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

(a) In general. Within 180 days after August 8, 2005, the Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Agriculture had to write and send Congress a memorandum of understanding. It had to follow this section, the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (as amended), and other applicable laws, covering how the two Secretaries would coordinate leasing and permitting for geothermal development on public lands and National Forest System lands under their control. (b) Lease and permit applications. The memorandum of understanding had to (1) set up an administrative procedure for processing geothermal lease applications — including who has authority, the steps involved, and time limits; (2) create a 5-year program for geothermal leasing on National Forest System lands, updated every 5 years; and (3) create a program to cut the backlog of geothermal lease applications pending on January 1, 2005, by 90 percent within 5 years of August 8, 2005 — by issuing leases, rejecting applications that don't follow the rules they were filed under, or determining that the original applicant (or their heirs, assigns, or estate) no longer wants the lease. (c) Data retrieval system. The memorandum of understanding also had to set up a shared data retrieval system that can track lease and permit applications, tell applicants their status within both the Interior and Agriculture Departments, and estimate how long the government will take to act.