What changed between these versions
A substantive narrowing of the bill. v2 removes the entire section dedicated to establishing Geothermal Leasing Priority Areas and streamlining their environmental review processes, which was a major component of v1. The provisions defining geothermal exploration projects and their NEPA status remain unchanged.
Overview
A single, but significant, deletion. · v2 significantly narrows the scope and policy direction of the bill by removing provisions aimed at designating and expediting geothermal leasing in priority areas.
The primary change in v2 is the complete deletion of Section 3 from v1, which introduced a new Section 31 to the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. This removed all provisions related to the designation of Geothermal Leasing Priority Areas, their criteria for selection, review, and associated programmatic environmental impact statement procedures. The remaining sections of the bill, including the short title, the definition of geothermal exploration projects, and their NEPA status, are identical to v1, with only a renumbering of the "Findings" section.
Deletions
This section mandated the Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of Energy, to designate portions of Federal land as geothermal leasing priority areas within three years. It established criteria for selection, required periodic review and modification, and outlined procedures for programmatic environmental impact statements, including provisions to prevent delays in permit issuance or lease sales. It also limited additional NEPA analysis for these areas for 10 years.
The deletion removes a key mechanism intended to accelerate geothermal energy development on Federal lands by identifying and streamlining the leasing and environmental review processes for specific priority areas. This significantly reduces the proactive measures the bill would have implemented to promote geothermal leasing.
Modifications
There is no operative impact from this change as the content of the findings remains identical. The renumbering simply reflects the removal of the preceding Section 3 from v1.
Before
Section 4 of v1 contained two findings by Congress regarding the Bureau of Land Management's adoption of categorical exclusions for geothermal exploration, pursuant to recent amendments to NEPA, and the expectation that these exclusions would expedite review and approval.
After
Section 3 of v2 contains the exact same two findings by Congress regarding the Bureau of Land Management's adoption of categorical exclusions for geothermal exploration, pursuant to recent amendments to NEPA, and the expectation that these exclusions would expedite review and approval.
Scope
Meaningful expansion or narrowing — Changes are concentrated in one major policy area, specifically the removal of the geothermal leasing priority areas. — Yes, v2 represents a meaningful change in policy direction by eliminating the proactive framework for designating and streamlining geothermal leasing priority areas, thereby reducing the bill's overall ambition for accelerating geothermal development through such designations. — The deletion of Section 3 (v1) removes a standalone set of provisions and does not directly interact with or modify the remaining provisions of the bill, which focus on defining and streamlining individual geothermal exploration projects.
Impact analysis
Geothermal energy developers and leaseholders on Federal lands.
Loss of potential benefits, specifically the loss of a streamlined process for leasing and environmental review in designated priority areas.
In v1, this group would have benefited from the designation of Geothermal Leasing Priority Areas, which aimed to streamline the leasing process and environmental reviews, potentially leading to faster project approvals and reduced regulatory burdens in those specific areas. In v2, these provisions are removed.