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119-hr-1077119th Congress

STEAM Act

Sponsored By: Representative Lee, Susie [D-NV-3]

In Committee

Summary

Directs federal environmental reviews to explicitly include geothermal resources. The Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms (STEAM) Act would add the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 into Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005, making NEPA analyses explicitly cover geothermal exploration and development.

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  • Geothermal developers — Exploration and development projects would be subject to NEPA review under the Energy Policy Act framework. Federal environmental analyses would explicitly include geothermal activities alongside gas and oil.
  • Federal agencies — Agencies conducting NEPA reviews would need to reference the Geothermal Steam Act when evaluating geothermal projects. The bill clarifies that geothermal is an asserted authority for NEPA analysis in Section 390.
  • Communities and environmental review — The scope of NEPA reviews would expand to include geothermal, so environmental impacts tied to geothermal exploration and development would be examined through the same NEPA process used for other energy resources.

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Bill Overview

Analyzed Economic Effects

1 provisions identified: 0 benefits, 0 costs, 1 mixed.

More review for geothermal projects

This bill would expand NEPA environmental reviews to cover geothermal exploration and development. Agencies would treat the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 as applicable law for those NEPA analyses. The bill would add "geothermal" alongside gas in the listed references in Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act. If enacted, developers and agencies would likely face more permitting work, while nearby landowners would get more environmental review.

Sponsors & CoSponsors

Sponsor

Lee, Susie [D-NV-3]

NV • D

Cosponsors

  • Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2]

    UT • R

    Sponsored 2/6/2025

  • Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1]

    PA • R

    Sponsored 3/14/2025

  • Rep. Perez, Marie Gluesenkamp [D-WA-3]

    WA • D

    Sponsored 3/31/2025

  • Rep. Gray, Adam [D-CA-13]

    CA • D

    Sponsored 9/15/2025

  • Rep. Suozzi, Thomas R. [D-NY-3]

    NY • D

    Sponsored 1/21/2026

Roll Call Votes

No roll call votes available for this bill.

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