BLM to no longer requires permits for “casual use” geothermal exploration activities

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) through their Field Offices (FO) will no longer require permits for geothermal exploration activities classified under “casual use”, generally described as activities that ordinarily lead to no significant disturbances to Federal lands, resources, or improvements. This aims to reduce administrative barriers to geothermal exploration and development, and standardizes the BLM’s assessment process.

This guidance was issued through a memorandum addressed to BLM Field Offices from the BLM National Headquarters dated 31 August 2026, and will expire on 30 September 2029. The guidance is effective immediately and supersedes all conflicting memorandums or other guidance documents.

According to the memorandum, the BLM FOs will apply the guidance upon receiving a Notice of Intent to Conduct Geothermal Resource Exploration (NOI) from operators (e.g. an individual, a company, a college or university, the U.S. Geological Survey, a state geological survey, etc.). The following geothermal exploration activities will be considered under the “casual use” category unless the FO has reason to believe that the activity would cause “significant disturbance” as described above:

• Field mapping, including surficial mapping using hand tools;
• Hand sampling, including the collection of rock, soil, spring, gas, or mineral specimens using hand tools;
• Ground-based geophysical surveys, including gravity, magnetic, and electromagnetic methods, and near-surface installations to depths less than 10 feet, including seismic and potential field methods;
• Airborne-based geophysical and remote sensing surveys without physical contact with the surface, including HeliTEM™, aeromagnetic, hyperspectral, and thermal imaging, as well as drone- or airplane-based remote sensing;
• Collection of surface or groundwater samples, including downhole water sampling from applicant’s existing wells without modification or drilling;
• Shallow probing operations, including shallow ground-temperature or water sampling using small, portable hand-held or off-highway vehicle-mounted direct-push probes (with rods less than 2 inches in diameter), using existing roads, disturbed areas, open clearings, or off-road where such vehicle use is consistent with the applicable land use plan;
• Use of handheld or backpack-sized battery-operated sensors or other devices;
• Temporary placement of battery-operated sensors in small holes, such as geophones for passive seismic surveys or sensors for magnetotelluric surveys for a temporary period;
• Vehicle use on established roads or trails, and off-road vehicle use where consistent with the applicable land use plan or travel management plan to access survey points that are not accessible by motorized or battery-powered vehicles using established roads and trails; and
• Other exploration activities as determined by the FOs that do not include the use of mechanized earth-moving equipment, truck-mounted or mechanized drilling equipment, or heavy equipment (e.g. seismic vibrator).

All described activities are conducted on foot, on pre-existing roads, within previously disturbed areas, or by off-road vehicle travel where consistent with the applicable land use plan or travel management plan.

If the FO determines that the proposed activities are casual use, the FO will notify the applicant that no permit is requires and that they may proceed with the proposed activities. The activity may then start immediately. FOs will be required to respond to an NOI application within 15 calendar days of the submission date.

This instruction is just the latest in a list of actions undertaken by the BLM under the Trump Administration to accelerate geothermal development in Federal lands, founded by the identification of geothermal as one of the domestic energy sources considered under the administration’s Energy Emergency policy. Earlier this year, the BLM had also approved a new categorical exclusion that streamlines permitting small-scale geothermal exploration projects, or those that disturb only up to 10 acres of land.

Moreover, the frequency of geothermal lease sales has noticeably become higher over the coming years. The private sector has responded accordingly, with the latest BLM geothermal lease sale in Utah breaking several Federal records. The convergence of these supportive policy changes, technological improvements in resource discovery and next-generation geothermal systems, and reinvigorated interest from investors has provided impressive momentum for the geothermal sector in the United States.

Source: Bureau of Land Management