HILO — A bill amendment to be introduced in the state Senate today would undo Hawaii County’s nighttime drilling ban for geothermal power projects and further restrict — if not entirely prohibit — efforts by counties to enact similar regulations.
HILO — A bill amendment to be introduced in the state Senate today would undo Hawaii County’s nighttime drilling ban for geothermal power projects and further restrict — if not entirely prohibit — efforts by counties to enact similar regulations.
The proposed amendment to Senate Bill 2535 says the state shall have exclusive authority over geothermal regulations unless it delegates that power to counties, according to a copy of the draft provided by Sen. Lorraine Inouye. The original version of the bill, also introduced by Inouye, would restrict county regulations to geothermal operations that exist within a mile of homes.
Inouye, a Democrat representing North Hawaii, said she is trying to make geothermal regulations consistent throughout the state and wants to prohibit laws that she says conflict with geothermal resource permits approved by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources. Geothermal heat is considered a state resource.
The county’s drilling restrictions adopted in 2012 would be one such regulation to be overturned under the proposal, she acknowledged.
“The board already has authority to do that,” Inouye said, regarding health and safety regulations.
Puna Geothermal Venture, the state’s only geothermal plant, argued that stopping drilling at night would create safety issues. The company said its resource permit overrode the drilling restrictions when it made a new well last year.
State Sen. Russell Ruderman, a critic of geothermal development, said the amendment only makes a bad bill worse.
“It says Hawaii County can’t do anything about geothermal,” he said. “It’s opposite of the way the geothermal permitting process needs to go.”
Ruderman, a Democrat representing Puna and Ka‘u, said he will speak out against the bill during committee meetings today when Inouye’s amendment will be introduced. Three committees will hear the bill, including Transportation and Energy, which Inouye chairs.
Ruderman said he is disappointed the bill is being brought forward when one he introduced to reinstate county-level permitting for geothermal projects hasn’t been heard.
Counties lost that authority in 2012 when lawmakers adopted Act 97, which eliminated geothermal subzones. Legislation introduced each year to re-establish county-level geothermal resource permits have failed to gain traction.
Ruderman said SB 2535 would only further strip counties of geothermal oversight.
“It’s very much to the detriment of anyone who lives near a geothermal plant,” said Ruderman, whose district includes PGV.
Email Tom Callis at tcallis@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
