A. 
Officials. The city council shall act as the governing body of the geothermal service, and the director of public works shall act as the chief administrative officer of the service.
B. 
Assignment of Organizational Responsibilities. The director of public works may delegate or assign responsibilities for geothermal service functions and activities to such divisions and personnel as the director of public works may deem appropriate or necessary.
C. 
Principal Functions and Activities. The principal functions and activities of the geothermal services shall include, but not be limited to:
1. 
The exploration for and confirmation of geothermal resources and/or thermal groundwaters;
2. 
The monitoring of geothermal and/or thermal groundwater reservoirs and the management of reservoir activities, so as to promote stable reservoir conditions and enhance reservoir productivity;
3. 
The supplying, furnishing and selling of geothermal resources to city inhabitants;
4. 
The supplying, furnishing, and selling of any surplus geothermal resources over and above the needs of the city to persons outside the city, and for purposes deemed appropriate by the city council;
5. 
The establishment and maintenance of an office where local geothermal information and all geothermal records authorized or required by this chapter shall be kept and made available for public inspection and reproduction; a registry of local geothermal wells and geothermal facilities shall be established and maintained at the department of public works;
6. 
The sponsoring of and participation in the scientific study and demonstration of geothermal resources and technologies;
7. 
Geothermal disposal drainage work as authorized by the city; and
8. 
All other acts and things which may be requisite, necessary or convenient in carrying out the purpose of this chapter and state law.
(Prior code § 23.44)
A. 
Establishment. The geothermal service boundary shall encompass all land within the corporate limits of the city, as now or hereafter constituted.
B. 
Extension of Service Outside City Boundary. Service shall normally be available only to users located within the city boundary. However, the city council may, by contract, extend service outside the boundary in cases where such extension is deemed in the best interests of the city, but only after determining that such service capability is based upon a surplus of geothermal resources existing over and above any and all demands of the users within the city boundary. Contracts for service outside the city boundary shall condition continued service upon the continuance of the surplus over city needs.
(Prior code § 23.45)
A. 
Operational Financing. Geothermal service operations and maintenance, within or without the city boundary, may be financed by one or more, or any combination, of the following methods:
1. 
Such rates, fees and charges as may be required by this chapter;
2. 
Refunding bonds, of the same character and tenor as those general obligation bonds replaced thereby, by resolution of the commission and approval by resolution of the city council;
3. 
Revenue bonds pledging the gross revenues of the city's heating service, if approved by resolution of the city council;
4. 
Federal and state grants-in-aid, and private endowments; and
5. 
All other legal means.
B. 
Improvement Financing. Geothermal service improvements, within or without the city boundary, and including, but not limited to, the purchase, lease or acquisition of real estate or equipment, and the planning, design, construction, reconstruction, extension, enlargement, purchase, lease or acquisition of geothermal facilities, may be financed by one or more, or any combination, of the following methods:
1. 
Such rates, fees and charges as may be required by this chapter;
2. 
Revenue bonds secured by all or any part of the geothermal service's gross revenues subject to approval by resolution of the city council; such revenue bonds shall not be subject to the percentage limitations applicable to general obligation bonds, but shall be payable solely from such part of the revenues of the geothermal service;
3. 
Refunding bonds, of the same character and tenor as those revenue bonds replaced thereby, by resolution of the city council;
4. 
Special assessments, pursuant to laws of the state of California, and city procedures for local improvement districts;
5. 
Federal and state grants-in-aid, and private endowments; and
6. 
All other legal means.
C. 
Refund of Certain Geothermal Pipeline Extension Costs. If any person is required by the city council to advance to the city costs of extending a geothermal pipeline adjacent to property other than their own so that geothermal service is provided for such other property without further extension of the geothermal pipeline, the commission shall require the owner of the other property, prior to providing geothermal service to that property, to pay to the department a pro rata portion of the cost of the extension. The commission, upon approval of the city council, may then refund a portion of the funds originally paid by the first owner. The right to require subsequent users to pay the pro rata portion shall not continue for more than 20 years after the date of installation of the extension of the geothermal pipeline. The amount to be refunded shall be determined by commission resolution, and granted only upon city council approval.
(Prior code § 23.46)
A. 
Authorized Facilities. In performance of the functions and activities specified in Section 13.12.080(C), the city may plan, design, construct, acquire, lease, operate, maintain and improve a system of geothermal facilities, which may include, but need not be limited to, wells; heat exchangers; pumps for fluid extraction, circulation, and injection; pipelines for conveying fluids; disposal facilities; tanks for storing fluids; fluid or heat metering devices; and various testing instruments and system control devices.
B. 
Other Heat Sources. The commission, with city council approval by resolution, may authorize, by contract, the department's purchase and distribution of heat or fluid generated by sources other than the city's wells, in order to supplement the city's geothermal resource.
(Prior code § 23.47)
A. 
Authority to Initiate Improvement Projects. Improvement projects for the geothermal service shall be initiated by the city council upon its own motion or upon the written petition of the owners of one-half of the property that benefits specifically by the proposed improvement. A study will then be initiated by the commission to assess economic feasibility.
B. 
Compliance with State Siting Requirements. All contemplated improvements shall comply with applicable statutes and regulations of the state of California.
C. 
Procedures for Special Assessments. Whenever any geothermal service improvement is to be paid for in whole or in part by special assessments according to benefits, the city council shall administer such assessment procedure in accordance with state law and this code, and such other procedures applicable to local improvement districts.
D. 
Means of Improvements. The construction work for improvements of city geothermal facilities will be done in whole, or in part, by the city, by a contract, or by any other governmental agency, or by any combination thereof, as authorized by the city council and the laws of the state.
E. 
Acquisition of Private Wells and Geothermal Facilities. As provided for in Section 13.12.100(B), the city council may purchase, lease or receive as a gift, any privately owned geothermal wells and/or geothermal facilities, within or without the city boundary, for purposes of improving the geothermal services principal functions and activities.
(Prior code § 23.48)
A. 
Application Procedure. Any person desiring to connect a user pipeline to the city geothermal distribution pipeline, may apply for such service connection with the department on forms provided for that purpose. An application fee to be paid at the time of making application shall be set by resolution of the city council. The department shall approve or deny said application in writing within 14 days of its filing.
B. 
Service Connection Fees. Upon approval of a service connection application, the applicant shall remit a connection fee to the department in an amount to be established by resolution of the city council.
C. 
Upon payment of the connection fee, said applicant shall receive a service connection permit that will expire one year following its issuance. An extension of the one-year period may be granted for good cause by the department.
D. 
Failure to remit the fee in full, or otherwise comply with fee requirements, within 14 days of the date of application approval shall render said approval void. The applicant shall be given written notice by mail that the approval is void.
E. 
Service Connection Standards and Inspections. All user service pipeline connections to the geothermal service system, including cascaded use connections, shall be completed under procedures promulgated by the department. All completed and approved user service pipeline connections shall remain inoperable, by department deactivation of the city geothermal meter, until such time as a service account is activated by the department. All completed and approved service connections shall be used only for the purpose expressly cited in the connection permit; service users shall not, in any manner, otherwise connect or divert the heat or fluid provided by the service connection. The city shall not be liable for the materials, workmanship, operation or maintenance, relating to the user service pipeline or to private heating or cooling equipment installed beyond the city's service connection.
(Prior code § 23.49)
The commission shall recommend to the city council application procedures, required service deposits, billing procedures, service charges, and procedures for delinquent accounts. The city council, by resolution, shall adopt same and shall, after reviewing the recommendation of the commission, establish all fees and charges to be charged for geothermal service and supply, as well as for cascaded uses.
(Prior code § 23.50)
All geothermal services provided by the city shall be subject to the following terms and conditions:
A. 
The city reserves the right to cease operation of the geothermal system, or any part thereof, and cancel such services as may be provided by the system for reasons of emergency maintenance or repairs as authorized by the director of public works. The director of public works shall diligently endeavor to provide user and public notice prior to such emergency actions at the earliest time and most comprehensive extent;
B. 
The city council, by resolution, may establish regular seasonal periods of geothermal service operation and nonoperation;
C. 
The city shall assume no liability whatsoever, direct or implied, for any user damages or injuries incurred as a result of geothermal service interruption or cancellation;
D. 
The city shall not warrant or guarantee the temperature or chemical quality of the fluid delivered to users. The city shall not assume any liability whatsoever, direct or implied, for corrosion, scaling, or similar physical degradation of user pipelines or private heating or cooling equipment utilized beyond each service connection;
E. 
Force Majeure. Natural catastrophe, or other causes beyond the reasonable control of the parties, which prevent city from providing, or user from accepting, any of city's services covered by this chapter, shall operate to suspend the obligations of user and city during the period required to remove such cause.
(Prior code § 23.51)