[Congressional Record Volume 170, Number 149 (Tuesday, September 24, 2024)]
[House]
[Pages H5726-H5727]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
{time} 1930
GEOTHERMAL COST-RECOVERY AUTHORITY ACT OF 2024
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 7422) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide
cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 7422
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, 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,
2031, 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
[[Page H5727]]
(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.
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.
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. 7422, 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.
H.R. 7422, the Geothermal Cost Recovery Authority Act of 2024 grants
the Department of the Interior the authority to impose fees on
geothermal leaseholders. The fees would cover costs related to
geothermal lease applications, production and development plans, site
licenses, permits, and approvals, as well as inspection and monitoring
activities.
In 2022, BLM updated its regulations and created new geothermal cost
recovery fees but did not include a fee for geothermal permits to
drill. BLM argued that there is no mechanism under FLPMA to charge cost
recovery fees for geothermal facilities like there is for wind and
solar.
This bill would provide DOI with explicit authority to charge
geothermal leaseholder fees to recover costs for geothermal lease
applications and other approvals associated with exploration, drilling,
construction, and operation of well sites.
As we have seen in the past, agencies have blamed slow permitting
processes on a lack of funding. However, when Congress provided
additional funding, permitting timelines did not improve, and taxpayer
dollars were squandered.
I appreciate the changes made to the bill during the committee
process to ensure fees charged under the legislation will be used
explicitly for geothermal permitting. Reporting language was also
included to better enable Congress to ensure these funds are used
appropriately.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. OCASIO-CORTEZ. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
I rise in support of my bill, H.R. 7422, the Geothermal Cost Recovery
Authority Act of 2024. As colleagues on both sides of the aisle can
agree, geothermal energy is an extremely promising and growing source
of renewable energy.
Since the 1960s, geothermal energy has been used as a sustainable and
reliable source of electricity, but even though it has grown
significantly since then, it still only makes up less than half of one
percent of our energy generation mix.
Fortunately, new breakthroughs in technology are massively expanding
where geothermal energy can be developed. This is particularly exciting
because of some of the unique benefits of geothermal energy for the
clean energy transition.
Geothermal provides consistent baseload power, which is available 24/
7 with minimal emissions. This complements the mix of solar, wind, and
storage needed to build a clean grid and is crucial for maintaining
stability in our energy systems, replacing dirty baseload energy like
coal.
Many of the skills needed for geothermal development are directly
transferrable from industries like oil and gas. As geothermal
technologies advance, we will be able to site those power plants at
places like retired coal plants where fossil fuel workers can find
jobs.
Better yet, many of these fossil trades are already organized and
unionized. Everyone from the laborers to the workers in the power plant
control rooms, to the steamfitters, pipefitters, and operating
engineers can find work in geothermal. Geothermal shows truly exciting
promise to help union workers transition to a clean energy economy.
As all this growth occurs, the Federal Government will also have an
important role to play. The Department of Energy is supporting pilot
projects and advancements in technology. Within the jurisdiction of the
Energy and Mineral Resources Subcommittee, where I serve as ranking
member, the Department of the Interior is often in charge of
permitting.
In fact, the first renewable energy project sited on U.S. public
lands back in 1978 was geothermal energy. Right now, nearly 70 percent
of geothermal energy capacity is on federally managed Bureau of Land
Management lands.
With the technological advancements we are seeing now, the Bureau of
Land Management needs to be ready to scale up the deployment of this
clean energy while remaining diligent about permitting
responsibly, considering public input and respecting indigenous
knowledge and Tribal consultation.
We have heard from geothermal developers that there can be challenges
when it comes to permitting new geothermal plants. Much of that stems
from capacity constraints, the need for more expertise or more staff in
the right locations.
My bill, the Geothermal Cost Recovery Authority Act of 2024, will
allow BLM the flexibility to charge companies cost recovery for things
like inspections and monitoring, and my bill will enable BLM to hire
third-party experts to help review permit applications. This
flexibility will improve permitting capacity and timelines without
sacrificing any of the important steps for environmental review and
community input.
At a time when permitting is a contentious word in Washington, this
bill shows both parties can come together around commonsense approaches
to advance commonsense solutions.
I greatly appreciate my colleagues across the aisle who worked with
us on the language in my bill, and I am excited to see it moving
forward today, along with other positive bills for geothermal energy,
like Congressman Curtis' GEO Act.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support the legislation, and I
yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, as part of an all-of-the-above approach
to energy security, geothermal energy has great potential to help meet
the United States' growing energy demands.
I appreciate Ms. Ocasio-Cortez' work with my team to address concerns
raised about H.R. 7422 during the committee's hearing and markup
process. I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Moore of Utah). 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. 7422, 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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