The Bureau of Land Management would be required to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman within 60 days of enactment and create a Geothermal Permitting Task Force to speed up approvals for geothermal energy projects on public lands. The Ombudsman would serve as a liaison between BLM field offices and project applicants, provide dispute resolution, and develop best practices to reduce permitting delays. Staff from other federal offices could be temporarily assigned to assist with permit backlogs, with retention bonuses of up to 25 percent of base pay allowed to retain specialized personnel. The Ombudsman must submit an annual report to Congress evaluating permit processing timelines and Task Force activities.
Transparency & Accountability
- Congressional reporting — added; annual Ombudsman report on geothermal permit processing required
- Permit-process oversight — expanded through centralized monitoring and best-practice development across BLM field offices
Congressional Summary
Geothermal Ombudsman for National Deployment and Optimal Reviews ActThis bill establishes a geothermal ombudsman and task force to oversee geothermal project permitting and authorizations on federal land.The Department of the Interior must appoint a geothermal ombudsman from within the Bureau of Land Management (BLM). The ombudsman must act as a liaison among different parts of BLM, provide dispute resolution services between BLM and geothermal project applicants, and facilitate permit processing in different BLM field offices regarding geothermal projects on federal land.The ombudsman must also lead the Geothermal Permitting Task Force established by this bill. The task force must support the ombudsman’s duties. Through the task force, the ombudsman may reassign employees from other Interior bureaus or offices to assist in the completion of geothermal authorizations. The ombudsman may pay a retention allowance to reassigned employees.
Legislative Subjects
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- House
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Reported to House
- Action Date
- 2026-05-20
- Date Added
- 2026-05-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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