[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7422 Reported in House (RH)]

<DOC>





                                                 Union Calendar No. 566
118th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                H. R. 7422

                          [Report No. 118-670]

  To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery 
             authority for the Department of the Interior.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           February 20, 2024

Ms. Ocasio-Cortez introduced the following bill; which was referred to 
                   the Committee on Natural Resources

                           September 12, 2024

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed
 [Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
    [For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on 
                           February 20, 2024]


_______________________________________________________________________

                                 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 2024''.

SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING AND PERMITTING.

    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, 
        2031, the Secretary may require 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) monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration operations;
                            ``(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 contributed funds 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 holder of the geothermal 
                lease; 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 available to the Secretary of the Interior for 
        expenditure for--
                    ``(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) monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration operations;
                            ``(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.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 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, including the accomplishments of each field office 
        relating to the coordination and processing of geothermal 
        permits and any other approval associated with a geothermal 
        lease;
            (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.
                                                 Union Calendar No. 566

118th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                               H. R. 7422

                          [Report No. 118-670]

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

  To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery 
             authority for the Department of the Interior.

_______________________________________________________________________

                           September 12, 2024

  Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole 
       House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed