S. 562 · 114th Congress
Geothermal Exploration Opportunities Act of 2015
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Never voted on. It didn't reach a floor vote before the 114th Congress ended, so it expired. A bill has to be introduced again to be considered in a new Congress.
R
HellerSponsor1 cosponsor · 1 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
This bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to categorically exclude from the requirements for an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) a geothermal exploration test project on National Forest System land or land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) if the…
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Feb 25, 2015
Geothermal Exploration Opportunities Act of 2015
This bill amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to categorically exclude from the requirements for an environmental assessment or an environmental impact statement under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) a geothermal exploration test project on National Forest System land or land managed by the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) if the project is either:
- a geophysical exploration activity that does not require drilling;
- test drilling causing soil or vegetation disruption of fewer than 10 acres, including access, that is completed in fewer than 90 days and meets other requirements, such as for restoration of the site;
- test drilling causing an individual surface disturbance of fewer than 5 acres with a total surface disturbance of fewer than 150 acres when a site specific analysis has been prepared;
- test drilling on a site at which drilling has occurred within 5 years; or
- test drilling on the site of a developed field that has been approved for drilling in the last 10 years pursuant to an approved land use plan or any NEPA environmental documents.
A leaseholder of a geothermal lease on federal land intending to carry out a geothermal exploration test project must provide notice to the Department of the Interior, with respect to BLM land, or to the Department of Agriculture (USDA), with respect to National Forest System land . BLM and USDA must: review those projects, notify the leaseholder of project deficiencies that preclude the NEPA exemption, and allow leaseholders an opportunity to remedy those deficiencies prior to the date that the leaseholder intended to start drilling.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: Geothermal Exploration Opportunities Act of 2015
Latest action (May 19, 2015): Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
Policy area: Energy · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 25, 2015
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.