Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2024

To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2024 2. Cost recovery from geothermal leasing and permitting Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 ( 30 U.S.C. 1005 (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 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) monitoring— (i) geophysical exploration operations; (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 contributed funds 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 holder of the geothermal lease; 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 available to the Secretary of the Interior for expenditure for— (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) monitoring— (i) geophysical exploration operations; (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. . 3. Report (a) Report Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior 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, including the accomplishments of each field office relating to the coordination and processing of geothermal permits and any other approval associated with a geothermal lease; (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. September 12, 2024 Reported with an amendment, committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union, and ordered to be printed

Summary: Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2024This bill expands the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to give the Department of the Interior the authority to collect certain fees from holders of geothermal leases through September 30, 2031. Specifically, Interior may direct those leaseholders to reimburse the United States for costs from (1) processing applications for geothermal leases on federal land, such as applications for geothermal drilling permits; and (2) monitoring geothermal exploration and development activities, including reclamation activities. Interior may reduce the amount of the fee if it determines that (1) the full reimbursement would impose an economic hardship on the leaseholder, or (2) a less than full reimbursement is necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal resources.Interior must use those fees for processing applications for geothermal leases and monitoring related exploration and development activities. Within five years of the bill's enactment, Interior must submit to Congress a report that includes an assessment of how the fees affect Interior's geothermal leasing program and any recommendations for updates to the fees and the program.