I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 3794 

To promote the development of renewable energy on public lands, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JULY 17, 2019 

Mr. GOSAR (for himself, Mr. LEVIN of California, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. HUFFMAN, Mr. TIPTON, Mr. AMODEI, Mr. BEYER, Mr. 

BIGGS, Mr. BISHOP of Utah, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Ms. DELBENE, Mrs. 

DINGELL, Mr. GAETZ, Ms. HAALAND, Mr. LUJA ́N, Mr. NEWHOUSE, Mr. 

SCHWEIKERT, Mr. SIMPSON, Mr. STAUBER, Mr. STEWART, Mr. YOUNG, 

Mr. COOK, Mr. MARSHALL, and Mr. GIANFORTE) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural 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 promote the development of renewable energy on public 

lands, 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 ‘‘Public Land Renew5 able Energy Development Act of 2019’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title. 

Sec. 2. Table of contents. 

Sec. 3. Definitions. 

Sec. 4. Land use planning; supplements to programmatic environmental impact 

statements. 

Sec. 5. Environmental review on covered land. 

Sec. 6. Program to improve renewable energy project permit coordination. 

Sec. 7. Increasing economic certainty. 

Sec. 8. Limited grandfathering. 

Sec. 9. Renewable energy goal. 

Sec. 10. Disposition of revenues. 

Sec. 11. Promoting and enhancing development of geothermal energy. 

Sec. 12. Facilitation of coproduction of geothermal energy on oil and gas leases. 

Sec. 13. Noncompetitive leasing of adjoining areas for development of geothermal resources. 

Sec. 14. Savings clause. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

6 means land that is— 

7 (A) public lands administered by the Sec8 retary; and 

9 (B) not excluded from the development of 

10 geothermal, solar, or wind energy under— 

11 (i) a land use plan established under 

12 the Federal Land Policy and Management 

13 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

14 (ii) other Federal law. 

15 (2) EXCLUSION AREA.—The term ‘‘exclusion 

16 area’’ means covered land that is identified by the 

17 Bureau of Land Management as not suitable for de18 velopment of renewable energy projects. 


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1 (3) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

2 means— 

3 (A) land of the National Forest System (as 

4 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 

5 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

6 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); or 

7 (B) public lands. 

8 (4) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Re9 newable Energy Resource Conservation Fund estab10 lished by section 10(c)(1). 

11 (5) PRIORITY AREA; DESIGNATED LEASING

12 AREAS.—The terms ‘‘priority area’’ and ‘‘Designated 

13 Leasing Areas’’ mean covered land identified by the 

14 land use planning process of the Bureau of Land 

15 Management as being a preferred location for a re16 newable energy project for solar, wind, or geo17 thermal energy. 

18 (6) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

19 has the meaning given that term in section 103 of 

20 the Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

21 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

22 (7) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 

23 ‘‘renewable energy project’’ means a project carried 

24 out on covered land that uses wind, solar, or geo25 thermal energy to generate energy. 


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1 (8) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

2 the Secretary of the Interior. 

3 (9) VARIANCE AREA.—The term ‘‘variance 

4 area’’ means covered land that is— 

5 (A) not an exclusion area; 

6 (B) not a priority area; and 

7 (C) identified by the Secretary as poten8 tially available for renewable energy develop9 ment and could be approved without a plan 

10 amendment, consistent with the principles of 

11 multiple use (as that term is defined in the 

12 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 

13 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.)). 

14 SEC. 4. LAND USE PLANNING; SUPPLEMENTS TO PRO15 GRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

16 STATEMENTS. 

17 (a) PRIORITY AREAS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary, in consulta19 tion with the Secretary of Energy, shall establish 

20 priority areas on covered land for geothermal, solar, 

21 and wind energy projects. 

22 (2) DEADLINE.— 

23 (A) GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.—For geo24 thermal energy, the Secretary shall establish 

25 priority areas as soon as practicable, but not 


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1 later than 5 years, after the date of the enact2 ment of this Act. 

3 (B) SOLAR ENERGY.—For solar energy, 

4 solar Designated Leasing Areas, including the 

5 solar energy zones established by the 2012 

6 western solar plan of the Bureau of Land Man7 agement and any subsequent land use plan 

8 amendments, shall be considered to be priority 

9 areas for solar energy projects. The Secretary 

10 shall establish additional solar priority areas as 

11 soon as practicable, but not later than 3 years, 

12 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

13 (C) WIND ENERGY.—For wind energy, the 

14 Secretary shall establish additional wind pri15 ority areas as soon as practicable, but not later 

16 than 3 years, after the date of the enactment 

17 of this Act. 

18 (b) VARIANCE AREAS.—To the maximum extent 

19 practicable, variance areas shall be considered for renew20 able energy project development, consistent with the prin21 ciples of multiple use (as defined in the Federal Land Pol22 icy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

23 seq.)). 

24 (c) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.—Not less than once 

25 every 5 years, the Secretary shall— 


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1 (1) review the adequacy of land allocations for 

2 geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority and vari3 ance areas for the purpose of encouraging new re4 newable energy development opportunities; and 

5 (2) based on the review carried out under para6 graph (1), add, modify, or eliminate priority, vari7 ance, and exclusion areas. 

8 (d) COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON9 MENTAL POLICY ACT.—For purposes of this section, com10 pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 

11 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished— 

12 (1) for geothermal energy, by supplementing 

13 the October 2008 final programmatic environmental 

14 impact statement for geothermal leasing in the 

15 Western United States and incorporating any addi16 tional regional analyses that have been completed by 

17 Federal agencies since the programmatic environ18 mental impact statement was finalized; 

19 (2) for solar energy, by supplementing the July 

20 2012 final programmatic environmental impact 

21 statement for solar energy development and incor22 porating any additional regional analyses that have 

23 been completed by Federal agencies since the pro24 grammatic environmental impact statement was fi25 nalized; and 


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1 (3) for wind energy, by supplementing the July 

2 2005 final programmatic environmental impact 

3 statement for wind energy development and incor4 porating any additional regional analyses that have 

5 been completed by Federal agencies since the pro6 grammatic environmental impact statement was fi7 nalized. 

8 (e) NO EFFECT ON PROCESSING APPLICATIONS.— 

9 Any requirements to prepare a supplement to a pro10 grammatic environmental impact statement under this 

11 section shall not result in any delay in processing a pend12 ing application for a renewable energy project. 

13 (f) COORDINATION.—In developing a supplement re14 quired by this section, the Secretary shall coordinate, on 

15 an ongoing basis, with appropriate State, Tribal, and local 

16 governments, transmission infrastructure owners and op17 erators, developers, and other appropriate entities to en18 sure that priority areas identified by the Secretary are— 

19 (1) economically viable (including having access 

20 to existing and/or planned transmission capacity); 

21 (2) likely to avoid or minimize conflict with 

22 habitat for animals and plants, recreation, cultural 

23 resources, and other uses of covered land; and 

24 (3) consistent with section 202 of the Federal 

25 Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 


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1 U.S.C. 1712), including subsection (c)(9) of that 

2 section (43 U.S.C. 1712(c)(9)). 

3 SEC. 5. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ON COVERED LAND. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary determines that 

5 a proposed renewable energy project has been sufficiently 

6 analyzed by a programmatic environmental impact state7 ment conducted under section 4(d), the Secretary shall not 

8 require any additional review under the National Environ9 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

10 (b) ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—If the 

11 Secretary determines that additional environmental review 

12 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

13 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is necessary for a proposed renewable 

14 energy project, the Secretary shall rely on the analysis in 

15 the programmatic environmental impact statement con16 ducted under section 4(d), to the maximum extent prac17 ticable when analyzing the potential impacts of the 

18 project. 

19 (c) RELATIONSHIP TO OTHER LAW.—Nothing in this 

20 section modifies or supersedes any requirement under ap21 plicable law. 

22 SEC. 6. PROGRAM TO IMPROVE RENEWABLE ENERGY 

23 PROJECT PERMIT COORDINATION. 

24 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

25 a national Renewable Energy Coordination Office and 


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1 State, district, or field offices with responsibility to estab2 lish and implement a program to improve Federal permit 

3 coordination with respect to renewable energy projects on 

4 covered land and other activities deemed necessary by the 

5 Secretary. In carrying out the program, the Secretary may 

6 temporarily assign qualified staff to Renewable Energy 

7 Coordination Offices to expedite the permitting of renew8 able energy projects. 

9 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

11 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec12 retary shall enter into a memorandum of under13 standing for purposes of this section, including to 

14 specifically expedite the environmental analysis of 

15 applications for projects proposed in a variance area 

16 or a priority area, with the Secretary of Defense and 

17 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

18 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

19 may request the Governor of any interested State to 

20 be a signatory to the memorandum of understanding 

21 under paragraph (1). 

22 (c) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

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1 eral signatories, as appropriate, shall identify for 

2 each of the Bureau of Land Management Renewable 

3 Energy Coordination Offices one or more employees 

4 who have expertise in the regulatory issues relating 

5 to the office in which the employee is employed, in6 cluding, as applicable, particular expertise in— 

7 (A) consultation regarding, and prepara8 tion of, biological opinions under section 7 of 

9 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

10 1536); 

11 (B) permits under section 404 of the Fed12 eral Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 

13 1344); 

14 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

15 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

16 (D) the Federal Land Policy and Manage17 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

18 (E) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

19 U.S.C. 703 et seq.); 

20 (F) the preparation of analyses under the 

21 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

22 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 

23 (G) implementation of the requirements of 

24 section 306108 of title 54, United States Code 


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1 (formerly known as section 106 of the National 

2 Historic Preservation Act); 

3 (H) planning under section 14 of the Na4 tional Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 

5 U.S.C. 472a); and 

6 (I) the Bald and Golden Eagle Protection 

7 Act (16 U.S.C. 668–668d). 

8 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

9 paragraph (1) shall— 

10 (A) be responsible for addressing all issues 

11 relating to the jurisdiction of the home office or 

12 agency of the employee; and 

13 (B) participate as part of the team of per14 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

15 planning, monitoring, inspection, enforcement, 

16 and environmental analyses. 

17 (d) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary may 

18 assign such additional personnel for the Bureau of Land 

19 Management Renewable Energy Coordination Offices as 

20 are necessary to ensure the effective implementation of 

21 any programs administered by the offices in accordance 

22 with the multiple use mandate of the Federal Land Policy 

23 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 

24 (e) CLARIFICATION OF EXISTING AUTHORITY.— 

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1 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1737), the Bureau of 

2 Land Management may— 

3 (1) accept donations for the purposes of public 

4 lands management; and 

5 (2) accept donations from renewable energy 

6 companies working on public lands to help cover the 

7 costs of environmental reviews. 

8 (f) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1 

10 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of the 

11 enactment of this Act, and each February 1 there12 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

13 on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and 

14 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

15 of Representatives a report describing the progress 

16 made under the program established under sub17 section (a) during the preceding year. 

18 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report under this sub19 section shall include— 

20 (A) projections for renewable energy pro21 duction and capacity installations; and 

22 (B) a description of any problems relating 

23 to leasing, permitting, siting, or production. 


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1 SEC. 7. INCREASING ECONOMIC CERTAINTY. 

2 (a) CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary is authorized 

3 to and shall consider acreage rental rates, capacity fees, 

4 and other recurring annual fees in total when evaluating 

5 existing rates paid for the use of Federal land by renew6 able energy projects. 

7 (b) INCREASES IN BASE RENTAL RATES.—Once a 

8 base rental rate is established upon the issuance of a 

9 right-of-way authorization, increases in the base rent shall 

10 be limited to the Implicit Price Deflator–Gross Domestic 

11 Product (IPD–GDP) index for the entire term of the 

12 right-of-way authorization. 

13 (c) REDUCTIONS IN BASE RENTAL RATES.—The 

14 Secretary is authorized to reduce acreage rental rates and 

15 capacity fees, or both, for existing and new wind and solar 

16 authorizations if the Secretary determines— 

17 (1) that the existing rates— 

18 (A) exceed fair market value; 

19 (B) impose economic hardships; 

20 (C) limit commercial interest in a competi21 tive lease sale or right-of-way grant; or 

22 (D) are not competitively priced compared 

23 to other available land; or 

24 (2) that a reduced rental rate or capacity fee is 

25 necessary to promote the greatest use of wind and 

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1 side priority areas. Rental rates and capacity fees 

2 for projects that are within the boundaries of a Des3 ignated Leasing Area but not formally recognized as 

4 being in such an area shall be equivalent to rents 

5 and fees for new leases inside of a Designated Leas6 ing Area. 

7 SEC. 8. LIMITED GRANDFATHERING. 

8 (a) DEFINITION OF PROJECT.—In this section, the 

9 term ‘‘project’’ means a system described in section 

10 2801.9(a)(4) of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

11 in effect on the date of enactment of this Act). 

12 (b) REQUIREMENT TO PAY RENTS AND FEES.—The 

13 owner of a project that applied for a right-of-way under 

14 section 501 of the Federal Land Policy and Management 

15 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) on or before December 19, 

16 2016, shall be obligated to pay with respect to the right17 of-way all rents and fees in effect before the effective date 

18 of the rule of the Bureau of Land Management entitled 

19 ‘‘Competitive Processes, Terms, and Conditions for Leas20 ing Public Lands for Solar and Wind Energy Development 

21 and Technical Changes and Corrections’’ (81 Fed. Reg. 

22 92122 (December 19, 2016)). 

23 SEC. 9. RENEWABLE ENERGY GOAL. 

24 The Secretary and the Secretary of Agriculture shall 

25 seek to issue permits that, in total, authorize production 


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1 of not less than 25 gigawatts of electricity from wind, 

2 solar, and geothermal energy projects by not later than 

3 2025, through management of public lands and adminis4 tration of Federal laws. 

5 SEC. 10. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES. 

6 (a) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Beginning on Jan7 uary 1, 2020, of the amounts collected as bonus bids, rent8 als, fees, or other payments under a right-of-way, permit, 

9 lease, or other authorization (other than under section 

10 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

11 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g))) for the development of wind 

12 or solar energy on covered land, the following shall be 

13 made available without further appropriation or fiscal year 

14 limitation as follows: 

15 (1) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the 

16 Secretary of the Treasury to the State within the 

17 boundaries of which the revenue is derived. 

18 (2) Twenty-five percent shall be paid by the 

19 Secretary of the Treasury to the one or more coun20 ties within the boundaries of which the revenue is 

21 derived, to be allocated among the counties based on 

22 the percentage of land from which the revenue is de23 rived. 

24 (3) Fifteen percent shall be deposited in the 

25 Treasury and be made available to the Secretary to 


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1 carry out the program established under this Act, in2 cluding the transfer of the funds by the Bureau of 

3 Land Management to other Federal agencies and 

4 State agencies to facilitate the processing of renew5 able energy permits on Federal land, with priority 

6 given to using the amounts, to the maximum extent 

7 practicable without detrimental impacts to emerging 

8 markets, to expediting the issuance of permits re9 quired for the development of renewable energy 

10 projects in the States from which the revenues are 

11 derived. 

12 (4) Twenty-five percent shall be deposited in 

13 the Renewable Energy Resource Conservation Fund 

14 established by subsection (c). 

15 (5) The remainder shall be deposited into the 

16 general fund of the Treasury for purposes of reduc17 ing the annual Federal budget deficit. 

18 (b) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to States and 

20 counties under subsection (a) shall be used con21 sistent with section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act 

22 (30 U.S.C. 191). 

23 (2) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—A payment 

24 to a county under paragraph (1) shall be in addition 


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1 to a payment in lieu of taxes received by the county 

2 under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code. 

3 (c) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE CONSERVATION

4 FUND.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

6 Treasury a fund to be known as the Renewable En7 ergy Resource Conservation Fund, which shall be 

8 administered by the Secretary, in consultation with 

9 the Secretary of Agriculture. 

10 (2) USE OF FUNDS.—The Secretary may make 

11 amounts in the Fund available to Federal, State, 

12 and Tribal agencies to be distributed in regions in 

13 which renewable energy projects are located on Fed14 eral land, for the purposes of— 

15 (A) restoring and protecting— 

16 (i) fish and wildlife habitat for af17 fected species; 

18 (ii) fish and wildlife corridors for af19 fected species; and 

20 (iii) water resources in areas affected 

21 by wind, geothermal, or solar energy devel22 opment; and 

23 (B) preserving and improving recreational 

24 access to Federal land and water in an affected 

25 region through an easement, right-of-way, or 


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1 other instrument from willing landowners for 

2 the purpose of enhancing public access to exist3 ing Federal land and water that is inaccessible 

4 or restricted. 

5 (3) RESTRICTION ON USE OF FUNDS.—No 

6 funds made available under this subsection may be 

7 used for the purchase of real property unless in ful8 fillment of paragraph (2)(B). 

9 (4) PARTNERSHIPS.—The Secretary may enter 

10 into cooperative agreements with State and Tribal 

11 agencies, nonprofit organizations, and other appro12 priate entities to carry out the activities described in 

13 subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). 

14 (5) INVESTMENT OF FUND.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts deposited 

16 in the Fund shall earn interest in an amount 

17 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on 

18 the basis of the current average market yield on 

19 outstanding marketable obligations of the 

20 United States of comparable maturities. 

21 (B) USE.—Any interest earned under sub22 paragraph (A) may be expended in accordance 

23 with this subsection. 

24 (6) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—At the end of each 

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1 mittee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep2 resentatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat3 ural Resources of the Senate— 

4 (A) the amount collected as described in 

5 subsection (a), by source, during that fiscal 

6 year; 

7 (B) the amount and purpose of payments 

8 during that fiscal year to each Federal, State, 

9 and Tribal agency under paragraph (2); and 

10 (C) the amount remaining in the Fund at 

11 the end of the fiscal year. 

12 (7) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of 

13 Congress that the revenues deposited and used in 

14 the Fund shall supplement (and not supplant) an15 nual appropriations for activities described in sub16 paragraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph (2). 

17 SEC. 11. PROMOTING AND ENHANCING DEVELOPMENT OF 

18 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 234(a) of the Energy Pol20 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(a)) is amended by strik21 ing ‘‘in the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date 

22 of the enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘through fis23 cal year 2022’’. 

24 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 234(b) of the Energy 

25 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—Effective for fiscal year 

6 2019 and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts de7 posited under subsection (a) shall be available to the 

8 Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, without 

9 further appropriation or fiscal year limitation, to im10 plement the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

11 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) and this Act.’’. 

12 SEC. 12. FACILITATION OF COPRODUCTION OF GEO13 THERMAL ENERGY ON OIL AND GAS LEASES. 

14 Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

15 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(4) LAND SUBJECT TO OIL AND GAS LEASE.— 

18 Land under an oil and gas lease issued pursuant to 

19 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or 

20 the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands (30 

21 U.S.C. 351 et seq.) that is subject to an approved 

22 application for permit to drill and from which oil 

23 and gas production is occurring may be available for 

24 noncompetitive leasing under subsection (c) by the 

25 holder of the oil and gas lease— 


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1 ‘‘(A) on a determination that geothermal 

2 energy will be produced from a well producing 

3 or capable of producing oil and gas; and 

4 ‘‘(B) in order to provide for the coproduc5 tion of geothermal energy with oil and gas.’’. 

6 SEC. 13. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING OF ADJOINING AREAS 

7 FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL RE8 SOURCES. 

9 Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 

10 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is further amended by adding at the 

11 end the following: 

12 ‘‘(5) ADJOINING LAND.— 

13 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

14 ‘‘(i) FAIR MARKET VALUE PER

15 ACRE.—The term ‘fair market value per 

16 acre’ means a dollar amount per acre 

17 that— 

18 ‘‘(I) except as provided in this 

19 clause, shall be equal to the market 

20 value per acre (taking into account 

21 the determination under subparagraph 

22 (B)(iii) regarding a valid discovery on 

23 the adjoining land) as determined by 

24 the Secretary under regulations issued 

25 under this paragraph; 


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1 ‘‘(II) shall be determined by the 

2 Secretary with respect to a lease 

3 under this paragraph, by not later 

4 than the end of the 180-day period 

5 beginning on the date the Secretary 

6 receives an application for the lease; 

7 and 

8 ‘‘(III) shall be not less than the 

9 greater of— 

10 ‘‘(aa) 4 times the median 

11 amount paid per acre for all land 

12 leased under this Act during the 

13 preceding year; or 

14 ‘‘(bb) $50. 

15 ‘‘(ii) INDUSTRY STANDARDS.—The 

16 term ‘industry standards’ means the stand17 ards by which a qualified geothermal pro18 fessional assesses whether downhole or 

19 flowing temperature measurements with 

20 indications of permeability are sufficient to 

21 produce energy from geothermal resources, 

22 as determined through flow or injection 

23 testing or measurement of lost circulation 

24 while drilling. 


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1 ‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED FEDERAL LAND.— 

2 The term ‘qualified Federal land’ means 

3 land that is otherwise available for leasing 

4 under this Act. 

5 ‘‘(iv) QUALIFIED GEOTHERMAL PRO6 FESSIONAL.—The term ‘qualified geo7 thermal professional’ means an individual 

8 who is an engineer or geoscientist in good 

9 professional standing with at least 5 years 

10 of experience in geothermal exploration, 

11 development, or project assessment. 

12 ‘‘(v) QUALIFIED LESSEE.—The term 

13 ‘qualified lessee’ means a person who may 

14 hold a geothermal lease under this Act (in15 cluding applicable regulations). 

16 ‘‘(vi) VALID DISCOVERY.—The term 

17 ‘valid discovery’ means a discovery of a 

18 geothermal resource by a new or existing 

19 slim hole or production well, that exhibits 

20 downhole or flowing temperature measure21 ments with indications of permeability that 

22 are sufficient to meet industry standards. 

23 ‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—An area of qualified 

24 Federal land that adjoins other land for which 

25 a qualified lessee holds a legal right to develop 


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1 geothermal resources may be available for a 

2 noncompetitive lease under this section to the 

3 qualified lessee at the fair market value per 

4 acre, if— 

5 ‘‘(i) the area of qualified Federal 

6 land— 

7 ‘‘(I) consists of not less than 1 

8 acre and not more than 640 acres; 

9 and 

10 ‘‘(II) is not already leased under 

11 this Act or nominated to be leased 

12 under subsection (a); 

13 ‘‘(ii) the qualified lessee has not pre14 viously received a noncompetitive lease 

15 under this paragraph in connection with 

16 the valid discovery for which data has been 

17 submitted under clause (iii)(I); and 

18 ‘‘(iii) sufficient geological and other 

19 technical data prepared by a qualified geo20 thermal professional has been submitted by 

21 the qualified lessee to the applicable Fed22 eral land management agency that would 

23 lead individuals who are experienced in the 

24 subject matter to believe that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) there is a valid discovery of 

2 geothermal resources on the land for 

3 which the qualified lessee holds the 

4 legal right to develop geothermal re5 sources; and 

6 ‘‘(II) that geothermal feature ex7 tends into the adjoining areas. 

8 ‘‘(C) DETERMINATION OF FAIR MARKET

9 VALUE.— 

10 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

11 shall— 

12 ‘‘(I) publish a notice of any re13 quest to lease land under this para14 graph; 

15 ‘‘(II) determine fair market value 

16 for purposes of this paragraph in ac17 cordance with procedures for making 

18 those determinations that are estab19 lished by regulations issued by the 

20 Secretary; 

21 ‘‘(III) provide to a qualified les22 see and publish, with an opportunity 

23 for public comment for a period of 30 

24 days, any proposed determination 

25 under this subparagraph of the fair 


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1 market value of an area that the 

2 qualified lessee seeks to lease under 

3 this paragraph; and 

4 ‘‘(IV) provide to the qualified les5 see and any adversely affected party 

6 the opportunity to appeal the final de7 termination of fair market value in an 

8 administrative proceeding before the 

9 applicable Federal land management 

10 agency, in accordance with applicable 

11 law (including regulations). 

12 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON NOMINATION.— 

13 After publication of a notice of request to 

14 lease land under this paragraph, the Sec15 retary may not accept under subsection (a) 

16 any nomination of the land for leasing un17 less the request has been denied or with18 drawn. 

19 ‘‘(iii) ANNUAL RENTAL.—For pur20 poses of section 5(a)(3), a lease awarded 

21 under this paragraph shall be considered a 

22 lease awarded in a competitive lease sale. 

23 ‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 

24 days after the date of the enactment of this 


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1 paragraph, the Secretary shall issue regulations 

2 to carry out this paragraph.’’. 

3 SEC. 14. SAVINGS CLAUSE. 

4 Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, the 

5 Secretary shall continue to manage public lands under the 

6 principles of multiple use and sustained yield in accord7 ance with title I of the Federal Land Policy and Manage8 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.), including due 

9 consideration of mineral and nonrenewable energy-related 

10 projects and other nonrenewable energy uses, for the pur11 poses of land use planning, permit processing, and con12 ducting environmental reviews. 

Æ 


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