HR1687-119

What This Bill Does

The CLEAN Act amends the Geothermal Steam Act to accelerate federal geothermal leasing and drilling permits. It shortens the regular geothermal lease-sale timing from every 2 years to every year. If a required lease sale is canceled or delayed, the Interior Secretary must hold a replacement sale during the same year. For nominated parcels that are eligible for geothermal development under the State resource management plan, the Secretary must offer 75 percent for lease and must offer the remaining 25 percent unless the Secretary gives written statutory, environmental, or administrative reasons for not doing so. The bill also creates drilling-permit deadlines: within 30 days after receiving a geothermal drilling permit application, Interior must say whether the application is complete or identify missing information. Within 30 days after a complete-application notice, Interior must issue the permit if NEPA and other law are complete or defer with a list of applicant steps and agency actions. If deferred, Interior must issue a decision within 10 days after the applicant and agency complete the listed steps.

Who Benefits and How

Geothermal developers benefit because lease sales become annual, delayed sales must be replaced in the same year, and most eligible nominated parcels must be offered. Geothermal drilling permit applicants benefit from 30-day completeness notices, 30-day permit or deferral decisions, and 10-day final decisions after listed steps are complete. Renewable electricity developers benefit from a more predictable federal leasing pipeline. States with geothermal resources benefit if more nominated parcels move to lease sales and development. Investors in geothermal projects benefit from clearer federal timelines and less uncertainty around delayed lease sales or permit decisions.

Who Bears the Burden and How

The Interior Department and Bureau of Land Management must schedule replacement lease sales, evaluate nominated parcels, write justifications for withheld parcels, and meet permit review deadlines. Environmental reviewers must fit NEPA and other legal steps into the bill's timetable or explain deferred actions. Communities and conservation advocates may face faster geothermal leasing decisions and less opportunity for delay, though statutory and environmental bases can still prevent parcel offerings. Interior staff bear administrative pressure to track applicant steps and agency actions after deferred permit decisions.

Key Provisions

• Requires annual geothermal lease sales rather than sales every 2 years.
• Requires replacement geothermal lease sales during the same year when a sale is canceled or delayed.
• Requires Interior to offer 75 percent of eligible nominated geothermal parcels for lease.
• Requires written statutory, environmental, or administrative justification before withholding the remaining eligible parcels.
• Requires 30-day completeness notices for geothermal drilling permit applications.
• Requires permit issuance or a detailed deferral notice within 30 days after an application is complete.
• Requires a final permit decision within 10 days after listed applicant and agency steps are completed.