831
rior by not later than 18 months after the date of
enactment of this Act.
(2) APPLICATION
OF
MODIFICATION.—Such
modification shall apply to any use of geothermal re-
sources to which the amendment applies that occurs
after the date of that application.
(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary—
(A) shall consult with the State and local
governments affected by any proposed changes
in lease royalty terms under this subsection;
and
(B) may establish royalty based on a gross
proceeds percentage within the range specified
in the amendment made by subsection (a)(1)
and with the concurrence of the lessee and the
State.
SEC. 1805. EXPEDITING ADMINISTRATIVE ACTION FOR GEO-
THERMAL LEASING.
(a) TREATMENT OF GEOTHERMAL LEASING WITH
RESPECT TO FEDERAL LAND MANAGEMENT PLAN RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Section 15 of the Geothermal Steam Act
of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1014) is amended by adding at the
end the following:
‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF GEOTHERMAL LEASING UNDER
FEDERAL
LAND
MANAGEMENT
PLANS.—Geothermal
832
leasing and development of Federal lands in accordance
with this Act is deemed to be consistent with the manage-
ment of National Forest System lands under section 6 of
the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning
Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604) and public lands under sec-
tion 202 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act
of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1712). Land and resource manage-
ment plans and land use plans in effect under such sec-
tions on the date of the enactment of this subsection are
deemed to be adequate to proceed with the issuance of
leases under this Act.’’.
(b) LEASE APPLICATIONS PENDING ON JANUARY 1,
2005.—
(1) PRIORITY.—It shall be a priority for the
Secretary of the Interior, and for the Secretary of
Agriculture with respect to National Forest Systems
lands, to ensure timely completion of administrative
actions necessary to process applications for geo-
thermal leasing pending on January 1, 2005.
(2) APPLICABLE LAW.—An application referred
to in paragraph (1), and any lease issued pursuant
to such an application—
(A) except as provided in subparagraph
(B), shall be subject to this section as in effect
on January 1, 2005; or
833
(B) at the election of the applicant, shall
be subject to this section as in effect on the ef-
fective date of this paragraph.
SEC. 1806. COORDINATION OF GEOTHERMAL LEASING AND
PERMITTING ON FEDERAL LANDS.
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the
date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of the In-
terior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into and
submit to Congress a memorandum of understanding in
accordance with this section, the Geothermal Steam Act
of 1970 (as amended by this Act), and other applicable
laws, regarding coordination of leasing and permitting for
geothermal development of public lands and National For-
est System lands under their respective jurisdictions.
(b) LEASE AND PERMIT APPLICATIONS.—The memo-
randum of understanding shall—
(1) establish an administrative procedure for
processing geothermal lease applications, including
lines of authority, steps in application processing,
and time limits for application procession;
(2) establish a 5-year program for geothermal
leasing of lands in the National Forest System, and
a process for updating that program every 5 years;
and
834
(3) establish a program for reducing the
backlog of geothermal lease application pending on
January 1, 2005, by 90 percent within the 5-year
period beginning on the date of enactment of this
Act, including, as necessary, by—
(A) issuing leases, rejecting lease applica-
tions for failure to comply with the provisions
of the regulations under which they were filed,
or determining that an original applicant (or
the applicant’s assigns, heirs, or estate) is no
longer interested in pursuing the lease applica-
tion;
(B) making diligent efforts to directly con-
tact the lease applicants (including their heirs,
assigns, or estates); and
(C) ensuring that no lease application is
rejected except in compliance with all require-
ments regarding diligent direct contact.
(c) DATA RETRIEVAL SYSTEM.—The memorandum
of understanding shall establish a joint data retrieval sys-
tem that is capable of tracking lease and permit applica-
tions and providing to the applicant information as to
their status within the Departments of the Interior and
Agriculture, including an estimate of the time required for
administrative action.
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SEC. 1807. REVIEW AND REPORT TO CONGRESS.
The Secretary of the Interior shall promptly review
and report to Congress not later than 3 years after the
date of enactment of this Act regarding the status of all
withdrawals from leasing under the Geothermal Steam Act
of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) of Federal lands, speci-
fying for each such area whether the basis for such with-
drawal still applies.
SEC. 1808. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS OF NEPA ANAL-
YSES, DOCUMENTATION, AND STUDIES.
(a) IN GENERAL.—The Geothermal Steam Act of
1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at
the end the following:
‘‘SEC. 30. REIMBURSEMENT FOR COSTS OF CERTAIN ANAL-
YSES, DOCUMENTATION, AND STUDIES.
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior
shall issue regulations under which the Secretary shall re-
imburse a person that is a lessee, operator, operating
rights owner, or applicant for any lease under this Act
for reasonable amounts paid by the person for preparation
for the Secretary by a contractor or other person selected
by the Secretary of any project-level analysis, documenta-
tion, or related study required pursuant to the National
Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et
seq.) with respect to the lease.
836
‘‘(b) CONDITIONS.—The Secretary may provide reim-
bursement under subsection (a) only if—
‘‘(1) adequate funding to enable the Secretary
to timely prepare the analysis, documentation, or re-
lated study is not appropriated;
‘‘(2) the person paid the costs voluntarily;
‘‘(3) the person maintains records of its costs
in accordance with regulations issued by the Sec-
retary;
‘‘(4) the reimbursement is in the form of a re-
duction in the Federal share of the royalty required
to be paid for the lease for which the analysis, docu-
mentation, or related study is conducted, and is
agreed to by the Secretary and the person reim-
bursed prior to commencing the analysis, docu-
mentation, or related study; and
‘‘(5) the agreement required under paragraph
(4) contains provisions—
‘‘(A) reducing royalties owed on lease pro-
duction based on market prices;
‘‘(B) stipulating an automatic termination
of the royalty reduction upon recovery of docu-
mented costs; and
‘‘(C) providing a process by which the les-
see may seek reimbursement for circumstances