43 C.F.R. § 3203.5

What is the general process for obtaining a geothermal lease?

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(a) The competitive geothermal leasing process consists of the following steps:

(1)(i) Entities interested in geothermal development nominate lands by submitting to BLM descriptions of lands they seek to be included in a lease sale; or

(ii) BLM may include land in a competitive lease sale on its own initiative.

(2) BLM provides notice of the parcels to be offered, and the time, location, and process for participating in the lease sale.

(3) BLM holds the lease sale and offers leases to the successful bidder.

(b) BLM will issue geothermal leases to the highest responsible qualified bidder after a competitive leasing process, except for situations where noncompetitive leasing is allowed under subparts 3204 and 3205 of this part, which include:

(1) Lands for which no bid was received in a competitive lease sale;

(2) Direct use lease applications for which no competitive interest exists; and

(3) Lands subject to mining claims.

[90 FR 33302, July 17, 2025]

Notes of Decisions

Cited in 1 case, 2009–2009 · leading case: Mann v. United States, 86 Fed. Cl. 649 (Fed. Cl. 2009).

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Mann v. United States, 86 Fed. Cl. 649 (Fed. Cl. 2009). “In the approval letter, BLM explained that the expenditures “qualifie[d] as diligent exploration pursuant to 43 C.F.R. § 3203.5 ,” as in effect at that time, and noted that wells 12-24 and 55-25 were “shut in and ready to produce.”

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