Geothermal Energy Advancement Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5631 Introduced in House (IH)]

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119th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 5631

To appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting
  Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, and for other
                               purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           September 30, 2025

Mr. Hurd of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred
                 to the Committee on Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

To appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting
  Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, and for other
                               purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Geothermal Ombudsman for National
Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act''.

SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL OMBUDSMAN AND PERMITTING TASK FORCE.

    (a) Definitions.--In this section:
            (1) Geothermal authorization.--The term ``geothermal
        authorization'' means any license, permit, approval, finding,
        determination, or other administrative decision issued by the
        Bureau of Land Management and any interagency consultation that
        is required or authorized under Federal law in order to site,
        construct, reconstruct, or commence operations of a geothermal
        energy project administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
            (2) Geothermal energy project.--The term ``geothermal
        energy project'' means a project wholly or partially located on
        public land that uses geothermal energy to generate heat or
        electricity.
            (3) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means lands
        subject to geothermal leasing under section 3 of the Geothermal
        Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1002).
            (4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
        of the Interior.
            (5) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the
        Geothermal Permitting Task Force established under subsection
        (c).
    (b) Geothermal Ombudsman.--
            (1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
        enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint from within
        the Bureau of Land Management a Geothermal Ombudsman.
            (2) Duties.--The Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under
        paragraph (1) shall--
                    (A) act as a liaison between--
                            (i) the individual field, district, and
                        State offices of the Bureau of Land Management;
                            (ii) the Division Chief of the National
                        Renewable Energy Coordination Office of the
                        Bureau of Land Management; and
                            (iii) the Director of the Bureau of Land
                        Management;
                    (B) provide dispute resolution services between the
                individual field, district, and State offices of the
                Bureau of Land Management and applicants for geothermal
                authorizations;
                    (C) monitor and facilitate permit processing
                practices and timelines across individual field offices
                of the Bureau of Land Management;
                    (D) develop best practices for the permitting and
                leasing process for geothermal resources; and
                    (E) coordinate with the Federal Permitting
                Improvement Steering Council.
    (c) Geothermal Permitting Task Force.--
            (1) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
        of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish within
        the Bureau of Land Management a Geothermal Permitting Task
        Force.
            (2) Leadership.--The Task Force shall be headed by the
        Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under subsection (b).
            (3) Permitting support.--The Task Force shall support the
        duties of the Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under subsection
        (b).
            (4) Cross-office personnel assignments.--
                    (A) In general.--In their capacity as head of the
                Task Force, the Geothermal Ombudsman may assign
                personnel from any Departmental bureaus and offices
                with relevant expertise to assist with completion of
                geothermal authorizations in field, district, or State
                offices other than the official duty station where such
                personnel are located if--
                            (i) the Geothermal Ombudsman determines
                        that such assignment will not materially delay
                        ongoing completion of authorizations within the
                        office where the employee is located; and
                            (ii) the Geothermal Ombudsman receives
                        approval from the head of the official duty
                        station where the assigned employee is located.
                    (B) Assigned personnel requirements.--Department
                personnel assigned to assist with completion of
                geothermal authorizations under subparagraph (A)
                shall--
                            (i) work in-person full-time at an official
                        Department office;
                            (ii) if necessary as determined by the
                        Geothermal Ombudsman, travel to the Bureau of
                        Land Management field, district, or State
                        office with jurisdiction over the geothermal
                        authorization to which the employee has been
                        assigned by the Geothermal Ombudsman;
                            (iii) participate as part of the team of
                        personnel working on geothermal authorizations
                        to which the employee has been assigned by the
                        Geothermal Ombudsman; and
                            (iv) regularly report to the head of the
                        field, district, or State office of the Bureau
                        of Land Management with jurisdiction over
                        geothermal authorizations to which the employee
                        has been assigned by the Geothermal Ombudsman.
                    (C) Retention allowances.--
                            (i) In general.--Subject to the
                        availability of appropriations, the Geothermal
                        Ombudsman may pay a retention allowance to an
                        employee assigned to assist with the completion
                        of geothermal authorizations under subparagraph
                        (A). Retention allowances--
                                    (I) shall be stated as the
                                percentage of the rate of basic pay of
                                an employee, and may not exceed 25
                                percent of such rate of basic pay;
                                    (II) may not be considered to be
                                part of the basic pay of an employee,
                                and the reduction or elimination of a
                                retention allowance may not be
                                appealed; and
                                    (III) shall be paid at the same
                                time and in the same manner as the
                                employee's basic pay is paid.
                            (ii) Considerations.--In exercising the
                        retention allowance authority described in
                        clause (i), the Geothermal Ombudsman shall
                        consider--
                                    (I) an employee's specialized
                                expertise related to geothermal
                                authorizations;
                                    (II) the demonstrated need to
                                retain an employee to meet the
                                performance improvement objectives for
                                geothermal authorization timelines and
                                develop best practices for completion
                                of geothermal authorizations; and
                                    (III) the difficulty in recruiting
                                or replacing qualified personnel with
                                relevant expertise related to
                                geothermal authorizations.
                    (D) Savings clause.--Cross-office personnel
                assignments carried out under this paragraph shall not
                alter the underlying jurisdiction of other offices of
                the Bureau of Land Management over applicable
                geothermal authorizations.
    (d) Report.--The Geothermal Ombudsman shall submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives an annual report that
describes the activities of the Task Force and evaluates the
effectiveness of geothermal permit processing during the preceding 1-
year period.
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