II 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3954 

To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to promote timely exploration 

for geothermal resources under geothermal leases, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 14, 2024 

Mr. HEINRICH (for himself, Mr. RISCH, Mr. LEE, and Ms. CORTEZ MASTO) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to promote 

timely exploration for geothermal resources under geothermal leases, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Geothermal Energy 

5 Optimization Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL PRODUCTION ON FEDERAL LAND. 

7 The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 

8 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 30. GEOTHERMAL OBSERVATION TEST PROJECTS. 

2 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

3 ‘‘(1) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term 

4 ‘categorical exclusion’ has the meaning given the 

5 term in section 111 of the National Environmental 

6 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4336e). 

7 ‘‘(2) DOWNHOLE.—The term ‘downhole’ means 

8 a well or borehole dug or drilled into the subsurface 

9 of the earth for the purposes of resource confirma10 tion or potential use. 

11 ‘‘(3) GEOTHERMAL OBSERVATION TEST

12 PROJECT.—The term ‘geothermal observation test 

13 project’ means using geothermal technologies to drill 

14 a test, monitor, calibration, or other similar type of 

15 exploratory drilling process well for geothermal re16 sources on land for which the Secretary concerned 

17 has issued a lease under this Act, that— 

18 ‘‘(A) is carried out by the leaseholder; 

19 ‘‘(B) causes an allowable amount of total 

20 disturbance; 

21 ‘‘(C) does not include any permanent 

22 roads; 

23 ‘‘(D) is developed— 

24 ‘‘(i) with the deepest cemented casing 

25 string less than 12 inches of downhole size 

26 in diameter; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in a manner that does not re2 quire off-road motorized access other than 

3 to and from the well site along an identi4 fied off-road route; 

5 ‘‘(iii) with temporary road access, if 

6 needed to enable access to the geothermal 

7 observation test project location, subject to 

8 the requirement that— 

9 ‘‘(I) construction of the tem10 porary road access is remediated as 

11 close as reasonably practicable to 

12 original condition following completion 

13 of the geothermal observation test 

14 project work; or 

15 ‘‘(II) the temporary road access, 

16 with any additional permanent im17 provements, is included as part of the 

18 full review required under the Na19 tional Environmental Policy Act of 

20 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) if the 

21 leaseholder intends to proceed with 

22 geothermal energy use for— 

23 ‘‘(aa) the production of elec24 tricity; 

25 ‘‘(bb) industrial processes; 


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1 ‘‘(cc) agricultural processes; 

2 ‘‘(dd) brine mineral extrac3 tion; 

4 ‘‘(ee) direct heating and 

5 cooling uses; or 

6 ‘‘(ff) any combination of 

7 items (aa) through (ee); and 

8 ‘‘(iv) with the use of rubber-tired 

9 digging or drilling equipment vehicles; 

10 ‘‘(E) is completed in less than 120 days— 

11 ‘‘(i) including the removal of any sur12 face infrastructure from the site, unless— 

13 ‘‘(I) the leaseholder conducting 

14 the geothermal observation test 

15 project submits to the Secretary con16 cerned by not later than 60 days after 

17 the date of first exploration drilling 

18 an extension request for additional 

19 time to complete the observation 

20 project, in which the request provides 

21 justification indicating why granting 

22 an extension is necessary; and 

23 ‘‘(II) the Secretary concerned 

24 grants an extension under subclause 

25 (I), if requested; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) not including removal of any sur2 face infrastructure from the site so long as 

3 the geothermal developer intends to pro4 ceed with resource development directly 

5 following the test phase of the project and 

6 into processes required under the National 

7 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

8 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

9 ‘‘(F) requires the restoration of the project 

10 site as part of any new review required under 

11 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 

12 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) within 3 years of the 

13 date of first exploration drilling to approxi14 mately the condition that existed at the time 

15 the project began, unless the site is subse16 quently used as part of energy development 

17 under the lease. 

18 ‘‘(4) GEOTHERMAL TECHNOLOGY.—The term 

19 ‘geothermal technology’ means technology designed 

20 to extract heat from the subsurface of the earth and 

21 that is used to drill— 

22 ‘‘(A) hydrothermal project test wells; 

23 ‘‘(B) enhanced geothermal system moni24 toring wells; 


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1 ‘‘(C) closed loop geothermal system cali2 bration wells; and 

3 ‘‘(D) similar types of subsurface disturb4 ances through non-production wells to assess 

5 the viability of the heat resources of the earth. 

6 ‘‘(5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘Sec7 retary concerned’ means— 

8 ‘‘(A) the Secretary of Agriculture, with re9 spect to National Forest System land; and 

10 ‘‘(B) the Secretary, with respect to public 

11 lands. 

12 ‘‘(6) SURFACE INFRASTRUCTURE.—The term 

13 ‘surface infrastructure’ means all equipment, mate14 rials, facilities, and other items used in the drilling 

15 of a geothermal observation test project. 

16 ‘‘(7) TOTAL DISTURBANCE.— 

17 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘total dis18 turbance’ means a geothermal observation test 

19 project that causes not more than 10 acres of 

20 disturbance from— 

21 ‘‘(i) soil or vegetation disruption at 

22 the location of each geothermal observation 

23 test project; and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) soil or vegetation disruption dur2 ing access or egress to the geothermal ob3 servation test project site. 

4 ‘‘(B) ALLOWANCE.— 

5 ‘‘(i) MULTIPLE PROJECTS.—For in6 stances of multiple geothermal observation 

7 test projects, the acres of total disturbance 

8 allowed shall— 

9 ‘‘(I) be equal to the total number 

10 of geothermal observation test 

11 projects multiplied by 10 acres; and 

12 ‘‘(II) not exceed 100 total acres. 

13 ‘‘(ii) ACCESS OR EGRESS.—For soil or 

14 vegetation disruption during access or 

15 egress to a geothermal observation test 

16 project site, the acres of total soil or vege17 tation disruption allowed shall be equal to 

18 the acres of total disturbance allowed 

19 minus the acres of soil or vegetation dis20 ruption caused by the geothermal observa21 tion test project. 

22 ‘‘(b) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.— 

23 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 1 year after 

24 the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary 


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1 concerned shall develop a categorical exclusion for 

2 geothermal observation test projects. 

3 ‘‘(2) ADMINISTRATION.—In developing and ad4 ministering the categorical exclusion under para5 graph (1), the Secretary concerned shall— 

6 ‘‘(A) comply with the National Environ7 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

8 seq.); and 

9 ‘‘(B) apply any applicable extraordinary 

10 circumstance under section 46.215 of title 43, 

11 Code of Federal Regulations (or successor regu12 lations), in determining whether to use the cat13 egorical exclusion. 

14 ‘‘(c) PROCESS.— 

15 ‘‘(1) REQUIREMENT TO PROVIDE NOTICE.—A 

16 leaseholder shall provide notice to the Secretary con17 cerned of the intent of the leaseholder to carry out 

18 a geothermal observation test project at least 60 

19 days before the start of drilling under the project. 

20 ‘‘(2) REVIEW AND DETERMINATION.—Not later 

21 than 30 days after receipt of a notice of intent 

22 under paragraph (1) that contains sufficient infor23 mation to evaluate the qualifications of the project 

24 for an applicable categorical exclusion, the Secretary 


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1 concerned shall, with respect to the project described 

2 in the notice of intent— 

3 ‘‘(A) determine if the project qualifies for 

4 a categorical exclusion under subsection (b); 

5 ‘‘(B) notify the leaseholder of such deter6 mination; and 

7 ‘‘(C) administer the categorical exclusion 

8 for a geothermal observation test project, sub9 ject to the condition that— 

10 ‘‘(i) the project meets the specified 

11 criteria for the categorical exclusion; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the Secretary determines that no 

13 extraordinary circumstance exists under 

14 which a normally excluded action or 

15 project may have a significant effect. 

16 ‘‘(3) OPPORTUNITY TO REMEDY.—If the Sec17 retary concerned determines under paragraph (2)(A) 

18 that the project does not qualify for a categorical ex19 clusion under subsection (b), the Secretary con20 cerned shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) include in such notice clear and de22 tailed findings on any deficiencies in the project 

23 that resulted in such determination; and 

24 ‘‘(B) allow the leaseholder not less than 60 

25 days after receiving notice under subparagraph 


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1 (A) to remedy any deficiencies and resubmit the 

2 notice of intent under paragraph (1).’’. 

3 SEC. 3. REVIEW OF GEOTHERMAL EXPLORATION OR DE4 VELOPMENT ACTIVITIES. 

5 Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 15942) is amended— 

7 (1) in subsection (a)— 

8 (A) by inserting ‘‘(30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) 

9 or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

10 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.)’’ after ‘‘Mineral Leasing 

11 Act’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘oil or gas’’ and inserting 

13 ‘‘oil, gas, or geothermal energy resource well’’; 

14 (2) in subsection (b)— 

15 (A) in paragraph (1), by inserting ‘‘, and 

16 less than 10 acres for the purposes of geo17 thermal,’’ after ‘‘less than 5 acres’’; 

18 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘oil or 

19 gas well’’ and inserting ‘‘oil, gas, or geothermal 

20 resource well’’; 

21 (C) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘oil or 

22 gas well within a developed field’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘oil, gas, or geothermal energy resource well 

24 within a developed field or area’’; 


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1 (D) by redesignating paragraph (5) as 

2 paragraph (6); and 

3 (E) by inserting after paragraph (4) the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(5) For the purposes of geothermal, placement 

6 of an electrical transmission line or a distribution 

7 line of not more than 20 miles in length in an ap8 proved right-of-way corridor, so long as the corridor 

9 was approved within 5 years prior to the date of 

10 placement of the transmission or distribution line.’’. 

11 SEC. 4. LEASING PROCEDURES UNDER THE GEOTHERMAL 

12 STEAM ACT. 

13 Section 4 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

14 U.S.C. 1003) is amended— 

15 (1) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘every 2 

17 years’’ and inserting ‘‘every year’’; and 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) REPLACEMENT SALES.—If a lease sale 

20 under this section for a year is cancelled or delayed, 

21 the Secretary shall conduct a replacement sale dur22 ing the same year.’’; and 

23 (2) in subsection (d), by adding at the end the 

24 following: 


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1 ‘‘(3) DEADLINE.—The Secretary, and the Sec2 retary of Agriculture with respect to National Forest 

3 System land, shall issue a decision for a submitted 

4 application described in paragraph (1) not later than 

5 60 days after the application is submitted.’’. 

6 SEC. 5. GEOTHERMAL OMBUDSMAN AND STRIKE TEAM. 

7 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

8 (1) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

9 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 

10 (2) GEOTHERMAL OMBUDSMAN.—The term 

11 ‘‘Geothermal Ombudsman’’ means the Geothermal 

12 Ombudsman appointed under subsection (b). 

13 (3) GEOTHERMAL STRIKE TEAM.—The term 

14 ‘‘Geothermal Strike Team’’ means the Geothermal 

15 Strike Team established under subsection (c). 

16 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

17 the Secretary of the Interior. 

18 (b) GEOTHERMAL OMBUDSMAN.— 

19 (1) APPOINTMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

20 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec21 retary shall appoint within the Bureau of Land 

22 Management a Geothermal Ombudsman to report 

23 directly to the Director. 

24 (2) DUTIES.—The Geothermal Ombudsman 

25 shall— 


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1 (A) act as a liaison between the individual 

2 field offices of the Bureau of Land Manage3 ment and the Director; 

4 (B) improve— 

5 (i) the performance of the permitting 

6 process for geothermal energy resource 

7 wells; and 

8 (ii) regional coordination of the field 

9 offices of the Bureau of Land Manage10 ment; 

11 (C) provide dispute resolution services be12 tween the individual field offices of the Bureau 

13 of Land Management and applicants for drilling 

14 geothermal energy resource wells; 

15 (D) help Federal, State, and Tribal depart16 ments and agencies make the permitting and 

17 leasing process for geothermal energy resource 

18 wells efficient, orderly, and responsive; 

19 (E) develop best practices and templates 

20 for the permitting and leasing process for geo21 thermal energy resource wells; 

22 (F) coordinate with the Federal Permitting 

23 Improvement Steering Council established by 

24 section 41002 of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 


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1 4370m–1) and other task forces, as needed, on 

2 overlapping duties and responsibilities; and 

3 (G) identify potential statutory and regu4 latory changes based on input from the indi5 vidual field offices of the Bureau of Land Man6 agement, the Geothermal Strike Team, and 

7 other stakeholders, as determined by the Sec8 retary. 

9 (3) LIMITATION.— 

10 (A) SUPPORT.—In carrying out the duties 

11 of the Geothermal Ombudsman under para12 graph (2), the Geothermal Ombudsman shall 

13 use personnel, funding, logistics, and other re14 sources of the Bureau of Land Management, to 

15 the extent determined by the Director. 

16 (B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection 

17 replaces, alters, or diminishes the activities of 

18 any ombudsman or similar office of any other 

19 agency. 

20 (c) GEOTHERMAL STRIKE TEAM.— 

21 (1) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than 60 days 

22 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Sec23 retary shall establish within the Bureau of Land 

24 Management a task force, to be known as the ‘‘GeoVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 28, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3954.IS S3954

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1 thermal Strike Team’’, which shall report directly to 

2 the Director. 

3 (2) DUTIES.—The Geothermal Strike Team 

4 shall support the Geothermal Ombudsman— 

5 (A) with implementation and continuous 

6 improvement of best practices relating to per7 mitting for and leasing of geothermal energy re8 source wells; 

9 (B) with providing direct technical assist10 ance to applicants in field offices of the Bureau 

11 of Land Management, as requested; and 

12 (C) with coordinating with Federal, State, 

13 Tribal, and local governments, and among State 

14 agencies, on project review, permitting, and ap15 provals for geothermal energy resource wells. 

16 (3) MEMBERS.—The Geothermal Strike Team 

17 shall be composed of members of the Bureau of 

18 Land Management selected by the Director, in con19 sultation with the Secretary, who may consult 

20 with— 

21 (A) institutions of higher education (as de22 fined in section 101(a) of the Higher Education 

23 Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 1001(a))); 


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1 (B) members from the National Labora2 tories (as defined in section 2 of the Energy 

3 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15801)); 

4 (C) private entities, as determined by the 

5 Director, with expertise in data modeling and 

6 analysis; and 

7 (D) other experts, as determined by the 

8 Director. 

9 (4) LIMITATION.— 

10 (A) SUPPORT.—In carrying out the duties 

11 of the Geothermal Strike Team under para12 graph (2), the Geothermal Strike Team may 

13 use personnel, funding, logistics, and other re14 sources of the Bureau of Land Management, to 

15 the extent determined by the Director. 

16 (B) EFFECT.—Nothing in this subsection 

17 replaces, alters, or diminishes the activities of 

18 any similar office of any Federal agency. 

19 (d) REPORTS.— 

20 (1) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Geothermal Om21 budsman and the Geothermal Strike Team shall 

22 jointly submit to the Committee on Energy and Nat23 ural Resources of the Senate, the Committee on En24 ergy and Commerce of the House of Representa25 tives, and the Director an annual report that deVerDate Sep 11 2014 00:50 Mar 28, 2024 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S3954.IS S3954

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1 scribes the activities and evaluates the effectiveness 

2 of the Geothermal Ombudsman and Geothermal 

3 Strike Team during the preceding 1-year period. 

4 (2) ADDITIONAL REPORTS.—In addition to the 

5 annual report required under paragraph (1), the 

6 Geothermal Ombudsman and Geothermal Strike 

7 Team shall submit to the Director any additional re8 ports, as determined by the Director. 

9 (3) REQUEST.—The Geothermal Ombudsman 

10 and the Geothermal Strike Team shall, on request, 

11 submit the reports described in paragraphs (1) and 

12 (2) to any Member of Congress. 

Æ 


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