HB 74 Summary

• Expands state authority over geothermal resource development by allowing control of Class V underground injection wells associated with geothermal energy recovery for heating, aquaculture, and electric power production under the Safe Drinking Water Act.

• Changes geothermal prospecting "permits" to "licenses" with extended terms from 2 to 5 years and increases the acreage limitation for geothermal leases from 51,200 to 100,000 acres.

• Eliminates the requirement for surface owners to hold preferential rights to geothermal prospecting permits and removes the discovery-of-commercial-quantities requirement for permit conversion to leases.

• Exempts domestic, noncommercial, and small-scale industrial geothermal uses from licensing requirements and allows the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission to exempt these uses from wildlife regulations.

• Establishes civil penalties up to $100,000 for initial violations and $10,000 per day for continuing violations, plus criminal penalties for knowing violations; effective July 1, 2023.