Temporary Regulations on the Administration of Geothermal Resources in Yinchuan City

Yinchuan City People's Government Decree (No. 109)

The "Interim Provisions on the Administration of Geothermal Resources in Yinchuan City" was approved by the 5th executive meeting of the Yinchuan Municipal People's Government on April 23, 1999 and is hereby promulgated.

Mayor: Hao Puhai May 17, 1999

Chapter 1 General Provisions

Article 1 In order to strengthen the management of geothermal resources in Yinchuan, rationally develop and utilize geothermal resources, and promote the economic development and social progress of Yinchuan, according to the "Mining Resources Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Registration of Mineral Resource Exploration Blocks", The relevant laws and regulations such as the Measures for the Administration of Mineral Resource Exploitation and Registration, the Measures for the Administration of Mining Rights for Exploration Right and Mining, and the Measures for the Implementation of Water Licensing System, and these measures are formulated in light of the actual situation in Yinchuan.

Article 2 All units and individuals that survey and develop geothermal resources within the administrative area of ​​Yinchuan shall abide by these regulations.

Article 3 The geothermal resources referred to in these Measures refer to the geothermal energy, geothermal fluids and their useful components that are available for development and use in the earth's crust under current technological and economic conditions in China. Geothermal resources are owned by the state.

Article 4 The Yinchuan City Department of Geology and Mineral Resources is the competent department of geothermal resources in the administrative area and is mainly responsible for the exploration, development and supervision of geothermal resources.

Article 5 The development and utilization of geothermal resources must adhere to and implement the principles of unified planning, scientific exploration, rational distribution, comprehensive utilization, conservation of resources, and protection of the environment. We must implement the principles of the combination of exploration, development and utilization, exploration and development, land and land development, and urban planning.

Article 6 All units and individuals obtain legal rights such as the exploration, exploitation and utilization of geothermal resources according to law, and shall be protected by law.

Chapter II Exploration

Article 7 All units and individuals conducting geothermal resources exploration within the administrative area of ​​Yinchuan must hold an exploration license issued by the State Council’s department of geology and mineral resources or the competent department of geology and mineral resources of the autonomous region, and can only register with the municipal department of geology and mineral resources before registering. Work, and accept the supervision and management of the municipal department of geology and mineral resources.

Article 8 The exploration of geothermal resources must be conducted in accordance with the National Standard for the Exploration of Geothermal Resources of the People's Republic of China and the implementation of the supervision system.

Article 9 The transfer of prospecting rights and mining rights for geothermal resources shall be implemented in accordance with the provisions of the State Council "Administrative Measures on the Transfer of Mining Right for Exploration Rights". The prospecting right holder has the right to carry out geothermal resource exploration operations in the designated exploration area and give priority to the mining rights of the geothermal resources in the exploration area.

Article 10 An entity that has the qualification for geothermal resource exploration shall not lend the qualification certificate to another person for use, or take a method of affiliation, and let the unit or individual that does not have the qualification to carry out the exploration of geothermal resources.

Chapter 3 Development

Article 11 Units and individuals that exploit geothermal resources must formulate plans for the comprehensive development and utilization of geothermal resources. The implementation plan for the comprehensive development and utilization of geothermal resources shall comply with the overall land use planning and overall city planning requirements of Yinchuan City; the implementation plan shall be subject to relevant procedures after being verified by the municipal mines, planning committee, water conservancy, and planning departments.

Article 12 The implementation plan for the comprehensive development and utilization of geothermal resources shall have the following main information:

(a) geothermal resources mining locations, mining area maps and extraction volumes;

(B) development and use of the purpose, investment and feasibility study report;

(3) Emissions disposal measures for geothermal water abandonment;

(4) geothermal monitoring and geoenvironmental impact assessment reports and protective measures;

(5) Other materials required by the competent authority.

Article 13 Mining of discovered geothermal water shall be handled by the municipal department of water, on the basis of unified consideration of the status of surface water and groundwater resources and the actual needs of domestic water, agricultural water, and industrial water. Determine the mining limit.

Article 14: Units and individuals that mine geothermal resources must apply to the municipal department of geology and mineral resources for processing of mining licenses. After being examined by the municipal department of geology and mineral resources, they shall report to the competent department of geology and mineral resources of the autonomous region to obtain a mining license and obtain according to regulations. The business license issued by the administrative department for industry and commerce and other related procedures may not be exploited.

For units or individuals exploiting geothermal water for commercial operations, they shall apply to the municipal department of geology and mineral resources for registration on the basis of a water permit issued by the city's water authority, and shall mine in accordance with the mining limits determined by the municipal water authority.

Article 15 When suspending mining or scrapping a geothermal well for any reason, it shall apply to the municipal department of geology and mineral resources for the formalities of suspending or canceling the mining license.

Article 16 Units and individuals that exploit geothermal resources must be mined according to the provisions of the mining license. The system of stratified allocation and fixed quotas for reserves shall be subject to the prohibition of cross-border, over-layer mining and over-exploitation; unauthorized changes to the mining site, extraction volume, and mining methods shall be made. If changes are actually required, an application shall be submitted to the municipal department of geology and mineral resources in advance. For the exploitation of geothermal water, an application shall also be submitted to the municipal department of water. After review and approval, it may be changed. In the process of mining and using geothermal heat, the annual mining plans shall be reported to the municipal department of geology and mineral resources for approval.

Article 17 The geothermal well location shall avoid urban water sources and areas with serious environmental pollution, and shall strictly prohibit pollutants from entering the groundwater body.

Chapter IV Management and Charging

Article 18 Units and individuals exploiting geothermal resources for exploitation must strengthen the protection of geothermal resources, implement cascade development and comprehensive utilization, give full play to the benefits of geothermal resources, and prevent waste and destruction of geothermal resources.

Article 19 The main responsibilities of the geology and mineral resources department of Yinchuan in supervising and managing geothermal resources exploration and exploitation are:

(1) Implement laws and regulations concerning the exploration, development, utilization, and protection of geothermal resources of countries and autonomous regions;

(2) Based on the needs of the national economy and social development in the region, the medium and long-term plans and annual plans for the development and utilization of geothermal resources shall be prepared in conjunction with the relevant departments and reported to the municipal government for implementation. The development and utilization of geothermal resources must take into account current and long-term interests;

(3) to investigate and deal with illegal cases in the development, utilization and protection of geothermal resources in conjunction with relevant departments.

Article 20 Units and individuals exploiting geothermal resources shall strengthen the protection of geothermal resources, exploit the geothermal resources according to the approved quota mining targets, take effective measures to prevent the contamination of hot reservoirs and fresh water layers, and the temperature and water quality of geothermal abandonment water shall be treated. After that, it must meet the emission standards set by the national environmental protection regulations.

Article 21 Units and individuals developing and utilizing geothermal resources shall constantly monitor the temperature, pressure, water level, flow rate, and water quality of geothermal resources, and timely and accurately submit monitoring data to the geology and mineral resources administration of Yinchuan City on a monthly basis. Municipal water authorities, and accept their monitoring business leaders and annual inspection system.

Article 22 For geothermal wells that are unqualified and that have not yet reached the eligibility standard after being repaired and rectified, strict technical measures shall be adopted to seal the towns and close cross-contamination with strict waterproof bodies.

Article 23 The spacing of geothermal production wells shall be reasonably distributed and must be developed in accordance with the approved well locations and horizons to prevent the rapid decline of geothermal resources or the partial depletion of geothermal resources.

Article 24 Units and individuals shall, in the process of exploiting and utilizing geothermal water resources, use the recharge wells to timely recharge and recharge the geothermal water used for mining to the corresponding strata to ensure the balance and sustainable use of geothermal resources. . Make sure to re-inject water quality and prevent contamination of the water body.

Article 25 Units and individuals that develop and use geothermal resources shall pay mineral resources compensation fees to the competent department of geology and mineral resources in Yinchuan in accordance with the State Council's Regulations on the Administration of the Collection of Mineral Resource Compensation Fees.

Article 26 Units and individuals that mine geothermal resources in areas or sections that have been surveyed shall pay the fee for mining rights of geothermal resources to the competent department of geology and mineral resources of Yinchuan City in accordance with the provisions of Article 10 of the “Measures for the Administration of Mineral Resource Exploitation Registration”. .

Article 27 The mining royalty use fees and mineral resources compensation fees for the exploitation of geothermal water shall be collected by the municipal competent department of geology and mineral resources in accordance with the "Measures for the Administration of Mineral Resource Exploitation Registration" and the "Regulations for the Collection of Mineral Resource Compensation Fees"; If the hot water mining royalty and mineral resources compensation fees are paid, the water resources fee will not be paid.

Article 28 Units or individuals possessing geothermal wells must install metering facilities. In the absence of metering facilities, the maximum mining standard is to be charged 24 hours a day.

Article 29 The use fees of the mining rights for the mining of geothermal resources collected by the municipal department of geology and mineral resources and the compensation fee for mineral resources shall be managed in a unified manner and shall be used for special purposes only. They shall not be misappropriated or retained, and shall be paid in full and in accordance with regulations in a timely manner.

Chapter V Legal Liability

Article 30 If one of the following acts is violated in violation of these Provisions, the municipal competent department of geology and mineral resources shall be responsible for the registration management of mineral resources according to the "Mining Resources Law of the People's Republic of China", the "Regulations for the Registration of Mineral Resource Exploration Blocks" of the State Council, and the State Council. The relevant provisions of the Measures, the State Council's Regulations on the Administration of the Collection of Mineral Resource Compensation Fees, and the Measures for the Administration of Mineral Resources in Yinchuan City shall be punished.

(1) failing to apply for exploration licenses, mining licenses, and unauthorized exploration or exploitation of geothermal resources;

(2) Carrying out exploration work or mining beyond the approved exploration area or mining area;

(3) failing to go through the registration or cancellation procedures for exploration licenses or mining licenses;

(4) Failing to submit monitoring data and annual reports on a monthly basis and refusing to receive supervision, inspection, or falsification;

(5) Failure to pay the fees payable as required.

Article 31 If a unit or individual exploits geothermal water in violation of these regulations and has one of the following acts, the municipal department of water shall be responsible for the Water Law of the People's Republic of China, the State Council's Measures for Implementing the Water Licensing System and the Ministry of Water Resources. The relevant provisions of the “Implementation Measures for Water Administrative Penalties” are ordered to be rectified within a time limit, and penalties will be imposed depending on the circumstances.

(1) Failing to apply for a permit for water abstraction or failing to excavate in accordance with the approved mining limit;

(2) Failure to submit monitoring data and annual reports on a monthly basis and refusing to receive supervision, inspection, or falsification.

Article 32 Where the mineral exploration right or mining right of a geothermal resource is not transferred without the approval of the examination and approval authority, the municipal department of geology and mineral resources shall order it to stop work and rectify it in accordance with Article 14 of the “Administrative Measures on the Transfer of Mining Right for Exploration Right” and confiscate the illegality. The proceeds shall be fined not more than 100,000 yuan for the parties concerned; where the circumstances are serious, the municipal department of geology and mineral resources shall revoke the exploration permit and mining permit to the geology and mineral resources administration of the autonomous region.

Article 33 In case of contamination of freshwater layers or thermal reservoirs during or after drilling, the municipal department of geology and mineral resources shall, in conjunction with the municipal department of environmental protection and the municipal department of water, make assessments, put forward opinions, and order them to take remedial measures. According to the degree of harm caused by it, the municipal environmental protection department shall be punished according to the relevant provisions of the “Environmental Protection Law of the People's Republic of China”.

Article 34 For the over-exploitation of geothermal resources, the municipal department of geology and mineral resources shall order it to make corrections within a time limit, and impose a 1-3 times compensation for the excessive amount of geothermal resources and a fine of not more than 30,000 yuan.

Article 35 If the party refuses to accept the decision of the administrative punishment, within 15 days from the date of receiving the penalty decision, he may apply to the people's government at the same level for reconsideration or file a lawsuit with the people's court. If the party fails to apply for reconsideration or prosecution, or fails to perform the punishment decision within the overdue period, the agency that has made the administrative punishment decision shall apply to the people's court for enforcement.

Article 36 Where a geothermal resource management personnel neglects his duties, abuses his power, or engages in malpractices for personal gains, the unit to which he belongs shall be given an administrative disciplinary measure, which constitutes a crime and shall be investigated for criminal responsibility according to law.

Chapter VI Supplementary Provisions

Article 37 This regulation shall be interpreted by Yinchuan Municipal Bureau of Legal Affairs and Yinchuan City Bureau of Geology and Mineral Resources.

Article 38 These regulations shall come into force on the date of promulgation.