[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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