DOGGR to be renamed the Geologic Energy Management Division
California has six new laws that Gov. Gavin Newsom says makes the state “a leader in the fight to transition away from fossil fuels.”
One of the laws “prohibits any state entity, including the state Lands Commission and the California Department of Parks and Recreation, among others, or any local trustee from entering into a lease or other conveyance authorizing new construction of oil- and gas-related infrastructure on federally protected lands,” according to a press release.
Other new laws [that will be of interest to the geothermal energy community]:
- Require that oil and gas well operators estimate the cost of plugging and abandoning wells and decommissioning oil and gas production facilities.
- Rename the state Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) the Geologic Energy Management Division and specify that its mission includes protecting public health and environmental quality, including cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
- Require the submission of testing data conducted on idle and abandoned wells for publication on the DOGGR’s web site.
