Geothermal Energy Advancement Act in plain language
1: Short title
This section would let the Act be called the Geothermal Ombudsman for National Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act.
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1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Geothermal Ombudsman for National Deployment and Optimal Reviews Act .
2: Geothermal ombudsman and permitting task force
This section would define a set of terms used in the rest of the section: a geothermal authorization is any license, permit, approval, finding, determination, or other administrative decision the Bureau of Land Management issues, plus any required or authorized interagency consultation, needed to site, build, rebuild, or start operating a geothermal energy project the Bureau administers; a geothermal energy project is a project on public land, in whole or in part, that uses geothermal energy to make heat or electricity; public land means land subject to geothermal leasing under section 3 of the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970; and the Secretary means the Secretary of the Interior. Within 60 days after enactment, the Secretary would have to appoint a Geothermal Ombudsman from within the Bureau of Land Management. The Ombudsman would have to act as a liaison connecting the Bureau's individual field, district, and State offices, the Division Chief of the Bureau's National Renewable Energy Coordination Office, and the Bureau's Director; provide dispute resolution services between the Bureau's field, district, and State offices and applicants seeking geothermal authorizations; monitor and help speed up permit processing practices and timelines across the Bureau's field offices; develop best practices for the geothermal permitting and leasing process; and coordinate with the Federal Permitting Improvement Steering Council. Within 60 days after enactment, the Secretary would also have to establish a Geothermal Permitting Task Force within the Bureau of Land Management, headed by the Geothermal Ombudsman, and the Task Force would support the Ombudsman's duties listed above. As head of the Task Force, the Ombudsman could assign personnel from any Department of the Interior bureau or office with relevant expertise to help complete geothermal authorizations in a field, district, or State office other than the employee's normal duty station, but only if the Ombudsman determines the assignment will not materially delay ongoing authorization work in the employee's home office, and the Ombudsman gets approval from the head of the employee's home office. An employee assigned this way would have to work in person full-time at an official Department office; travel to the Bureau field, district, or State office with jurisdiction over the assigned authorization if the Ombudsman decides that is necessary; work as part of the team handling the assigned authorizations; and regularly report to the head of the field, district, or State office that has jurisdiction over those authorizations. Subject to available appropriations, the Ombudsman could pay an assigned employee a retention allowance, set as a percentage of the employee's basic pay rate and capped at 25 percent; the allowance would not count as part of basic pay, any reduction or elimination of it could not be appealed, and it would be paid on the same schedule and in the same manner as basic pay. In deciding whether to pay a retention allowance, the Ombudsman would have to consider the employee's specialized expertise related to geothermal authorizations, the demonstrated need to retain the employee to meet permit-timeline improvement goals and develop best practices, and how hard it would be to recruit or replace someone with similar expertise. These cross-office assignments would not change which Bureau of Land Management office has underlying jurisdiction over the geothermal authorizations involved. Finally, the Ombudsman would have to submit an annual report to the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources and the House Committee on Natural Resources describing the Task Force's activities and evaluating how effective geothermal permit processing was during the preceding year.
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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.