I 
115TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 4252 
To expand geothermal production, and for other purposes. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
NOVEMBER 3, 2017 
Mr. SIMPSON (for himself and Mr. DEFAZIO) introduced the following bill; 
which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources 
A BILL 
To expand geothermal production, 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 Production 
Expansion Act of 2017’’. 
SEC. 2. NONCOMPETITIVE LEASING OF ADJOINING AREAS 
FOR DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL RE-
SOURCES. 
Section 4(b) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 
(30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following: 
‘‘(4) ADJOINING LAND.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00001
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 
‘‘(i) 
FAIR
MARKET
VALUE
PER 
ACRE.—The term ‘fair market value per 
acre’ means a dollar amount per acre 
that— 
‘‘(I) except as provided in this 
clause, shall be equal to the market 
value per acre (taking into account 
the determination under subparagraph 
(B)(iii) regarding a valid discovery on 
the adjoining land) as determined by 
the Secretary under regulations issued 
under this paragraph; 
‘‘(II) shall be determined by the 
Secretary with respect to a lease 
under this paragraph, by not later 
than the end of the 180-day period 
beginning on the date the Secretary 
receives an application for the lease; 
and 
‘‘(III) shall be not less than the 
greater of— 
‘‘(aa) 4 times the median 
amount paid per acre for all land 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00002
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
leased under this Act during the 
preceding year; or 
‘‘(bb) $50. 
‘‘(ii) 
INDUSTRY
STANDARDS.—The 
term ‘industry standards’ means the stand-
ards by which a qualified geothermal pro-
fessional assesses whether downhole or 
flowing temperature measurements with 
indications of permeability are sufficient to 
produce energy from geothermal resources, 
as determined through flow or injection 
testing or measurement of lost circulation 
while drilling. 
‘‘(iii) QUALIFIED
FEDERAL
LAND.— 
The term ‘qualified Federal land’ means 
land that is otherwise available for leasing 
under this Act. 
‘‘(iv) QUALIFIED GEOTHERMAL PRO-
FESSIONAL.—The 
term 
‘qualified 
geo-
thermal professional’ means an individual 
who is an engineer or geoscientist in good 
professional standing with at least 5 years 
of experience in geothermal exploration, 
development, or project assessment. 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00003
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(v) QUALIFIED LESSEE.—The term 
‘qualified lessee’ means a person that may 
hold a geothermal lease under this Act (in-
cluding applicable regulations). 
‘‘(vi) VALID
DISCOVERY.—The term 
‘valid discovery’ means a discovery of a 
geothermal resource by a new or existing 
slim hole or production well, that exhibits 
downhole or flowing temperature measure-
ments with indications of permeability that 
are sufficient to meet industry standards. 
‘‘(B) AUTHORITY.—An area of qualified 
Federal land that adjoins other land for which 
a qualified lessee holds a legal right to develop 
geothermal resources may be available for a 
noncompetitive lease under this section to the 
qualified lessee at the fair market value per 
acre, if— 
‘‘(i) the area of qualified Federal 
land— 
‘‘(I) consists of not less than 1 
acre and not more than 640 acres; 
and 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00004
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(II) is not already leased under 
this Act or nominated to be leased 
under subsection (a); 
‘‘(ii) the qualified lessee has not pre-
viously received a noncompetitive lease 
under this paragraph in connection with 
the valid discovery for which data has been 
submitted under clause (iii)(I); and 
‘‘(iii) sufficient geological and other 
technical data prepared by a qualified geo-
thermal professional has been submitted by 
the qualified lessee to the applicable Fed-
eral land management agency that would 
lead individuals who are experienced in the 
subject matter to believe that— 
‘‘(I) there is a valid discovery of 
geothermal resources on the land for 
which the qualified lessee holds the 
legal right to develop geothermal re-
sources; and 
‘‘(II) that thermal feature ex-
tends into the adjoining areas. 
‘‘(C) DETERMINATION
OF
FAIR
MARKET 
VALUE.— 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00005
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
‘‘(i) IN
GENERAL.—The Secretary 
shall— 
‘‘(I) publish a notice of any re-
quest to lease land under this para-
graph; 
‘‘(II) determine fair market value 
for purposes of this paragraph in ac-
cordance with procedures for making 
those determinations that are estab-
lished by regulations issued by the 
Secretary; 
‘‘(III) provide to a qualified les-
see and publish, with an opportunity 
for public comment for a period of 30 
days, any proposed determination 
under this subparagraph of the fair 
market value of an area that the 
qualified lessee seeks to lease under 
this paragraph; and 
‘‘(IV) provide to the qualified les-
see and any adversely affected party 
the opportunity to appeal the final de-
termination of fair market value in an 
administrative proceeding before the 
applicable Federal land management 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00006
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6201
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS
agency, in accordance with applicable 
law (including regulations). 
‘‘(ii) LIMITATION ON NOMINATION.— 
After publication of a notice of request to 
lease land under this paragraph, the Sec-
retary may not accept under subsection (a) 
any nomination of the land for leasing un-
less the request has been denied or with-
drawn. 
‘‘(iii) ANNUAL
RENTAL.—For pur-
poses of section 5(a)(3), a lease awarded 
under this paragraph shall be considered a 
lease awarded in a competitive lease sale. 
‘‘(D) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 270 
days after the date of enactment of the Geo-
thermal Production Expansion Act of 2017, the 
Secretary shall issue regulations to carry out 
this paragraph.’’. 
Æ 
VerDate Sep 11 2014 
20:07 Nov 05, 2017
Jkt 079200
PO 00000
Frm 00007
Fmt 6652
Sfmt 6301
E:\BILLS\H4252.IH
H4252
srobinson on DSKBC5CHB2PROD with BILLS