HR-1077-119
Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 570.
Sponsored by Susie Lee (D-NV)
What it does
This bill would expand an existing categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) — originally created for certain oil and gas activities by the Energy Policy Act of 2005 — to also cover certain geothermal exploration and development drilling. The exclusion would apply when drilling occurs in an area where drilling has already taken place within the prior five years, or within a developed field where an approved land use plan or environmental document already identified drilling as a foreseeable activity within the prior five years. A categorical exclusion means the activity would not require a full environmental assessment or environmental impact statement before proceeding.
Who benefits
Geothermal energy developers and companies that would face fewer regulatory delays and lower compliance costs. Landowners and communities in geothermal-rich regions (primarily western states such as Nevada, California, Idaho, and Utah) who may see increased local economic activity. Renewable energy advocates who view geothermal as a low-emission baseload power source. Federal agencies such as the Bureau of Land Management that would have reduced NEPA workloads. Electricity consumers who could indirectly benefit if faster permitting lowers the cost of geothermal power development.
Who is hurt
Environmental and conservation groups that rely on NEPA review as a mechanism to identify and mitigate drilling impacts on local ecosystems, water tables, and wildlife habitats. Landowners and communities near proposed drilling sites who would have fewer formal opportunities to raise concerns through the NEPA process. Competing energy sectors (e.g., solar, wind) that do not receive equivalent permitting streamlining. State and tribal governments that participate in NEPA reviews and may lose a formal avenue for input. Legal challengers who use NEPA environmental documents as the basis for litigation.
Supporters argue
Supporters argue that geothermal drilling in already-disturbed or pre-analyzed areas poses minimal incremental environmental risk, making full NEPA review redundant and wasteful. They contend that the United States has vast untapped geothermal resources — the Department of Energy estimates the potential for over 100 gigawatts of enhanced geothermal capacity — and that permitting delays of five to ten years are a primary barrier to development. By aligning geothermal's regulatory treatment with that of oil and gas in comparable circumstances, the bill would accelerate deployment of a reliable, low-emission energy source without eliminating environmental safeguards that apply outside the categorical exclusion's narrow conditions.
Opponents argue
Opponents argue that geothermal drilling carries distinct environmental risks — including induced seismicity, disruption of hydrothermal systems, and groundwater contamination — that differ meaningfully from oil and gas activities, making the existing categorical exclusion an inappropriate template. They contend that the five-year lookback window is arbitrary and may not account for changed environmental conditions, new species listings, or updated hydrological data since the prior review. Critics also argue that bypassing site-specific environmental analysis removes a key public participation mechanism, disproportionately affecting tribal nations and rural communities whose land and water resources are most directly at risk from drilling operations.
Constitutional context
NEPA is grounded in Congress's authority under the Commerce Clause (Art. I, §8, cl. 3) and the Necessary and Proper Clause. This bill modifies a statutory categorical exclusion, which is a congressional — not agency — action, and therefore does not directly implicate the major questions doctrine from West Virginia v. EPA (2022) or the post-Chevron independent review standard from Loper Bright v. Raimondo (2024). No significant constitutional tension is raised by this bill as written.
Checks and balances
The executive branch (Bureau of Land Management and relevant federal agencies) gains streamlined permitting authority for qualifying geothermal projects; Congress retains the ability to modify or repeal the categorical exclusion, and courts retain jurisdiction to review whether specific projects properly qualify under the exclusion's conditions.
Historical precedent
The Energy Policy Act of 2005 established the original categorical exclusion for oil and gas drilling in previously disturbed or pre-analyzed areas, which this bill directly extends to geothermal activities using the same structural framework.