HEATS Act

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 5587 Referred in Senate (RFS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 5587 _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES April 28, 2026 Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ AN ACT 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. 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