Hawaii Administrative Code

(a) Each application for a geothermal mining lease shall be accompanied by the following exhibits: (1) An accurate description and map of the land desired to be leased. (2) A description of the known or potential geothermal resource desired to be leased for exploration and develo…

Any person violating the provisions of this chapter shall be punished as provided in §§ 178-7 and 182-17, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-4 [Eff. JUN 22 1981] (Auth: HRS § 182-14) (Imp: HRS §§ 178-7, 182-17)

Public notice of lease applications shall be as provided in § 182-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-40 [Eff. JUN 22 1981] (Auth: HRS § 182-14) (Imp: HRS § 182-4)

Within twelve weeks from the date of the first publication of notice of a lease application for state land or as soon as practicable thereafter, the board may hold a public hearing to decide whether or not to lease the land and if deemed appropriate may modify the area sought to …

If the board determines that the existing or reasonably foreseeable future use of the land being sought for lease would be of greater benefit to the State than the proposed mining use of the land, it may disapprove the application for a mining lease of the land. Notes Haw. Code R…

If the board determines that the proposed mining use of the land would be of greater benefit to the State than the existing or reasonably foreseeable future use of the land, the board shall determine the area to be offered for lease and determine any special terms and conditions …

When the board has approved a mining lease to be offered for sale by competitive bidding at public auction, it shall cause a notice to be published in a newspaper of general circulation in the State and in the county where the land is located at least once in each of three succes…

At least thirty days before the announced date of any public auction, all bidders shall have submitted to the board evidence of their experience and financial ability to conduct geothermal explorations, drill geothermal wells, and develop geothermal resources. Notes Haw. Code R. …

On or before the announced date of the public auction, each prospective bidder shall deposit with the board a certified or cashier's check payable to the State in the amount of $500 and submit a statement that the person is eligible to hold a mining lease as prescribed in § 13-18…

(a) The lease offered for bid shall be awarded to the highest responsible qualified bidder. The board reserves the right to reject any and all bids or waive any defects which will be in the best interest of the State. If the board fails to award the lease within sixty days after …

Applications for mining lease on reserved lands shall be made to the board in accordance with § 13-183-38, 13-183-39, 13-183-42 and 13-183-43. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-48 [Eff. ] (Auth: HRS § 182-14) (Imp: HRS § 182-5)

If the occupier or the assignee of the right to obtain a mining lease fails to apply for a mining lease within six months from the date of notice from the board of its finding of public interest that the reserved lands be mined, a mining lease shall be granted by public auction u…

Unless provided otherwise, any person adversely affected thereby may appeal to the circuit court from any ruling of the board pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Notes Haw. Code R. § 13-183-5 [Eff. JUN 22 1981] (Auth: HRS § 182-14) (Imp: HRS § 178-10)

The board may, by the vote of two-thirds of its voting members, grant a mining lease on reserved lands to the occupier thereof or the occupier's assignee of the right to apply for a lease thereof without public auction pursuant to § 182-5, Hawaii Revised Statutes. The board shall…

The mining lessee shall negotiate in good faith with the occupier of state or reserved lands for the settlement of all claims for damages to occupier's crops, improvements, or surface of the land caused by the mining lessee's operations. The lessee shall hold the board exempt and…

The lessee shall be entitled to use and occupy only so much of the surface of leased lands as may be required for all purposes reasonably incidental to exploration for, drilling for, production and marketing of geothermal resources and associated by-products produced from the lea…

(a) Use of state lands under the jurisdiction and control of the board are subject to the supervision of the board. Use of state lands under the control of the other state agencies are subject to the supervision of the appropriate state agency consistent with these rules. (b) The…

(a) The operator under a lease shall conduct all operations in a manner that conforms to the most prudent practices and engineering principles in use in the industry. Operations shall be conducted in a manner that protects the natural resources including without limitation, geoth…

(a) A lessee shall not commence operations of any kind prior to submitting to the chairperson for board approval a plan of operations. The plan shall include: (1) The proposed location and elevation above sea level of derrick, proposed depth, bottom hole location, casing program,…

After completion of all operations authorized under any previously approved plan of operation, the lessee shall not begin to redrill, repair, deepen, plug back, shoot, or plug and abandon any well, make casing tests, alter the casing or liner, stimulate production, change the met…

(a) Upon commencement of drilling operations, the lessee shall mark each drilling site and each completed well site in a conspicuous place with the lessee's name or the name of the operator, the lease number, and the number of the well. The lessee shall take all necessary means a…

(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…