United States 119th Congress Status: In Committee Bipartisan · 3 R · 1 D cosponsors

S 456 — STEAM Act

Last action — Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

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  1. ✓
    Introduced
  2. 2
    In Committee
  3. 3
    Passed Senate
  4. 4
    Passed House
  5. 5
    To Executive
  6. 6
    Enacted

This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.

Next likely step: a committee vote, then a floor vote in the Senate.

Prognosis

Advancing 38% · moderate confidence

Where this bill stands today.

Odds of enactment

Low

How often bills like it became law.

  • In Committee

    Current position in the legislative process.

  • 4 sponsors

    1 primary, 3 co-sponsors signed on.

  • Bipartisan support

    Sponsored across 2 parties (3 R · 1 D) — cross-party backing.

Prognosis reads this bill's own signals — stage, sponsorship breadth, committee status, recorded votes and cross-state momentum. Odds come from a model trained on which bills have become law.

Summary

Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM ActThis bill expedites the environmental review of certain geothermal energy activities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the bill expands the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include certain geothermal exploration or development activities in an existing categorical exclusion from NEPA for certain oil or gas activities. A categorical exclusion applies to a class of actions that do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement under NEPA.The categorical exclusion established by the bill applies to drilling a geothermal well (1) in an area where drilling has occurred previously within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins; or (2) within a developed field for which an approved land use plan or environmental document prepared under NEPA determined drilling to be a reasonably foreseeable activity, so long as the plan or document was approved within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins.

Bill Text

Sections of law this bill changes

1 section in 1 law

From the bill's own amending language, matched to the official United States Code (current through Public Law 119-121).

National energy policy and programs · 42 U.S.C. ch. 149 1 section
  • § 15942 NEPA review Amends

    42 U.S.C. § 15942

    The law today

    (a) NEPA review Action by the Secretary of the Interior in managing the public lands, or the Secretary of Agriculture in managing National Forest System Lands, with respect to any of the activities described in subsection (b) shall be subject to a rebuttable presumption that the use of a categorical exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 [42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.] (NEPA) would apply if the activity is conducted pursuant to the Mineral Leasing Act [30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.] for the purpose of exploration or development of oil or gas. (b) Activities described The activities referred to in subsection (a) are the following: (1) Individual surface disturbances of less than 5 acres so long as the total surface disturbance on the lease is not greater than 150 acres and site-specific analysis in a document prepared pursuant to NEPA has been previously completed. (2) Drilling an oil or gas well at a location or well pad site at which drilling has occurred previously within 5 years prior to the date of spudding the well. (3) Drilling an oil or gas well within a developed field for which an approved land use plan or any environmental document prepared pursuant to NEPA analyzed such drilling as a reasonably foreseeable activity, so long as such plan or document was approved within 5 years prior to the date of spudding the well. (4) Placement of a pipeline in an approved right-of-way corridor, so long as the corridor was approved within 5 years prior to the date of placement of the pipeline. (5) Maintenance of a minor activity, other than any construction or major renovation or a building or facility.

    22 other bills also change this section · Follow it → Official text at uscode.house.gov ↗

How this bill changes current law

3 changes Share ↗

Compared against current U.S. Code AI-generated reading aid — verify against the official bill.

The bill expands the scope of NEPA review to include geothermal resources in addition to oil and gas.

  • 42 U.S.C. 15942(a)

    , or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) for the purpose of exploration or development of geothermal resources

    This change adds geothermal resources to the types of activities subject to a rebuttable presumption for categorical exclusions under NEPA.

  • 42 U.S.C. 15942(b)(2)

    or gas → , gas, or geothermal

    This change allows for NEPA categorical exclusions to apply to drilling of a geothermal well within previously disturbed areas.

  • 42 U.S.C. 15942(b)(3)

    or gas → , gas, or geothermal

    This change allows for NEPA categorical exclusions to apply to drilling of geothermal wells within developed fields.

Action History

  1. Introduced in Senate

  2. Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources.

Sponsors

Sponsorship breakdown

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1 sponsors · 3 co-sponsors · 543 not signed on

Sponsors (1)

Co-sponsors (3)

Not signed on (543)

543 members have not signed on to this bill.

Show all 543 →

"Not signed on" means a member has not sponsored or co-sponsored this bill — it does not imply opposition. Members flagged Voted No have a recorded No vote on this bill.

Whip count is in markup. Polling the chamber and every recorded vote this session. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Calling the roll · Tallying · Engrossing

Subjects

environment education energy
Cross-referencing the record. Reading this bill against every other bill in the corpus by meaning, not keywords. Only the first open is slow. It’s instant for you after this. Matching · Ranking · Engrossing

Frequently asked questions

What does S 456 do?
Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM ActThis bill expedites the environmental review of certain geothermal energy activities under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA). Specifically, the bill expands the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to include certain geothermal exploration or development activities in an existing categorical exclusion from NEPA for certain oil or gas activities. A categorical exclusion applies to a class of actions that do not require an environmental assessment nor an environmental impact statement under NEPA.The categorical exclusion established by the bill applies to drilling a geothermal well (1) in an area where drilling has occurred previously within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins; or (2) within a developed field for which an approved land use plan or environmental document prepared under NEPA determined drilling to be a reasonably foreseeable activity, so long as the plan or document was approved within the five years prior to the date when drilling begins.
Who sponsors S 456?
S 456 is sponsored by Cortez Masto, Catherine (Democratic), Murkowski, Lisa (Republican), Daines, Steve (Republican), and Hoeven, John (Republican).
What is the current status of S 456?
This bill is in committee in the Senate. Introduced February 06, 2025. It must pass committee before a floor vote.
Where can I track S 456?
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