{"format":1,"id":"119-hr-5587","congress":119,"number":"H.R. 5587","kind":"bill","group":"bills","title":"HEATS Act","title_source":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","official_title":"To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes.","titles":[{"type":"Official Title as Introduced","title":"To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes."},{"type":"Display Title","title":"HEATS Act"},{"type":"Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text","title":"Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026"},{"type":"Short Titles from RFS (Referred to Senate) bill text","title":"HEATS Act"},{"type":"Official Title from EH (Engrossed in House) bill text","title":"To amend the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 to waive the requirement for a Federal drilling permit for certain activities, to exempt certain activities from the requirements of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969, and for other purposes."},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","title":"HEATS Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Passed House","title":"Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to House","title":"Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act of 2026"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Reported to House","title":"HEATS Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act"},{"type":"Short Title(s) as Introduced","title":"HEATS Act"}],"outcome":"passed_house","law_number":null,"introduced":"2025-09-26","chambers":{"house":{"status":"roll_call","date":"2026-04-23","vote":{"id":"119-2026-h137","question":"On Passage","title":"HEATS Act","result":"Passed","yea":231,"nay":186,"present":0,"not_voting":12,"source":"https://clerk.house.gov/evs/2026/roll137.xml"}},"senate":{"status":"pending","date":null,"vote":null}},"president":{"status":"not_yet","date":null},"vice_president_tie_breaker":null,"latest_action":{"text":"Committee on Energy and Natural Resources Subcommittee on Public Lands, Forests, and Mining. Hearings held.","date":"2026-07-15"},"nominees":null,"amendments":[],"other_votes":[],"crs_summary":{"date":"2025-09-26","stage":"Introduced in House","blocks":[{"k":"h","t":"Harnessing Energy At Thermal Sources Act or the HEATS Act"},{"k":"p","t":"This bill exempts certain geothermal activities on state and private lands (except Indian lands) from drilling permit requirements as well as environmental and historic preservation review requirements."},{"k":"p","t":"First, the bill prohibits the Department of the Interior from requiring an operator to obtain a drilling permit under the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 for any geothermal exploration and production activity conducted on a nonfederal surface estate (i.e., the part of the estate that is above ground) if (1) the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50% of the subsurface geothermal estate to be accessed by the proposed action, and (2) the operator submits to Interior a state permit to conduct the geothermal exploration and production activity on the nonfederal surface estate."},{"k":"p","t":"Next, the bill states that such geothermal exploration and production activity is not considered a major federal action under National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Thus, such activity does not trigger NEPA's environmental review requirements."},{"k":"p","t":"In addition, the bill exempts such activity from the consultation requirements under the Endangered Species Act of 1973. It also exempts the activity from review under the National Historic Preservation Act unless the state in which the activity occurs does not have a state law that addresses the preservation of historic properties."}],"words":221},"summary":{"main_subject":{"text":"Amends the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 so that the Secretary does not require a Federal drilling permit for geothermal exploration and production on non-Federal surface estate when set conditions are met, and sets how other Federal laws apply to those activities.","cites":[{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}]},"core_areas":["Federal drilling permits for geothermal exploration and production on non-Federal surface estate","Application of NEPA, the Endangered Species Act and the National Historic Preservation Act to those activities","Royalties and onsite inspections for geothermal production"],"what_it_does":[{"text":"Bars the Secretary from requiring a Federal drilling permit for geothermal exploration and production on a non-Federal surface estate where the United States holds less than 50 percent of the subsurface geothermal estate to be accessed and the operator submits a State permit.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}},{"text":"Provides that activity under this exemption is not a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 and requires no additional Federal action.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}},{"text":"Allows the activity to begin 30 days after the operator submits the State permit to the Secretary.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}},{"text":"Provides that the activity is not subject to section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}},{"text":"Treats the activity as an undertaking under the National Historic Preservation Act only if the State where it occurs has no State law in effect addressing the preservation of historic properties.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}},{"text":"Leaves royalty amounts due to the United States unchanged, lets the Secretary conduct onsite reviews and inspections of production and royalty payment, and excludes Indian lands and trust resources from the new section.","cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"}}],"unexpected":[{"category":"selective_carve_out","items":[{"cite":{"label":"Sec. 2","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh#H6D3423D6D7E744699534E03E610F6434"},"heading":"No Federal permit required for geothermal activities on certain land","effect":"Exempts geothermal exploration and production on non-Federal surface estate from the Federal drilling permit requirement, NEPA major Federal action status and ESA section 7, when set conditions are met, and excludes Indian lands and trust resources.","amount":null,"quote":"This section shall not apply to actions on Indian lands or resources managed in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes."}]}],"version":{"type":"Engrossed in House","date":"2026-04-23","rule":"passed","href":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text/eh"},"current":true,"model":"claude-sonnet-5-5","approved":"2026-10-03","approved_by":"checks"},"sources":{"congress_gov":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587","text":"https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/5587/text"},"card":{"image":"card/item/119-hr-5587.png","v":"864e9b1133ce","alt":"Votes on Record. H.R. 5587, 119th Congress: HEATS Act. House: 231 Yea, 186 Nay. Senate: not yet considered. Outcome: Passed House, 23 Apr 2026."}}