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<ns0:Id>20250AB__223499INT</ns0:Id>
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<ns0:ActionText>INTRODUCED</ns0:ActionText>
<ns0:ActionDate>2026-02-19</ns0:ActionDate>
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<ns0:SessionYear>2025</ns0:SessionYear>
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<ns0:AuthorText authorType="LEAD_AUTHOR">Introduced by Assembly Member Papan</ns0:AuthorText>
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<ns0:Name>Papan</ns0:Name>
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<ns0:Title> An act to amend Section 21065.5 of the Public Resources Code, relating to geothermal resources. </ns0:Title>
<ns0:RelatingClause>geothermal resources</ns0:RelatingClause>
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<ns0:Subject>California Environmental Quality Act: geothermal exploratory projects.</ns0:Subject>
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<html:p>The California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) requires a lead agency, as defined, to prepare, or cause to be prepared, and certify the completion of an environmental impact report on a project that it proposes to carry out or approve that may have a significant effect on the environment or to adopt a negative declaration if the lead agency finds that the project will not have that effect. CEQA also requires a lead agency to prepare a mitigated negative declaration for a project that may have a significant effect on the environment if revisions in the project would avoid or mitigate that effect and there is no substantial evidence that the project, as revised, would have a significant effect on the environment.</html:p>
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Existing law establishes the Geologic Energy Management Division in the Department of Conservation. Existing law requires the division to
be the lead agency for all geothermal exploratory projects for purposes of CEQA, except as provided. Existing law defines “geothermal exploratory project,” for purposes of CEQA, in part as a project composed of not more than 6 wells and associated drilling and testing equipment whose chief and original purpose is to evaluate the presence and characteristics of geothermal resources. Existing law requires wells included within a geothermal exploratory project to be located at least
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mile from geothermal development wells that are capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities.
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This bill would expressly include as part of a geothermal exploratory project, among other things, equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs. The bill would exclude certain wells connecting to geothermal reservoirs from
the
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-mile limit described above.
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<ns0:Preamble>The people of the State of California do enact as follows:</ns0:Preamble>
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<ns0:Num>SECTION 1.</ns0:Num>
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Section 21065.5 of the
<ns0:DocName>Public Resources Code</ns0:DocName>
is amended to read:
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<ns0:Num>21065.5.</ns0:Num>
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<html:p>“Geothermal exploratory project” means a project as defined in Section 21065 composed of not more than six wells and associated drilling and testing equipment, including equipment and activities necessary to establish interconnectivity between wells and reservoirs, temporary roads, electric distribution lines, and infrastructure to provide power for drilling and testing equipment, whose chief and original purpose is to evaluate the presence and characteristics of geothermal resources before commencement of a geothermal field development project
as defined in Section 65928.5 of the Government Code. Wells included within a geothermal exploratory project, excluding wells connecting to geothermal reservoirs whose permeability or capacity to allow the flow of geothermal fluids, including water, has been increased from its natural or original state through stimulation, horizontal drilling, the use of closed-loop configurations, or other techniques, shall be located at least one-half mile from geothermal development wells that are capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities.</html:p>
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