Geothermal Energy Advancement Act
Congress pushes Interior Department to speed geothermal permits with new BLM ombudsman and task force
Legislative Progress
Key Points
- Congress would require the Interior Department to appoint a geothermal “ombudsman” inside the Bureau of Land Management within 60 days of the law taking effect.
- The ombudsman would help speed up and smooth out permits for geothermal projects on public lands by tracking timelines, solving disputes, and setting best practices.
- A new BLM Geothermal Permitting Task Force would be created, led by the ombudsman, to back up this work and help field offices handle permit workloads.
- The ombudsman could temporarily assign staff from other Interior offices to help with geothermal permits in busy locations, and those staff may need to travel and work in person.
- The bill allows extra pay to help keep hard-to-hire experts on these assignments (up to 25% of base pay, if Congress funds it), and requires yearly reports to Congress on results.
Impact Analysis
Personal Impact
How this policy affects specific groups of people
Milestones
Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.
Sent to a congressional committee for expert review. The committee decides whether this bill moves forward.
The title of the measure was amended. Agreed to without objection.
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection. (text: CR H3760-3761)
On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
The House fast-tracked this bill — limited debate, no amendments allowed, but needs two-thirds support to pass.
Passed/agreed to in House: On motion to suspend the rules and pass the bill, as amended Agreed to by voice vote.
The House fast-tracked this bill — limited debate, no amendments allowed, but needs two-thirds support to pass.
Votes
No votes have been recorded for this legislation yet.
Source Information
Document Type
Congressional Bill
Official Title
Geothermal Energy Advancement Act
Data Sources
Sponsor
Cosponsors
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