IIB 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 7422 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

SEPTEMBER 25, 2024 

Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 

Resources 

AN ACT 

To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide 

cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 


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HR 7422 RFS

1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

2 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Geothermal Cost-Re3 covery Authority Act of 2024’’. 

4 SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING, 

5 PERMITTING, AND INSPECTIONS. 

6 Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

7 U.S.C. 1005) is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing: 

9 ‘‘(j) COST RECOVERY.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—During the period that be11 gins on the date of enactment of this subsection and 

12 ends September 30, 2031, the Secretary may require 

13 an applicant for, or a holder of, a geothermal lease 

14 to reimburse the United States for all reasonable ad15 ministrative and other costs incurred by the United 

16 States from— 

17 ‘‘(A) processing the application for the 

18 geothermal lease, including any application for 

19 an operations plan, geothermal drilling permit, 

20 utilization plan, site license, facility construc21 tion permit, commercial use permit, and any 

22 other approval associated with a geothermal 

23 lease; and 

24 ‘‘(B) inspecting and monitoring— 

25 ‘‘(i) geophysical exploration activities; 


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HR 7422 RFS

1 ‘‘(ii) the drilling, plugging, and aban2 donment of wells; and 

3 ‘‘(iii) the construction, operation, ter4 mination, and reclamation of any well site 

5 or facility for the utilization of geothermal 

6 resources pursuant to the geothermal 

7 lease. 

8 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining wheth9 er to require reimbursement under paragraph (1), 

10 the Secretary shall consider whether there is in ex11 istence a cooperative cost share agreement between 

12 the United States and the holder of a geothermal 

13 lease. 

14 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENTS.—The Secretary may re15 duce the amount to be reimbursed under paragraph 

16 (1) if the Secretary determines— 

17 ‘‘(A) that full reimbursement would impose 

18 an economic hardship on the applicant; or 

19 ‘‘(B) that a less than full reimbursement is 

20 necessary to promote the greatest use of geo21 thermal resources. 

22 ‘‘(4) USE.—The amounts reimbursed under this 

23 subsection shall be credited to the currently applica24 ble appropriation, account, or fund of the Depart25 ment of the Interior as discretionary offsetting colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:16 Sep 26, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H7422.RFS H7422

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HR 7422 RFS

1 lections, and shall be available only to the extent 

2 provided in advance in appropriations Acts for— 

3 ‘‘(A) processing the application for geo4 thermal leases, including any application for op5 erations plans, geothermal drilling permits, uti6 lization plans, site licenses, facility construction 

7 permits, commercial use permits, and any other 

8 approval associated with geothermal leases; and 

9 ‘‘(B) inspecting and monitoring— 

10 ‘‘(i) geophysical exploration activities; 

11 ‘‘(ii) the drilling, plugging, and aban12 donment of wells; and 

13 ‘‘(iii) the construction, operation, ter14 mination, and reclamation of any well site 

15 or facility for the utilization of geothermal 

16 resources pursuant to geothermal leases.’’. 

17 SEC. 3. REPORT. 

18 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 5 years after the date 

19 of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, 

20 in consultation with the geothermal industry and other 

21 stakeholders, shall submit to the Committee on Natural 

22 Resources of the House of Representatives and the Com23 mittee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, 

24 and make publicly available on the website of the Depart25 ment of the Interior, a report that includes— 


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1 (1) an assessment of how the amendments 

2 made by section 2 of this Act affected the Bureau 

3 of Land Management’s geothermal program; 

4 (2) any recommendations for reauthorization of 

5 section 6(j) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, 

6 as added by this Act; and 

7 (3) any other recommendations for updates to 

8 such section and the Bureau of Land Management’s 

9 geothermal program. 

10 (b) CONSIDERATIONS.—In developing the report re11 quired in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall 

12 solicit facts or information from the geothermal industry 

13 and other stakeholders. 

Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 

2024. 

Attest: KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 

Clerk. 


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