UtahGeothermal rules cover trust-land ownership and well operations
Geothermal landowners and well operators face rules on trust-land ownership, water rights, well work, protected records, and bonds beginning May 6, 2026.
What it does
Trust-land sale documents must reserve geothermal resources. The state owns those resources in qualifying trust-land mineral estates unless it conveyed them by deed.
Surface owners hold geothermal resources unless they transfer or reserve them in a recorded document. Anyone using geothermal fluid must have a water right, subject to an exception.
Well operators must get approval before covered work, prevent pollution and unsafe conditions, keep production records, file reports, and provide bonds set by the division.
Well records are public unless owners request protection. The division may protect them for up to five years, or shorter periods for abandoned and nonproduction projects.
Argument forWell-safety rules and surety bonds could reduce pollution and help cover state costs when operators fail to follow requirements.
Argument againstProtected well records could limit public access to drilling information for as long as five years after production or injection begins.
More detail
State trust-land documents must reserve geothermal resources, and the state owns those resources unless it conveyed them by deed. The rule covers school and institutional trust lands and the state-owned mineral estate held on May 6, 2026. The reservation applies unless another law expressly provides otherwise. State ownership does not apply when the state expressly conveyed the geothermal resource by deed under the trust-land law. The ownership rule applies to school and institutional trust mineral estates owned on May 6, 2026, and the bill takes effect that day.
A surface owner owns the geothermal resource unless the owner expressly conveys or reserves it, and users may not use geothermal fluid without a water right. The ownership rule applies to Utah lands generally, except school and institutional trust lands governed by the trust-land provisions. The restriction on using geothermal fluid is subject to the exception in Section 73-22-8. Ownership comes from an interest in the land surface, not from an appropriative right to geothermal fluids. These rules take effect on May 6, 2026.
Well operators must obtain approval before starting covered work, prevent pollution and other hazards, keep production records, file required reports, and provide surety bonds. The requirements cover people drilling, redrilling, renovating, deepening, testing, maintaining, producing, injecting, or abandoning geothermal wells. The Division of Water Rights sets the required bond amount and may allow one blanket bond to cover several activities. Operators must measure production under division standards and preserve records for five years. The division may inspect wells and geothermal development projects on public or private land. The requirements apply to covered well activities after the bill takes effect on May 6, 2026.
Well logs and records are public when filed unless the owner or operator asks the division to protect them for a limited period. The rule covers well logs and records filed with the Division of Water Rights for production, injection, abandonment, monitoring, exploration, investigation, or testing wells. Protection ends at the earliest applicable limit: five years after production or non-testing injection, two years after abandonment, or two years after a qualifying nonproduction project ends. Authorized people may inspect protected records, and protection does not block state regulators or authorized tax officials. The protection period begins from the applicable production, injection, abandonment, or project-completion date.
Where do you stand?
Choose your position
Tell your reps
Take a position to see your representatives and ways to contact them.
Where it stands
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed House
- To Governor
- Became Law
Looking ahead
No hearings or votes scheduled.
History
- 2026
- Mar 26Governor Spencer Cox SignedBecame Law
- Mar 13Senate/ to GovernorTo Governor
- Mar 13Senate/ received enrolled bill from PrintingMinor
- Mar 11Senate/ enrolled bill to Printing
- Mar 11Enrolled Bill Returned to House or SenateMinor
- Mar 10Draft of Enrolled Bill Prepared
- Mar 10Bill Received from Senate for EnrollingMinor
- Mar 6Senate/ signed by President/ sent for enrollingMajor
- Vote recorded Senate/ concurs with House amendment. Result: pass.Upper
- Mar 6Senate/ received from HouseMinor
- Mar 6House/ to Senate
- Mar 6House/ signed by Speaker/ returned to SenateMajor
- Mar 6House/ received from SenateMinor
- Mar 6Senate/ to House
- Mar 6Senate/ concurs with House amendmentMajor
- Mar 6Senate/ placed on Concurrence Calendar
- Mar 6Senate/ received from HouseMinor
- Mar 5House/ to Senate
- Vote recorded House/ passed 3rd reading. Result: pass.Lower
- Mar 5House/ passed 3rd readingPassed House
- Mar 5House/ substituted
- Mar 5House/ 3rd readingMinor
- Mar 3LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0021S04
- Mar 3LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0021S04
- Mar 2LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0021S04
- Mar 2LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0021S04
- Feb 27House/ 2nd readingMinor
- Feb 27House/ Rules to 3rd Reading Calendar
- Feb 26LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0021S03
- Feb 26LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0021S03
- Feb 26House/ return to Rules due to fiscal impact [House Rules Committee]
- Feb 26House/ comm rpt/ substituted/ amended [House Public Utilities and Energy Committee]Major
- Feb 25House Comm - Favorable Recommendation [House Public Utilities and Energy Committee]Minor
- Feb 25House Comm - Amendment Recommendation [House Public Utilities and Energy Committee]Minor
- Feb 25House Comm - Substitute Recommendation [House Public Utilities and Energy Committee]Major
- Feb 25LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0021S03
- Feb 25LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0021S03
- Feb 24House/ to standing committee [House Public Utilities and Energy Committee]Minor
- Feb 24House/ 1st reading (Introduced)Minor
- Feb 23House/ received from SenateMinor
- Vote recorded Senate/ passed 3rd reading. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 23Senate/ to House
- Feb 23Senate/ passed 3rd readingPassed Senate
- Feb 23Senate/ floor amendment
- Feb 23Senate/ uncircled
- Feb 23Senate/ circled
- Feb 23Senate/ 3rd readingMinor
- Feb 20Senate/ passed 2nd readingMinor
- Vote recorded Senate/ passed 2nd reading. Result: pass.Upper
- Feb 20Senate/ uncircled
- Feb 20Senate/ circled
- Feb 20Senate/ 2nd readingMinor
- Feb 6Senate/ placed on 2nd Reading Calendar
- Feb 6Senate/ comm rpt/ substituted [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
- Feb 5LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0021S02
- Feb 5LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0021S02
- Feb 4Senate Comm - Favorable Recommendation [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]Minor
- Feb 4Senate Comm - Substitute Recommendation [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]Major
- Feb 4LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0021S02
- Feb 4LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0021S02
- Feb 4LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0021S01
- Feb 4LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0021S01
- Feb 3LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0021S01
- Feb 3LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0021S01
- Jan 22Senate Comm - Not Considered [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]
- Jan 20Senate/ to standing committee [Senate Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Environment Committee]Minor
- Jan 20Senate/ 1st reading (Introduced)Minor
- Jan 7Senate/ received bill from Legislative PrintingMinor
- 2025
- Dec 5LFA/ fiscal note publicly available for SB0021
- Dec 5Numbered Bill Publicly Distributed
- Dec 5Bill Numbered but not Distributed
- Nov 13LFA/ fiscal note sent to sponsor for SB0021
- Oct 16LFA/ bill sent to agencies for fiscal input for SB0021
- Oct 16LFA/ bill assigned to staff for fiscal analysis for SB0021Introduced
Environment & EnergyGovernment & EthicsPublic Safety