U. S. GEOTHERMAL RESOURCE POLICY – 36 YEARS LATER

The Bureau of Land Management has managed geothermal resources on U.S. public lands since enactment of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. Industry's interest in developing geothermal resources has been in response to the cost and availability of conventional energy sources, such as coal, oil and natural gas, as well as priorities of the federal government. The President's National Energy Policy (2001) jump started the U.S Geothermal Resource program by authorizing the Secretaries of the Interior and Energy to increase access to public lands for geothermal energy production. To meet this goal BLM worked with the Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to produce the report “Opportunities for Near-Term Geothermal Development on Public Lands in the Western United States” that identified 35 top-pick sites for geothermal development. In 2004, BLM completed a geothermal strategic plan which is guiding the agency in the allocation of its resources for high priority geothermal activities. The enactment of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (EPAct) resulted in the first significant changes to the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970. The EPAct made comprehensive changes to the Geothermal Steam Act by completely revamping the leasing program; restructuring royalties; and revising lease terms, conditions, and rentals. As a result, the BLM, which authorizes geothermal development on Federal lands, and the MMS, which evaluates and assesses revenues owed to the Federal government from geothermal development, are rewriting their geothermal rules to conform to the statutory changes and are coordinating the two rulemaking efforts with a common goal to complete the final regulations by the end of 2006.