The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) has finalised a new categorical exclusion that will aid in the acceleration of new geothermal discovery on public lands.
The new action will help accelerate the discovery of new geothermal resources through the US, especially in states such as Nevada where there is an abundance of underdevelopment potential lying underground.
The categorical exclusion will eliminate the need for two separate environmental review surveys to be carried out (one for initial exploration drilling and the other to fully test the resource). The new action applies to geothermal resource confirmation operations plan of up to 20 acres, which can include drilling wells (e.g core drilling, temperature gradient wells, and/or resource wells) to confirm the existence of geothermal resources, to improve injection support or to demonstrate connections between wells.
The full details around the new categorical exclusions can be found on the BLM E-planning website.
Additionally, BLM will be proposing a new categorical exclusion that would help accelerate exploration operations for geothermal energy which would include any activity relating to the search for indirect evidence of geothermal resources. This action would apply to operations of up to 10 acres, which can include geophysical operations, exploratory drilling of core holes and temperature gradient wells, and temporary routes and trails.
The exploration exclusion action will be published in the Federal Register later today to begin a 30-day public comment period.