West Virginia Code 22-33-4 – Ownership of geothermal resources
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(a) Ownership of any geothermal resource is vested in the owner of the surface property overlying the geothermal resource unless severance of the geothermal resource is clear and unambiguous in an instrument conveying or reserving ownership of the geothermal resource.
Terms Used In West Virginia Code 22-33-4
- Geothermal resource: means the natural heat of the earth and the energy, in whatever form, that is present in, associated with, or created by, or that may be extracted from, such natural heat, as determined by the secretary by legislative rule. See West Virginia Code 22-33-5
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Secretary: means the Secretary of the Department of Environmental Protection or his or her designee as provided in article one of this chapter. See West Virginia Code 22-33-5
- State: when applied to a part of the United States and not restricted by the context, includes the District of Columbia and the several territories, and the words "United States" also include the said district and territories. See West Virginia Code 2-2-10
(b) No mineral or water estate shall be construed to include any geothermal resource unless clearly and unambiguously included in an instrument reserving or conveying the geothermal resource.
(c) Nothing in this article shall divest any person or the state of any right, title, or interest they might have in any geothermal resource.
(d) Nothing in this article may be construed as vesting in the secretary the jurisdiction to adjudicate property rights disputes.