(a) Any well which is not intentionally deviated must be surveyed to determine the inclination from the vertical with surveys starting at 500 feet and no more than 500 feet apart to total depth. The commissioner will, in his discretion, require a complete continuous multi-shot di…

(a) Well abandonment must be done in accordance with the requirements of this section and 11 AAC 87.170 - 11 AAC 87.190. However, the commissioner will, in his discretion, modify these requirements as he considers necessary. The commissioner will, in his discretion, witness aband…

All geothermal wells must be plugged before abandonment, using the following procedures: (1) The hole must be filled with mud-laden fluid from bottom to top of the hole with the exception of intervals required to be plugged with cement. (2) For each producing formation, a cement …

If a well drilled for geothermal resources is to be plugged and abandoned but may safely be used as a freshwater well and this use is desired by the landowner, the well need not be cemented above the required plug set below the freshwater as required by 11 AAC 87.170. The freshwa…

(a) A well is considered to be completed 30 days after(1) drilling and testing operations have ceased and the well is capable of producing a geothermal resource; (2) the well has begun to produce geothermal resources, unless drilling operations are resumed before the end of the 3…

(a) All producing wells must be measured, using standard equipment and industry practice, to determine quality and quantity of geothermal production. (b) The operator of a producing geothermal well shall file a monthly statement of geothermal resources production with the commiss…

The commissioner will, in his discretion, authorize the operator to commingle the production from different wells or leases subject to conditions the commissioner considers necessary. Notes 11 AAC 87.220 Eff. 5/8/83, Register 86 Authority:AS 41.06.040 State regulations are update…

(a) A well drilled for the purpose of injection of fluids into a reservoir must be drilled in compliance with 11 AAC 87.070 - 11 AAC 87.190. (b) A permit must be obtained from the commissioner before any fluids are injected into any underground reservoir. The application for such…

All wellheads, separators, pumps, manifolds, mufflers, valves, pipelines, and other equipment used for the production of geothermal resources must be maintained in good condition in order to safeguard life, health, property and natural resources. Notes 11 AAC 87.240 Eff. 5/8/83, …

An inspection program to detect corrosion damage to wellhead equipment, pipelines, and subsurface casing and tubing must be periodically conducted by the operator in order to safeguard life, health, property, and natural resources. Records of all inspections must be made and file…

The commissioner will require tests of equipment and remedial work necessary to prevent damage to life, health, property, and natural resources, to protect geothermal reservoirs from damage, and to prevent the infiltration of detrimental substances into underground or surface wat…

(a) Forms must be submitted in accordance with the following:(1) An Application for Drilling Permit must be submitted for each well. (2) A bond must be submitted before drilling each well unless a blanket bond is filed. (3) A Monthly Report of Drilling and Workover Operations mus…

In this chapter, (1) "blowout" means a sudden or violent uncontrolled escape of fluids; (2) "department" means the Department of Natural Resources; (3) "commissioner" means the Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources or a designee; (4) "psig" means pounds per square i…

This chapter applies to 11 AAC 82 - 11 AAC 86 unless specifically provided otherwise by the sections dealing with the subject of the application, filing or payment. Notes 11 AAC 88.100 Eff. 9/5/74, Register 51 Authority:AS 38.05.020(b) State regulations are updated quarterly; we …

All applications filed under 11 AAC 82 - 11 AAC 86 must comply with any requirements imposed by the regulations dealing with the subject of the applications, and must (1) be typewritten or printed in ink; (2) be signed by the applicant; (3) be filed by mail, or personal delivery,…

At any time before a lease or permit is issued, the application may be withdrawn in whole or in part. If withdrawn in part, the application as modified must meet all the requirements of the applicable laws and regulations. Notes 11 AAC 88.110 Eff. 9/5/74, Register 51 Authority:AS…

The director may require any additional information, in accordance with AS 38.05.035(a)(8), necessary to consider an applicant's, claimant's, permittee's, or lessee's compliance with statute and regulations, including financial in form at ion, qualifications, business structure, …

(a) Applications and documents filed with omissions or errors give the applicant no priority if (1) the land description is insufficient to identify the land or the description does not comply with the compactness requirements; (2) the total acreage exceeds the maximum establishe…

(a) Filing hours for payments and applications are from 10:00 a.m. to the end of posted office hours on business days, which are Mondays through Fridays, holidays excepted. (b) Filing hours for all documents to be filed for record in the recording district in which the claim or s…

(a) Payments are timely if an affected lease or permit is identified by an Alaska Division of Lands' serial number, and is (1) delivered at any of the division offices designated by the director as "filing offices" during filing hours within the time allowed by any notice, decisi…

Filings and payments may be made by mail, personal delivery, or through a department electronic mail, filing, or payment system if available, unless provided by the section dealing with the subject of the filing or payment. Notes 11 AAC 88.135 Eff. 9/5/74, Register 51; am 12/26/2…

(a) Any notice which the director gives to any person must be in writing and must be delivered in person or mailed by trackable mail service to the person at the person's address of record with the division. (b) Any person may file his current mailing address with the division in…

(a) If an application on which rental has been submitted is rejected or withdrawn in whole or in part, the first year's rental will be refunded in whole or in pro rata part on an acreage basis. (b) Notwithstanding any other provision of 11 AAC 82 - 11 AAC 88, no refund will be ma…

The division shall maintain a mailing list for the purpose of sending general notices, orders and other information which the director determines to be of public interest regarding mineral activities of the division to persons who file a written request to be put on a list. Notes…

(a) A village corporation will be given notice under AS 38.05.945(c)(3) if it owns or has selected land within six miles of the state land proposed for disposal. (b) A community will be given notice under AS 38.05.945(c)(4) if land within its boundaries is no more than six miles …

An eligible person affected by a decision issued under 11 AAC 82 - 11 AAC 86 may appeal that decision in accordance with 11 AAC 02. Notes 11 AAC 88.155 Eff. 9/5/74, Register 51; am 11/7/90, Register 116; am 9/19/2001, Register 159 Authority:AS 38.05.020 AS 44.37.011 State regulat…

Notes 11 AAC 88.160 Repealed 11/7/90. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compa…

Notes 11 AAC 88.165 Repealed 11/7/90. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compa…

Notes 11 AAC 88.170 Repealed 11/7/90. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compa…

Notes 11 AAC 88.175 Repealed 11/7/90. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compa…

Notes 11 AAC 88.180 Repealed 11/7/90. State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison features will be added as we have more versions to compa…

As used in 11 AAC 82 - 11 AAC 88 and unless the context clearly requires a different meaning or unless otherwise defined in these chapters, (1) "adjacent" means touching or lying in close proximity, as opposed to "contiguous" which requires a common boundary; (2) "ADL number" mea…

Notes 11 AAC 89.010 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.015 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.017 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.020 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.030 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.040 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prior quarterly release. More comparison …

Notes 11 AAC 89.050 Eff. 9/22/95, Register 135; repealed 8/10/2017,Register 223, October 2017 Authority: AS 41.09.010 AS 41.09.020 State regulations are updated quarterly; we currently have two versions available. Below is a comparison between our most recent version and the prio…