Delaware § 5505 - Responsibilities and duties of State Geologist.

§ 5505. Responsibilities and duties of State Geologist.

The State Geologist and the Acting State Geologist shall have the following responsibilities and duties:

(1) The State Geologist or the Acting State Geologist shall hereby be required to evaluate all activities related to oil, gas and geothermal energy exploration or development on land or water within the State and report his or her findings and recommendations promptly to the appropriate and affected agencies and officials of the State. In order to receive and consider the report of the State Geologist, any agency or official of the State approached to allow, permit or otherwise provide for such activities shall promptly notify the State Geologist, providing details of the contact and requesting a report and recommendations.

(2) The Delaware Geological Survey may receive by appropriation or transfer funds for cooperative programs with its counterpart federal agencies, including the United States Geological Survey, the United States Bureau of Mines and the United States Minerals Management Service and shall be the only agency of the State to enter into agreements with those federal agencies.

(3) The State Geologist shall serve as the representative of the State to the River Master of the Delaware River in accordance with the Supreme Court Decree of 1954 [New Jersey v. New York, 347 U.S. 995, 74 S. Ct. 842; 98 L. Ed. 1127 (1954)].

(4) The State Geologist or the Acting State Geologist shall prepare reports to the General Assembly showing the progress and conditions of the Survey together with such other information as it deems necessary and useful. Any reports, maps or other literature prepared and printed by the Survey shall be distributed or sold as the interest of the State and of science demand. All material collected after having served the purposes of the Survey shall be distributed to the educational institutions of the State or the whole or part of such material shall be put on public exhibition.

(5) Responsibility for matters relating to water quality, geologic hazards, seismicity and cartographic information.

48 Del. Laws, c. 173, §  4;  7 Del. C. 1953, §  5506;  55 Del. Laws, c. 442, §  7;  66 Del. Laws, c. 154, §  2;  70 Del. Laws, c. 186, §  1;