A plan to develop the geothermal resources of the Imperial Valley of California is presented. The plan consists of development policies and includes text and graphics setting forth the objectives, principles, standards, and proposals. The plan allows developers to know the goals of the surrounding community and provides a method for decision making to be used by county representatives. A summary impact statement for the geothermal development aspects is provided

Pierson, D. E.

English

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IMPERIAL VALLEY'S PROPOSAL TO DEVELOP A GUIDE 
FOR GEOTHERMAL DEVELOPMENT 
WITHIN ITS COUNTY 
David E. Pierson 
Imperial County Department of Public Works 
El  Centro, California 
The county's tool to guide its development i s  a so called 
"General Plan. " The purpose of this project is to establish the geo- 
thermal element for  the County's General Plan. In order to prepare 
such a General Plan, a considerable amount of research plus compi- 
lation and examination of existing research is required. A proposal 
i s  pending wherein Imperial County, University of California, River- 
side, and California Institute of Technology would combine efforts 
to develop this plan. This research should show the general loca- 
tion in which development could occur, the economic tradeoffs of 
geothermal development, the sociological, geographic, land use, 
and environmental effects, plus geological and engineering study. 
When all  is  put together, we wi l l  know what effect geothermal devel- 
opment w i l l  have upon Imperial County as  determined by the best 
available evidence at  this time. 
Imperial County i s  not only known as the nation's salad bowl but it now is 
becoming known as  the nation's "teapot. " The geothermal resource areas  of 
the county a r e  being explored and tested. The various techniques of harnessing 
the resource a re  now being researched in the laboratory and in the field. 
industry and the federal government a r e  proceeding to develop a means to  
utilize the heat and liquids to generate electricity and to produce fresh water. 
Both 
The people and the government of Imperial County look on this process 
We need certain kinds of development, but we do with considerable interest. 
need to insure compatability with our current environment. 
ment has just applied to the National Science Foundation for funds to study the 
effects of geothermal development in the county and to prepare a geothermal 
element of the County General Plan. 
The county govern- 
Some of you may be familiar with the California General Plan Require- 
ments but for those who are not, I can briefly summarize. 
i s  to consist of development policies and shall include text and graphics setting 
forth the objectives, principles, standards, and proposals. The geothermal 
element, when adopted, would be the guide for development. 
the developers to know what the goals of the county a r e  and would give the 
county decisionmakers a tool to use on developers. 
problem, a summary of the county should be given. 
The General Plan 
It would allow 
In order to understand the 
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Imperial County contains one of the more unusual agricultural a reas  in 
the world. 
can produce over a third of a billion dollars in crops and livestock annually. 
It is  possible to produce up to four crops a year on some pieces of land because 
of the warm and extremely long growing seasons and the fact that the land is 
almost totally supported by irrigation water from the Colorado River. 
irrigation water flows via the All American Canal to  the center of the valley 
then flows northward via canals on the east  and west edges of the irrigated area 
There a r e  655,680 ac res  between the two eastern and western canals, and 
approximately 474,500 acres  a r e  in actual agricultural production. The county 
a s  a whole has approximately 4600 square miles, so the irrigated area i s  
approximately 25 percent of the county. 
Here in the middle of an actual desert lies Imperial Valley, which 
The 
Imperial County is also blessed with large acreage designated a s  geo- 
thermal resource areas .  The Glamis, the Dunes, and the East Mesa KGRA's 
a r e  outside the irrigated a rea  and on principally government land. 
Brawley, and the Salton Sea resource a reas  lie within the irrigated a rea  and 
underlie privately owned land. 
The Heber, 
The County Board of Supervisors has adopted several  policies concerning 
the relationship between agricultural land and geothermal development. 
"Terms, Conditions, and Standards for  Initial Geothermal Development in 
Imperial County, I f  adopted in 1971, it is stated that "it is the intent of this 
policy to encourage exploration and development projects, and to increase the 
store of knowledge surrounding this resource. I f  The Ultimate Land Use Plan 
states that "agriculture is the current mainstay of Imperial County's economy; 
therefore, in order to achieve the General Plan goals, i t  is  imperative that the 
agricultural land be guarded against noncompatible use. I '  This policy was 
adopted on June 25, 1973. 
In the 
Imperial County felt a specific responsibility to the people of the county 
to guide initial geothermal development within the county. The county assumed 
this responsibility through the zoning regulations a s  a means of control. Many 
of the K G U ' s  a r e  on private lands, where the county's zoning controls a r e  not 
questioned. 
when the federal government issues geothermal leases. 
In addition, the county has requested that our standards be imposed 
In order to implement the zoning regulations, the County of Imperial pre- 
pared a ser ies  of "Terms, conditions, and Standards for Initial Geothermal 
Development" and adopted it a s  a public policy for this development. 
stated intent of this policy to encourage exploration and development projects 
and to increase the store of knowledge surrounding this resource. It is also 
the intent of this policy that there be coordination of existing anticipated data 
so that general planning may occur to provide the optimum development of the 
resource. 
It is the 
As described before, we want development compatible with our agricul- 
ture. The county now appears to be on the verge of an almost major geothermal 
development. The terms,  conditions, and standards were satisfactory for  indi- 
vidual exploratory wells, but they a r e  not enough to evaluate a 50-megawatt 
generating plant with 10 geothermal wells. 
161  
To f i l l  this void, the county approached the University of California a t  
Riverside and the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, to determine 
if they could assis t  us in preparing a geothermal element for the General Plan. 
It was realized early that most of the information needed to prepare such an 
element was not available. So the first order of research would be to study the 
effect of various types and sizes of development on all a reas  of the county. 
After this i s  done, we would be in a position to prepare the actual element. 
In order to fund the basic research and the element, the county, with the 
very great assistance of the University of California, Riverside, has prepared 
a Grant Application and submitted it to the National Science Foundation, and we 
expect favorable action. 
This geothermal research will be conducted by members of the faculty of 
the University of California, Riverside, and the California Institute of Technol- 
ogy in Pasadena. We will utilize the talents of geophysicists, engineers, soci- 
ologists, economists, geographers, and public relations experts to conduct 
research and to  produce the following: 
A geothermal element, which shows the proposed locations, zoning, 
and regulations of geothermal development. 
An economic tradeoff study, which shows who gains and who loses 
from geothermal development by economic sector. 
A sociologic study, which shows the impacts upon employment, 
families, ethnic groups, social structure, and interest parties 
affected. 
A policy analysis, which identifies the political issues, alternatives, 
coalitions, and regulations that may resolve differences of 
interests. 
A geographic study, which identifies the alternative geothermal 
well locations, development patterns, land use effects, agricultural 
losses, and environmental effects. 
A geological assessment, which defines the extent and quality of 
the resource, in terms of heat, chemical composition, ,extraction 
problems, and costs of well development. 
An engineering assessment, which identifies the costs associated 
with energy collection, conversion, waste water disposal, and 
environmental abatement . 
The county will retain specialized personnel to  insure that the answers 
a r e  meaningful and to prepare the geothermal element. 
ize an industrial committee made up of representatives in the geothermal indus- 
t r y  area who will monitor progress and express industrial concerns. 
also establish a management committee made up of county officials who will ' 
insure inclusion of the county's interests. 
a periodic overview of the research progress and will be able to detect unde- 
sirable directions of research. 
The county will organ- 
We will 
Each of these committees will have 
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Once all  this research is completed, the geothermal element will be 
prepared and, after multiple public hearings, will be adopted a s  county policy. 
This plan will be prepared in such a manner that i t  will provide a roadmap 
for development of this resource or  similar resources in other counties. 
addition, the techniques used in research will also be transferable. Thus, once 
again, Imperial County may be used a s  a model in this field. We feel that we 
a r e  progressive, small enough to be flexible, and large enough to be capable. 
This combination of county government is not always available. We consider 
ourselves fortunate to be able to interest NSF and the educational institutions 
in this problem, and we would expect this project to be invaluable to the County 
of Imperial and to other developable areas.  
In 
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Imperial Valley's proposal to develop a guide for geothermal development within its county

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