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Senate passes bill setting rules for subsurface hydrogen exploration, royalties and severance tax
Summary
After extended floor debate about landowner protections and confidential filings, the Iowa Senate passed Senate File 2490, which bars eminent‑domain authority, sets pooling and cost‑recovery rules, and establishes a severance tax with specified county and state allocations; the vote was 32‑15.
Senate File 2490, a bill that would regulate exploration and production of subsurface hydrogen and set revenue rules, cleared the Iowa Senate after a floor debate that divided lawmakers over confidentiality, revenue allocation and property rights.
Senator Buslow, the bill sponsor, said the measure protects landowners while creating a regulatory framework for companies that find and produce hydrogen deep beneath Iowa soil. "Let me be clear: there's no eminent domain in this bill," the sponsor said in opening remarks, and he repeatedly emphasized that the bill would prevent forced drilling on surface owners and require consent or specified pooling thresholds before exploration and production proceed.
The bill requires that pooling—combined development of an underground pool—can be sought only where at least 25% of landowners have agreed to exploration if a 100% consent threshold is not met. It also…
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