Title 43, Mineral Resources

As used in this chapter, unless the context requires otherwise: (1) “Board” means the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (2) “By-product” means any mineral or minerals, exclusive of helium or of oil, hydrocarbon gas or other hydrocarbon sub…

(1) The Legislative Assembly hereby finds and declares that: (a) The people of the State of Oregon have a direct and primary interest in the development of geothermal resources situated in this state. (b) The State of Oregon, through the State Department of Geology and Mineral In…

(1)(a) In order to accomplish the policy of ORS 522.015 all geothermal fluids derived from geothermal resources shall be reinjected into the same reservoir from which withdrawn unless it is determined by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries that these policies a…

(1) The provisions of this chapter relating to the location and drilling of any well for the production of geothermal resources do not apply to any wells producing geothermal resources on July 1, 1975, or wells, other than prospect wells, where: (a) The geothermal fluids produced…

Ownership rights to geothermal resources shall be in the owner of the surface property underlain by the geothermal resources unless such rights have been otherwise reserved or conveyed. However, nothing in this section shall divest the people or the state of any rights, title or …

Any well drilled under authority of this chapter from which usable geothermal resources cannot be derived, or the owner or operator has no intention of deriving usable geothermal resources, and that is not expected to provide information useful to the development of geothermal re…

(1) A person may not engage in drilling a prospect well except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. (2) An application for a permit to drill prospect wells must include: (a) A plugging and decommissioning…

(1) Upon receipt of a complete application to drill prospect wells, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall circulate copies of the application to the Water Resources Department, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Department of Land Conservation and…

(1)(a) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not issue a permit for a prospect well until the applicant has provided a bond or alternative form of financial security as specified in rules adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and M…

In addition to any other liability imposed by law, the operator of a prospect well shall be liable to any person or public agency that sustains damages from failure of the operator to comply with: (1) A condition in a permit requiring the operator to provide for the protection of…

Upon completion of all drilling and testing undertaken pursuant to an application to drill prospect wells, the applicant shall file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a report certifying the completion of the plugging and decommissioning plan required by …

(1) A person may not engage in the drilling or operating of any geothermal well except in compliance with a permit issued by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries under this section. (2) An application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well must inclu…

(1) Upon receipt of a complete application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall circulate copies of the application to the Water Resources Department, the State Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Depart…

(1) Within 60 days after receipt of a complete application for a permit to drill or operate a geothermal well, the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall by order issue or deny the permit unless the department determines that a longer period is necessary to resp…

(1)(a) The State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may not issue a permit for a geothermal well until the applicant has provided a bond or alternative form of financial security as specified in rules adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and…

In addition to any other liability imposed by law, the operator of a geothermal well shall be liable to any person or public agency that sustains damages from failure of the operator to comply with: (1) A condition in a permit requiring the operator to provide for the protection …

(1) A permittee must make a request to modify a permit before changing the location, number or designation specified for any geothermal well or before undertaking to alter in any manner the casing of a geothermal well. (2) A request to modify a permit under this section, except f…

(1) No person shall abandon a geothermal well without first plugging and decommissioning the well in conformance with a plugging and decommissioning plan approved by the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and complying with the provisions of ORS 522.245. (2) The g…

Except as excluded by rule adopted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the operator of any completed geothermal well shall file with the department a monthly statement of the geothermal resources production from such well during the p…

(1) Except as excluded from the provisions of this section by rule of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, any prospective operator of a geothermal well shall notify the department in such form as the department may direct of the purchase…

(1) No operator shall suspend drilling or operation of a geothermal well without obtaining permission from the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. (2) The department may authorize an operator to suspend for a specific period operations or remove equipment from an …

(1) Before commencing any operation to discontinue the use of a geothermal well, the operator shall give notice to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries of the intention to plug and decommission the well and the date upon which the work will begin. (2) Such notic…

(1) A representative of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may be present during any operation to plug and decommission a geothermal well. If the representative determines that the plugging and decommissioning is satisfactory, the representative shall approve …

If interference between an existing geothermal well permitted under this chapter and an existing water appropriation permitted under ORS chapter 537 is found by either the State Geologist or the Water Resources Director, the State Geologist and the Water Resources Director shall …

Subject to policy direction by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, the State Geologist shall administer this chapter, the rules and orders made pursuant thereto, and supervise the department in carrying out the provisions of this chapter…

(1) In accordance with the applicable provisions of ORS chapter 183, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may adopt rules necessary to implement the provisions of this chapter. This authority includes, but is not limited to, rules relating…

Whenever the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries gives any written direction concerning any geothermal well and the operator requests in writing that a final order for purposes of ORS chapter 183 be made, the department shall, within 15 days after receipt of the no…

(1) The operator of any geothermal well shall within 15 days from the date of the service of any order, either comply with the order or file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a written statement that the order is not acceptable, and the reasons therefor,…

(1) 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. (2) The log referred to in subsection (1) of this section shall show the character and depth of each formation encountered in …

(1) Each operator of any geothermal well or the designated agent of the operator shall file with the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries a copy of the log, history and core record, or any portion thereof, promptly upon completion, or upon the written request of the…

(1) When two or more separately owned tracts of land are within an area under which a reservoir is located or reasonably believed to be located, or when there are separately owned interests in all or part of such an area, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and…

A voluntary or board-sponsored unit agreement developed in response to a rule adopted or an order issued under ORS 522.405 shall provide a unit operation plan that includes: (1) A description of the geothermal reservoir and the overlaying land to be operated as a unit. (2) A stat…

Any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries providing for the unit operation of a geothermal resource area may include provisions for: (1) Division of a reservoir into zones; (2) Establishment of spacing units, including a de…

Any rule adopted or order entered under ORS 522.405 shall supersede any right or privilege previously granted by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries to the same person or state or local governing body, special district or agency with resp…

(1) No rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries which creates a unit and prescribes a unitization plan and no applicable unit agreement shall be effective unless the plan of unit operation required by the board under ORS 522.4…

(1) Any person or state or local governing body, special district or agency with an interest in geothermal resources within an area to be designated as a unit that is adversely affected by any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Ind…

As part of a proposed rule or order designating a unit area and approving a unitization plan or as part of a unit agreement, the working interest owners under the agreement, within the time specified by the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries…

(1) Any disagreement with respect to the unit operation between persons or between persons and state or local governing bodies, special districts or agencies owning any interest in the geothermal resources in a unit area, or between persons or state and local governing bodies, sp…

Subject to the same conditions and limitations provided with respect to the creation of a unit, the following may occur: (1) A unit area may be enlarged to include adjoining portions of the same geothermal resource area, including another unit area, and a new unit created for the…

Any operation on any portion of the unit area, including, but not limited to, the drilling or operation of a well, is considered for all purposes the conduct of the same operation on the whole unit area. The portion of unit production allocated to a separately owned tract in a un…

(1) The operation of a geothermal well in a unit area by anyone other than by a person or state or local governing body, special district or agency acting under the unit’s authority shall be unlawful. That operation is prohibited from the effective date of the board rule or order…

(1) A unit agreement or unitization plan under a board rule adopted or order issued pursuant to ORS 522.405 shall not be held or construed to violate ORS 59.005 to 59.505, 59.710 to 59.830, 59.991 and 59.995 or any state statute relating to trusts, monopolies or contracts and com…

Board authority applies to all private, municipal, state and federal land in the state which is subject to the state’s regulatory authority. When land subject to federal jurisdiction is committed to a unit agreement or cooperative agreement the board may suspend the operation of …

(1) The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries shall establish reasonable fees by rule pursuant to ORS chapter 183 for the purpose of the development and administration of a unit agreement to be paid by all persons or state or local governing bo…

The governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may make, in compliance with ORS chapter 183, rules and orders for the following purposes: (1) To review and enforce voluntary unit agreements governing production of geothermal resources in a manner th…

Whenever it appears that any person is violating or threatening to violate any provision of this chapter or any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries made thereunder, or is threatening to or committing waste, the board may …

(1) In accordance with the rulemaking provisions of ORS chapter 183, the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries may adopt rules necessary to conserve geothermal resources or other natural resources, or to protect the environment, the correlative…

No person shall knowingly aid or abet any other person in the violation of any provision of this chapter or of any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries made thereunder. [1971 c.776 §40; 1975 c.552 §30]

No person shall: (1) Make or cause to be made any false entry or statement in a report, record, log, account or other writing required by this chapter or any rule adopted pursuant thereto; (2) Omit or cause to be omitted from any such report, record, log, account or writing, full…

Subject to ORS 153.022, violation of any provision of this chapter or of any rule or order of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries made thereunder, excluding ORS 522.405 to 522.545 and any rule promulgated thereunder, is a Class B misdemea…