[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7409 Introduced in House (IH)]

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118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7409

To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for 
  a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain 
 activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
                  Act of 1969, and for other purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 20, 2024

  Mrs. Kim of California (for herself and Mr. Duarte) introduced the 
    following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 
                               Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for 
  a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain 
 activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy 
                  Act of 1969, and for other purposes.

    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 ``Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources 
Act'' or the ``HEATS Act''.

SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN 
              LAND.

    The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:

``SEC. 30. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITIES ON 
              CERTAIN LAND.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall not require an operator to 
obtain a Federal drilling permit for geothermal exploration and 
production activities conducted on a non-Federal surface estate, 
provided that--
            ``(1) 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
            ``(2) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit 
        to conduct geothermal exploration and production activities on 
        the non-Federal surface estate.
    ``(b) No Federal Action.--A geothermal exploration and production 
activity carried out under subsection (a)--
            ``(1) shall not be considered a major Federal action for 
        the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental 
        Policy Act of 1969;
            ``(2) shall require no additional Federal action;
            ``(3) may commence 30 days after submission of the State 
        permit to the Secretary;
            ``(4) shall not be subject to section 7 of the Endangered 
        Species Act of 1973; and
            ``(5) shall only be considered an undertaking under 
        division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code 
        (commonly referred to as the `National Historic Preservation 
        Act'), if, with respect to the State in which the activity 
        occurs, there is no State law in effect that addresses the 
        preservation of historic properties in such State.
    ``(c) Royalties and Production Accountability.--(1) Nothing in this 
section shall affect the amount of royalties due to the United States 
under this Act from the production of electricity using geothermal 
resources (other than direct use of geothermal resources) or the 
production of any byproducts.
    ``(2) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and inspections to 
ensure proper accountability, measurement, and reporting of the 
production described in subsection (a), and payment of royalties.
    ``(d) Exceptions.--This section shall not apply to actions on 
Indian lands or resources managed in trust for the benefit of Indian 
Tribes.
    ``(e) Indian Land.--In this section, the term `Indian land' means--
            ``(1) any land located within the boundaries of an Indian 
        reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and
            ``(2) any land not located within the boundaries of an 
        Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is 
        held--
                    ``(A) in trust by the United States for the benefit 
                of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian;
                    ``(B) by an Indian tribe or an individual Indian, 
                subject to restriction against alienation under laws of 
                the United States; or
                    ``(C) by a dependent Indian community.''.
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