Sponsors (3)
The bill speeds and simplifies state-permitted geothermal development and preserves royalty revenue, but does so by reducing federal environmental, cultural, and historic reviews and shifting oversight to states, increasing risks to ecosystems, tribal resources, and consistent protections across jurisdictions.
Geothermal operators with State permits can begin exploration or production 30 days after submitting the permit to the Secretary, accelerating project starts and reducing federal permitting delays.
Projects qualifying under State permits remain subject to royalty obligations, preserving federal revenue streams from geothermal electricity and byproducts.
Qualifying projects are exempted from NEPA major-action review, reducing federal regulatory overlap and lowering costs and complexity for developers.
Rural communities and tribal-area residents will face reduced environmental review because qualifying projects are exempt from NEPA major-action review, raising the risk that local ecosystem and public-health harms go unidentified or unmitigated.
Covered activities are exempt from ESA Section 7 consultation, increasing the risk of harm to threatened and endangered species in project areas.
Limiting application of the National Historic Preservation Act unless a State lacks preservation law could allow projects to proceed without federal review of impacts on cultural or historic sites, threatening tribal cultural resources.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Preempts Federal permitting and NEPA/ESA/NHPA review for certain State‑permitted geothermal projects when the U.S. owns <50% of the subsurface geothermal estate and preserves Federal royalty oversight.
Creates a carve-out allowing geothermal exploration and production on non‑Federal surface estate to proceed under State permits without additional Federal drilling permits when the United States owns less than half of the subsurface geothermal estate. Such State‑permitted projects are exempted from being treated as a "major Federal action" under NEPA, are excluded from ESA section 7 consultation, and generally are not subject to the National Historic Preservation Act unless the State lacks a historic‑preservation law. Maintains Federal royalty and byproduct royalty collection authority and allows the Secretary to inspect sites for measurement, reporting, and royalty compliance; excludes Indian and trust lands from the new rule. Activities may begin 30 days after the State permit is submitted to the Secretary under the bill's timeline.
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