Saturday, September 30, 12:00 PM - 5:00 PM

In Nevada, regulation of an injection well is distinct from the regulation of a geothermal production well, as a permit from the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection (NDEP) Underground Injection Control (UIC) program in the Bureau of Water Pollution Control (BWPC) is required for all injection activities.  A NDEP UIC permit only covers injection wells, whereas any tests spanning more than seven (7) days that would potentially involve discharges to surface basins during that time require a separate groundwater discharge permit from the NDEP-BWPC.  Class V injection wells used for reinjection of groundwater associated with open-loop geothermal heat extraction for direct use or power generation are permitted and regulated by the the NDEP-BWPC and Nevada Division of Water Resources (NDWR) (both under the Nevada Department of Conservation & Natural Resources), the Nevada Division of Minerals (NDOM) Fluid Minerals program, and federal land management agencies (in Nevada, this is primarily the U.S. Department of Interior Bureau of Land Management (BLM), but in some cases the USDA Forest Service and, potentially, the National Park Service, or other agencies developing geothermal infrastructure for direct use).  Of these agencies, NDEP is the lead agency administering the Nevada UIC program – per NRS § 445A, in accordance with the UIC primacy MOA between NDEP and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Region 9.  While the interagency permitting process operates under agreements between NDEP-NDOM, NDEP-BLM, NDOM-NDWR, and NDOM-BLM, a UIC permit from NDEP is ultimately required – even if an injection well permit has been issued by NDOM and/or any partnering federal agency.  This workshop will provide an introduction to the UIC permit application process in Nevada, and the steps required for obtaining a UIC permit from the Nevada UIC program in NDEP.

Lunch and break service included in workshop registration fees ($350). All workshop participants are invited to participation in the Workshop Reception Saturday evening.  

Workshop Agenda

• Opening Comments & Introductions | NDEP (speaker TBD)                           
• Overview of the UIC Application Process in Nevada | NDEP (Kowler)                                                         
• Role of NDOM in the Interagency Permitting Process | NDOM (Ghiglieri/Holcomb)                        
• Role of BLM in the Interagency Permitting Process | BLM (Jensen)                             
• Interagency Permitting Process: Wrap-up | NDEP (Kowler)
• BREAK
• Example: Temporary UIC Permit | UC-Won LLC (Hauenstein)                        
• Example: 5-year Multi-Well UIC Permit | NDEP (Kowler)                             
• Temporary Permits & Permit Modifications | NDEP (Kowler) 
• Q&A (pertaining to preceding segments)
• ADJOURN