IIB 
118TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 7409 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
NOVEMBER 18, 2024 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural 
Resources 
AN ACT 
To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive 
the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain 
activities, to exempt certain activities from the require-
ments of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, 
and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Harnessing Energy 
At Thermal Sources Act’’ or the ‘‘HEATS Act’’. 
SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEO-
THERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND. 
The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 
et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘SEC. 30. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEO-
THERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND. 
‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not require 
an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for geo-
thermal exploration and production activities conducted on 
a non-Federal surface estate, provided that— 
‘‘(1) the United States holds an ownership in-
terest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geo-
thermal estate to be accessed by the proposed action; 
and 
‘‘(2) the operator submits to the Secretary a 
State permit to conduct geothermal exploration and 
production activities on the non-Federal surface es-
tate. 
‘‘(b) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—A geothermal explo-
ration and production activity carried out under sub-
section (a)— 
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‘‘(1) shall not be considered a major Federal 
action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the 
National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; 
‘‘(2) shall require no additional Federal action; 
‘‘(3) may commence 30 days after submission 
of the State permit to the Secretary; 
‘‘(4) shall not be subject to section 7 of the En-
dangered Species Act of 1973; and 
‘‘(5) shall only be considered an undertaking 
under division A of subtitle III of title 54, United 
States Code (commonly referred to as the ‘National 
Historic Preservation Act’), if, with respect to the 
State in which the activity occurs, there is no State 
law in effect that addresses the preservation of his-
toric properties in such State. 
‘‘(c) 
ROYALTIES
AND
PRODUCTION
ACCOUNT-
ABILITY.—(1) Nothing in this section shall affect the 
amount of royalties due to the United States under this 
Act from the production of electricity using geothermal re-
sources (other than direct use of geothermal resources) or 
the production of any byproducts. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and 
inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, 
and reporting of the production described in subsection 
(a), and payment of royalties. 
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‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to 
actions on Indian lands or resources managed in trust for 
the benefit of Indian Tribes. 
‘‘(e) INDIAN LAND.—In this section, the term ‘Indian 
land’ means— 
‘‘(1) any land located within the boundaries of 
an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and 
‘‘(2) any land not located within the boundaries 
of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the 
title to which is held— 
‘‘(A) in trust by the United States for the 
benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual In-
dian; 
‘‘(B) by an Indian tribe or an individual 
Indian, subject to restriction against alienation 
under laws of the United States; or 
‘‘(C) by a dependent Indian community.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives November 14, 
2024. 
Attest: 
KEVIN F. MCCUMBER, 
Clerk. 
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