HARNESSING ENERGY AT THERMAL SOURCES ACT OF 2026

On 2026-04-23, Representative Sylvia R. Garcia (D-TX-29) delivered a floor speech titled "HARNESSING ENERGY AT THERMAL SOURCES ACT OF 2026" in the House. The speech addressed the environment and also covered trade policy, agriculture. It referenced legislation including HR5587, HRES1189.

HARNESSING ENERGY AT THERMAL SOURCES ACT OF 2026

Congressional Record, Volume 172 Issue 72 (Thursday, April 23, 2026) [Congressional Record Volume 172, Number 72 (Thursday, April 23, 2026)] [House] [Pages H3073-H3077] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [ www.gpo.gov ] HARNESSING ENERGY AT THERMAL SOURCES ACT OF 2026 Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, pursuant to House Resolution 1189, I call up the bill (H.R. 5587) to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes, and ask for its immediate consideration in the House. The Clerk read the title of the bill. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to House Resolution 1189, the amendment in the nature of a substitute recommended by the Committee on Natural Resources, printed in the bill, is adopted and the bill, as amended, is considered read. The text of the bill, as amended, is as follows: H.R. 5587 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the ``Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026'' or the ``HEATS Act''. SEC. 2. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND. The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``SEC. 30. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEOTHERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND. ``(a) 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 estate, provided that-- ``(1) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and ``(2) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct geothermal exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate. ``(b) No Federal Action.--A geothermal exploration and production activity carried out under subsection (a)-- ``(1) shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969; ``(2) shall require no additional Federal action; ``(3) may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary; ``(4) shall not be subject to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973; and ``(5) shall only be considered an undertaking under division A of subtitle III of title 54, United States Code (commonly referred to as the `National Historic Preservation Act'), if, with respect to the State in which the activity occurs, there is no State law in effect that addresses the preservation of historic properties in such State. ``(c) Royalties and Production Accountability.--(1) 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 (other than direct use of geothermal resources) or the production of any byproducts. ``(2) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and reporting of the production described in subsection (a), and payment of royalties. ``(d) Exceptions.--This section shall not apply to actions on Indian lands or resources managed in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes. ``(e) Indian Land.--In this section, the term `Indian land' means-- ``(1) any land located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and ``(2) any land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held-- ``(A) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian; ``(B) by an Indian tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or ``(C) by a dependent Indian community.''. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The bill, as amended, shall be debatable for 1 hour equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Natural Resources or their respective designees. The gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman) and the gentlewoman from Arizona (Ms. Ansari) each will control 30 minutes. The Chair now recognizes the gentleman from Arkansas (Mr. Westerman). [[Page H3074]] General Leave Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on H.R. 5587. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentleman from Arkansas? There was no objection. Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5587, the Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act, or the HEATS Act. This is an important bill to help add to the energy needs that our country has. We can do that very responsibly. We can do it in a smarter and more proactive way. I thank Representative Young Kim for being a leader on this issue and working with our committee to bring this bipartisan legislation to the floor. H.R. 5587, the HEATS Act, is a commonsense bill that would expedite the development of geothermal energy on non-Federal surface lands where the Federal subsurface estate is less than 50 percent. Currently, geothermal operators on non-Federal land are required to undergo a full Federal permitting process under the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the National Historic Preservation Act if they intersect any quantity of Federal subsurface resources, even if the Federal mineral interest is minuscule. This process creates unnecessary delays for geothermal energy project developers, who must already comply with rigorous State-level permitting requirements. H.R. 5587 would address this issue by alleviating the need for the Bureau of Land Management to issue permits for geothermal wells on State and private lands where the Federal Government holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate. Crucially, this bill upholds strong environmental standards by stipulating that Federal requirements may only be waived if operators receive drilling permits and comply with historic preservation laws on the State level. Notably, the bill would not impact the royalties paid to the Federal Government. Therefore, it will not reduce the Federal revenues generated by geothermal production. In fact, this legislation would actually increase Federal revenues by reducing the administrative responsibilities of Federal agencies and expediting the permitting process so that we can build more geothermal energy projects and do more development in that area. I want to emphasize the importance of this legislation. Again, energy demand is skyrocketing, and geothermal energy stands ready to meet the moment and bring gigawatts of new baseload power online. Out West, the Great Basin region encompasses swaths of California, Oregon, Utah, and most of Nevada. According to a recent study from the U.S. Geological Survey, this region alone hosts approximately 135 gigawatts of geothermal potential. To unleash geothermal energy's full potential, we must cut unnecessary red tape holding back key projects on these lands. By reducing duplicative Federal requirements on State and private lands, this bill will give developers the regulatory certainty needed to spur greater investment in geothermal exploration and production. Mr. Speaker, again, this is an opportunity to do something proactive, something that is common sense, and something that I think we can all be proud of in the future. I urge my colleagues to join me in supporting this bill, and I reserve the balance of my time. Ms. ANSARI. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. My constituents and Americans across the country are struggling under the rising costs of gas, groceries, and electricity from President Trump's tariffs and endless wars. We should be spending our time finding ways to lower costs for families. Instead, we are moving on legislation that is just another chapter in the Republican playbook to gut commonsense safeguards for energy development. I am a strong supporter of geothermal energy. Geothermal is a clean, reliable, affordable, and abundant form of electricity. Unfortunately, I have to oppose H.R. 5587, the HEATS Act, on the floor today. This is a complex issue. The bill waives the requirement for a Federal drilling permit if a project starts on private or State lands and then drills underground into Federal lands, provided the total project is made up of less than 50 percent Federal subsurface land. The bill says these projects don't need to do any analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA. They don't need to comply with the Endangered Species Act. They don't need to comply with the National Historic Preservation Act so long as the State has any law that vaguely ``addresses the preservation of historic properties.'' The majority says that this is about reducing duplicative reviews, but I see it as an irresponsible waiver of the Federal Government's obligation to steward our Federal resources. In practice, this means that in areas where the Federal Government owns the underground mineral rights but a rancher owns the surface rights to graze their cattle, or a farmer to grow their crops, underground development could take place without that landowner even knowing and without sufficient protections in place. The permit to drill process is the process surface landowners use to work with developers to make sure their lands and resources, like groundwater they depend on for their wells or springs, are protected when developers are drilling into Federal minerals. We are not talking about develope

Referenced legislation: HRES1189, HRES1189, HR5587