DEQ streamlines permits


Geothermal resources could soon become more attractive in Oregon, so the DEQ is proposing a 10-year general permit that would allow geothermal companies to inject water for geothermal tests.

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When Nevada Geothermal Power began the permitting process for wells at a site near Adel, in Lake County, it found the state didn’t offer permits for the activities it needed to perform there.

“When you drill your geothermal well, you typically inject fluid in to find out how much fluid the reservoirs there can take,” Nevada Geothermal VP Kim Niggemann said. “When we started permitting in Oregon, there’s no permit for that. We were facing a $10,000 special permit fee per well injection for a project where you can have over half a dozen wells.”

 

Read more in today’s Daily Journal of Commerce.