Elizabeth Buentes, field office manager for the Bureau of Land Management (Deskware Field Office), told the commission that the Crescent Valley geothermal plan of development decision was signed July 16 and is currently in the protest and appeal period. She said Ormat plans to mobilize a drill rig to the two permitted wells on public land by the end of the week or the following week.
The 2025 geothermal lease sale draft decision document closed a 30-day public comment period on the prior Friday; Buentes said the BLM received roughly four comment letters and expected to prepare a final environmental assessment and decision so the sale could proceed in October. "For that one, again, we just received 4 comments on that, mostly positive," Buentes said.
Buentes also said the draft technical analysis for the "Lemoyo Summit Veil System" was released for public comment on July 3, with the comment period scheduled to close on Aug. 4. She reported roughly 20 comments received in support and said the BLM was targeting a mid-August decision for that project.
Separately, Buentes said the South Railroad project's Notice of Intent remains under review at the department due to regulatory changes; the BLM made adjustments to the NOI to reflect new regulations and did not have a new publication date.
No formal votes were taken. Staff said they would continue standard processing of protests, comments, and department review before any further milestones are set.