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Representative urges no vote on bill that would waive federal review for many geothermal projects
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Summary
A lawmaker on the House floor backed geothermal energy but warned a bill that removes federal drilling permits when up to 50% of subsurface ownership is federal would strip protections under NEPA, NHPA and the Endangered Species Act, raise seismic and subsidence risks, and erode tribal and public consultation.
A representative on the House floor urged colleagues to reject legislation that would exempt many geothermal projects from federal environmental review, saying the bill would remove key safeguards for federal resources and sideline tribal and public input.
The lawmaker, speaking without a name provided in the transcript, said the measure would allow a geothermal project to proceed without a federal drilling permit when the surface is not federally owned but up to 50% of the subsurface acreage is federal. "Under this bill, a geothermal project would no longer require a federal drilling permit if it is on land where the surface is not federally owned, but the subsurface is significantly up to 50%, of the acreage," the representative said, arguing that 50% of a large project could still be thousands of acres.
The bill, the speaker said, would waive core federal protections and processes. "Without a federal permit, the core safeguards for development affecting federal resources would totally disappear," they said, listing the National Environmental Policy Act, the National Historic Preservation Act, and the Endangered Species Act as examples of authorities whose protections would be removed for exploration, development, and production activities.
Why it matters: The representative warned that removing those processes would eliminate public input and formal tribal consultation that help identify health, safety, cultural and environmental impacts. They cautioned that underground drilling can still create above-ground harms, including subsidence, settlement of lands, earthquakes and impacts to groundwater, and said such risks require the assessments that federal review provides.
The speaker also flagged a regulatory gap: eliminating federal drilling permits could create "a gray area for underground injection control permits," which are a mechanism for assessing potential seismic activity, and noted that those permits are outside their committee's jurisdiction. The representative said they asked during markup that the majority coordinate with the Energy and Commerce Committee to add clarifying language but that the concern was not addressed.
Other practical concerns raised included bonding and liability: the lawmaker said there was no clear requirement in the bill to secure bonds for potential subsidence or damage to federal resources, warning that states and private property owners could be left responsible for remediation if a federal resource were affected.
The representative characterized the bill as a precedent with broader consequences, saying the oil and gas industry has long sought similar waivers for federally owned subsurface and that approving this measure would invite future bills to extend the same treatment to fossil fuel projects.
The speaker concluded by saying they support geothermal development done right and offered to work across the aisle, but urged colleagues to vote no on the bill as drafted; they then yielded back time.
The transcript does not record a formal motion, amendment or vote on the measure in this excerpt.
