SB879

SB879 exempts qualifying closed-loop geothermal permit-by-rule participants from two specified Railroad Commission fee and organization-report statutes. The exemption covers a person who submits a request for authorization, or is authorized, to use a valid permit by rule under Water Code Section 27.037. It is not an exemption for every kind of geothermal permit. Signed May 19, 2025, it took effect September 1, 2025, and applies to permit applications or materially amended applications filed on or after that date. Final act; History.

The first excluded statute, Natural Resources Code Section 85.2021, sets drilling-permit application fees: a $200–$300 base fee depending on depth, plus specified fees for requested spacing or density exceptions and expedited processing. The second, Section 91.142, requires an organization report with identifying information, annual refiling and fees, and contains related resident-agent, enforcement and bankruptcy-notice provisions. The new law makes those two sections inapplicable to the specified permit-by-rule participants. It does not repeal them for other regulated operators. Drilling-permit fee section; Organization-report section; Scope of the exemption.

The underlying geothermal section defines a closed-loop well as a closed system that circulates water, other fluids or gases through the earth as a heat source or sink to generate power or heat or cool a structure. It retains Railroad Commission jurisdiction, authority to issue permits, and the rule that drilling may not begin without a valid commission permit. SB879 does not remove that permitting requirement or exempt all environmental rules, fees or financial-security laws. Retained geothermal framework; Only two sections excluded.