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[Congressional Bills 103th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 308 Introduced in House (IH)]

103d CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 308

     To create a commission to grant exclusive franchises for the 
exploration for and the commercial development of geothermal energy and 
 for the right to market any such energy in its natural state, and for 
                            other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            January 5, 1993

 Mr. Quillen introduced the following bill; which was referred jointly 
   to the Committees on Energy and Conservation and Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

 
     To create a commission to grant exclusive franchises for the 
exploration for and the commercial development of geothermal energy and 
 for the right to market any such energy in its natural state, and for 
                            other purposes.

    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 Control Act of 
1993''.

SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

    The Congress finds that the exploration for and the commercial 
development of geothermal energy in the United States, and the 
marketing of any energy developed from such geothermal energy, is a 
part of the interstate commerce of the United States. The Congress 
further finds that geothermal energy is a national resource of the 
United States and that it is in the national interest for the Congress 
to control and conserve the development of this national resource.

SEC. 3. NATIONAL GEOTHERMAL ENERGY COMMISSION.

    (a) Establishment.--There is established a commission to be known 
as the National Geothermal Energy Commission (hereinafter in this Act 
referred to as the ``Commission'') which shall be composed of 9 
Commissioners who shall be appointed by the President, by and with the 
advice and consent of the Senate, one of whom shall be designated by 
the President as Chairman and shall be the principal executive officer 
of the Commission. Each Chairman, when so designated, shall act as such 
until the expiration of his term of office.
    (b) Terms.--The Commissioners first appointed under this section 
shall continue in office for terms of 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years, 
respectively, from the date of their appointment by the President. The 
term of each such Commissioner first appointed shall be designated by 
the President at the time of his appointment. The successor of each 
such Commissioner first appointed and of each such Commissioner 
appointed thereafter shall be appointed for a term of 5 years from the 
date of the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was 
appointed, except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occurring 
prior to the expiration of the term for which his predecessor was 
appointed shall be appointed only for the expiration of such term. Not 
more than 5 of the Commissioners serving at any one time shall have 
been appointed from the same political party. No individual in the 
employ of or holding any official relation to any person licensed under 
this Act, or owning stocks or bonds of such person, or in any manner 
pecuniarily interested in such persons, shall hold the office of 
Commissioner. No Commissioner shall engage in any other business, 
vocation, or employment, except for his duties under this Act. No 
vacancy in the Commission shall impair the right of the remaining 
Commissioners to exercise all the powers of the Commission. Five 
members of the Commission shall constitute a quorum for the transaction 
of business, and the Commission shall have an official seal of which 
judicial notice shall be taken. The Commission shall annually elect a 
Vice Chairman to act in case of the absence or disability of the 
Chairman or in case of a vacancy in the office of Chairman.
    (c) Expenses.--Each Commissioner shall receive necessary traveling 
and subsistence expenses, or per diem allowance in lieu thereof, within 
the limitation prescribed by law, while away from the principal office 
of the Commission upon official business.
    (d) Meetings.--The principal office of the Commission shall be in 
the District of Columbia, where its general sessions shall be held; but 
whenever the convenience of the public or of the parties may be 
promoted or delay or expense prevented thereby, the Commission may hold 
special session in any part of the United States.

SEC. 4. DIRECTOR AND STAFF.

    (a) Director.--The Commission shall have a Director who shall be 
appointed by the Chairman of the Commission, and who shall be paid at 
the rate of basic pay in effect for grade GS-18 of the General 
Schedule.
    (b) Personnel.--Subject to such rules as may be adopted by the 
Commission, the Director may appoint and fix the pay of such personnel 
as he deems desirable.
    (c) Pay.--The Director and staff of the Commission may be appointed 
without regard to the provisions of title 5 of the United States Code, 
governing appointments in the competitive service, and such staff may 
be paid without regard to the provisions of chapter 51, subchapter III 
of chapter 53 and chapter 54 of such title relating to classification 
and pay rates.
    (d) Consultants.--Subject to such rules as may be adopted by the 
Commission, the Director may procure temporary and intermittent 
services to the same extent as is authorized by section 3109(b) of 
title 5 of the United States Code.
    (e) Detail of Personnel.--Upon request of the Commission, the head 
of any Federal agency is authorized to detail, on a reimbursable basis, 
any of the personnel of such agency to the Commission to assist it in 
carrying out its duties under this Act.

SEC. 5. ADMINISTRATIVE PROVISIONS.

    (a) Hearing and Testimony.--The Commission may for the purpose of 
carrying out this Act hold such hearings, sit and act at such times and 
places, take such testimony, and receive such evidence as the 
Commission may deem advisable. The Commission may administer oaths or 
affirmations to witnesses appearing before it.
    (b) Agents.--When so authorized by the Commission, any member or 
agent of the Commission may take any action which the Commission is 
authorized to take by this section.
    (c) Information.--The Commission may secure directly from any 
department or agency of the United States information necessary to 
enable it to carry out this Act. Upon request of the Chairman of the 
Commission, the head of such department or agency shall furnish such 
information to the Commission.
    (d) Mail.--The Commission may use the United States mails in the 
same manner and upon the same conditions as other departments and 
agencies of the United States.

SEC. 6. PROSPECTS FOR GEOTHERMAL STEAM.

    (a) Determination.--Within a year after the date of enactment of 
this Act, the Commission shall determine (for all lands in the United 
States which are not included in the geothermal leasing authority of 
section 3 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1002) or any 
geothermal development program conducted under any authority granted to 
any Secretary of a military department) all areas in which the geology, 
nearby discoveries, competitive interests, or other indicia would, in 
the opinion of the Commission, engender a belief in people who are 
experienced in the subject matter that the prospects for the extraction 
of geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources are good enough 
to warrant expenditures of money for that purpose. The Commission shall 
divide all such areas into parcels of satisfactory size for the 
purposes of licensing for exploration and development under subsection 
(b).
    (b) List of Parcels.--Immediately after the Commission divides 
areas into parcels under subsection (a), it shall publish the list of 
such parcels in the Federal Register. At any time after such 
publication, any person who wants to explore for geothermal steam and 
associated geothermal resources in any such parcel shall apply to the 
Commission for a license for such exploration. The Commission shall 
grant a license for any such parcel to the first person who applies for 
a license for such parcel who the Commission determines is capable of 
carrying out a complete exploration in such parcel for geothermal steam 
and associated geothermal resources. The Commission may refuse to grant 
a license to such person if--
            (1) such person has already been granted what the 
        Commission determines to be an excessive number of licenses 
        under this subsection in the same State as his present license 
        application, and
            (2) there is another eligible applicant for such license 
        who has not been granted such an excessive number of licenses 
        in such State. A person may only commercially develop 
        geothermal steam and associated geothermal resources on any 
        such parcel if he has been granted a license for such parcel 
        under this subsection, and then only during the period of the 
        license's validity as determined under subsection (c).
    (c) Term of License.--Any license granted under subsection (b) 
shall be valid for a period of 99 years. If geothermal steam and 
associated geothermal resources are found on the parcel for which such 
license is granted, and if such steam and resources are developed in 
commercial quantities within such 99-year period, such license may be 
extended at the option of the licensee for as long as such steam and 
resources are so developed. However, all extensions under the preceding 
sentence shall not exceed ninety-nine years. If such steam and 
resources are being commercially developed at the end of such ninety-
nine-year extension, the licensee shall have a preferential right to 
renew the lease for another ninety-nine-year period under such terms 
and conditions as the Commission may prescribe.
    (d) Exclusive Rights.--Any license granted for a parcel under 
subsection (b) or extended or renewed under subsection (c) shall be the 
exclusive license for such parcel as long as such license is valid.
    (e) Termination.--Any license granted under subsection (b), 
extended or renewed under subsection (c), or transferred under section 
8 may, after a hearing on the record, be terminated by the Commission 
for a violation of the terms of the license which the Commission may 
prescribe. However, such terms may not be inconsistent with any of the 
provisions of this Act. Before the termination of a license under this 
subsection, the Commission shall give the licensee an opportunity to 
correct such violation within a reasonable period of time. The 
Commission shall establish regulations for regranting licenses 
terminated under this subsection.

SEC. 7. MARKETING.

    (a) In General.--Any person who holds a license granted under 
section 6(b) for a parcel may apply to the Commission for a license to 
market the geothermal steam and associated geothermal resource found in 
such parcel, but such steam and resource must be marketed in the same 
energy form as such steam and resource was extracted from such parcel, 
or be marketed as water. The Commission shall grant such a license for 
marketing for a geographic area which the Commission determines is the 
most reasonable area to market successfully such steam and resource. 
There shall only be one license for marketing granted under this 
section for any geographic area.
    (b) Validity.--Any license for marketing granted under subsection 
(a) shall be valid for as long as the person holding such license also 
holds his license for the same parcel granted under section 6(b).

SEC. 8. TRANSFER OF LICENSE.

    Any person granted a license under section 6 may transfer such 
license to another person for the commercial development of the 
geothermal steam and associated geothermal resource which the person 
granted such license discovered under such license. Any person granted 
a license for the marketing of such steam and resource may transfer 
such license to another person for such marketing. However, the person 
proposing a transfer of a license under this section shall inform the 
Commission concerning the transfer within seven working days before the 
transfer. The Commission shall approve the transfer if the transferee 
is eligible under section 9(a).

SEC. 9. CITIZENSHIP; SALE OF ENERGY.

    (a) Citizenship.--Any person granted a license by the Commission 
under section 6, and any other person to whom such a license is 
transferred under section 8, shall be a United States citizen or shall 
be a person owned or controlled by a United States citizen.
    (b) Sale of Energy.--If any holder of a license under this Act 
converts any geothermal steam and associated geothermal resource 
covered by such license to electrical or any other form of energy, he 
may only sell such electrical or other form of energy (for transmission 
to consumers) to an existing utility company or other person which is 
licensed, or in any other way has the authority, to transmit the 
electricity or any other form of energy. Also, such licenseholder may 
sell such steam and resource to such an existing utility company or 
other person for conversion into electricity or any other form of 
energy.

SEC. 10. OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.

    Nothing contained in this Act shall relieve any person from the 
operation of sections 1 to 13, 14 to 19, 20, 21, 22 to 27, 41 to 46, 
and 47 to 58 of title 15 of the United States Code and sections 52 and 
53 of title 29. In the event a licensee is found by a court of 
competent jurisdiction, either in an original action in that court or 
in a proceeding to enforce or review the findings or orders of any 
Government agency having jurisdiction under the sections cited above, 
to have violated any of the provisions of such sections in the conduct 
of the licensed activity, the Commission may suspend, revoke, or take 
such other action as it may deem necessary with respect to any license 
issued by the Commission under the provisions of this Act.

SEC. 11. DEFINITIONS.

    For the purposes of this Act, the term ``geothermal steam and 
associated geothermal resources'' shall have the same meaning as such 
term has in section 2(c) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 
1001(c)).

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