Video & Transcript Research : 'subsurface utilities'

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AL

Alabama 2026 1st Special Session

Alabama House Economic Development and Tourism Committee Jan 21st, 2026

Economic Development and Tourism

Transcript Highlights:
  • I'm not here to talk about science, but I would say that utilizing local legislation to preclude the
  • I'm not here to talk about science, but I would say that utilizing local legislation to preclude the
  • First, CO2 has been transported, utilized, and injected in the subsurface in the United States, dating
  • First, CO2 has been transported, utilized, and injected in the subsurface in the United States, dating
  • EPA specifically to regulate the injection of CO2 into the subsurface.
Bills: HB61, HB176, SB12
Keywords: 1136, house, all
NH

New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session

Senate Energy and Natural Resources (01/20/2026)

Energy and Natural Resources

Transcript Highlights:
  • I'm commissioner and interim chair of the New Hampshire Public Utilities Commission.
  • So the uh Public Utilities Commission is the state's economic regulator of uh utilities.
  • <00:04:35.680> of with the investorowned utilities of with the investorowned utilities of
  • <00:04:58.560> Uh they're an investor owned utility.
  • Uh they're an investor owned utility.
Keywords: 1191, senate, all
AL

Alabama 2026 1st Special Session

Alabama Senate Transportation and Energy Committee Mar 11th, 2026

Transportation and Energy

Transcript Highlights:
  • Um, as you all know, there is a longstanding what's come to be known as a one-call system for utility
  • So what that's doing is it's making us have to guess where those utilities are in order to move projects
  • it's making us have to guess<00:17:11.600> where<00:17:11.919> those<00:17:12.319> utilities
  • <00:17:12.799> are<00:17:13.679> uh<00:17:13.839> in guess where those utilities
  • are uh in guess where those utilities are uh in order<00:17:14.160> to<00:17:14.319> move<
Bills: SB341, SB340
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

03/04/2026 - House Ways & Means

Ways & Means

Transcript Highlights:
  • abatement period would basically render that tool as being almost a useless tool for the city to utilize
  • the City of Mesa raises a lot of its funds—at least $80 million of its government operations—from utility
  • sales above the cost of a reasonable rate of return on utilities, primarily because customers... ...
  • above the cost of a reasonable rate of return on utilities, primarily because customers who are outside
Summary: The House Ways and Means Committee heard several tax-related bills. SB 1293 would prohibit abating Government Property Lease Excise Tax revenues attributable to school districts, while still allowing abatements for counties, cities, towns, and community college districts. Supporters, including the sponsor, Arizona Tax Research Association, and NFIB, argued that GPLET shifts costs to other taxpayers and the state general fund through school aid backfill, while opponents from the City of Phoenix, City of Mesa, Greater Phoenix Economic Council, and the League of Arizona Cities and Towns said GPLET is an important redevelopment tool that supports urban projects, housing, and long-term tax base growth. After extensive debate over tax shifts, school backfill, and local redevelopment impacts, the committee passed SB 1293 on a 5-3 vote. The committee then considered SB 1294, a clarification to property tax classification rules for property destroyed by fire, flood, or other verifiable accident. The bill would allow assessors to keep the pre-destruction classification in place for up to five years or until a verifiable change in use occurs. The sponsor and Arizona Tax Research Association said the measure restores the prior intent of the law and corrects an inadvertent change. The committee approved SB 1294 with a due pass recommendation by a 6-1 vote, with one present and one absent. Finally, the committee took up SB 1430, an annual technical corrections bill for tax statutes administered by the Department of Revenue. An amendment was adopted to remove a disputed unclaimed-property limitations provision after the sponsor said he would strip out any nontechnical item that drew concern. The Department of Revenue supported the bill and the amendment, and the committee passed SB 1430 as amended by a 7-0 vote, with one present and one absent.
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

Energy 2ND REVISED Feb 26th, 2026 at 09:30 am

Energy

Transcript Highlights:
  • Chairman, have any of the utility companies come up with a cost analysis of what this might entail and
  • As far as I know, The utilities started talking to me last week, maybe even earlier this week.
  • I'd be willing to work with utilities and transmission companies to determine a fair rate.
HI

Hawaii 2026 Regular Session

EIG DEFER Public Hearing 04-21-2026

Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs

Transcript Highlights:
  • convene a working group to study the potential impacts of large data centers on Hawaii's electrical utilities
  • 32.320> electrical data centers on Hawaii's electrical data centers on Hawaii's electrical utilities
  • ,<00:07:33.520> ratepayers,<00:07:34.560> natural<00:07:34.880> resources utilities
  • , ratepayers, natural resources utilities, ratepayers, natural resources and<00:07:35.680> climate
Summary: The Committee on Energy and Intergovernmental Affairs reconvened on April 21 and took up a series of House Concurrent Resolutions, with no public testimony. Members first approved HCR 43, urging raised crosswalks near Ala Wai Elementary at University Avenue, Malkiki Street, and Kamoku Street to improve student safety, and HCR 154, asking Hawaii County to expand the Heleon shared ride program islandwide, including rural and underserved areas. They also passed HCR 165, calling for permanent pickleball nets and court lighting at Kamilo Iki Community Park, and HCR 186, urging the U.S. Department of Defense and Defense Health Agency to extend health care authorization renewals for people affected by the Red Hill water contamination crisis. The committee then approved HCR 200, which urges the Department of Defense to reassess prior CERCLA-related closure decisions in light of evolving PFAS science. Members said the measure was intended to help keep PFAS out of the water system. HCR 202, establishing a legislative task force on Hawaii’s future energy pathways, was amended before passage to expand the task force’s scope to include separation of generation from transmission and distribution, add Senate leadership representation, and include representatives from the Agricultural Development Corporation and the Farm Bureau. Several members supported the amended version with reservations, expressing concern about possible cost impacts from separating generation and distribution. Finally, the committee passed HCR 206 HD1, which requests the Hawaii State Energy Office to convene a working group to study the impacts of large data centers on utilities, ratepayers, natural resources, and climate goals. All measures were adopted by the committee, with HCR 202 passing with amendments and the others passing unamended. The meeting then adjourned.
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

Cap Committee Meeting - 2026-04-16

Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:
  • It's a utilities extension to some underserved areas as far as water and sewer.
  • It's a utilities extension to some underserved areas as far as water and sewer.
  • <01:03:03.119> improvement<01:03:03.599> projects, and utility improvement projects
  • <01:03:43.599> area<01:03:43.920> along<01:03:44.319> Lake heavily utilized
  • area along Lake heavily utilized area along Lake Minnetonka.<01:03:45.520> While<01:03:45.760>
MN

Minnesota 2025-2026 Regular Session

House Capital Investment Committee 3/20/25

Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:
  • <00:02:09.520> uh In 2021, I got an email from our utilities director.
  • And here I'm going to just turn my time over right away to my testifier so we can utilize the time wisely
  • utilize the time wisely. utilize the time wisely. Good<00:15:47.360> morning.
  • What are your costs for utilities? What are your costs for water?
  • So yes, we anticipate increased utility costs with these improvements, but we're prepared.
MN

Minnesota 2025 1st Special Session

House Capital Investment Committee 3/6/25

Capital Investment

Transcript Highlights:
  • Scott Anderson, utility superintendent, City of Bloomington.
  • yes Scott Anderson utility yes Scott Anderson utility superintendent<00:48:10.800> city<00
  • Additional utility work is needed citywide due to excessive mains in the system and inii?
  • project the city's base utility project the city's base utility fees<01:19:11.080> will<01
  • <01:25:10.880> Fund items such as Public Safety Utility Fund items such as Public Safety Utility
NH

New Hampshire 2026 Regular Session

House Committee on Housing (02/03/2026)

Housing

Transcript Highlights:
  • But we do have to meet with the Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee first.
  • We have to go through the Long Range Capital Planning and Utilization Committee to get their approval
  • range capital planning utilization range capital planning utilization committee<04:05:41.520>
  • So to have less on-site subsurface systems and less wells, you know, private wells and more people on
  • So to have less on-site subsurface systems and less wells, you know, private wells and more people on
Keywords: 1189, house, all
ND
Transcript Highlights:
  • I just appreciate it as honesty and his good overview of the utility industry.
  • But I think we should do everything we can to get ahead of it, and the utilities and legislators and
  • Coal utilization, we saw some of that, and then hydrogen.
  • So not just what we're utilizing today... ...100 million tons per year.
  • So we need to continually bring more CO2 into that process as it's locked up in the subsurface.
Summary: The committee met in Grand Forks, approved the February 26 minutes by voice vote, and recessed for a tour of Minnkota Power Cooperative before hearing presentations on large energy consumers and related infrastructure issues. The first presentation, from the North Dakota Transmission Authority, focused on the need for better local decision-making tools for counties, townships, and planning and zoning boards facing major projects such as transmission lines, pipelines, data centers, wind, solar, and large-scale agriculture. The speaker urged more objective, data-driven analysis, noted that local officials often have limited time and resources, and said the state should support training and tools through groups like the League of Cities and the Association of Counties. Members asked about proactive outreach, data center ordinances, and how to avoid subsidizing large loads or causing reliability problems. The Division of Air Quality then discussed environmental oversight of data centers, emphasizing that North Dakota’s air remains among the cleanest in the country and that the agency’s role is limited to air, water discharge, stormwater, and waste—not zoning or water use. The presentation explained that data centers generally have low direct emissions but may rely on diesel backup generators when the grid is unavailable, which creates air-quality concerns; the department said it is requiring air monitors at some projects to collect real-world data and guide future decisions. Members asked about generator emissions, misinformation, monitoring costs, and staffing succession, and the agency said permit applicants pay for the monitors while the state handles some QA work. The Department of Water Resources followed with an overview of North Dakota water law and data center water use. The director explained the state’s prior-appropriation system, the public-interest review for permits, and the large overall water supply available from groundwater and the Missouri River. He said most proposed data centers use closed-loop cooling systems and generally request relatively small amounts of water compared with other uses such as power plants, irrigation, and oilfield operations, and that even a worst-case data center scenario would use only a tiny fraction of Missouri River flow. Questions focused on downstream impacts and comparisons to fracking water use, and the director said the state’s use is too small to materially affect downstream users. Later, McLean County State’s Attorney Ladd-Erickson testified online about data center zoning and permitting. He asked the committee to have Legislative Council gather information on how other states handle data center permitting and to keep the topic on the interim agenda. He argued that local zoning should remain local, but said counties lack the technical and legal resources to manage complex reclamation or bonding requirements and that state-level enabling legislation may be more appropriate. He also recommended eliminating tax incentives for data centers. The committee chair said staff would prepare a document on other states’ zoning and permitting approaches. After a lunch recess, the committee reconvened at the EERC, where CEO Charles Gorecki gave an overview of the center’s 75 years of work and its role in oil and gas, carbon management, and other energy technologies, highlighting enhanced oil recovery and carbon dioxide utilization as major opportunities for future production and tax revenue.
ND

North Dakota 2026 1st Special Session

Energy Development and Transmission Committee Jun 2nd, 2026 at 09:00 am

Energy Development and Transmission Committee

Transcript Highlights:
  • I just appreciate it as honesty and his good overview of the utility industry.
  • Growth requires time from us, you and me, and communities; energy; investment in roads and utilities;
  • But I feel very comfortable in that both the Public Service Commission, the investor-owned utilities,
  • Coal utilizations, we saw some of that, and then hydrogen.
  • So we need to continually bring more CO2 into that process as it's locked up in the subsurface.
Keywords: 908, all
HI
Transcript Highlights:
  • :07.639> can written testimony that departments can written testimony that departments can utilize
  • <00:34:09.119> to<00:34:09.760> attract<00:34:10.240> or utilize to attract or utilize
  • I would have to check our data source to see if they've utilized that with regard to differentials.
  • some of these tools department utilized some of these tools uh<00:36:39.640> to<00:36:39.839>
  • Okay, thank you. ...that evaluate the potential of a project to adversely impact subsurface historic
Keywords: 910, house, all
KY
Transcript Highlights:
  • And I also need a subsurface engineer there to do some subsurface work so I can see how these sinkholes
  • > engineer<00:50:42.880> there<00:50:43.920> uh also need a subsurface engineer
  • there uh also need a subsurface engineer there uh to<00:50:44.480> do<00:50:44.640> some
  • ><00:50:44.880> subsurface<00:50:45.440> work<00:50:45.680> so<00:50:45.760>
  • I<00:50:45.920> can<00:50:46.079> see to do some subsurface work so I can see to do
Keywords: 958, all
Summary: The committee met with a quorum and first approved the minutes from its May 13 meeting. Members then reviewed a deferred contract with the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy for the Kentucky Pharmacist Recovery Network (KYPRN), a program that provides monitoring and support for pharmacists and pharmacy interns with substance abuse or mental health issues. Board representatives explained that the contract is a long-running arrangement, renewed periodically, with an option for two additional two-year renewals. Senators asked about the program’s structure, participation trends, follow-up, and consequences for noncompliance. The board said enrollment has remained fairly consistent at about 52 participants, with roughly 500 participants over the life of the program, weekly and monthly check-ins during the five-year typical enrollment period, and possible additional sanctions if participants fail to meet obligations. The committee then approved the contract. The committee next considered a group of economic development contracts, including items from the Cabinet for Economic Development. Secretary Jeff Null and general counsel Matt Wingate testified about contracts tied to regional innovation and entrepreneurship hubs. Members focused on the large differences in funding between regions and pressed for more support for rural and eastern Kentucky. Null said the cabinet is working on a more tailored, non-one-size-fits-all approach, including possible changes to capital support, build-to-suit options, and additional resources for rural areas. He said the hubs have helped 193 startups over the last two years and helped attract nearly $350 million in private capital, and he agreed to provide a written report by hub district on startup viability. The committee approved the economic development contracts. The Kentucky Lottery Corporation then presented its contracts with vendor IGT for retail and internet sales systems. Lottery officials said the contracts are mission-critical, cover both the traditional retail system and iLottery, and are structured as a percentage of sales so no payment is made until revenue is earned. They described planned equipment upgrades, including refreshed terminals, new ticket checkers, cashless vending and bill acceptors, and connected-play features that would link retail and online wallets. Officials said keeping the same vendor reduces the risk of business disruption and that the arrangement has already produced cost savings. They also said the lottery continues to see year-over-year growth and expects to meet its annual contribution target of $360 million for scholarships and grants. The committee approved the lottery contract after discussion.
AZ

Arizona 2026 Regular Session

04/20/2026 - Senate Floor Session

Arizona Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • And additionally, that it do a whole host of other things, that it compensates states for subsurface
  • It compensates states for subsurface mineral rights and streamlines permitting for mines in the West.
  • Allowing employees who will not utilize basic, safe medical care to work in... ...employees who will
  • not utilize basic, safe medical care to work in medical settings deprivizes the patients and places the
Keywords: 1182, all
Summary: The Senate met with 28 members present and approved the journal, then took up several motions to recall or reconsider previously passed House bills, including HB 2035, HB 2249, and HB 2192. The chamber then resolved into Committee of the Whole to consider a series of bills and memorials. Major floor action centered on HB 2248, a public health bill restricting medical intervention requirements; HB 2313, relating to teacher strikes and remote instruction; HB 2379 and HB 2380, both dealing with school district governing boards; HB 2720, relating to prostitution assessment and the anti-trafficking fund; HB 2873, concerning local government referendum petitions; and several memorials and resolutions on foreign policy, education, water, and energy. HB 2248 drew the most debate, with supporters arguing for parental and individual choice and opponents warning it would undermine public health protections, especially for children, immunocompromised people, and patients in schools and medical settings. Amendments were adopted in committee, and the bill advanced. HB 2379 and HB 2380 also prompted extended debate over school board training and livestreaming requirements, with opponents calling them unfunded mandates or attacks on democracy and supporters emphasizing transparency and fiscal responsibility. HB 2873 was heavily discussed as a Marana-specific referendum measure tied to a local data center dispute; supporters said stakeholders agreed to the language, while opponents said it was an end run around voters and pending court proceedings. In third reading, the Senate passed HB 2118 on mobile food vendors, HCM 2009 on mineral access and federal land withdrawals, HCR 2015 on school physical activity and dietary guidelines, HCR 2020 on housing outside designated service areas with assured water supply, HCR 2057 supporting next-generation geothermal energy, and HB 2248, HB 2379, and HB 2380. The chamber also passed HCM 2001 and HCM 2002 urging federal terrorist designations for the Muslim Brotherhood and CAIR, and HCR 2047 recognizing Judea and Samaria. These memorials and resolutions drew strong opposition from senators who said they targeted Muslims, promoted religious or ideological messaging, or were not based on adequate evidence. The Senate also adopted a House request to adjourn after April 22 and then adjourned until April 21, 2026 at 10 a.m.
CA
Transcript Highlights:
  • There's another framework for microgrids, which is what I call utility-driven microgrids.
  • There's another framework for microgrids, which is what I call utility-driven microgrids.
  • That's where the distribution, which is what I call utility-driven microgrids.
  • And so that's a fantastic example of where the utility can recognize we have a severe here.
  • This would allow many public-owned utilities that have those fuel turbines to utilize that, start decarbonizing
Summary: The Select Committee on Climate Innovation and Infrastructure held a hearing focused on emerging technologies for climate resilience and infrastructure. The first panel discussed the Calistoga Resiliency Center, a utility-driven microgrid that keeps the city powered during public safety power shutoffs using hydrogen fuel cells, lithium-ion batteries, and liquid hydrogen storage. PG&E described microgrids as a resilience tool but emphasized that cost remains the main barrier to wider deployment. Energy Vault explained the project’s design, its ability to provide at least 48 hours of backup power on a small parcel of land, and its use of green hydrogen and battery storage to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. A Calistoga councilmember and NCPA representative also discussed the Lodi Energy Center hydrogen project, saying it could help decarbonize power generation and transportation, but that federal and state funding changes, tax credit timing, and other policy shifts have made the project difficult to advance. The Green Hydrogen Coalition supported the Calistoga model as a blueprint and urged policy changes to create demand and reduce barriers for renewable hydrogen, including addressing behind-the-meter rules and recognizing hydrogen in state energy planning. The second panel focused on water resilience and desalination, with the California Desal Association and Oneka Technologies discussing wave-powered desalination for the City of Fort Bragg. Cal Desal said California’s changing hydrology, reduced snowpack, and drought conditions make local water supply options increasingly important, but noted that conventional desalination is expensive and slow to permit. Oneka described its offshore, wave-powered system as a zero-electricity desalination technology that produces drinking water without greenhouse gas emissions and with limited land use, and said the Fort Bragg pilot is intended to demonstrate the technology under California conditions. The company and Cal Desal both stressed that permitting is a major obstacle, with the project requiring multiple agencies and a timeline far longer than in other jurisdictions. They also said the technology’s autonomous operation could improve water resilience because it does not depend on the electrical grid. The final panel featured the Climate Foundation’s marine permaculture proposal, which aims to restore kelp forests and support carbon removal and coastal food systems. The presenter said warming oceans and nutrient loss have devastated kelp forests along the California coast and argued that offshore platforms that raise and lower seaweed to access nutrients and sunlight could help regenerate ecosystems while producing food, feed, fertilizer, and carbon benefits. He said the technology has shown strong growth rates and storm resilience in other regions, but that California permitting remains a major hurdle, involving 17 state and federal agencies. He proposed a streamlined, code-based permitting approach for smaller projects and said the group is seeking matching funds to complete a first California pilot. Throughout the hearing, members and witnesses repeatedly highlighted the tension between innovation and the high cost, complexity, and length of California’s permitting and funding processes.
PA

Pennsylvania 2025-2026 Regular Session

Senate Session (Jul 11 2026)

Pennsylvania Senate Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • deemed to have acquired full fee simple ownership, including any severed oil, gas, mineral, or other subsurface
  • This applies only if the subsurface rights.
  • This applies only if the subsurface estate was not separately assessed for taxes during the tax sale
Summary: The Senate opened with prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and routine administrative business, including approval of the June 1, 2026 journal and several leave requests. The chamber then took up a series of bills and committee referrals, with House Bill 1042 initially sent to Appropriations and later re-referred to Rules and Executive Nominations after committee action. Several other measures were either passed, held over in their order, or re-referred, including House Bills 36 and 513 to Appropriations and various Senate and House bills set aside for later consideration. The most substantive floor debate centered on House Bill 96, where Senator Yaw offered Amendment A4096 to clarify the legal effect of historic tax sales of unseated lands. The amendment would treat certain historic tax-sale deeds as conveying full fee simple ownership, including severed subsurface rights, unless those rights were separately assessed, and would require documentary proof for claims of redemption. The amendment passed 36-14. The Senate also adopted Amendment A4183 to House Bill 1862 after a ruling that Senator Rothman had no conflict of interest and was required to vote; that amendment passed 46-4. Later, Amendment A4173 to House Bill 2559 was adopted 49-1, and House Bill 2559 then passed as amended. Several bills received final passage by unanimous 50-0 votes, including House Bills 482, 1102, 1830, 1860, and 2426, while House Bill 1862 and House Bill 96 were advanced as amended. The Senate also returned a slate of gubernatorial nominations to the governor on motion of the Rules and Executive Nominations Committee. During petitions and remonstrances, Senator Tartaglione urged action to raise Pennsylvania’s minimum wage, arguing the budget should not ignore low-wage workers. The session also included recognition remarks for Ed Sheehan’s retirement and a submission to the record on the Treaty of Paris. The Senate then recessed until July 12, 2026, at noon, and several bills were signed in the presence of the Senate before recess.
LA

Louisiana 2026 Regular Session

House of Representatives May 31st, 2026

Louisiana House Floor Meeting

Transcript Highlights:
  • and the Louisiana Geological Survey to establish an advisory committee to study laws governing subsurface
  • HCR 104, governing subsurface data, had Senate committee amendments adopted. Rep.
  • Martinus creates and provides for the Louisiana Energy and Power Authority Municipal Utility Task Force
  • study the affordability, transparency, governance, infrastructure, and impacts of municipal electric utility
OK

Oklahoma 2026 Regular Session

Energy REVISED Apr 23rd, 2026 at 09:30 am

Energy

Transcript Highlights:
  • He's pushing the envelope on how we utilize our resources better.
  • If we can utilize the existing transmission lines that we have now with better.
  • Is it the utilities, or who calls the shots?
  • So, if anybody wants to know what the one megawatt was, it was actually to keep utilities from socializing