845
the work commitment requirements that applied to
the lease for that year.
‘‘(b) REQUIREMENT
TO SATISFY ANNUAL WORK
COMMITMENT REQUIREMENT.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The lessee for a geothermal
lease shall, for each year after the fifth year of the
lease, satisfy work commitment requirements pre-
scribed by the Secretary that apply to the lease for
that year.
‘‘(2) PRESCRIPTION OF WORK COMMITMENT RE-
QUIREMENTS.—The Secretary shall issue regulations
prescribing minimum equivalent dollar value work
commitment requirements for geothermal leases,
that—
‘‘(A) require that a lessee, in each year
after the fifth year of the primary term of a
geothermal lease, diligently work to achieve
commercial utilization of geothermal resources
under the lease;
‘‘(B) describe work that qualifies to meet
these requirements and factors, such as force
majeure events, that suspend or modify the
work commitment obligation;
‘‘(C) carry forward and apply to work com-
mitment requirements for a year, work com-
846
pleted in any year in the preceding 3-year pe-
riod that was in excess of the work required to
be performed in that preceding year;
‘‘(D) establish transition rules for leases
issued before the date of the enactment of this
subsection, including terms under which a lease
that is near the end of its term on the date of
enactment of this subsection may be extended
for up to 2 years—
‘‘(i) to allow achievement of produc-
tion under the lease; or
‘‘(ii) to allow the lease to be included
in a producing unit; and
‘‘(E) establish an annual payment that, at
the option of the lessee, may be exercised in lieu
of meeting any work requirement for a limited
number of years that the Secretary determines
will not impair achieving diligent development
of the geothermal resource.
‘‘(3) GEOTHERMAL LEASE OVERLYING MINING
CLAIM.—
‘‘(A) EXEMPTION.—The lessee for a geo-
thermal lease of an area overlying an area sub-
ject to a mining claim for which a plan of oper-
ations has been approved by the relevant Fed-
847
eral land management agency is exempt from
annual work requirements established under
this Act, if development of the geothermal re-
source subject to the lease would interfere with
the mining operations under such claim.
‘‘(B) TERMINATION OF EXEMPTION.—An
exemption under this paragraph expires upon
the termination of the mining operations.
‘‘(4) TERMINATION
OF
APPLICATION
OF
RE-
QUIREMENTS.—Work commitment requirements pre-
scribed under this subsection shall not apply to a
geothermal lease after the date on which the geo-
thermal resource is utilized under the lease in com-
mercial quantities.
‘‘(c) DETERMINATION OF WHETHER REQUIREMENTS
SATISFIED.—The Secretary shall, by not later than 90
days after the end of each year for which work commit-
ment requirements under subsection (b) apply to a geo-
thermal lease—
‘‘(1) determine whether the lessee has satisfied
the requirements that apply for that year;
‘‘(2) notify the lessee of that determination; and
‘‘(3) in the case of a notification that the lessee
did not satisfy work commitment requirements for
the year, include in the notification—
848
‘‘(A) a description of the specific work that
was not completed by the lessee in accordance
with the requirements; and
‘‘(B) the amount of the dollar value of
such work that was not completed, reduced by
the amount of expenditures made for work com-
pleted in a prior year that is carried forward
pursuant to subsection (b)(2)(D).
‘‘(d) PAYMENT
OF
VALUE
OF
UNCOMPLETED
WORK.—
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary notifies a
lessee that the lessee failed to satisfy work commit-
ment requirements under subsection (b), the lessee
shall pay to the Secretary, by not later than the end
of the 60-day period beginning on the date of the
notification, the dollar value of work that was not
completed by the lessee, in the amount stated in the
notification (as reduced under subsection (c)(3)(B)).
‘‘(2) 
FAILURE
TO
PAY
VALUE
OF
UNCOMPLETED WORK.—If a lessee fails to pay such
amount to the Secretary before the end of that pe-
riod, the lease shall terminate upon the expiration of
the period.
‘‘(e) CONTINUATION DURING COMMERCIAL UTILIZA-
TION.—
849
‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a geothermal resource
that is subject to a geothermal lease is utilized in
commercial quantities within the primary term of
the lease under subsection (a) (including any exten-
sion of the lease under subsection (a)), such lease
shall continue until the date on which the geo-
thermal resource is no longer utilized in commercial
quantities.
‘‘(2) CONTINUATION OF ASSOCIATED LEASES.—
If a geothermal lease is for an area in which there
is injected fluid or steam from a nearby geothermal
resource for the purpose of maintaining commercial
utilization of a geothermal resource, such lease shall
continue until such commercial utilization is termi-
nated.
‘‘(f) CONVERSION OF GEOTHERMAL LEASE TO MIN-
ERAL LEASE.—A lessee under a lease for a geothermal
resource that has been utilized for commercial production
of electricity, has been determined by the Secretary to be
incapable of any further commercial utilization, and is
producing any valuable byproduct in payable quantities
may, within 6 months after such determination—
‘‘(1) convert the lease to a mineral lease under
the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or
under the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands
850
(30 U.S.C. 351 et seq.), if the lands that are subject
to the lease can be leased under that Act for the
production of such byproduct; or
‘‘(2) convert the lease to a mining claim under
the general mining laws, if the byproduct is a
locatable mineral.’’.
SEC. 1815. ADVANCED ROYALTIES REQUIRED FOR SUSPEN-
SION OF PRODUCTION.
Section 5 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30
U.S.C. 1004) is further amended by adding at the end
the following:
‘‘(f) ADVANCED ROYALTIES REQUIRED FOR SUSPEN-
SION OF PRODUCTION.—
‘‘(1) CONTINUATION
OF
LEASE
FOLLOWING
CESSATION OF PRODUCTION.—If, at any time after
commercial production under a geothermal lease is
achieved, production ceases for any cause the lease
shall remain in full force and effect—
‘‘(A) during the 1-year period beginning on
the date production ceases; and
‘‘(B) after such period if, and so long as,
the lessee commences and continues diligently
and in good faith until such production is re-
sumed the steps, operations, or procedures nec-