Sponsors (3)
The bill speeds and lowers the cost of state-led geothermal development and preserves federal royalties, but it does so by reducing Federal environmental and historic-preservation reviews and shifting oversight to states, increasing risks to species, habitats, cultural sites, and producing uneven protections across states.
State-permitted developers and utilities can begin qualifying geothermal exploration and production after 30 days and face less duplicative Federal permitting, speeding project starts and lowering compliance costs.
Taxpayers continue to receive federal royalties from electricity and byproduct production because federal royalty obligations are retained.
Local communities, plants, and wildlife may face greater risk because qualifying projects are exempted from NEPA and ESA Section 7 review, reducing Federal environmental review that could identify and mitigate harms to species and habitats.
Tribal communities and places with historic resources could see reduced protections because NHPA review is limited unless a State lacks historic-preservation law, increasing risk to cultural and historic sites.
State and local populations may experience inconsistent levels of environmental and cultural protection because curtailing Federal oversight shifts responsibility to states with varying standards.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Limits Interior's ability to require a Federal drilling permit and certain Federal environmental reviews for qualifying geothermal projects on non‑Federal surface estates, while preserving U.S. royalty rights and excluding Indian lands.
Removes a federal drilling-permit requirement for certain geothermal exploration and production when the surface is non‑Federal, the State has issued a permit, and the United States owns less than half of the subsurface geothermal estate. It allows such projects to start 30 days after the State permit is submitted, preserves royalty obligations to the United States, and excludes Indian lands from the rule. The measure also exempts those activities from being treated as major federal actions under NEPA, waives ESA section 7 consultation, and limits NHPA review to situations where a State has no historic‑preservation law; the Interior Secretary keeps authority to inspect for production and royalty accountability.
Official title: To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes.
Introduced September 26, 2025 by Young Kim · Last progress April 28, 2026