Bill > HR5631

This bill, the Geothermal Energy Advancement Act, aims to streamline and promote responsible geothermal energy development on public lands by addressing several key areas. It clarifies that pending civil lawsuits will not automatically halt the processing of applications for geothermal permits, rights-of-way, or other authorizations unless a federal court specifically vacates or issues an injunction against them, requiring decisions on these applications within 60 days of meeting all legal and regulatory requirements, including environmental reviews. The bill also allows the Secretary of the Interior to recover administrative and other costs associated with processing geothermal leases, permits, and inspections from applicants or leaseholders until September 30, 2033, with provisions for adjustments based on economic hardship or the need to promote geothermal resource use, and these recovered funds will be used to support these activities. Furthermore, it mandates the publication of an updated "Gold Book," a manual of operating standards and guidelines for geothermal development on federal lands, within 270 days of identifying necessary procedures, and this book will be renamed to reflect its geothermal focus and periodically revised. To improve efficiency, the bill establishes a Geothermal Ombudsman and a Geothermal Permitting Task Force within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to act as liaisons, resolve disputes, monitor permit processing, develop best practices, and facilitate cross-office personnel assignments to assist with geothermal authorizations, with the Ombudsman reporting annually on the Task Force's activities. Finally, it makes technical amendments to clarify definitions and royalty calculations for geothermal electric generating facilities and to include geothermal resources in certain environmental review provisions of the Energy Policy Act of 2005.