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Resources and Conservation Committee approves geothermal rule docket after negotiated review
Summary
The committee approved a pending geothermal rule docket after Department of Lands staff said changes were clarifying edits developed through negotiated rulemaking with industry stakeholders.
The Resources and Conservation Committee approved pending geothermal rule docket 20-0315-2401 after Idaho Department of Lands staff said the changes simplify and clarify existing rules.
The department’s minerals leasing program manager, Mike Murphy, told the committee the rule was the product of negotiated rulemaking held in March and April 2024 and published in the July 3 Administrative Bulletin. "The Department is seeking your approval of pending rule docket number Twenty-threeFifteen-two401 found in your 2025 pending rules review book on page 31," Murphy said.
Murphy said the negotiated meetings included in-person and virtual attendance, that three non‑department individuals participated (including representatives of Ormat Technologies and Ever Inc.), and that the department implemented many of Ever Inc.'s recommendations. He described the changes as clarifying edits: "no, there are no significant changes that impact the department or the industry itself, simply clarification," Murphy told Representative Miller when asked whether the changes altered policy.
Representative Raybould moved to approve the docket; the committee approved it by voice vote.
The department’s testimony and the negotiated‑rulemaking record indicate the docket was updated for clarity and to comply with Executive Order 2021 on regulatory review; Murphy told the committee the proposed rule was published without subsequent changes after the public comment period closed.
The committee took no other action on the item and moved on to the next rules docket.
