West Virginia Code 22-33-2 – Legislative findings; declaration of policy
(a) The Legislature finds that:
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-33-2
- Geothermal resource: means the natural heat of the earth and the energy, in whatever form, that is present in, associated with, or created by, or that may be extracted from, such natural heat, as determined by the secretary by legislative rule. See West Virginia Code 22-33-5
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee as provided in article one of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 22-33-5
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(1) A geothermal resource is a reservoir inside the Earth from which heat can be extracted economically compared to other conventional sources of energy and used for generating electric power or any other suitable industrial, commercial, agricultural, residential, or domestic application in the future;
(2) Geothermal resources vary widely from one location to another depending on the temperature and depth of the resource; and
(3) The secretary should have broad authority to develop a regulatory program for geothermal resources to meet the economic needs of the state and to protect the public interest.
(b) The Legislature declares that the establishment of a new regulatory program to address the exploration, development, and production of geothermal resources in this state is in the public interest and should be done in a manner that protects the environment and our economy for current and future generations.