Pushing geothermal electric production, the Biden administration is limiting the scope of the nation’s key environmental law, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), in environmental impacts studies for these projects on federal land.
The Interior Department’s Bureau of Land Management on Monday (April 15) announced it was granting two “categorical exclusions” from the list of NEPA criteria that an analysis of a the environmental impacts of a “major federal action” should examine. BLM said it will adopt categorical exclusions from either the Navy Department or the Agriculture Department’s U.S. Forest Service to avoid preparing an “environmental assessment.”
BLM said that “categorical exclusions define activities that as a whole have been determined to pose no significant risk to the quality of the human environment. Used appropriately, these exclusions alleviate the need to prepare an environmental assessment as part of the permitting process.”
The agency added, “The categorical exclusions adopted today apply only to geothermal exploration operations on public land. Subsequent development of a geothermal resource would require additional NEPA analysis.
“In considering permits for notices of intent to explore for geothermal resources, the BLM may use either the Forest Service or Navy categorical exclusion to support its decision. If a categorical exclusion is used, the BLM will indicate how the proposed action fits with whichever categorical exclusion is used, in accordance with applicable NEPA or geothermal program guidance. The BLM will also check in each instance for special circumstances that may require the preparation of an environmental assessment.”
The land management agency will publish the details of the new policy in an upcoming edition of the Federal Register, which has not occurred as of this writing.
An Energy Department document explains the origin and uses of categorical extensions. DOE’s “office of NEPA policy and compliance”: “The amendments to NEPA from the Fiscal Responsibility Act of 2023 established a process for adopting another agency’s [categorical exclusions].” The new NEPA language (Sec. 109; 42 U.S.C. § 4336c) states, “An agency may adopt a categorical exclusion listed in another agency’s NEPA procedures for a category of proposed agency actions for which the categorical exclusion was established consistent with this paragraph.”
A federal agency proposing to use another agency’s exclusion must identify the exclusion; consult with the agency that established the “to ensure that the proposed adoption of the categorical exclusion to a category of actions is appropriate”; and document and inform the public of the action.
Geothermal Rising, the lobbying and trade group for the geothermal industry, based in Palm Springs, Calif., has been advocating for federal and state policies to advance electric energy from hot rocks.
Bryant Jones, the group’s executive director, told The Quad Report that his group “applauds BLM for recognizing the critical need to grant an administrative geothermal exploration CatEx, an effort that has been 20 years in the making.” He added that they have “asked the BLM to share the details that will be published in the Federal register. Until we see the details, GR is unable to determine the effect of BLM’s action.”
The group will “continue to encourage the Congress with a legislative categorical exclusion” for geothermal resources “that are vital to stabilizing the electrical grid, decarbonizing the built environment, and offers oil and gas workers an opportunity to transition into the clean energy economy,” Jones said.
BLM Director Tracy Stone-Manning said, “Geothermal energy is one of the technologies that can move our country toward a clean energy future. It only makes sense to use the same streamlined processes for permitting geothermal exploration that other government agencies have proven can work.”
Alec Stappf, co-founder of the Institute for Progress, a Washington-based policy think tank, said on Twitter [some call it “X” but the URL is “twitter.com”—Ed.], “If you care about clean energy abundance, this is a massive win.”
–Kennedy Maize