Title 43
SECTION 3200.1
3200.1 Definitions.
§ 3200.1 Definitions.For purposes of this part and part 3280:
Acquired lands means lands or mineral estates that the United States obtained by deed through purchase, gift, condemnation or other legal process.
Act means the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as amended (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.).
Additional extension means the period of years added to the primary term of a lease beyond the first 10 years and subsequent 5-year initial extension of a geothermal lease. The additional extension may not exceed 5 years.
Byproducts are minerals (exclusive of oil, hydrocarbon gas, and helium), found in solution or in association with geothermal steam, that no person would extract and produce by themselves because they are worth less than 75 percent of the value of the geothermal steam or because extraction and production would be too difficult.
Casual use means activities that ordinarily lead to no significant disturbance of Federal lands, resources, or improvements.
Commercial operation means delivering Federal geothermal resources, or electricity or other benefits derived from those resources, for sale. This term also includes delivering resources to the utilization point, if you are utilizing Federal geothermal resources for your own benefit and not selling energy to another entity.
Commercial production means production of geothermal resources when the economic benefits from the production are greater than the cost of production.
Commercial production or generation of electricity means generation of electricity that is sold or is subject to sale, including the electricity or energy that is reasonably required to produce the resource used in production of electricity for sale or to convert the resource into electrical energy for sale.
Commercial quantities means either:
(1) For production from a lease, a sufficient volume (in terms of flow and temperature) of the resource to provide a reasonable return after you meet all costs of production; or
(2) For production from a unit, a sufficient volume (in terms of flow and temperature) of the resource to provide a reasonable return after you meet all costs of drilling and production.
Commercial use permit means BLM authorization for commercially operating a utilization facility and/or utilizing Federal geothermal resources.
Development or drilling contract means a BLM-approved agreement between one or more lessees and one or more entities that makes resource exploration more efficient and protects the public interest.
Direct use means utilization of geothermal resources for commercial, residential, agricultural, public facilities, or other energy needs other than the commercial production or generation of electricity. Direct use may occur under either a regular geothermal lease or a direct use lease.
Direct use lease means a lease issued noncompetitively in an area BLM designates as available exclusively for:
(1) Direct use of geothermal resources, without sale; and
(2) Purposes other than commercial generation of electricity.
Exploration operations means any activity relating to the search for evidence of geothermal resources, where you are physically present on the land and your activities may cause damage to those lands. Exploration operations include, but are not limited to, geophysical operations, drilling temperature gradient wells, drilling holes used for explosive charges for seismic exploration, core drilling or any other drilling method, provided the well is not used for geothermal resource production. It also includes related construction of roads and trails, and cross-country transit by vehicles over public land. Exploration operations do not include the direct testing of geothermal resources or the production or utilization of geothermal resources.
Facility construction permit means BLM permission to build and test a utilization facility.
Facility operator means the person receiving BLM authorization to site, construct, test, and/or operate a utilization facility. A facility operator may be a lessee, a unit operator, or a third party.
Geothermal drilling permit means BLM written permission to drill for and test Federal geothermal resources.
Geothermal exploration permit means BLM written permission to conduct only geothermal exploration operations and associated surface disturbance activities under an approved Notice of Intent to Conduct Geothermal Resource Exploration Operations, and includes any necessary conditions BLM imposes.
Geothermal resources operational order means a formal, numbered order, issued by BLM, that implements or enforces the regulations in this part.
Geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources means:
(1) All products of geothermal processes, including indigenous steam, hot water, and hot brines;
(2) Steam and other gases, hot water, and hot brines resulting from water, gas, or other fluids artificially introduced into geothermal formations;
(3) Heat or other associated energy found in geothermal formations; and
(4) Any byproducts.
Gross proceeds means gross proceeds as defined by the Minerals Management Service at 30 CFR 206.351.
Initial extension means a period of years, no longer than 5 years, added to the primary term of a geothermal lease beyond the first 10 years of the lease, provided certain lease obligations are met.
Interest means ownership in a lease of all or a portion of the record title or operating rights.
Known geothermal resource area (KGRA) means an area where BLM determines that persons knowledgeable in geothermal development would spend money to develop geothermal resources.
Lessee means a person holding record title interest in a geothermal lease issued by BLM.
MMS means the Minerals Management Service of the Department of the Interior.
Notice to Lessees (NTL) means a written notice issued by BLM that implements the regulations in this part, part 3280, or geothermal resource operational orders, and provides more specific instructions on geothermal issues within a state, district, or field office. Notices to Lessees may be obtained by contacting the BLM State Office that issued the NTL.
Operating rights (working interest) means any interest held in a lease with the right to explore for, develop, and produce leased substances.
Operating rights owner means a person who holds operating rights in a lease. A lessee is an operating rights owner if the lessee did not transfer all of its operating rights. An operator may or may not own operating rights.
Operations plan, or plan of operations means a plan which fully describes the location of proposed drill pad, access roads and other facilities related to the drilling and testing of Federal geothermal resources, and includes measures for environmental and other resources protection and mitigation.
Operator means any person who has taken responsibility in writing for the operations conducted on leased lands.
Person means an individual, firm, corporation, association, partnership, trust, municipality, consortium, or joint venture.
Primary term means the first 10 years of a lease, not including any periods of suspension.
Produced or utilized in commercial quantities means the completion of a well that:
(1) Produces geothermal resources in commercial quantities; or
(2) Is capable of producing geothermal resources in commercial quantities so long as BLM determines that diligent efforts are being made toward the utilization of the geothermal resource.
Public lands means the same as defined in 43 U.S.C. 1702(e).
Record title means legal ownership of a geothermal lease established in BLM's records.
Relinquishment means the lessee's voluntary action to end the lease in whole or in part.
Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary's delegate.
Site license means BLM's written authorization to site a utilization facility on leased Federal lands.
Stipulation means additional conditions BLM attaches to a lease or permit.
Sublease means the lessee's conveyance of its interests in a lease to an operating rights owner. A sublessee is responsible for complying with all terms, conditions, and stipulations of the lease.
Subsequent well operations are those operations done to a well after it has been drilled. Examples of subsequent well operations include: cleaning the well out, surveying it, performing well tests, chemical stimulation, running a liner or another casing string, repairing existing casing, or converting the well from a producer to an injector or vice versa.
Sundry notice is your written request to perform work not covered by another type of permit, or to change operations in your previously approved permit.
Surface management agency means any Federal agency, other than BLM, that is responsible for managing the surface overlying Federally-owned minerals.
Temperature gradient well means a well authorized under a geothermal exploration permit drilled in order to obtain information on the change in temperature over the depth of the well.
Transfer means any conveyance of an interest in a lease by assignment, sublease, or otherwise.
Unit agreement means an agreement to explore for, produce and utilize separately-owned interests in geothermal resources as a single consolidated unit. A unit agreement defines how costs and benefits will be allocated among the holders of interest in the unit area.
Unit area means all tracts committed to an approved unit agreement.
Unit operator means the person who has stated in writing to BLM that the interest owners of the committed leases have designated it as operator of the unit area.
Unitized substances means geothermal resources recovered from lands committed to a unit agreement.
Utilization Plan or plan of utilization means a plan which fully describes the utilization facility, including measures for environmental protection and mitigation.
Waste means:
(1) Physical waste, including refuse; or
(2) Improper use or unnecessary dissipation of geothermal resources through inefficient drilling, production, transmission, or utilization.