(1) Except as waived by rule of the governing board of the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries, no permit shall be granted until:
(a) The applicant has filed with the department a bond or security acceptable to the department in the sum established by rule by the board. The amount of the bond or security shall be a sum of not less than $25,000 for each well to be drilled; or
(b) The applicant to drill more than one geothermal well has filed with the department a bond or acceptable alternative form of financial security in the sum established by rule by the board. The amount of the bond or security shall be a sum of not less than $150,000 for all wells to be drilled.
(2) The bond or acceptable alternative form of financial security shall be conditioned upon compliance with the requirements of this chapter and rules adopted and orders issued pursuant to this chapter and shall secure the state against all losses, charges and expenses, including court costs and attorney fees, incurred by it in obtaining such compliance.
(3) With the consent of the department, any bond or acceptable alternative form of financial security acceptable to the department submitted as required by this section may be terminated or canceled. However, the department shall not consent to the termination or cancellation of any bond or security until each geothermal well covered by such bond or security has been:
(a) Lawfully abandoned as a dry hole; or
(b) Properly completed, has ceased production and been lawfully abandoned.
(4) For those applications concerning geothermal wells on federal lands, the department may waive the requirements of subsections (1) to (3) of this section upon receipt of suitable proof of compliance by the applicant with federal bond requirements which would, in the opinion of the department, be unnecessarily duplicated by the requirements of this section. [1975 c.552 §8; 1977 c.87 §3; 1981 c.694 §7; 1995 c.146 §2]
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