I
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 Representa-
tives 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 Unit-
ed 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 com-
mission to be known as the National Geothermal Energy
Commission (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the
‘‘Commission’’) which shall be composed of 9 Commis-
sioners 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 ap-
pointed for a term of 5 years from the date of the expira-
tion of the term for which his predecessor was appointed,
except that any person appointed to fill a vacancy occur-
ring prior to the expiration of the term for which his pred-
ecessor was appointed shall be appointed only for the expi-
ration of such term. Not more than 5 of the Commis-
sioners 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 employ-
ment, 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 Commis-
sion. Five members of the Commission shall constitute a
quorum for the transaction of business, and the Commis-
sion 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 Com-
mission upon official business.
(d) MEETINGS.—The principal office of the Commis-
sion 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 ex-
pense 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 Direc-
tor who shall be appointed by the Chairman of the Com-
mission, 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 with-
out regard to the provisions of chapter 51, subchapter III
of chapter 53 and chapter 54 of such title relating to clas-
sification 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 Commis-
sion, 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 di-
rectly 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 in-
formation to the Commission.
(d) MAIL.—The Commission may use the United
States mails in the same manner and upon the same con-
ditions 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 au-
thority granted to any Secretary of a military department)
all areas in which the geology, nearby discoveries, competi-
tive interests, or other indicia would, in the opinion of the
Commission, engender a belief in people who are experi-
enced in the subject matter that the prospects for the ex-
traction 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 pur-
poses of licensing for exploration and development under
subsection (b).
(b) LIST OF PARCELS.—Immediately after the Com-
mission divides areas into parcels under subsection (a), it
shall publish the list of such parcels in the Federal Reg-
ister. At any time after such publication, any person who
wants to explore for geothermal steam and associated geo-
thermal resources in any such parcel shall apply to the
Commission for a license for such exploration. The Com-
mission 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 num-
ber 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 associ-
ated 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 pre-
scribe.
(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 sub-
section (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 pre-
scribe. 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 ex-
tracted 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 market-
ing 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 per-
son 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 geo-
thermal resource which the person granted such license
discovered under such license. Any person granted a li-
cense for the marketing of such steam and resource may
transfer such license to another person for such market-
ing. 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 trans-
feree 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 associ-
ated geothermal resource covered by such license to elec-
trical or any other form of energy, he may only sell such
electrical or other form of energy (for transmission to con-
sumers) 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 jurisdic-
tion, either in an original action in that court or in a pro-
ceeding 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 Com-
mission may suspend, revoke, or take such other action
as it may deem necessary with respect to any license is-
sued 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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