[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5631 Introduced in House (IH)]
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119th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5631
To appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting
Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, and for other
purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 30, 2025
Mr. Hurd of Colorado introduced the following bill; which was referred
to the Committee on Natural Resources
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman and establish a Geothermal Permitting
Task Force from within the Bureau of Land Management, 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 ``Geothermal Ombudsman for National
Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act''.
SEC. 2. GEOTHERMAL OMBUDSMAN AND PERMITTING TASK FORCE.
(a) Definitions.--In this section:
(1) Geothermal authorization.--The term ``geothermal
authorization'' means any license, permit, approval, finding,
determination, or other administrative decision issued by the
Bureau of Land Management and any interagency consultation that
is required or authorized under Federal law in order to site,
construct, reconstruct, or commence operations of a geothermal
energy project administered by the Bureau of Land Management.
(2) Geothermal energy project.--The term ``geothermal
energy project'' means a project wholly or partially located on
public land that uses geothermal energy to generate heat or
electricity.
(3) Public land.--The term ``public land'' means lands
subject to geothermal leasing under section 3 of the Geothermal
Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1002).
(4) Secretary.--The term ``Secretary'' means the Secretary
of the Interior.
(5) Task force.--The term ``Task Force'' means the
Geothermal Permitting Task Force established under subsection
(c).
(b) Geothermal Ombudsman.--
(1) In general.--Not later than 60 days after the date of
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall appoint from within
the Bureau of Land Management a Geothermal Ombudsman.
(2) Duties.--The Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under
paragraph (1) shall--
(A) act as a liaison between--
(i) the individual field, district, and
State offices of the Bureau of Land Management;
(ii) the Division Chief of the National
Renewable Energy Coordination Office of the
Bureau of Land Management; and
(iii) the Director of the Bureau of Land
Management;
(B) provide dispute resolution services between the
individual field, district, and State offices of the
Bureau of Land Management and applicants for geothermal
authorizations;
(C) monitor and facilitate permit processing
practices and timelines across individual field offices
of the Bureau of Land Management;
(D) develop best practices for the permitting and
leasing process for geothermal resources; and
(E) coordinate with the Federal Permitting
Improvement Steering Council.
(c) Geothermal Permitting Task Force.--
(1) Establishment.--Not later than 60 days after the date
of enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish within
the Bureau of Land Management a Geothermal Permitting Task
Force.
(2) Leadership.--The Task Force shall be headed by the
Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under subsection (b).
(3) Permitting support.--The Task Force shall support the
duties of the Geothermal Ombudsman appointed under subsection
(b).
(4) Cross-office personnel assignments.--
(A) In general.--In their capacity as head of the
Task Force, the Geothermal Ombudsman may assign
personnel from any Departmental bureaus and offices
with relevant expertise to assist with completion of
geothermal authorizations in field, district, or State
offices other than the official duty station where such
personnel are located if--
(i) the Geothermal Ombudsman determines
that such assignment will not materially delay
ongoing completion of authorizations within the
office where the employee is located; and
(ii) the Geothermal Ombudsman receives
approval from the head of the official duty
station where the assigned employee is located.
(B) Assigned personnel requirements.--Department
personnel assigned to assist with completion of
geothermal authorizations under subparagraph (A)
shall--
(i) work in-person full-time at an official
Department office;
(ii) if necessary as determined by the
Geothermal Ombudsman, travel to the Bureau of
Land Management field, district, or State
office with jurisdiction over the geothermal
authorization to which the employee has been
assigned by the Geothermal Ombudsman;
(iii) participate as part of the team of
personnel working on geothermal authorizations
to which the employee has been assigned by the
Geothermal Ombudsman; and
(iv) regularly report to the head of the
field, district, or State office of the Bureau
of Land Management with jurisdiction over
geothermal authorizations to which the employee
has been assigned by the Geothermal Ombudsman.
(C) Retention allowances.--
(i) In general.--Subject to the
availability of appropriations, the Geothermal
Ombudsman may pay a retention allowance to an
employee assigned to assist with the completion
of geothermal authorizations under subparagraph
(A). Retention allowances--
(I) shall be stated as the
percentage of the rate of basic pay of
an employee, and may not exceed 25
percent of such rate of basic pay;
(II) may not be considered to be
part of the basic pay of an employee,
and the reduction or elimination of a
retention allowance may not be
appealed; and
(III) shall be paid at the same
time and in the same manner as the
employee's basic pay is paid.
(ii) Considerations.--In exercising the
retention allowance authority described in
clause (i), the Geothermal Ombudsman shall
consider--
(I) an employee's specialized
expertise related to geothermal
authorizations;
(II) the demonstrated need to
retain an employee to meet the
performance improvement objectives for
geothermal authorization timelines and
develop best practices for completion
of geothermal authorizations; and
(III) the difficulty in recruiting
or replacing qualified personnel with
relevant expertise related to
geothermal authorizations.
(D) Savings clause.--Cross-office personnel
assignments carried out under this paragraph shall not
alter the underlying jurisdiction of other offices of
the Bureau of Land Management over applicable
geothermal authorizations.
(d) Report.--The Geothermal Ombudsman shall submit to the Committee
on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee on
Natural Resources of the House of Representatives an annual report that
describes the activities of the Task Force and evaluates the
effectiveness of geothermal permit processing during the preceding 1-
year period.
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