YourVoice.Now Summary
Corporate BenefitsTransparency & AccountabilityGeothermal drillers on public land could start paying for their own permit reviews and well checks.
Corporate Benefits
The Secretary could lower a company's bill if paying in full would cause it financial hardship. Fees could also be cut to keep geothermal projects moving. Any cost-sharing deal the company already has must be weighed too.
Today, taxpayers pay for the permit reviews and well checks that Interior handles. The agency could send those costs to the company instead. The charge could cover everything from the first drilling permit to the cleanup of a finished site.
Transparency & Accountability
The power would switch off on its own unless Congress acts again. After that date, Interior could not bill for permits or inspections.
Interior would post the report on its website, not just send it to Congress. It would say how the fees affected the Bureau of Land Management's geothermal program. It would also say whether the charging power should be renewed.
More about this bill
Most people would see no change in daily life. This is a billing change between the federal government and the companies that drill for geothermal energy on public land. Geothermal power comes from heat deep underground. Right now, taxpayers cover the cost of reviewing those companies' permits and inspecting their wells. The Interior Department could start sending those costs to the companies instead. That power would run through September 30, 2032. Interior could charge less if a full bill would cause a company financial hardship. It could also charge less to keep geothermal projects moving. Money collected would go back into the same permit and inspection work. Interior must post a public report within five years on how the change worked.
Congressional Summary
Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2026 This bill expands the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to give the Department of the Interior the authority to collect certain fees from applicants for, or holders of, geothermal leases through September 30, 2032. Specifically, Interior may direct those applicants or leaseholders to reimburse the United States for costs from (1) processing applications for geothermal leases on federal land, such as applications for geothermal drilling permits; and (2) inspecting and monitoring geothermal exploration and development activities, including reclamation activities. Interior may reduce the amount of the fee if it determines that (1) the full reimbursement would impose an economic hardship on the applicant, or (2) a less than full reimbursement is necessary to promote the greatest use of geothermal resources. Interior may use those fees only to the extent that they are provided in advance in appropriations acts for (1) processing applications for geothermal leases, and (2) inspecting and monitoring related exploration and development activities. Within five years of the bill's enactment, Interior must submit to Congress a report that includes an assessment of how the fees affect Interior's geothermal leasing program and any recommendations for updates to the fees and the program.
Details
- Congress
- 119th
- Chamber
- Senate
- Status
- summarized
- Action
- Introduced in Senate
- Action Date
- 2026-05-20
- Date Added
- 2026-06-30
- Source
- Congress.gov →
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