Source: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/session2014/bills/SB2663_HD1_.htm
Timestamp: 2018-12-16 17:11:40
Document Index: 198246183

Matched Legal Cases: ['§182', '§205', '§182', '§182', '§182', '§182']

SB2663 HD1.DOC
"§182- Penalties, fees, and costs collected. All penalties, fees, and costs established and collected by the department pursuant to this chapter shall be deposited in the special land and development fund established under section 171‑19."
"§205- Geothermal resources development permits; objectives. (a) The establishment and regulation of geothermal permitting is intended to facilitate geothermal development activities in those areas in which the potential benefits to be derived from geothermal development and utilization in the proposed area are in the best interest of the county or counties involved and the State as a whole. The major objectives are to:
(1) Allow geothermal development activities to help achieve the State's goal of energy self-sufficiency and broaden the State's economic base through development of a natural resource;
(2) Allow geothermal development activities in areas where such activities would be of greater benefit to the State than the existing or future use of such areas; and
(3) Allow geothermal development activities in areas of the State that best demonstrate an acceptable balance among the criteria set forth in subsection (c).
(b) No geothermal resources development activity shall be undertaken without a geothermal resources development permit issued pursuant to this section. The use of an area or site for geothermal resources development within a conservation district shall be governed by the board. The appropriate county authority may issue a geothermal resource permit to allow geothermal resources development in an agricultural, rural, or urban district regardless of whether the geothermal resources development is considered a permissible use under the applicable county zoning ordinances or general plan; provided that the appropriate county authority complies with the requirements set forth in this section.
(c) To ensure that prospective geothermal resources development activity has the least detrimental environmental and social impact, any application to obtain a geothermal resources development permit from a government entity shall provide, at a minimum, the following:
(1) An assessment of any potential geologic hazards relating to geothermal production or use in the proposed area;
(2) An assessment of any environmental, cultural, or social impacts within the proposed area;
(3) An assessment of the compatibility of development and utilization of geothermal resources with other allowed uses within the proposed area or site and within the surrounding area;
(4) A description of the proposed geothermal resources development, including the potential for health, safety, and nuisance impacts upon surrounding properties; control of potentially impacted surface lands or approval from potentially impacted surface appropriate land owners; and establishment of an appropriate buffer zone between the proposed geothermal resources development and abutting land;
(5) An assessment of whether the potential benefits to be derived from the proposed geothermal resources development and potential related industries in the area are in the interests of the resident population, the pertinent county, and the State; and
(6) An assessment of the potential for geothermal resources development in the proposed area and the known or likely prospect for utilization of new electrical energy production in the area.
Within 60 days of receiving the application, the government entity shall determine whether the application is complete and inform the applicant of any deficiency in the application.
(d) If geothermal resources development is proposed in an application containing all required data, the board or appropriate county authority shall conduct a public hearing on the same island and in reasonably close proximity to the proposed permit area that would be affected by the proposed geothermal resources development, and publish a notice of the public hearing setting forth:
(1) A description of the proposed project and area for permitting;
(2) An invitation for public comment; and
(3) The date, time, and place of the public hearing where written or oral testimony may be submitted or heard.
The notice shall be published on three separate days in a newspaper of general circulation in the county in which the public hearing is to be held. The first publication shall be not less than twenty days before the date set for the hearing. The notice shall also be mailed to all owners of land within three thousand feet of the proposed geothermal resources development not less than twenty days before the date set for the hearing. Copies of the notice shall be submitted to the department of land and natural resources, department of business, economic development, and tourism, and the planning commission and planning department of the county in which the proposed area is located.
(e) At the close of the public hearing pursuant to subsection (d), the board or appropriate county authority shall consider all the testimony and after deliberation make a decision to approve or disapprove the permit, or announce the date on which it will render its decision. A decision shall be made by the board or appropriate county authority within six months of the date a complete application is filed; provided that the time limit may be extended by agreement between the applicant and the board or appropriate county authority. The board or appropriate county authority may impose reasonable conditions and restrictions upon the permit in support of its findings. The board or appropriate county authority shall grant a geothermal resources development permit if it finds that:
(1) The area has potential for geothermal development activities;
(2) There is a known or likely prospect for the utilization of geothermal resources for electrical energy production;
(3) Any potential geologic hazards to geothermal production or use in the area have been examined;
(4) Any environmental or social impacts of the development of geothermal resources within the area have been considered;
(5) The proposed geothermal development would not have unreasonable adverse health, environmental, or socioeconomic effects on residents or surrounding property;
(6) The compatibility of development and utilization of geothermal resources within the area is considered with other allowed uses within the area and within the surrounding lands;
(7) The proposed geothermal development would not unreasonably burden public agencies to provide roads and streets, sewers, water, drainage, and police and fire protection;
(8) There are reasonable measures available to mitigate the adverse effects or burdens referred to in paragraphs (3) and (4), which the board or appropriate authority shall have the authority to prescribe as conditions for the permit; and
(9) The potential benefits to be derived from geothermal development and utilization in the proposed area are in the interest of the county or counties involved and the State as a whole.
Upon request, the board or appropriate county authority shall issue a concise statement of its findings and the principal reasons for its decision to approve or disapprove a permit.
(f) Any decision made by the board or appropriate county authority pursuant this section may be appealed directly on the record to the intermediate court of appeals for review. The appropriate county authority or the board shall provide a court reporter to produce a transcript of the proceedings at all public hearings under this section for purposes of an appeal.
(g) For the purposes of an appeal from a decision for a geothermal resource development permit, the record shall include:
(2) Staff recommendations submitted to the board or the appropriate county authority in consideration of the application;
(5) A statement of relevant matters noticed by the board or appropriate county authority at the public hearings;
(6) The written decision issued in connection with the application and public hearings; and
(7) Any other documents as may be required by the board or appropriate county authority for disposition of the permit application.
"Appropriate county authority" means the county planning commission or, if applicable, the respective county agency or body designated by county charter or ordinance to issue geothermal resources development permits.
""Geothermal resources" means the natural heat of the earth, the energy, in whatever form, below the surface of the earth present in, resulting from, or created by, or [which] that may be extracted from, [such] the natural heat, and all minerals in solution or other products obtained from naturally heated fluids, brines, associated gases, and steam, in whatever form, found below the surface of the earth, but excluding oil, hydrocarbon gas, or other hydrocarbon substances[, and any water, mineral in solution, or other product obtained from naturally heated fluids, brines, associated gases, and steam, in whatever form, found below the surface of the earth, having a temperature of 150 degrees Fahrenheit or less, and not used for electrical power generation].
(2) Drilling exploration wells for, but not limited to, the extraction and removal of minerals of types and quantities;
"Mining lease" means a lease of the right to conduct mining operations, including geothermal resource exploration or development, on state lands and [on lands sold or leased by the State or its predecessors in interest with a reservation of mineral rights to the State.] reserved lands."
"(a) All minerals in, on, or under state lands or reserved lands [which hereafter become state lands] are reserved to the State; provided that the board [of land and natural resources] may release, cancel, or waive the reservation whenever it deems the land use, other than mining, is of greater benefit to the State as provided for in section 182-4. [Such] The minerals are reserved from sale or lease except as provided in this chapter. A purchaser or lessee of [any such] the lands shall acquire no right, title, or interest in or to the minerals. The right of the purchaser or lessee shall be subject to the reservation of all the minerals and to the conditions and limitations prescribed by law providing for the State and persons authorized by it to prospect for, mine, and remove the minerals, and to occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as may be required for all purposes reasonably extending to the mining and removal of the minerals therefrom by any means whatsoever."
(b) Any provisions to the contrary notwithstanding, if the person who discovers the mineral discovers it as a result of exploration permitted under section 182-6, and if that person bids at the public auction on the mining lease for the right to mine the discovered mineral and is unsuccessful in obtaining such lease, that person shall be reimbursed by the person submitting the highest successful bid at public auction for the direct or indirect costs incurred in the exploration of the land, excluding salaries, [attorneys] attorney's fees, and legal expenses. The department [shall have the authority to] may review and approve all expenses and costs that may be reimbursed.
(c) Any proposed mining operations to be undertaken by a renewable energy producer, as defined in section 171-95(c), shall require an application to the board for a mining lease on state lands. Any provisions to the contrary notwithstanding, the application for a mining lease on state lands pursuant to this subsection may be granted by the board in accordance with this section, or the board, by the vote of two-thirds of the members to which the board is entitled, may grant a mining lease to the renewable energy producer without public auction."
"§182-5 Mining leases on reserved lands. If any mineral is discovered or known to exist on reserved lands, any interested person may notify the board [of land and natural resources] of the person's desire to apply for a mining lease. The notice shall be accompanied by [a fee of $100] the required fees, as established by the department, together with a description of the land desired to be leased and the minerals involved and [such] information and maps as the board may by [regulation] rule prescribe. The board may grant a mining lease on reserved lands in accordance with section 182-4, or the board [may], by the vote of two-thirds of [its] the members to which the board is entitled, without public auction, may grant a mining lease on reserved lands to the occupier thereof. [Such a] A mining lease may be granted to a person other than the occupier if the occupier has assigned the occupier's rights to apply for a mining lease to another person, in which case only [such] an assignee may be granted a mining lease. Any provisions to the contrary notwithstanding, if the board decides that it is appropriate to grant a geothermal mining lease on the reserved lands, the surface owner or the owner's assignee shall have the first right of refusal for a mining lease. If the occupier or the occupier's assignee of the right to obtain a mining lease should fail to apply for a mining lease within six months from the date of notice from the board of a finding by the board that it is in the public interest that the minerals on the reserved lands be mined, a mining lease shall be granted under section 182-4; provided that bidders at the public auction shall bid on an amount to be paid to the State for a mining lease granting to the lessee the right to exploit minerals reserved to the State."
"§182-6 Exploration. Any person wishing to conduct geothermal resources exploration on state lands or reserved lands shall apply to the board [of land and natural resources who], which shall issue exploration permits upon terms and conditions as it shall by [regulation] rule prescribe. During and as a result of the exploration, no minerals of [such] types and quantity beyond that reasonably required for testing and analysis shall be extracted and removed from [such] state lands[.] or reserved lands. Upon termination of the exploration permit, all exploration data, including but not limited to the drill logs and the results of the assays resulting from the geothermal resources exploration, shall be turned over to the board and kept confidential by the board. If the person shall not make application for a mining lease of the lands within a period of six months from the date the information is turned over to the board, the board in its discretion need not keep the information confidential.
Any interested party may[, however,] request that a mining lease contain a research period under which the lessees shall be required to expend money in research and development to establish a method to make economical the mining and processing of the [mineral deposits contained] minerals identified in the lease. If the board determines that the research period would be beneficial, it shall fix the period of research and shall also fix a minimum expenditure for labor performed or money spent by the lessee [in] on research and development and the method by which the lessee shall establish that such expenditure in fact be made. In [such] these leases, the obligation to commence mining operations within three years shall not commence until the expiration of the research period.
(e) For the period of the lease the lessee shall have the exclusive right of possession of the minerals leased and the exclusive rights to mine and remove the minerals by means [which] that shall be reasonable and satisfactory to the board and to occupy and use so much of the surface of the land as may reasonably be required, subject to the provisions of section 182-3. The right to use the surface shall include the right to erect transportation facilities thereon, construct plants for beneficiating, drying, and processing the minerals for electric power generation and transmission and [such] other uses as may be approved by the board. The other uses may include but need not be limited to uses necessary or convenient to the [winning and] processing of the minerals; provided that the lessee shall comply with all water and air pollution control laws, and rules of the State or its political subdivisions.
(f) The lessee may retain all minerals separated from the land as a part of the process of mining the minerals specified in the mining lease; provided that the lease may prescribe the accounting and testing procedures by which the amount and quality of [such] the additional materials shall be determined for the purpose of computing the excise tax thereon[.] and applicable royalty that may be set by the board for the use of the minerals."
"§182-9 Deposit; first year's rental. All bidders [shall], prior to the date of public auction, shall post with the board [of land and natural resources a deposit of $500.] the required deposit, as established by the department. The board shall refund to unsuccessful bidders [such] the amount within two days after the auction. All bidders, prior to the auction, shall satisfy the board of their financial ability to conduct mining operations and of their capability to develop a mine. The successful bidder shall pay to the board the amount of the first year's rental within two days after the acceptance of the bid by the board and the [$500 deposit] required deposit, as established by the department, shall be credited against [such] the sum. If the deposit exceeds the first year's rental, the excess shall be refunded. All rentals thereafter are payable in advance once a year."
"[[]§182-17[]] Penalty for violation. (a) Any person who violates any provision of this chapter, or any [regulation] rule adopted pursuant [hereto, shall be fined not more than $500 for each offense.] to this chapter, shall be subject to a fine imposed by the board; provided that the fine shall not exceed $5,000 per violation. If any person after receiving written notice for a violation fails to cure [such] the violation within [such] the time and under [such] conditions as determined by [the rules and regulations,] the board, [such] the person shall be subject to a citation for a new and separate violation. There shall be a fine of not more than [$500] $5,000 for each additional violation.
(c) Rural districts shall include activities or uses as characterized by low density residential lots of not more than one dwelling house per one-half acre, except as provided by county ordinance pursuant to section 46-4(c), in areas where "city-like" concentration of people, structures, streets, and urban level of services are absent, and where small farms are intermixed with low density residential lots except that within a subdivision, as defined in section 484-1, the commission for good cause may allow one lot of less than one-half acre, but not less than eighteen thousand five hundred square feet, or an equivalent residential density, within a rural subdivision and permit the construction of one dwelling on [such] the lot; provided that all other dwellings in the subdivision shall have a minimum lot size of one-half acre or 21,780 square feet. [Such] The petition for variance may be processed under the special permit procedure. These districts may include contiguous areas which are not suited to low density residential lots or small farms by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics. Rural districts shall also include golf courses, golf driving ranges, and golf-related facilities.
(5) Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182‑1[.]; provided that a geothermal resource permit may be required for geothermal resources development in accordance with section 205- .
SECTION 18. The Hawaii Revised Statutes is amended by adding a new chapter to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:
SECTION 19. This part does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.
SECTION 21. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050; provided that part II shall be repealed on July 1, 2025.
BLNR; Mineral Resources; Geothermal Resources; Hydraulic Fracturing
Establishes a permitting process for geothermal resources development by the BLNR and the appropriate county authorities. Deposits penalties, fees, and costs related to mineral rights into the special land and development fund. Prohibits hydraulic fracturing and disposition within the State of wastewater from hydraulic fracturing through July 1, 2025. Provides for penalties and enforcement. Effective July 1, 2050. (SB2663 HD1)