Both sides have signed this (Bill Ranking)
S. 456 · 119th Congress (2025-2026)
4 members · Left 1 · Center 1 · Right 2 (Bill Ranking)
| Sponsor | Sen. Cortez Masto, Catherine (D-NV) (Introduced 02/06/2025) |
|---|---|
| Sponsor Voting Record | Lean left · DW-NOMINATE -0.35 · measured from every roll-call vote this member has cast (voteview.com) (Sponsor Ranking) |
| Support |
LLLCLRR support across the spectrum: 4 members signed on (Bill Ranking) this bill: sponsor + current cosponsors, each once |
| Committees | Senate - Energy and Natural Resources Committee |
| Latest Action | 02/06/2025 Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. |
| Roll Call Votes | There have been no roll call votes |
| Source | view on congress.gov → |
Introduced in Senate (02/06/2025)
Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM Act
This 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.
119 S456 IS: Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act U.S. Senate 2025-02-06 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. II119th CONGRESS1st SessionS. 456IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATESFebruary 6 (legislative day, February 5), 2025Ms. Cortez Masto (for herself and Ms. Murkowski) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural ResourcesA BILLTo amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expedite geothermal exploration and development in previously studied or developed areas.1.Short titleThis Act may be cited as the Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act or the STEAM Act.2.NEPA ReviewSection 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15942) is amended—(1)in subsection (a), by inserting , or the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) for the purpose of exploration or development of geothermal resources after or gas; and(2)in subsection (b)—(A)in paragraph (2), by striking or gas and inserting , gas, or geothermal; and (B)in paragraph (3), by striking or gas and inserting , gas, or geothermal.
The bill's own words, from our database (synced from the GPO BILLS XML); paragraph breaks added at the bill's section boundaries, nothing else changed.
| Date | Chamber | All Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 02/06/2025 | Library of Congress | Introduced in Senate |
| 02/06/2025 | Senate | Read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources. |
| Title Type | Title |
|---|---|
| Display Title | STEAM Act |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | STEAM Act |
| Short Title(s) as Introduced | Streamlining Thermal Energy through Advanced Mechanisms Act |
| Official Title as Introduced | A bill to amend the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to expedite geothermal exploration and development in previously studied or developed areas. |
There are no amendments to this bill.
* = Original cosponsor
| Committee | Activity |
|---|---|
| Senate - Energy and Natural Resources Committee | 02/06/2025 Referred To |
Policy Area: Energy
All data on this page comes from our own database (legislation.congress_* tables), synced daily from the GPO govinfo BILLSTATUS and BILLS collections. Formatted after congress.gov; nothing is generated. Member placement is their DW-NOMINATE score (voteview.com, Lewis et al.) - a measurement of roll-call voting behavior, not our judgement. Buckets: Left below −0.50 · Lean Left to −0.25 · Center to +0.25 · Lean Right to +0.50 · Right above +0.50. The bill's Support meter aggregates the people who signed the bill - sponsor and current cosponsors, each counted once - nothing else.