Groundwater and Geology Business Licensing Standards: Permen ESDM 7/2026

This article describes the geology-subsector standards in Peraturan Menteri Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral Nomor 7 Tahun 2026 tentang Standar Kegiatan Usaha pada Penyelenggaraan Perizinan Berusaha Berbasis Risiko Sektor Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral. It is part of a series; for the framework, the licence categories (PB and PB UMKU), and the transitional rules, see the overview of Permen ESDM 7/2026.

Geology is the one subsector that appears only as supporting licensing (PB UMKU): it has no core business licence (PB) in Lampiran I. Its standards are in Lampiran II.

Supporting licences (PB UMKU)

The geology standards centre on groundwater use. The principal item is the Izin Pengusahaan Air Tanah (groundwater-use licence), stated to apply to all KBLI codes that use groundwater. The annex sets the standard for the application process and for related groundwater activities, including drilling and excavation of groundwater.

As stated in the annex, the licence is issued with the priority of using surface water first, and on the basis of groundwater conditions recorded in the groundwater conservation zone and other hydrogeological data, in order to keep groundwater use orderly.

Key definitions in the annex include:

• Air Tanah (groundwater) — water contained in soil layers or rock below the ground surface.
• Zona Konservasi Air Tanah (groundwater conservation zone) — a zone determined by shared groundwater carrying-capacity, shared damage level, and shared management.
• Sungai Bawah Tanah (underground river) — a river that flows below the ground surface.
• Izin Pengusahaan Air Tanah — the legality to use groundwater, granted to a business actor to support a business activity.
• Pengeboran/Penggalian Air Tanah — drilling or excavation of groundwater.

Relationship to the groundwater regulation

The transitional provisions tie groundwater applications to the existing groundwater regime: applications in process until the OSS system is adjusted to PP 28/2025 continue under, among others, Permen ESDM No. 14 Tahun 2024 on the administration of groundwater-use licensing and groundwater-use approval (Article 15). Licences already issued and still valid remain valid until they expire (Article 16).

Sanctions

A business actor breaching the geology PB UMKU terms faces administrative sanctions under Article 11: written warning, temporary cessation of the whole groundwater undertaking, and/or revocation of the PB UMKU.

Citation

Peraturan Menteri Energi dan Sumber Daya Mineral Republik Indonesia Nomor 7 Tahun 2026, Lampiran II (Subsektor Geologi). Ditetapkan 8 Juni 2026; berlaku 12 Juni 2026. Source: jdih.esdm.go.id; peraturan.bpk.go.id.

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