S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                   8565
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              January 9, 2024
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. GLICK -- read once and referred to the Committee
   on Environmental Conservation
 
 AN ACT to amend the environmental conservation law and a chapter of  the
   laws  of  2023 amending the environmental conservation law relating to
   exempting certain geothermal boreholes at depths beyond  five  hundred
   feet  from  certain  requirements,  as  proposed  in legislative bills
   numbers S. 6604 and A. 6949, in  relation  to  regulation  of  certain
   closed-loop  boreholes  installed  for  the  purpose of facilitating a
   geothermal heating or cooling system
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Subdivisions 4 and 5 of section 1 of a chapter of the laws
 of 2023 amending the environmental conservation law relating to  exempt-
 ing certain geothermal boreholes at depths beyond five hundred feet from
 certain  requirements,  as proposed in legislative bills numbers S. 6604
 and A. 6949, are amended to read as follows:
   4. [Extension of the] APPROPRIATE permitting rules [currently  applied
 to  closed-loop  geothermal systems less than five hundred feet deep to]
 FOR closed-loop geothermal boreholes deeper than five hundred feet  will
 reduce  the  cost  of  meeting New York state's building decarbonization
 requirements by nearly $9.9 billion by 2050; reduce the cost of  meeting
 the  state's  goal of electrifying one million homes by 2030 by approxi-
 mately $900 million; and reduce the cost  of  electrifying  85%  of  the
 state's  building  stock  by  approximately  $9 billion between 2030 and
 2050, in 2023 dollars.  In  nominal  dollars,  the  total  cost  savings
 increase to $16.3 billion by 2050.
   5.  [Extension of the] APPROPRIATE permitting rules [currently applied
 to closed-loop geothermal systems less than five hundred  feet  deep  to
 such] FOR FACILITATING CLOSED-LOOP GEOTHERMAL boreholes deeper than five
 hundred feet will obviate unnecessary technical and permitting barriers,
 open  new  markets  to clean heating and cooling technologies in densely
 populated regions, and enable drastically increased leverage of  federal
 funding to meet New York state's emissions reductions targets.
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD10951-03-4
              

 A. 8565                             2
 
   §  2. Section 23-0305 of the environmental conservation law is amended
 by adding a new subdivision 15 to read as follows:
   15.  THE  DEPARTMENT  IS  AUTHORIZED  TO  REGULATE FOR THE PURPOSES OF
 PROTECTING NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE ENVIRONMENT OR  PUBLIC  HEALTH  AND
 SAFETY,  CLOSED-LOOP  BOREHOLES  DEEPER THAN FIVE HUNDRED FEET BELOW THE
 EARTH'S SURFACE INSTALLED FOR THE PURPOSE OF FACILITATING  A  GEOTHERMAL
 HEATING  OR  COOLING SYSTEM AND NO LATER THAN DECEMBER THIRTY-FIRST, TWO
 THOUSAND TWENTY-FOUR SHALL PROMULGATE REGULATIONS RELATING TO SUCH BORE-
 HOLES, AND MAY UPDATE SUCH REGULATIONS FROM TIME TO TIME. WHEN  REGULAT-
 ING  SUCH  CLOSED-LOOP BOREHOLES, THE DEPARTMENT SHALL CONSIDER RELEVANT
 PREVAILING INDUSTRY STANDARDS.
   § 3. Section 23-1903 of the environmental conservation law is  amended
 by adding a new subdivision 3 to read as follows:
   3.  THE  DEPARTMENT  SHALL  HAVE THE AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH REASONABLE
 FEES BY RULE FOR CLOSED-LOOP BOREHOLES DEEPER  THAN  FIVE  HUNDRED  FEET
 BELOW  THE  EARTH'S  SURFACE  PURSUANT TO SUBDIVISION FIFTEEN OF SECTION
 23-0305 OF THIS ARTICLE TO BE CREDITED TO THE OIL AND GAS ACCOUNT ESTAB-
 LISHED UNDER CHAPTER FIFTY-EIGHT OF THE LAWS OF NINETEEN HUNDRED  EIGHT-
 Y-TWO  FOR  THE  PURPOSES  OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION OR GREENHOUSE GAS
 EMISSION REDUCTION.
   § 4. This act shall take effect immediately, provided however  section
 one  of  this  act  shall  take  effect on the same date and in the same
 manner as a chapter of the  laws  of  2023  amending  the  environmental
 conservation  law  relating to exempting certain geothermal boreholes at
 depths beyond five hundred feet from certain requirements,  as  proposed
 in legislative bills numbers S. 6604 and A. 6949, takes effect.