A bill to amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior.

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. 4605 Introduced in Senate (IS)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session S. 4605 To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 20, 2026 Mr. Gallego introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to provide cost-recovery authority for the Department of the Interior. 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 ``Geothermal Cost-Recovery Authority Act of 2026''. SEC. 2. COST RECOVERY FROM GEOTHERMAL LEASING, PERMITTING, AND INSPECTIONS. Section 6 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1005) is amended by adding at the end the following: ``(j) Cost Recovery.-- ``(1) In general.--During the period that begins on the date of enactment of this subsection and ends September 30, 2032, the Secretary may require an applicant for, or a holder of, a geothermal lease to reimburse the United States for all reasonable administrative and other costs incurred by the United States from-- ``(A) processing the application for the geothermal lease, including any application for an operations plan, geothermal drilling permit, utilization plan, site license, facility construction permit, commercial use permit, and any other approval associated with a geothermal lease; and ``(B) inspecting and monitoring-- ``(i) geophysical exploration activities; ``(ii) the drilling, plugging, and abandonment of wells; and ``(iii) the construction, operation, termination, and reclamation of any well site or facility for the utilization of geothe