BLM will not issue leases for:

(a) Lands where the Secretary has determined that issuing the lease would cause unnecessary or undue degradation of public lands and resources;

(b) Lands contained within a unit of the National Park System, or otherwise administered by the National Park Service;

(c) Lands within a National Recreation Area;

(d) Lands where the Secretary determines after notice and comment that geothermal operations, including exploration, development or utilization of lands, are reasonably likely to result in a significant adverse effect on a significant thermal feature within a unit of the National Park System;

(e) Fish hatcheries or wildlife management areas administered by the Secretary;

(f) Indian trust or restricted lands within or outside the boundaries of Indian reservations;

(g) The Island Park Geothermal Area; and

(h) Lands where Section 43 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226-3) prohibits geothermal leasing, including:

(1) Wilderness areas or wilderness study areas administered by BLM or other surface management agencies;

(2) Lands designated by Congress as wilderness study areas, except where the statute designating the study area specifically allows leasing to continue; and

(3) Lands within areas allocated for wilderness or further planning in Executive Communication 1504, Ninety-Sixth Congress (House Document 96-119), unless such lands are allocated to uses other than wilderness by a land and resource management plan or are released to uses other than wilderness by an Act of Congress.


Tried the LawStack mobile app?

Join thousands and try LawStack mobile for FREE today.

  • Carry the law offline, wherever you go.
  • Download CFR, USC, rules, and state law to your mobile device.