May 20, 2026
Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources
To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
Section 1. Short title
This Act may be cited as the Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2026
.
Sec. 2. Cost recovery from geothermal leasing, permitting, and inspections
Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1005) is amended by adding at the end the following:
(j) Cost recovery
(1) In general
During the period that begins on the date of enactment of this subsection and ends September 30, 2032, the Secretary may require an applicant for, or a holder of, a geothermal lease to reimburse the United States for all reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by the United States from—
(A)
processing the application for the geothermal lease, including any application for an operations plan, geothermal drilling permit, utilization plan, site license, facility construction permit, commercial use permit, and any other approval associated with a geothermal lease; and
(B)
inspecting and monitoring—
(i)
geophysical exploration activities;
(ii)
the drilling, plugging, and abandonment of wells; and
(iii)
the construction, operation, termination, and reclamation of any well site or facility for the utilization of geothermal resources pursuant to the geothermal lease.
(2) Considerations
In determining whether to require reimbursement under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall consider whether there is in existence a cooperative cost share agreement between the United States and the holder of a geothermal lease.
(3) Adjustments
The Secretary may reduce the amount to be reimbursed under paragraph (1) if the Secretary determines—
(A)
that full reimbursement would impose an economic hardship on the applicant; or
(B)
that a less than full reimbursement is necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal resources.
(4) Use
The amounts reimbursed under this subsection shall be credited to the currently applicable appropriation, account, or fund of the Department of the Interior as discretionary offsetting collections, and shall be available only to the extent provided in advance in appropriations Acts for—
(A)
processing the application for geothermal leases, including any application for operations plans, geothermal drilling permits, utilization plans, site licenses, facility construction permits, commercial use permits, and any other approval associated with geothermal leases; and
(B)
inspecting and monitoring—
(i)
geophysical exploration activities;
(ii)
the drilling, plugging, and abandonment of wells; and
(iii)
the construction, operation, termination, and reclamation of any well site or facility for the utilization of geothermal resources pursuant to geothermal leases.
Sec. 3. Report
(a) Report
Not later than 5 years after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Interior, in consultation with the geothermal industry and other stakeholders, shall submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate, and make publicly available on the website of the Department of the Interior, a report that includes—
(1)
an assessment of how the amendments made by section 2 of this Act affected the Bureau of Land Management’s geothermal program;
(2)
any recommendations for reauthorization of section 6(j) of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, as added by this Act; and
(3)
any other recommendations for updates to such section and the Bureau of Land Management’s geothermal program.
(b) Considerations
In developing the report required in subsection (a), the Secretary of the Interior shall solicit facts or information from the geothermal industry and other stakeholders.