[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5719-H5720]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                   GEOTHERMAL ENERGY OPPORTUNITY ACT

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 7370) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to establish 
a deadline for processing applications related to geothermal leasing, 
as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 7370

       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 Energy 
     Opportunity Act'' or the ``GEO Act''.

     SEC. 2. EFFECT OF PENDING CIVIL ACTIONS ON PROCESSING 
                   APPLICATIONS RELATED TO GEOTHERMAL LEASING.

       Section 4 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
     1003) is amended by adding at the end the following:
       ``(h) Effect of Pending Civil Actions on Processing 
     Applications Related to Geothermal Leasing.--
       ``(1) Requirement to process applications.--Notwithstanding 
     the existence of any pending civil action that affects an 
     application for a geothermal drilling permit, sundry notice, 
     notice to proceed, right-of-way, or any other authorization 
     under a valid existing geothermal lease, the Secretary shall, 
     unless a United States Federal court vacates or provides 
     injunctive relief for the applicable geothermal lease, 
     geothermal drilling permit, sundry notice, notice to proceed, 
     right-of-way, or other authorization, approve and issue, or 
     deny, each such application not later than 60 days after 
     completing all requirements under applicable Federal laws and 
     regulations, including the National Environmental Policy Act 
     of 1969, the Endangered Species Act of 1973, and division A 
     of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code.
       ``(2) No new authority for federal courts.--Nothing in this 
     subsection shall be construed as modifying any existing 
     authority of a Federal court to vacate or provide injunctive 
     relief for a geothermal lease, geothermal drilling permit, 
     sundry notice, notice to proceed, right-of-way, or other 
     authorization.
       ``(3) Definition of authorization.--In this subsection, the 
     term `authorization' means any license, permit, approval, 
     finding, determination, or other administrative decision 
     issued by a Federal agency, or any interagency consultation, 
     that is required or authorized under Federal law or 
     regulations in order to site, construct, reconstruct, or 
     commence operations of a geothermal project administered by a 
     Federal agency.''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from New York (Ms. Ocasio-
Cortez) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas.

                              {time}  1845


                             General Leave

  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and 
include extraneous material on H.R. 7370, the bill now under 
consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Arkansas?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 7370, the Geothermal 
Energy Opportunity Act. Geothermal power has serious potential for 
growth in this country. In fact, DOE estimates that next-generation 
geothermal technologies, like enhanced geothermal systems, could 
provide up to 90 gigawatts of reliable baseload energy by 2050.
  The best geothermal resources are located out West on Federal lands, 
and we must do all we can to ensure that bureaucratic red tape does not 
hamper the development of this resource moving forward.
  H.R. 7370, the GEO Act, introduced by the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Curtis), requires the Bureau of Land Management to process geothermal 
permits and authorizations unless a Federal court says otherwise.
  In some cases, the Biden administration has stopped processing 
permits and authorizations for geothermal and oil and gas projects 
solely because of the threat of litigation or because they have 
unilaterally decided to wait for the appearance of new information.
  Often, this delay tactic is meant to appease radical special interest 
groups who wish to stop all energy development on Federal lands and 
whose former employees have infiltrated the Department.
  Simply put, agencies should continue to move projects forward until 
they are directed otherwise by a court, and agencies should defend 
their work in court.
  Geothermal energy is becoming easier to produce every day, thanks to 
enhanced geothermal systems and the advanced methods these developers 
have borrowed from the oil and gas industry.
  We cannot allow the mere threat of frivolous litigation to hamper 
domestic energy production. This bill would address concerns voiced by 
the Bureau of Land Management during our hearing to ensure they can 
comply with existing laws.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of the bill led by the gentleman from 
Utah (Mr. Curtis), H.R. 7370, the GEO Act.
  The GEO Act would support the efficient approval of geothermal permit 
applications without sacrificing thorough review under the National 
Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National 
Historic Preservation Act.
  I thank Republicans for their willingness to work across the aisle on 
improvements to this legislation. Through this bipartisan work, we were 
able to safeguard important community protections to ensure compliance 
with Federal laws. This way, we can ensure projects are built in a way 
that is safe for the communities and the environment.
  We have also updated the timelines for approval so that we equip the 
Bureau of Land Management with adequate time to process applications. 
With these safeguards in place, this bill takes a step toward 
sustainably building a clean-energy future that centers our people and 
our planet.
  Geothermal energy will play an especially important role in this 
clean-energy future. Geothermal has the smallest footprint of any 
energy-generation technology and uses significantly fewer resources 
than other sources, especially conventional fossil fuels.
  According to the Department of Energy, geothermal uses about 1 to 8 
acres per megawatt versus 5 to 10 acres per megawatt for nuclear 
operations and 19 acres per megawatt for a coal power plant.
  Deploying more geothermal will allow us to protect strained resources 
while protecting the clean energy we know we need, and the GEO Act will 
assist in the deployment of this exciting technology by ensuring 
timeliness in permit-approval processes for geothermal energy.
  Importantly, it does so without sacrificing the holistic review of 
environmental and community impacts during the permitting process. It 
is because of this that I urge my colleagues to support this 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield 2 minutes to the gentleman from

[[Page H5720]]

Utah (Mr. Curtis), the lead sponsor of the bill.
  Mr. CURTIS. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of my bill, the GEO Act. Utah is 
a leader in geothermal energy, but many companies are being held back 
by the current regulatory environment.
  My bill simply requires the Department of the Interior to continue 
issuing all authorizations as long as the underlying lease remains 
unchallenged. Geothermal energy is affordable, reliable, and clean 
energy.
  After companies have invested substantial time and resources in 
obtaining permits, the Department of the Interior sometimes withholds 
notices to proceed, drilling permits, and other authorizations due to 
litigation threats against the project.
  To be clear, these pauses have occurred without any evidence of 
wrongdoing by the Department of the Interior or the operators. Instead, 
they result from unsubstantiated threats made by private organizations. 
This isn't sustainable if we want geothermal to be part of our clean-
energy future.
  The chart to my right demonstrates how important this is throughout 
the West, particularly rural parts of the West, where economic 
development can be enhanced dramatically by these projects.
  The Department of Energy projects that enhanced geothermal systems 
could contribute up to 90 gigawatts of electricity by 2050, accounting 
for almost 9 percent of U.S. energy-generation capacity.
  Utah is a case study in geothermal energy, and I was proud to support 
the establishment of Utah FORGE in southern Utah, a dedicated 
underground field laboratory sponsored by the Department of Energy 
focused on developing, testing, and accelerating geothermal 
breakthroughs.
  Mr. Speaker, the GEO Act is a critical step toward ensuring that Utah 
and the United States lead in geothermal energy and technology.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I have no further requests for time. I am 
prepared to close, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the 
legislation, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I commend the gentleman from Utah (Mr. 
Curtis) for working on this commonsense piece of legislation. Again, I 
urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I yield back the balance of 
my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) that the House suspend the 
rules and pass the bill, H.R. 7370, as amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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