Sponsors (3)
The bill speeds and simplifies state-permitted geothermal development and preserves royalty revenue, but it does so by rolling back multiple federal environmental, species, and cultural reviews and shifting oversight to states, increasing risks of uneven protections and local environmental or cultural harms.
Small geothermal developers and state permitting authorities can begin exploration or production 30 days after submitting a State permit to the Secretary, shortening federal permitting timelines and lowering startup costs.
Taxpayers and state governments retain royalty revenue because operators remain obligated to pay royalties on geothermal electricity and byproducts, preserving federal and state income streams.
Federal oversight capability is preserved because the Secretary may perform on-site inspections to verify measurement, reporting, and royalty payments, supporting accountability for resource use.
Rural and tribal-adjacent communities will face reduced environmental safeguards because qualifying projects are exempt from NEPA major-action review, limiting federal assessment of ecosystem and public-health impacts.
Rural communities are exposed to greater risk to threatened or endangered species because covered activities are exempted from ESA section 7 consultation, removing mandatory federal species protections.
Tribal residents and rural communities may have cultural and historic sites proceed without federal review because application of the National Historic Preservation Act is limited unless a State lacks preservation law.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Exempts certain geothermal projects on non‑Federal surface with <50% Federal subsurface ownership from Federal NEPA, ESA, and most NHPA review once a State permit is submitted; royalties and inspections remain.
Exempts certain geothermal exploration and production projects from many Federal environmental reviews and drilling-permit requirements when the surface is non‑Federal, the United States owns less than half the subsurface geothermal estate, and the operator has a State permit. Projects that meet those conditions can begin 30 days after the State permit is submitted to the Interior Secretary, are not treated as a "major Federal action" under NEPA, and are generally exempt from ESA section 7 consultation and most historic-preservation review, while Federal royalty obligations and onsite inspection authority remain in force. The change does not apply to Indian lands or trust lands and preserves the United States' ability to collect royalties and inspect operations for compliance with measurement, reporting, and royalty payments. It removes several layers of Federal environmental review for a defined subset of geothermal projects and relies on State permitting as the primary regulatory trigger for Federal noninvolvement in those cases.
Official title: 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 July 14, 2026 by John Hoeven · Last progress July 14, 2026