[House Report 112-251]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
112th Congress Report
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
1st Session 112-251
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EXPLORING FOR GEOTHERMAL ENERGY ON FEDERAL LANDS ACT
_______
October 14, 2011.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the
State of the Union and ordered to be printed
_______
Mr. Hastings of Washington, from the Committee on Natural Resources,
submitted the following
R E P O R T
together with
DISSENTING VIEWS
[To accompany H.R. 2171]
[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]
The Committee on Natural Resources, to whom was referred
the bill (H.R. 2171) to promote timely exploration for
geothermal resources under existing geothermal leases, and for
other purposes, having considered the same, report favorably
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as
amended do pass.
The amendment is as follows:
Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the
following:
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Exploring for Geothermal Energy on
Federal Lands Act''.
SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION NOTICE AND EXCLUSION.
(a) Definition of Geothermal Exploration Test Project.--In this
section the term ``geothermal exploration test project'' means the
drilling of a well to test or explore for geothermal resources on lands
leased by the Department of the Interior for the development and
production of geothermal resources, that--
(1) is carried out by the holder of the lease;
(2) causes--
(A) less than 5 acres of soil or vegetation
disruption at the location of each geothermal
exploration well; and
(B) not more than an additional 5 acres of soil or
vegetation disruption during access or egress to the
test site;
(3) is developed--
(A) no deeper than 2,500 feet;
(B) less than 8 inches in diameter;
(C) in a manner that does not require off-road
motorized access other than to and from the well site
along an identified off-road route for which notice is
provided to the Secretary of the Interior under
subsection (c);
(D) without construction of new roads other than
upgrading of existing drainage crossings for safety
purposes; and
(E) with the use of rubber-tired digging or drilling
equipment vehicles;
(4) is completed in less than 45 days, including the removal
of any surface infrastructure from the site; and
(5) requires the restoration of the project site within 3
years to approximately the condition that existed at the time
the project began, unless the site is subsequently used as part
of energy development on the lease.
(b) NEPA Exclusion.--Section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental
Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) shall not apply with respect
to a project that the Secretary of the Interior determines under
subsection (c) is a geothermal exploration test project.
(c) Notice of Intent; Review and Determination.--
(1) Requirement to provide notice.--A leaseholder intending
to carry out a geothermal exploration test project shall
provide notice to the Secretary of the Interior not later than
30 days prior to the start of drilling under the project.
(2) Review of project.--The Secretary shall by not later than
10 days after receipt of a notice of intent under paragraph (1)
from a leaseholder--
(A) review the project described in the notice and
determine whether it is a geothermal exploration test
project under subsection (a); and
(B) notify the leaseholder--
(i) that under subsection (b) of this
section, section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)) does not apply to the project; or
(ii) that section 102(2)(C) of the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)) applies to the project, including
clear and detailed findings on any deficiencies
in the project that preclude the application of
subsection (b) of this section to the project.
(3) Opportunity to remedy.--If the Secretary provides notice
under paragraph (2)(B)(ii) that section 102(2)(C) of the
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C.
4332(2)(C)) applies to the project, the Secretary shall provide
the leaseholder an opportunity to remedy the deficiencies
described in the notice prior to the date the leaseholder
intended to start of drilling under the project.
PURPOSE OF THE BILL
The purpose of H.R. 2171, as ordered reported, is to
promote timely exploration for geothermal resources under
existing geothermal leases.
BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION
Geothermal energy can be used for electricity production,
for commercial, industrial, and residential direct heating
purposes, and for heating and cooling through geothermal heat
pumps. To develop geothermal electricity, wells bring
geothermal water to the surface, where its heat energy is
converted into electricity at a geothermal power plant.
Geothermal heat can also be used without involving a power
plant or heat pump for applications such as space heating and
cooling, food preparation, greenhouses, and agriculture.
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates that the geothermal
industry has the potential to generate 39,000 megawatts of
electricity in the United States using existing technologies.
There are currently an estimated 144 projects under development
in the U.S. These projects are projected to produce 624,000
construction jobs and will require $26 billion in capital over
the next five years, 50 percent of which will be allocated to
the exploration and drilling phases.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) regulates geothermal
project development. To test for geothermal resources on BLM
land, a project developer must hold a lease for the
corresponding land area. Currently, there is a separate
application submitted for each project development phase that
must be approved by BLM before the phase can commence. The
process of drilling a well simply to test for geothermal
resources requires both a permit and a National Environmental
Policy Act (NEPA) review and frequently takes 10 months, but
can be tied up in the review process for more than a year. When
a company has to drill multiple holes for exploration, and
possibly additional subsequent holes, all which require
repeating this process, geothermal resources are not being
expeditiously discovered and utilized.
The Exploring for Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act
(H.R. 2171) facilitates the development of geothermal energy
resources by streamlining regulations that hamper exploration.
The legislation would waive NEPA requirements for a geothermal
exploration test project so a project can quickly move forward
if resources are found. These temporary test projects create
minimal surface disturbance, do not require off-road motorized
access other than to and from the well site, and are typically
restored to the land's original condition following the
conclusion of the project.
COMMITTEE ACTION
H.R. 2171 was introduced on June 14, 2011, by Congressman
Raul Labrador (R-ID). The bill was referred to the Committee on
Natural Resources, and within the Committee to the Subcommittee
Energy and Mineral Resources. On June 23, 2011, the
Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources held a hearing on
the bill. On July 13, 2011, the Full Resources Committee met to
consider the bill. The Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral
Resources was discharged by unanimous consent. Congressman Raul
Labrador (R-ID) offered an amendment; the amendment was adopted
by voice vote. Congressman John Garamendi (D-CA) offered an
amendment designated .057; the amendment was withdrawn.
Congressman Ed Markey (D-MA) offered an amendment designated
.002; the amendment was not adopted by a bipartisan roll call
vote of 15-26, as follows:
The bill, as amended, was then ordered favorably reported
to the House of Representatives by a bipartisan roll call vote
of 26-16, as follows:
SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the ``Exploring for Geothermal
Resources on Federal Lands Act.''
Section 2. Geothermal exploration notice and exclusion
This section waives NEPA requirements for any geothermal
exploration test hole project. It requires a leaseholder to
provide notice to the Secretary of the Interior no later than
30 days prior to the start of drilling under the project. It
also requires the Secretary to review the notice of intent
within 10 days after receipt.
COMMITTEE OVERSIGHT FINDINGS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Regarding clause 2(b)(1) of rule X and clause 3(c)(1) of
rule XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives, the
Committee on Natural Resources' oversight findings and
recommendations are reflected in the body of this report.
COMPLIANCE WITH HOUSE RULE XIII
1. Cost of Legislation. Clause 3(d)(1) of rule XIII of the
Rules of the House of Representatives requires an estimate and
a comparison by the Committee of the costs which would be
incurred in carrying out this bill. However, clause 3(d)(2)(B)
of that Rule provides that this requirement does not apply when
the Committee has included in its report a timely submitted
cost estimate of the bill prepared by the Director of the
Congressional Budget Office under section 402 of the
Congressional Budget Act of 1974. Under clause 3(c)(3) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives and section
403 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974, the Committee has
received the following cost estimate for this bill from the
Director of the Congressional Budget Office:
H.R. 2171--Exploring for Geothermal Energy on Federal Lands Act
H.R. 2171 would exempt certain geothermal exploration
projects from complying with provisions of the National
Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). Based on information from the
Bureau of Land Management (BLM), CBO estimates that
implementing the legislation would have no significant impact
on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2171 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
Under the bill, geothermal exploration projects that meet
certain requirements related to the duration of the activities,
the amount of land disturbed, and the restoration of the
project site would not be required to obtain an environmental
impact review under NEPA. The Secretary of the Interior would
have 10 days to review proposed projects to determine whether
they meet the requirements necessary to obtain a NEPA
exemption. Based on information provided by BLM, CBO estimates
that implementing the legislation would have a negligible
impact on the agency's workload.
H.R. 2171 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and
would impose no costs on state, local, or tribal governments.
The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Jeff LaFave. The
estimate was approved by Theresa Gullo, Deputy Assistant
Director for Budget Analysis.
2. Section 308(a) of Congressional Budget Act. As required
by clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules of the House of
Representatives and section 308(a) of the Congressional Budget
Act of 1974, this bill does not contain any new budget
authority, spending authority, credit authority, or an increase
or decrease in revenues or tax expenditures. CBO estimates that
implementing the legislation would have no significant impact
on the federal budget. Enacting H.R. 2171 would not affect
direct spending or revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go
procedures do not apply.
3. General Performance Goals and Objectives. This bill does
not authorize funding and therefore, clause 3(c)(4) of rule
XIII of the Rules of the House of Representatives does not
apply.
EARMARK STATEMENT
This bill does not contain any Congressional earmarks,
limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as defined
under clause 9(e), 9(f), and 9(g) of rule XXI of the Rules of
the House of Representatives.
COMPLIANCE WITH PUBLIC LAW 104-4
This bill contains no unfunded mandates.
PREEMPTION OF STATE, LOCAL OR TRIBAL LAW
This bill is not intended to preempt any State, local or
tribal law.
CHANGES IN EXISTING LAW
If enacted, this bill would make no changes in existing
law.
DISSENTING VIEWS
We oppose H.R. 2171 because it would exempt certain
geothermal exploration activities on public lands from federal
review under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This
is a reckless measure that would eliminate the ability of
federal land managers to review certain projects to ensure that
they do not threaten public health and safety, endangered
species and critical habitat, or nearby geysers, hot springs,
or other geothermal features of value.
The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) currently has the
authority to use the ``categorical exclusion'' process to
expedite the approval of geothermal test wells when it is
confident that drilling will not have negative unanticipated
consequences. H.R. 2171 attempts to statutorily recreate BLM's
technical specifications for projects eligible for this type of
expedited processing. However, by exempting the project
entirely from the NEPA process, the bill removes the ability
for permitting agencies to address extraordinary circumstances
that are beyond what is specifically mentioned in the statute.
The BLM currently allows for 12 types of ``extraordinary
circumstances'' that could trigger a NEPA review, including
projects which may have significant impacts on public health or
safety, significant impacts on park lands or unique geographic
characteristics, and projects that have highly uncertain and
potentially significant environmental effects. Under H.R. 2171,
geothermal test projects would be exempted from this
consideration.
Before dismantling the current regulatory framework for
permitting geothermal test well projects, it should be noted
that most projects are currently granted expedited categorical
exclusions. Over the last four years, the BLM has reviewed 72
applications to drill geothermal test wells. For 49 of those
applications, or 68 percent, a categorical exclusion or other
expedited process was utilized for quick project approval. For
23 projects, or 32 percent, the BLM required an environmental
assessment prior to approving the project. Under H.R. 2171, the
BLM would have been forced to approve those 23 projects without
any review under NEPA regardless of the potential risks that
these projects might present.
We agree that in most cases, doing minimally-invasive
renewable resource assessment activities on public lands--
including the activities covered under this bill as
``geothermal exploration test projects''--should be encouraged
and should not require an extended permitting schedule.
However, there is a critically important difference between
providing for expedited permitting most of the time, and
exempting an entire category of projects from NEPA review all
of the time. The approach in H.R. 2171 is the latter, which
fails to consider the need for our federal land managers to
have the flexibility to consider extraordinary circumstances.
Geothermal industry groups have not endorsed H.R. 2171. In
fact, at the legislative hearing on this bill, the geothermal
witness stated that his industry would be very happy if,
instead of a blanket NEPA waiver, the BLM simply used its
current categorical exclusion authority more aggressively. That
is an indication that implementation, rather than policy,
should be the focus of committee work in this area.
Furthermore, the overwhelming body of testimony that this
committee has received with regard to renewable energy
development on public lands has indicated that the
effectiveness and timeliness of permitting has improved
markedly under the current Administration.
During the mark up of this bill, an amendment was offered
by Ranking Member Markey that would require the Secretary of
Interior to certify that a proposed geothermal test well
project would not have an adverse impact on any significant
thermal features within any unit of the National Park System.
Since the geysers and hot springs that attract millions of
visitors to our National Parks every year can be impacted by
changes in the subsurface hydrology many miles away, this
amendment would have provided these thermal features an
important safeguard from unregulated exploratory activities
that would now be allowed under the bill. The amendment was
defeated 26-15, with all Republicans opposing.
H.R. 2171 is unnecessary for permitting most exploratory
geothermal activities and environmentally risky in rare
circumstances where environmental analysis is necessary. The
renewable energy industry has not suggested this solution and
has not endorsed the legislation. We oppose it.
Edward J. Markey.
Gregorio Kilili Camacho Sablan.
Colleen W. Hanabusa.
Rush Holt.
Grace F. Napolitano.
Niki Tsongas.
Frank Pallone, Jr.
Madeleine Z. Bordallo.
Betty Sutton.
Ben R. Lujan.
Raul M. Grijalva.
John Garamendi.