,,ii  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session  
,s4 #dige  ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of     
,,the ,,united ,,states  ,july #ad1     
#bjbf,mr4 ,hoeven 7for himself and ,mr4 
,daines7 introduced the following bill2 
which was read twice and referred to the
 ,committee on ,energy and ,natural     
,resources  ,a ,,bill  ,to amend the    
,geothermal ,steam ,act of #aigj to     
waive the requirement for a ,federal    
drilling permit for certain activities1 
to exempt certain activities from the   
requirements of the ,national           
,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi1   
and for other purposes4  #a4 ,short     
title ,this ,act may be cited as the    
,harnessing ,energy ,at ,thermal        
,sources ,act of #bjbf or the ,,heats   
,act4  #b4 ,no ,federal permit required 
for geothermal activities on certain    
land ,the ,geothermal ,steam ,act of    
#aigj 7#cj ,u4,s4,c4 #ajja et seq47 is  
amended by adding at the end the        
following3  #cj4 ,no ,federal permit    
required for geothermal activities on   

certain land  7a7 ,in general ,the      
,secretary shall not require an operator
 to obtain a ,federal drilling permit   
for geothermal exploration and          
production activities conducted on a    
non-,federal surface estate1 provided   
that-- 7#a7 the ,united ,states holds an
 ownership interest of less than #ej    
percent of the subsurface geothermal    
estate to be accessed by the proposed   
action2 and  7#b7 the operator submits  
to the ,secretary a ,state permit to    
conduct geothermal exploration and      
production activities on the            
non-,federal surface estate4  7b7 ,no   
,federal action ,a geothermal           
exploration and production activity     
carried out under subsection 7a7-- 7#a7 
shall not be considered a major ,federal
 action for the purposes of section     
#ajb7b77;,c7 of the ,national           
,environmental ,policy ,act of #aifi2   
7#b7 shall require no additional        
,federal action2  7#c7 may commence #cj 
days after submission of the ,state     

permit to the ,secretary2  7#d7 shall   
not be subject to section #g of the     
,endangered ,species ,act of #aigc2 and 
7#e7 shall only be considered an        
undertaking under division ,a of        
subtitle ,,iii of title #ed1 ,united    
,states ,code 7commonly referred to as  
the ,national ,historic ,preservation   
,act71 if1 with respect to the ,state in
 which the activity occurs1 there is no 
,state law in effect that addresses the 
preservation of historic properties in  
such ,state4  7c7 ,royalties and        
production accountability  7#a7 ,nothing
 in this section shall affect the amount
 of royalties due to the ,united ,states
 under this ,act from the production of 
electricity using geothermal resources  
7other than direct use of geothermal    
resources7 or the production of any     
byproducts4  7#b7 ,the ,secretary may   
conduct onsite reviews and inspections  
to ensure proper accountability1        
measurement1 and reporting of the       
production described in subsection 7a71 

and payment of royalties4  7d7          
,exceptions ,this section shall not     
apply to actions on ,indian lands or    
resources managed in trust for the      
benefit of ,indian ,tribes4  7e7 ,indian
 land ,in this section1 the term ,indian
 land means-- 7#a7 any land located     
within the boundaries of an ,indian     
reservation1 pueblo1 or rancheria2 and  
7#b7 any land not located within the    
boundaries of an ,indian reservation1   
pueblo1 or rancheria1 the title to which
 is held-- 7,a7 in trust by the ,united 
,states for the benefit of an ,indian   
tribe or an individual ,indian2  7,b7 by
 an ,indian tribe or an individual      
,indian1 subject to restriction against 
alienation under laws of the ,united    
,states2 or  7,c7 by a dependent ,indian
 community4  4