HEATS Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4975 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4975

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 requirements of the National Environmental Policy
                  Act of 1969, and for other purposes.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             July 14, 2026

Mr. Hoeven (for himself and Mr. Daines) introduced the following bill;
   which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and
                           Natural Resources

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL

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 requirements of the National Environmental Policy
                  Act of 1969, 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 ``Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources
Act of 2026'' or the ``HEATS Act''.

SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEOTHERMAL 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 GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITIES ON
              CERTAIN LAND.

    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall not require an operator to
obtain a Federal drilling permit for geothermal exploration and
production activities conducted on a non-Federal surface estate,
provided that--
            ``(1) the United States holds an ownership interest of less
        than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal 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 estate.
    ``(b) No Federal Action.--A geothermal exploration and production
activity carried out under subsection (a)--
            ``(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 Endangered
        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 historic properties in such State.
    ``(c) Royalties and Production Accountability.--(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
resources (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.
    ``(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 Indian;
                    ``(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.''.
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