Geothermal Energy Initiative Act of 2005 - Directs the Secretary of Energy to: (1) review and publish annually the available assessments of geothermal energy resources available within the United States; and (2) undertake new assessments as necessary, taking into account changes in market conditions, available technologies, and other relevant factors.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to expedite development of geothermal energy in making revisions to certain land use plans for public lands and National Forest System lands, respectively.
Directs the Secretary of the Interior to report to Congress any recommendations for statutory or regulatory changes that would assist geothermal energy development on Federal land, including: (1) a five-year plan for encouraging such development; and (2) a list, developed in consultation with the Secretaries of Energy and of Defense, of lands under their jurisdictions, that would be suitable for development for geothermal energy, as well as recommended statutory and regulatory mechanisms for such development.
Instructs the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture to enter into and submit to Congress a memorandum of understanding regarding leasing (including a five-year leasing plan) and permitting for geothermal development of public lands under their respective jurisdictions.
Amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to authorize the Secretary of the Interior to reimburse certain persons through royalty credits for reasonable amounts paid for preparation by the Secretary (or a Secretary-selected contractor or other person) of project-level analysis, documentation, or related study required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 with respect to the lease.
[Congressional Bills 109th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 174 Introduced in House (IH)]
109th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 174
To encourage greater use of geothermal energy resources.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
January 4, 2005
Ms. Millender-McDonald introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the
Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by
the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall
within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To encourage greater use of geothermal energy resources.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Energy Initiative Act of
2005''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds the following:
(1) The last national resource assessment of geothermal
energy resource sites in the United States was completed in
1978. There have been substantial changes in technology and
advances in geological science in the intervening 26 years.
(2) Many Federal land management agencies, including the
Bureau of Land Management and the Forest Service, are not aware
of geothermal energy resources and fail to recognize geothermal
energy resources in their land use planning process. Failure to
recognize geothermal energy resources during the land use
planning process poses significant delays in geothermal
resource development.
(3) The Bureau of Land Management has a backlog of 230
lease applications for prospecting for geothermal energy. The
average age of these lease applications is 9 years. The oldest
non-competitive application was received in 1974.
(4) There appears to be a lack of focus and priority in the
Bureau of Land Management concerning geothermal energy efforts.
(5) Development of geothermal energy resources is
environmentally safe and clean.
SEC. 3. ASSESSMENT OF GEOTHERMAL ENERGY RESOURCES.
(a) Resource Assessment.--Not later than 3 months after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Secretary of
Energy shall review the available assessments of geothermal energy
resources available within the United States and undertake new
assessments as necessary, taking into account changes in market
conditions, available technologies, and other relevant factors.
(b) Contents of Reports.--Not later than 1 year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, and each year thereafter, the Secretary
shall publish a report based on the assessment under subsection (a).
The report shall contain a detailed inventory describing the available
amount and characteristics of the geothermal energy resources,
including--
(1) descriptions of surrounding terrain, population and
load centers, nearby energy infrastructure, location of energy
and water resources, and available estimates of the costs
needed to develop each resource;
(2) an identification of any barriers to providing adequate
transmission for remote sources of geothermal energy resources
to current and emerging markets;
(3) recommendations for removing or addressing such
barriers; and
(4) ways to provide access to the grid that do not unfairly
disadvantage renewable or other energy producers.
(c) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section
there is authorized to be appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior
$5,000,000 for fiscal years 2006, 2007, and 2008.
SEC. 4. ENHANCED ACCESS TO FEDERAL LANDS FOR GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE
DEVELOPMENT.
(a) Revision of Land Use Plans.--
(1) Public lands.--The Secretary of the Interior shall
expedite development of geothermal energy in making revisions
to land use plans under section 202 of the Federal Land Policy
and Management Act of 1976 (42 U.S.C. 1712) while protecting
other resources.
(2) National forest system lands.--The Secretary of
Agriculture shall expedite development of geothermal energy in
making revisions of land and resource management plans under
section 6 of the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources
Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) while protecting other
resources.
(3) Issuance of rights-of-way not affected.--Nothing in
this subsection shall preclude the issuance of a right-of-way
for the development of a geothermal energy project prior to the
revision of a land use plan by the appropriate land management
agency.
(b) Report to Congress.--Within 24 months after the date of the
enactment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall develop
and report to the Congress recommendations on any statutory or
regulatory changes the Secretary believes would assist in the
development of geothermal energy on Federal land. The report shall
include--
(1) a 5-year plan developed by the Secretary of the
Interior, in cooperation with the Secretary of Agriculture, for
encouraging the development of geothermal energy on Federal
land in an environmentally sound manner;
(2) an analysis of--
(A) whether the use of rights-of-ways is the best
means of authorizing use of Federal land for the
development of geothermal energy, or whether such
resources could be better developed through a leasing
system or other method;
(B) the desirability of grants, loans, tax credits,
or other provisions to promote geothermal energy
development on Federal land; and
(C) any problems, including environmental concerns,
that the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of
Agriculture has encountered in managing geothermal
energy projects on Federal land, or believe are likely
to arise in relation to the development of geothermal
energy on Federal land; and
(3) a list, developed in consultation with the Secretaries
of Energy and Defense, of lands under the jurisdiction of the
Departments of Energy and Defense, respectively, that would be
suitable for development for geothermal energy, and recommended
statutory and regulatory mechanisms for such development.
SEC. 5. CONSULTATION REGARDING GEOTHERMAL LEASING AND PERMITTING ON
PUBLIC LANDS.
(a) In General.--Not later than 6 months after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary
of Agriculture shall enter into and submit to the Congress a memorandum
of understanding in accordance with this section regarding leasing and
permitting, for geothermal development, of public lands under their
respective administrative jurisdictions.
(b) Lease and Permit Applications.--The memorandum of understanding
shall include provisions that--
(1) identify known geothermal areas on public lands within
the National Forest System and to the extent necessary review
management plans to consider leasing of such lands under the
Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) as a land
use;
(2) establish an administrative procedure for processing
geothermal lease applications, including lines of authority,
steps in application processing, and timeframes for application
processing;
(3) provide that the Secretary concerned shall--
(A) within 14 days after receiving an application
for a lease, determine whether the application contains
sufficient information to allow processing of the
application; and
(B) if the application is found not to contain
sufficient information to allow processing the
application, before the end of such 14-day period,
provide written notification to the lease applicant
that the application is being returned to the applicant
without processing and an itemization of the
deficiencies in the application that prevent
processing;
(4) provide that the Secretary concerned shall within 30
days after receiving a lease application, provide written
notice to the lease applicant regarding the status of the
application, including an estimate of the time that will be
required to complete action on the application; and
(5) establish an administrative procedure for processing
geothermal development permits, including lines of authority,
steps in permit processing, and timeframes for permit
processing.
(c) Five-Year Leasing Plan.--The memorandum of understanding shall
develop a 5-year plan for leasing under the Geothermal Steam Act of
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) of public land in the National Forest
System. The plan for geothermal leasing shall be updated every 5 years.
(d) Data Retrieval System.--The memorandum of understanding shall
establish a joint data retrieval system that is capable of--
(1) tracking lease and permit applications and requests;
and
(2) providing to the applicant or requester information as
to their status within the Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture, including an estimate of the time required for
administrative action.
SEC. 6. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS OF NEPA ANALYSES, DOCUMENTATION, AND
STUDIES.
(a) In General.--The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 30. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS OF NEPA ANALYSES, DOCUMENTATION, AND
STUDIES.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary of the Interior may, through
royalty credits, reimburse a person who is a lessee, operator,
operating rights owner, or applicant for a lease under this Act for
reasonable amounts paid by the person for preparation by the Secretary
(or a contractor or other person selected by the Secretary) of any
project-level analysis, documentation, or related study required under
the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.)
with respect to the lease.
``(b) Conditions.--The Secretary may provide reimbursement under
subsection (a) only if--
``(1) adequate funding to enable the Secretary to timely
prepare the analysis, documentation, or related study is not
appropriated;
``(2) the person paid the amounts voluntarily; and
``(3) the person maintains records of its costs in
accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.''.
(b) Application.--The amendment made by this section shall apply
with respect to any lease entered into before, on, or after the date of
the enactment of this Act.
(c) Deadline for Regulations.--The Secretary shall issue
regulations implementing the amendment made by this section by not
later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act.
SEC. 7. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
To carry out section 5 through 7 there are authorized to be
appropriated to the Secretary of the Interior such sums as may be
necessary.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Resources, and in addition to the Committee on Agriculture, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Forests and Forest Health.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Department Operations, Oversight, Nutrition and Forestry.
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