HAR 13-183 — RULES ON LEASING AND DRILLING OF GEOTHERMAL RESOURCES (Subchapter 1 to 13)

(a) All mining leases shall be subject to the condition that the lessee shall, in conducting exploratory development and producing operations, use all reasonable precautions to prevent waste and conserve and provide for optimum use of geothermal resources and other natural resour…

(a) The lessee shall remove any derrick, equipment, or facilities within sixty days after lessee has ceased making use thereof in its operations. (b) All permanent operating sites shall be landscaped or fenced to screen them from public view. The landscaping or fencing shall be a…

Any authorized representative or employee of the department shall have free access and right of entry to all wells, producing facilities and their appurtenances for the purpose of inspecting or testing wells and equipment for the purpose of determining compliance with these rules…

In the event of any disaster and pollution, or likelihood of either, having or capable of having a detrimental effect on public health, safety, welfare, or the environment caused in any manner or resulting from operations under a lease, the lessee shall suspend any testing, drill…

The lessee shall be diligent in the exploration or development of the geothermal resources on the leased lands. Failure to perform diligent operations may subject the lease to termination by the board. Diligent operations mean exploratory or development operations on the leased l…

(a) Lessee shall at all times maintain full and accurate records of production and payments relating to lessee's operations and activities upon and in connection with the leased lands. All books and records of lessee pertaining to or necessary in determining royalty payments shal…

Upon the revocation, surrender, or expiration of any mining lease, the lessor or surface owner may require the lessee to restore the lands covered by the lease to their original condition insofar as it is reasonable to do so within ninety days thereof, except for the roads, excav…

Any person who has drilled, is drilling, or proposes to drill any geothermal well shall designate on forms provided by the department an agent who shall be a resident of the State and upon whom may be served all orders, notices, and processes of the department or any court of law…

Prior to drilling, modifying, modifying use, or abandoning of any well, the operator of the well shall file with the chairperson an appropriate application for a permit to any work and shall obtain approval thereof. Each application for a permit shall be made on forms provided by…

A supplementary application shall be filed with the chairperson if there is any contemplated change in the original approved application. Written approval of the change shall be received from the chairperson before the change of work is started. In an emergency or when deemed nec…

Each application for a permit to drill, modify, modify use or abandon a well shall be accompanied by a non-refundable filing fee in the amount of $100. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-67 [Eff. JUN 22 1981] (Auth: HRS 182-14) (Imp: HRS §§ 182-4, 182-5)

(a) Any person who engages in the drilling, redrilling, deepening, maintaining, operating, or abandoning of any well shall file with the chairperson prior to the activity, an indemnity bond in the amount set by the board to protect the interests of the State, but in no case shall…

(a) Any well drilled for the discovery or production of geothermal resources or for injection of geothermal resources shall be located more than one hundred feet from the outer boundary of the parcel of land on which the well is situated, or more than one hundred feet from a publ…

An exploration permit is required to conduct any exploration activity on state or reserved lands for evidence of geothermal resources. Exploration activity includes, but is not limited to, geophysical operations, drilling of shallow temperature test holes less than five hundred f…

(a) Where the surface of a parcel of land is unsuitable for drilling, a directionally drilled (other than a vertical direction) well may be located upon another parcel which may or may not be contiguous. The location of a well shall be not less than twenty-five feet from the oute…

(a) All wells shall be cased in a manner to protect and prevent or to minimize damage to the environment, ground water resources, geothermal resources, life, health, and property. The permanent well head completion equipment and all casing strings reaching the surface shall provi…

The temperature of the return drilling mud shall be monitored continuously during drilling of the surface casing portion of the drill hole. Either a continuous temperature monitoring device shall be installed and maintained in a working condition, or the temperature shall be inst…

All wells, except observation wells, shall be logged with an induction electrical log, or other approved log from total depth to the bottom of the conductor pipe before installing casing, except in the case where air is used as the drilling medium. This requirement may vary from …

(a) Blowout-prevention equipment ("BOPE") capable of shutting-in the well during any operation shall be installed on the surface casing tested and shall be maintained ready for use at all times. BOPE pressure tests may be observed by the chairperson or his designated representati…

A well is considered to be completed thirty days after drilling operations have ceased and the well is capable of producing a geothermal resource, or thirty days after it has commenced to produce a geothermal resource, unless drilling operations are resumed before the end of the …

(a) The chairperson shall require the well tests or remedial work as necessary to prevent and minimize damage to life, health, property, natural resources, geothermal resources, ground water resources, and the environment. Tests may include casing tests, cementing tests, directio…

Injection wells are those wells used for disposal of geothermal waste fluids, for the augmentation of geothermal reservoir fluids, for maintenance of reservoir pressures, or for any other purpose authorized by the chairperson. New wells may be drilled or old wells may be modified…

Prior to modification of existing wells for injection purposes, an appropriate application for permit shall be filed with the chairperson together with filing fee, as required in § 13-183-65. Modification work shall not commence until a permit has been issued by the chairperson. …

(a) Surveillance of injection wells shall be necessary in order to establish that all injection effluent is confined to the intended zone of injection. When an owner or operator proposes to drill a new well or modify an existing well the owner or operator shall be required to dem…

Any person may apply for an exploration permit on any state or reserved land by submitting a written application to the board containing the following: (1) The name and address of the person, association, or corporation for whom the operations will be conducted and of the person …

(a) All wells and their appurtenances such as well head, separators, pumps, mufflers, scrubbers, manifolds, valves, and pipelines shall be operated and maintained by the operator in good working condition in order to prevent unacceptable pollution, waste and the loss of or damage…

The operator of any well proposed to be abandoned shall file with the chairperson an application for permit to abandon, prior to the abandonment. The operator's proposed plans for abandonment shall be subject to approval and revision prior to the issuance of a permit by the chair…

(a) The operator of any well shall promptly plug and abandon any well that is deserted, not in use, is deemed not to be potentially useful, is wasting geothermal or ground water resources, or is irreparably damaged. No well shall be plugged and abandoned until the manner and meth…

(a) Cement used to plug any well, except that cement or concrete used for surface plugging, shall be placed in the hole by pumping through drill pipe or tubing. The cement shall contain a high temperature resistant admix unless this requirement is waived by the chairperson the pa…

(a) The operator of any geothermal well shall keep, or cause to be kept, a careful and accurate log, core record, and history of the drilling of the well, including: (1) Lithology and depths of formations encountered; (2) Cores; (3) Water-bearing and geothermal heat-bearing strat…

Within six months after the completion of any well or completion of any deepening, redrilling, plugging, altering, or abandonment work, the operator shall file with the department of land and natural resources in Honolulu, Hawaii, the following well reports on forms provided by t…

The operator of any well which is producing geothermal resources or by-products or is being used for injection purposes shall file with the chairperson on or before the thirtieth day after the end of each month a report on the amount of geothermal resources produced, sold, and us…

(a) Protection of the environment includes responsibility of the operator of any well to: (1) Conduct exploration, drilling, and development operations in a manner deemed necessary by the chairperson to provide maximum protection of the environment; (2) Rehabilitate disturbed lan…

Each application shall be accompanied by a non-refundable filing fee in the amount of $100. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-9 [Eff. JUN 22 1981] (Auth: HRS § 182-14) (Imp: HRS §§ 182-6, 171-6)