S. 456 · 119th Congress
STEAM Act
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D
Cortez MastoSponsor3 cosponsors · 3 R
1 signed on when it was introduced; the rest joined later. Cosponsors who withdrew aren't shown.
Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM Act
What it does: CRS summary · Introduced in Senate · Feb 6, 2025
Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM Act
This bill expedites the environmental review of certain geothermal energy activities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the bill expands the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include certain geothermal exploration or development activities in an existing categorical exclusion from NEPA for certain oil or gas activities.
A categorical exclusion applies to a class of actions that do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement under NEPA.
The categorical exclusion established by the bill applies to drilling a geothermal well (1) in an area where drilling has occurred previously within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins; or (2) within a developed field for which an approved land use plan or environmental document prepared under NEPA determined drilling to be a reasonably foreseeable activity, so long as the plan or document was approved within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins.
Written by the nonpartisan Congressional Research Service. All summary versions on Congress.gov
About this bill and sources
Official title: STEAM Act
Also known as: Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act
Latest action (Sep 16, 2026): Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. Hearings held.
Policy area: Energy · Origin: Senate · Introduced: Feb 6, 2025
Official page on Congress.gov · Bill text (GovInfo) · Status record (XML)
No recorded floor vote found.