Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act

The "Enhancing Geothermal Production on Federal Lands Act" aims to accelerate geothermal energy development by amending the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. It introduces new provisions to streamline the environmental review process for specific geothermal activities on federal lands. The bill defines "geothermal exploration projects" as small-scale drilling activities, such as temperature gradient or monitoring wells, which must be completed within 180 days and disturb less than 8 acres. Crucially, these defined "geothermal exploration projects" and related "covered activities," including geotechnical investigations and access road work, are explicitly declared not to be major Federal actions under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). This exemption significantly reduces the environmental review burden for these smaller-scale operations, requiring only a 30-day notice to the Secretary before drilling commences, thereby expediting the initial exploration phase. Furthermore, the bill mandates the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to designate "geothermal leasing priority areas" on suitable federal lands within three years, considering factors like economic viability and transmission access. These designations will be reviewed and potentially modified every five years. For these designated priority areas, the bill streamlines NEPA compliance for lease sales by requiring a supplement to existing programmatic environmental impact statements. Once a programmatic environmental document analyzes a priority area, no additional NEPA analysis is required for geothermal lease sales for a period of 10 years, unless substantial new information arises, ensuring a more efficient leasing process.