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[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 7422 Referred in Senate (RFS)]

<DOC>
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.

    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 Cost-Recovery Authority 
Act of 2024''.

SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING, PERMITTING, AND 
              INSPECTIONS.

    Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1005) is 
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Cost Recovery.--
            ``(1) In general.--During the period that begins on the 
        date of enactment of this subsection and ends September 30, 
        2031, the Secretary may require an applicant for, or a holder 
        of, a geothermal lease to reimburse the United States for all 
        reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by the 
        United States from--
                    ``(A) processing the application for the geothermal 
                lease, including any application for an operations 
                plan, geothermal drilling permit, utilization plan, 
                site license, facility construction permit, commercial 
                use permit, and any other approval associated with a 
                geothermal lease; and
                    ``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
                            ``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and 
                        abandonment of wells; and
                            ``(iii) the construction, operation, 
                        termination, and reclamation of any well site 
                        or facility for the utilization of geothermal 
                        resources pursuant to the geothermal lease.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In determining whether to require 
        reimbursement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider 
        whether there is in existence a cooperative cost share 
        agreement between the United States and the holder of a 
        geothermal lease.
            ``(3) Adjustments.--The Secretary may reduce the amount to 
        be reimbursed under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines--
                    ``(A) that full reimbursement would impose an 
                economic hardship on the applicant; or
                    ``(B) that a less than full reimbursement is 
                necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal 
                resources.
            ``(4) Use.--The amounts reimbursed under this subsection 
        shall be credited to the currently applicable appropriation, 
        account, or fund of the Department of the Interior as 
        discretionary offsetting collections, and shall be available 
        only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts 
        for--
                    ``(A) processing the application for geothermal 
                leases, including any application for operations plans, 
                geothermal drilling permits, utilization plans, site 
                licenses, facility construction permits, commercial use 
                permits, and any other approval associated with 
                geothermal leases; and
                    ``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
                            ``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and 
                        abandonment of wells; and
                            ``(iii) the construction, operation, 
                        termination, and reclamation of any well site 
                        or facility for the utilization of geothermal 
                        resources pursuant to geothermal leases.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the 
geothermal industry and other stakeholders, shall submit to the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and make 
publicly available on the website of the Department of the Interior, a 
report that includes--
            (1) an assessment of how the amendments made by section 2 
        of this Act affected the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal 
        program;
            (2) any recommendations for reauthorization of section 6(j) 
        of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as added by this Act; and
            (3) any other recommendations for updates to such section 
        and the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal program.
    (b) Considerations.--In developing the report required in 
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall solicit facts or 
information from the geothermal industry and other stakeholders.

            Passed the House of Representatives September 24, 2024.

            Attest:

                                             KEVIN F. MCCUMBER,

                                                                 Clerk.
```