Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2026

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 4605 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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119th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 4605

  To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery
             authority for the Department of the Interior.

_______________________________________________________________________

                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              May 20, 2026

  Mr. Gallego 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 provide cost-recovery
             authority for the Department of the Interior.

    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 Cost-Recovery Authority
Act of 2026''.

SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING, PERMITTING, AND
              INSPECTIONS.

    Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1005) is
amended by adding at the end the following:
    ``(j) Cost Recovery.--
            ``(1) In general.--During the period that begins on the
        date of enactment of this subsection and ends September 30,
        2032, the Secretary may require an applicant for, or a holder
        of, a geothermal lease to reimburse the United States for all
        reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by the
        United States from--
                    ``(A) processing the application for the geothermal
                lease, including any application for an operations
                plan, geothermal drilling permit, utilization plan,
                site license, facility construction permit, commercial
                use permit, and any other approval associated with a
                geothermal lease; and
                    ``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
                            ``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and
                        abandonment of wells; and
                            ``(iii) the construction, operation,
                        termination, and reclamation of any well site
                        or facility for the utilization of geothermal
                        resources pursuant to the geothermal lease.
            ``(2) Considerations.--In determining whether to require
        reimbursement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider
        whether there is in existence a cooperative cost share
        agreement between the United States and the holder of a
        geothermal lease.
            ``(3) Adjustments.--The Secretary may reduce the amount to
        be reimbursed under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines--
                    ``(A) that full reimbursement would impose an
                economic hardship on the applicant; or
                    ``(B) that a less than full reimbursement is
                necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal
                resources.
            ``(4) Use.--The amounts reimbursed under this subsection
        shall be credited to the currently applicable appropriation,
        account, or fund of the Department of the Interior as
        discretionary offsetting collections, and shall be available
        only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts
        for--
                    ``(A) processing the application for geothermal
                leases, including any application for operations plans,
                geothermal drilling permits, utilization plans, site
                licenses, facility construction permits, commercial use
                permits, and any other approval associated with
                geothermal leases; and
                    ``(B) inspecting and monitoring--
                            ``(i) geophysical exploration activities;
                            ``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and
                        abandonment of wells; and
                            ``(iii) the construction, operation,
                        termination, and reclamation of any well site
                        or facility for the utilization of geothermal
                        resources pursuant to geothermal leases.''.

SEC. 3. REPORT.

    (a) Report.--Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of
this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the
geothermal industry and other stakeholders, shall submit to the
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the
Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and make
publicly available on the website of the Department of the Interior, a
report that includes--
            (1) an assessment of how the amendments made by section 2
        of this Act affected the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal
        program;
            (2) any recommendations for reauthorization of section 6(j)
        of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as added by this Act; and
            (3) any other recommendations for updates to such section
        and the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal program.
    (b) Considerations.--In developing the report required in
subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall solicit facts or
information from the geothermal industry and other stakeholders.
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