H.R. 7422 would amend the Geothermal Stream Act of 1970 to authorize the Department of the Interior (DOI) to collect fees from geothermal leaseholders and operators through September 30, 2031. Those fees could be spent to cover the cost of processing applications for geothermal leases and monitoring activities related to geothermal exploration and development on federal land. The bill also would direct DOI to report to the Congress within five years on how the cost recovery fees affected DOI’s geothermal leasing program and any recommended updates to the program. 

CBO expects that those fees would be assessed on leases entered into after enactment. The cost recovery fees would be recorded in the federal budget as offsetting receipts—that is, as a reduction in direct spending—and would be available for the department to spend without further appropriation. Because CBO expects that any fees collected would be spent soon thereafter, we estimate that enacting H.R. 7422 would have a negligible effect on net direct spending over the 2024-2034 period.

Based on the cost of similar activities, CBO estimates that the report would cost less than $500,000 over the 2024-2029 period. Any related spending would be subject to the availability of appropriated funds.