Any well drilled under authority of this chapter from which usable geothermal resources cannot be derived, or the owner or operator has no intention of deriving usable geothermal resources, and that is not expected to provide information useful to the development of geothermal resources shall be plugged and decommissioned as provided in this chapter or, upon the operator's written application to the State Department of Geology and Mineral Industries and with the concurrence and approval of the Water Resources Director, jurisdiction over the well may be transferred to the Water Resources Director and, in such case, the well shall no longer be subject to the provisions of this chapter but shall be subject to any applicable laws and rules relating to wells drilled for appropriation and use of ground waters. If an application is made to transfer jurisdiction, a copy of all logs, records, histories and descriptions shall be provided to the Water Resources Director by the applicant.
ORS 522.045