[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 398 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 398
To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery
authority for the Department of the Interior.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 14, 2025
Ms. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the following bill; which was referred to
the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery
authority for the Department of the Interior.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority
Act of 2025''.
SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING, PERMITTING, AND
INSPECTIONS.
Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1005) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
``(j) Cost Recovery.--
``(1) In general.--During the period that begins on the
date of enactment of this subsection and ends September 30,
2032, the Secretary may require an applicant for, or a holder
of, a geothermal lease to reimburse the United States for all
reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by the
United States from--
``(A) processing the application for the geothermal
lease, including any application for an operations
plan, geothermal drilling permit, utilization plan,
site license, facility construction permit, commercial
use permit, and any other approval associated with a
geothermal lease; and
``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and
abandonment of wells; and
``(iii) the construction, operation,
termination, and reclamation of any well site
or facility for the utilization of geothermal
resources pursuant to the geothermal lease.
``(2) Considerations.--In determining whether to require
reimbursement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider
whether there is in existence a cooperative cost share
agreement between the United States and the holder of a
geothermal lease.
``(3) Adjustments.--The Secretary may reduce the amount to
be reimbursed under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines--
``(A) that full reimbursement would impose an
economic hardship on the applicant; or
``(B) that a less than full reimbursement is
necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal
resources.
``(4) Use.--The amounts reimbursed under this subsection
shall be credited to the currently applicable appropriation,
account, or fund of the Department of the Interior as
discretionary offsetting collections, and shall be available
only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts
for--
``(A) processing the application for geothermal
leases, including any application for operations plans,
geothermal drilling permits, utilization plans, site
licenses, facility construction permits, commercial use
permits, and any other approval associated with
geothermal leases; and
``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and
abandonment of wells; and
``(iii) the construction, operation,
termination, and reclamation of any well site
or facility for the utilization of geothermal
resources pursuant to geothermal leases.''.
SEC. 3. REPORT.
(a) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
geothermal industry and other stakeholders, shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and make
publicly available on the website of the Department of the Interior, a
report that includes--
(1) an assessment of how the amendments made by section 2
of this Act affected the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal
program;
(2) any recommendations for reauthorization of section 6(j)
of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as added by this Act; and
(3) any other recommendations for updates to such section
and the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal program.
(b) Considerations.--In developing the report required in
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall solicit facts or
information from the geothermal industry and other stakeholders.
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