Sec. 4. Geothermal leasing and permitting improvements; permitting compliance on non-federal land

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A research copy — for the controlling text, always check the official state or federal source. Not legal advice.

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 that replacement sale may not be cancelled or delayed. . 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

(b)development in the second sentence and inserting the following: The Secretary shall prescribe such rules and regulations as the Secretary determines to be appropriate to carry out this Act. The regulations prescribed pursuant to subsection

(a)may include, without limitation, provisions relating to— the prevention of waste; the development ; in subsection

(b)(as so designated)— in paragraph

(2)(as so designated), by striking resources,

(c)the and inserting the following: resources; the ; in paragraph

(3)(as so designated), by striking interest,

(d)assignment and inserting the following: interest; assignment ; in paragraph

(4)(as so designated), by striking agreements,

(e)compensatory and inserting the following: agreements; compensatory ; in paragraph

(5)(as so designated), by striking royalties,

(f)the and inserting the following: royalties; the ; in paragraph

(6)(as so designated), by striking resources,

(g)use and inserting the following: resources; the use ; in paragraph

(7)(as so designated), by striking his lease,

(h)the and inserting the following: a lease; the ; and in paragraph

(8)(as so designated), by striking program, and

(i)protection and inserting the following: program; and protection ; and by adding at the end the following: Not later than 180 days after the date of enactment of the FREEDOM Act , the Secretary shall prescribe rules pursuant to this section 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 carried out under the permit, lease, or other authorization, as applicable. . 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 (including well drilling); production well drilling; and use of geothermal resources (including 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; the Division Chief of the National Renewable Energy Coordination Office 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 appointed under paragraph

(1)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 carried out by the Geothermal Ombudsman during the preceding year; and evaluates the effectiveness of geothermal permit processing during the preceding year. Notwithstanding the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. ), the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 ( 30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ), or subpart 3162 of part 3160 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regulations), but subject to any applicable State or Tribal requirements and subparagraph (C), the Secretary of the Interior shall not require a permit to drill for an oil and gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 181 et seq. ) for any action occurring within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit if— the Federal Government— owns fewer than 50 percent of the minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit; and does not own or lease the surface estate within the area directly impacted by the drilling; the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore enters and produces from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease; or the well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore traverses but does not produce from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease. For each State permit to drill or drilling plan that would impact or extract oil and gas owned by the Federal Government— each lessee of Federal minerals in the unit (or a designee) shall— notify the Secretary of the Interior of the submission of a State application for a permit to drill or drilling plan on submission of the application; and provide to the Secretary of the Interior a copy of the application described in subclause

(I)not later than 5 days after the date on which the permit or plan is submitted; each lessee described in clause

(i)(or a designee), and each applicable State, shall notify the Secretary of the Interior of the approved State permit to drill or drilling plan not later than 45 days after the date on which the permit or plan is approved; and as a condition of commencing drilling operations, each lessee described in clause

(i)(or a designee) shall provide to the Secretary of the Interior an agreement authorizing the Secretary of the Interior to enter non-Federal land, as necessary for inspection and enforcement of the terms of the Federal lease. Subparagraph

(A)shall not apply to Indian lands (as defined in section 3 of the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 ( 30 U.S.C. 1702 )). Nothing in this paragraph affects— other authorities of the Secretary of the Interior under the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 ( 30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq. ); or the amount of royalties due to the Federal Government from the production of the Federal minerals within an oil or gas drilling or spacing unit. The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq. ) is amended by adding at the end the following: The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit or equivalent Federal drilling approval for any geothermal exploration or production activity conducted on a non-Federal surface estate, subject to the conditions that— the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and the operator shall submit to the Secretary a State permit or other State authorization to conduct geothermal exploration or production activities on the non-Federal surface estate, in accordance with subsection (b). On submission to an applicable State by an operator described in subsection

(a)of an application for a State permit or authorization described in subsection (a)(2), the operator shall— notify the Secretary of the submission; and not later than 5 days after the date of the submission, provide to the Secretary a copy of the application. Not later than 45 days after the date on which the State permit or other State authorization is approved by the applicable State, the operator or the State shall notify the Secretary of the approval. As a condition of commencing operations under this section, an operator shall provide to the Secretary an agreement authorizing the Secretary to enter non-Federal land, as necessary for inspection and enforcement of the terms of any applicable Federal geothermal lease, including for production accountability and royalty verification. Nothing in this section affects the amount of royalties due to the United States under this Act from the production or use of geothermal resources or byproducts. The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and reporting of production and payment of royalties under this Act. This section shall not apply to— any action carried out on— land located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held— in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian; by an Indian Tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or by a dependent Indian community; or any resource managed by the United States, in trust for the benefit of an Indian Tribe. . Section 17(g) of the Mineral Leasing Act ( 30 U.S.C. 226(g) ) is amended— by striking the subsection designation and all that follows through Secretary of the Interior, or in the first sentence and inserting the following: The Secretary of the Interior, or ; and by adding at the end the following: In the case of an oil and gas lease under the Mineral Leasing Act on land described in subparagraph

(B)that is located within an oil and gas drilling or spacing unit, nothing in this Act authorizes the Secretary of the Interior— to require a bond to protect non-Federal land; to enter non-Federal land without the consent of the applicable landowner; to impose mitigation requirements; or to require approval for surface reclamation. Land referred to in subparagraph

(A)is land with respect to which— the Federal Government— owns fewer than 50 percent of the minerals within the oil and gas drilling or spacing unit; and does not own or lease the surface estate within the area directly impacted by the relevant action; a well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore enters and produces from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease; or a well is located on non-Federal land overlying a non-Federal mineral estate, but some portion of the wellbore traverses but does not produce from the Federal mineral estate subject to the lease. In this section, the term operator means any person that has taken responsibility in writing, submitted to the Secretary, for geothermal exploration or production operations conducted under a lease issued under this Act. .

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