It is hereby found and determined that the people of the State of California have a direct and primary interest in the development of geothermal resources, and that the State of California, through the authority vested in the State Oil and Gas Supervisor, should exercise its power and jurisdiction to require that wells for the discovery and production of geothermal resources be drilled, operated, maintained and abandoned in such manner as to safeguard life, health, property, and the public welfare, and to encourage maximum economic recovery.
(Amended by Stats. 1967, Ch. 1398.)