The Department of Health and Environmental Control may lease development rights to geothermal resources underlying surface lands owned by the State. The department must promulgate regulations regarding the method of lease acquisition, lease terms, and conditions due the State under lease operations. The South Carolina Department of Natural Resources is designated as the exclusive agent for the department in selecting lands to be leased, administering the competitive bidding for leases, administering the leases, receiving and compiling comments from other state agencies concerning the desirability of leasing the state lands proposed for leasing and such other activities that pertain to geothermal resource leases as may be included herein as responsibilities of the department.