42 U.S.C. § 15871 | Coordination of geothermal leasing and permitting on Federal lands

(a)

In general

August 8, 200530 U.S.C. 1001Not later than 180 days after , the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture shall enter into and submit to Congress a memorandum of understanding in accordance with this section, the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (as amended by this Act) [ et seq.], and other applicable laws, regarding coordination of leasing and permitting for geothermal development of public lands and National Forest System lands under their respective jurisdictions.

(b)

Lease and permit applications

The memorandum of understanding shall—

(1)

establish an administrative procedure for processing geothermal lease applications, including lines of authority, steps in application processing, and time limits for application procession;

(2)

establish a 5-year program for geothermal leasing of lands in the National Forest System, and a process for updating that program every 5 years; and

(3)

January 1, 2005August 8, 2005 establish a program for reducing the backlog of geothermal lease application pending on , by 90 percent within the 5-year period beginning on , including, as necessary, by issuing leases, rejecting lease applications for failure to comply with the provisions of the regulations under which they were filed, or determining that an original applicant (or the applicant’s assigns, heirs, or estate) is no longer interested in pursuing the lease application.

(c)

Data retrieval system

The memorandum of understanding shall establish a joint data retrieval system that is capable of tracking lease and permit applications and providing to the applicant information as to their status within the Departments of the Interior and Agriculture, including an estimate of the time required for administrative action.

Pub. L. 109–58, title II, § 225Aug. 8, 2005119 Stat. 665(, , .)

Editorial Notes

References in Text

Pub. L. 91–581Dec. 24, 197084 Stat. 1566 section 1001 of Title 30The Geothermal Steam Act of 1970, referred to in subsec. (a), is , , , which is classified principally to chapter 23 (§ 1001 et seq.) of Title 30, Mineral Lands and Mining. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.

Pub. L. 109–58Aug. 8, 2005119 Stat. 594 section 15801 of this titleThis Act, referred to in subsec. (a), is , , , known as the Energy Policy Act of 2005, which enacted this chapter and enacted, amended, and repealed numerous other sections and notes in the Code. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see Short Title note set out under and Tables.