No Federal permit required for geothermal activities on certain land

The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) (as amended by section 2221) is amended by adding at the end the following: 31. No Federal permit required for geothermal activities on certain land (a) Exploration and production activities 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) Notification For each State permit to drill or drilling plan that would impact or extract oil and gas owned by the Federal Government— (1) each lessee of Federal minerals in the unit, or designee of a lessee, shall— (A) notify the Secretary of the submission of a State application for a permit to drill or drilling plan on submission of the application; and (B) provide a copy of the application described in subparagraph (A) to the Secretary not later than 5 days after the date on which the permit or plan is submitted; and (2) each lessee, designee of a lessee, or applicable State shall notify the Secretary of the approved State permit to drill or drilling plan not later than 45 days after the date on which the permit or plan is approved. (c) Nonapplicability to Indian land Subsection (a) shall not apply to— (1) any land located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or (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. (d) Effect (1) In general 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) Onsite reviews and inspections 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..