Sponsors (6)
The bill is designed to accelerate geothermal development and make permitting more predictable (benefiting developers, local jobs, and clean energy deployment) but does so by narrowing and speeding federal review, shifting costs and revenue, and reducing some public and legal safeguards — trading faster deployment for increased environmental, fiscal, and oversight risks.
Developers and operators of geothermal projects will get much faster and more predictable permitting and approval (60‑day decisions after environmental review, NEPA categorical exclusions for some drilling, an Ombudsman/Task Force, and standardized guidance), reducing project delays and financing uncertainty.
Areas near public lands and local labor markets could see more geothermal development, supporting construction and operations jobs and expanding clean baseload electricity that may lower emissions and long‑term energy costs.
Standardized permitting guidance (updated regularly) and the 'Gold Book' updates provide clearer operational and environmental expectations, which can improve compliance and reduce regulatory uncertainty for industry and agencies.
Residents near projects and environmental resources face greater risk of unaddressed harms (water impacts, induced seismicity, habitat disruption) because expanded NEPA categorical exclusions and faster decision deadlines reduce the scope and time of environmental review.
Forcing or accelerating approvals 'notwithstanding' pending litigation increases legal risk and could lead to court vacaturs that leave developers and taxpayers holding sunk costs for projects begun after expedited agency actions.
Small and early‑stage geothermal applicants face higher upfront costs because they must reimburse processing and inspection expenses, raising barriers to entry and favoring larger firms.
Based on analysis of 8 sections of legislative text.
Speeds geothermal permitting on federal lands (60‑day decisions), authorizes temporary processing/inspection fees through 2033, updates guidance, creates BLM ombudsman/task force, and shifts royalty timing to facility in‑service date.
Official title: To promote responsible geothermal energy development on public lands, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 30, 2025 by Jeff Hurd · Last progress July 29, 2026
Speeds development of geothermal energy on federal lands by requiring faster agency action, allowing the Department of the Interior to collect processing and inspection fees, updating leasing and permitting guidance, and creating BLM offices to coordinate and resolve permitting issues. It also narrows the start date for a 10‑year reduced royalty period to the facility "in‑service" date and explicitly extends certain NEPA categorical exclusions to geothermal activities. The bill sets firm processing deadlines (60 days after legal requirements are complete), establishes a temporary cost‑recovery authority through FY2033, mandates updated operational guidance (a revised "Gold Book"), creates a Geothermal Ombudsman and Permitting Task Force inside BLM, and requires reports to Congress on program effects and annual task force activity.