Both bills will soon be deliberated by the Senate. Several efforts to craft a pro-geothermal legislative framework are currently ongoing in parallel in the US, both in the federal and state levels.
The HEATS Act
The HEATS Act is is sponsored by Rep. Young Kim (R-CA-40) and supported by Rep. John Duarte (R-CA-13). The bill aims to expedite geothermal development by clarifying that geothermal operators do not need a federal drilling permit for wells that are on state and private land given that the subsurface geothermal estate is less than 50% federal.
“Operators must still go through a rigorous permitting process at the state level, but they will no longer be burdened by the federal process, allowing us to harness this untapped energy source faster,” explained Rep. Kim.
The bill also states that such geothermal exploration and production activity is not considered a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) and should not trigger the NEPA’s environmental review requirements.
Moreover, the bill exempts geothermal activities from the consultation requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and review requirements under the National Historic Preservation Act unless the state in which the activity occurs does not have a state law that addresses the preservation of historic properties.
The CLEAN Act
The CLEAN Act by Rep. Russ Fulcher (R-ID-1) amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to requite the Department of the Interior to hold geothermal lease sales every years, instead of the current two-year interval. Moreover, it requires the department to hold a replacement lease sale within the year should one be canceled.
In addition, this bill requires Interior to notify an applicant whether or not its application for a geothermal drilling permit is complete within 30 days of receiving the application. If Interior determines that the application is complete, then it must issue a final decision on the application within 30 days of the date Interior sent the notification.
“As nearly 90% of our nation’s geothermal resources are located on federally managed lands, I introduced the CLEAN Act to remove red tape and require the Department of Interior to increase lease opportunities to bolster the exploration and development of this critical resource,” said Rep. Fulcher.
“This legislation is not only vital to reducing our reliance on foreign adversaries but meeting America’s growing energy demands. I am very pleased to see it head to the Senate.”
