ORS 537.783 Reinjection of geothermal fluids; rules and standards; water pollution control facilities permit

The Water Resources Commission shall adopt rules which govern the disposal by reinjection or other means of geothermal fluids derived from:

Geothermal or hot water wells less than 2,000 feet deep producing fluids of less than 250 degrees Fahrenheit bottom hole temperature; or

Geothermal or hot water wells less than 2,000 feet deep producing fluids that have been appropriated pursuant to ORS 537.505 to 537.795 and 537.992.

The rules adopted under subsection (1) of this section shall include standards whereby contamination may be determined, construction standards for reinjection wells, testing procedures for identifying aquifers, standards and procedures for determining whether adjacent aquifers are being degraded by the reinjection process, guidelines for conservation of the resource, criteria for evaluating reservoirs or zones for geothermal fluid disposal and requirements for prior approval of all geothermal fluid reinjection proposals.

A water pollution control facilities permit shall be obtained from the Department of Environmental Quality under ORS 468B.050 before reinjection is commenced. The Department of Environmental Quality may, by agreement with the Water Resources Commission, waive this requirement for reinjection into the reservoir from which the fluid came where adequate standards and tests have been adopted to insure the fluid and its residues are uncontaminated.