HEATS Act
Summary
What This Bill Does
The HEATS Act amends the Geothermal Steam Act to remove a federal drilling-permit requirement for geothermal exploration and production on a non-Federal surface estate when the United States owns less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate. The operator must submit a state permit to the Secretary, and the activity may begin 30 days later without an additional federal permit. The bill also says the activity is not a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act, requires no additional federal action, is not subject to Endangered Species Act section 7 consultation, and counts as a National Historic Preservation Act undertaking only if the state lacks its own historic-preservation law. The Secretary may still inspect and review production measurement, reporting, and royalty compliance. Indian lands and geothermal resources held in trust for tribes or individual Indians are excluded.
Who Benefits and How
Geothermal developers, geothermal lease operators, landowners with split-estate geothermal resources, and states with geothermal permitting programs benefit because a state permit becomes the gateway for qualifying projects and federal NEPA, ESA, and most NHPA reviews no longer delay drilling. Bureau of Land Management geothermal staff and Interior permitting staff benefit from reduced federal permit workload, while federal royalty officials retain access to inspect production and revenue reporting.
Who Bears the Burden and How
Wildlife conservation groups, habitat advocates, and communities relying on federal environmental review bear risk because qualifying projects bypass federal NEPA review and ESA section 7 consultation. State geothermal permitting agencies carry more front-line responsibility because the state permit triggers project commencement. Tribal governments and Indian landowners are protected from the exemption, but Interior still must distinguish excluded Indian lands from covered non-Federal surface estates.
Key Provisions
- Exempts qualifying geothermal exploration and production from Federal drilling-permit requirements when the United States owns less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate.
- Requires operators to submit a State permit and allows activity to begin 30 days after submission.
- Bars treating the qualifying activity as a major Federal action under NEPA or as an Endangered Species Act section 7 action.
- Limits National Historic Preservation Act undertaking status to states without historic-preservation laws.
- Preserves Federal inspection and review authority for production measurement, reporting, and royalty compliance.
- Excludes Indian lands and geothermal resources held in trust for Indian tribes or individual Indians.
Evidence Chain:
This summary is generated from the full bill text using AI analysis. Expand "Detailed Analysis" below for identified beneficiaries/burden bearers with clause-level evidence links.
At a Glance
What This Bill Does
Exempts geothermal exploration and production on non-Federal surface estates from Federal drilling-permit requirements when the United States owns less than half of the subsurface geothermal estate and a State permit is submitted, while preserving royalty oversight and excluding Indian lands.
Key Policy Areas
Energy, Geothermal Development, Permitting, Public Lands
Primary Purpose
Exempts geothermal exploration and production on non-Federal surface estates from Federal drilling-permit requirements when the United States owns less than half of the subsurface geothermal estate and a State permit is submitted, while preserving royalty oversight and excluding Indian lands.
Policy Domains
Substantive provisions
Identified Gains
- Geothermal developers
- Geothermal lease operators
- Split-estate landowners
- State geothermal permitting programs
- Bureau of Land Management geothermal staff
- Interior permitting staff
Identified Costs
- Wildlife conservation groups
- Habitat advocates
- Communities relying on Federal environmental review
- State geothermal permitting agencies
- Interior land-status staff
Sponsors
Legislative Progress
Passed HouseReceived in the Senate and Read twice and referred to …
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy …
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 231 - …
Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 1189. (consideration: …
Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas …
The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.
Rule provides for consideration of H.R. 4690, H. Res. 1182, …
Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without …
On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 231 - …
Rule H. Res. 1189 passed House.
Stakeholder Effects
cui bono?How this legislation distributes effects. Mention counts reflect frequency, not effect magnitude.
Federal environmental review staff, Indian landowners, Interior geothermal permitting staff
Positive-direction: Federal environmental review staff, Indian landowners, Interior geothermal permitting staff, Tribal governments
Negative-direction: Interior royalty compliance staff
Geothermal developers, Geothermal lease operators, Geothermal royalty payors
Positive-direction: Geothermal developers, Geothermal lease operators
Negative-direction: Geothermal royalty payors
Endangered species advocates, Habitat advocates, Wildlife conservation groups
Historic preservation offices, State geothermal permitting agencies
Bill Structure & Actor Mappings
Who is "The Secretary" in each section?
- "esa"
- → Endangered Species Act
- "nepa"
- → National Environmental Policy Act
- "nhpa"
- → National Historic Preservation Act
- "secretary"
- → Secretary of the Interior
We use a combination of our own taxonomy and classification in addition to large language models to assess meaning and potential beneficiaries. High confidence means strong textual evidence. Always verify with the original bill text.
Learn more about our methodology