Findings

The Congress finds the following: (1)It is in the best interest of the United States to develop clean renewable geothermal energy. (2)Development of such energy should be promoted on appropriate Federal lands. (3)Under the Energy Policy Act of 2005, the Bureau of Land Management is authorized to issue three different types of non-competitive leases for production of geothermal energy on Federal lands, including non-competitive geothermal leases to mining claim holders that have a valid operating plan, direct use leases, and leases on parcels that do not sell at a competitive auction. (4)Federal geothermal energy leasing activity should be directed towards those seeking to develop the land as opposed to those seeking to speculate on geothermal resources and thereby artificially raising the cost of legitimate geothermal energy development. (5)Developers of geothermal energy on Federal lands that have invested substantial capital and made high risk investments should be allowed to secure a discovery of geothermal energy resources. (6)Successful geothermal development on Federal lands will provide increased revenue to the Federal Government, with the payment of production royalties over decades.

Noncompetitive leasing of adjoining areas for development of geothermal resources

The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 is amended— (1)in section 2 (30 U.S.C. 1001)— (A)by striking the period at the end of each of paragraphs (e) and (f) and inserting a semicolon; (B)by striking , and at the end of paragraph (g) and inserting a semicolon; and (C)by adding at the end the following new paragraphs:

(h)industry standards means the standards by which a qualified geothermal professional assesses whether downhole or flowing temperature measurements with indications of permeability are sufficient to produce geothermal steam or geothermal resources as determined through flow or injection testing or measurement of lost circulation while drilling; (i)qualified geothermal professional means an individual who is an engineer or geoscientist in good professional standing with at least five years of experience in geothermal exploration, development, project assessment, or any combination of the forgoing; and (j)valid discovery means a discovery of a geothermal resource by a new or existing slim hole or production well, that exhibits downhole or flowing temperature measurements with indications of permeability sufficient to meet industry standards.

; and

(2)in section 4(b) (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)), by adding at the end the following:

(4)

Adjoining lands

(A)

In general

Areas that adjoin Federal or non-Federal lands for which a qualified company or individual holds a legal right to develop geothermal resources may be available for noncompetitive lease under this section to the qualified company or individual at the fair market value per acre, if— (i)the adjoining areas— (I)consist of an area of not more than a total of 640 acres; (II)each consist of not less than one acre; (III)are not already leased under this Act or nominated to be leased under subsection (a); (ii)the qualified company or individual has not previously received a noncompetitive lease under this paragraph in connection with the valid discovery for which data has been submitted under subclause (I) of clause (iii); and (iii)sufficient geological and other technical data prepared by a qualified geothermal professional has been submitted by the qualified company or individual to the relevant Federal land management agency that would engender a belief in individuals who are experienced in the subject matter that— (I)there is a valid discovery of geothermal steam or geothermal resources on the lands for which the qualified company or individual holds the legal right to develop geothermal resources; and (II)such thermal feature extends into the adjoining areas. (B)

Fair market value per acre defined

As used in this paragraph, the term fair market value per acre means a dollar amount per acre that— (i)except as provided in this subparagraph, shall be equal to the market value per acre, as determined by the Secretary; (ii)shall be determined by the Secretary with respect to a lease under this paragraph, by not later than the end of the 90-day period beginning on the date the Secretary receives an application for the lease; (iii)if the Secretary does not determine the fair market value per acre for a lease before the end of the period referred to in clause (ii), shall be $100 per acre (adjusted by the Secretary for inflation annually beginning with fiscal year 2010) until the Secretary establishes such fair market value; and (iv)for any lease for which an application is received before the end of the 15-year period beginning on the date of the enactment of this clause, shall not exceed $200 per acre (adjusted by the Secretary for inflation annually beginning with fiscal year 2010).