The legislation, House bills 1766 and 2639, both seek to undo some of the changes the Legislature made in 2012 by adopting Act 97. The act eliminated geothermal subzones, areas designated for geothermal development, while, according to its critics, also removing county jurisdiction over geothermal resource permits.
The bills take separate approaches at addressing the issue. Under HB 1766, a requirement that geothermal projects occur in designated subzones would be reinstated. HB 2639 would also give counties authority over permits outside of conservation districts but would not re-establish geothermal subzones.
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