Sec. 208. Geothermal leasing and permitting improvements
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Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall each promulgate regulations for the use of 1 or more categorical exclusions under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) for individual disturbances of less than 10 acres for activities required to test, monitor, calibrate, explore, or confirm geothermal resources, provided those activities do not involve— the commercial production of geothermal resources; the use of geothermal resources for commercial operations; or construction of permanent roads.
Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1003(b) ) is amended— in paragraph (2), by striking every 2 years and inserting per year ; and by adding at the end the following: If a lease sale under this section for a year is cancelled or delayed, the Secretary shall conduct a replacement sale not later than 180 days after the date of the cancellation or delay, as applicable, and the replacement sale may not be cancelled or delayed. . Section 4 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1003 ) is amended by adding at the end the following:
Not later than 10 days after the date on which the Secretary receives an application for any geothermal drilling permit, the Secretary shall— provide written notice to the applicant that the application is complete; or notify the applicant that information is missing from the application and specify any information that is required to be submitted for the application to be complete. Not later than 30 days after the date on which an applicant submits a complete application for a geothermal drilling permit under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall— grant or deny the application, if the requirements under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 ( 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) and any other applicable law have been completed; or defer the decision on the application and provide to the applicant notice— that specifies steps that the applicant can take for the decision on the application to be issued; and of a list of actions that need to be taken by the agency in order to comply with applicable law, and timelines and deadlines for completing those actions. .
Section 24 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1023 ) is amended— by striking the section designation and all that follows through The Secretary and inserting the following: The Secretary ; and by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall, not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the . Energy Permitting Reform Act of 2024 , promulgate rules for cost recovery, to be paid by permit applicants or lessees, to facilitate the timely coordination and processing of leases, permits, and authorizations and to reimburse the Secretary for all reasonable administrative costs incurred from the inspection and monitoring of activities thereunder.
Not later than 1 year after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall promulgate regulations and establish a Federal permitting process to allow for simultaneous, concurrent consideration of multiple phases of a geothermal project, including— surface exploration; geophysical exploration; drilling; and power plant construction. Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 ( 42 U.S.C. 15942 ) is amended— in subsection (a)— by striking
(NEPA)and inserting ( ; 42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq. ) (referred to in this section as NEPA ) by inserting ( after 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. ) Mineral Leasing Act ; and by inserting , or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( before the period at the end; and 30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. ) for the purpose of exploration or development of geothermal resources in subsection (b)— in paragraph (2), by striking oil or gas and inserting oil, gas, or geothermal resources ; and in paragraph (3), by striking oil or gas and inserting oil, gas, or geothermal resources . Not later than 60 days after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior shall appoint within the Bureau of Land Management a Geothermal Ombudsman. The Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under paragraph
(1)shall— act as a liaison between the individual field offices of the Bureau of Land Management and the Director of the Bureau of Land Management; provide dispute resolution services between the individual field offices of the Bureau of Land Management and applicants for geothermal resource permits; monitor and facilitate permit processing practices and timelines across individual field offices of the Bureau of Land Management; develop best practices for the permitting and leasing process for geothermal resources; and coordinate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. The Geothermal Ombudsman shall submit to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives an annual report that describes the activities of the Geothermal Ombudsman and evaluates the effectiveness of geothermal permit processing during the preceding 1-year period.
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Sec. 208
Geothermal leasing and permitting improvements
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