Amendment restores geothermal money to counties

In Washington, the U.S. Senate has approved an amendment to the Department of Interior’s appropriations bill that reallocates a portion of royalties and lease payments to counties with geothermal plants on federal land. The amendment was approved for inclusion in the American Workers, State and Business Relief Act, which passed the Senate a week ago. It gives counties their share of royalties and lease income from geothermal plants within their borders, dating back to the beginning of the federal fiscal year. In an interesting political move, Republican Sen. John Ensign of Nevada, who co-sponsored the amendment with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, also of Nevada, voted against the overall bill. The House of Representatives has yet to address its version of the amendment, authored by Congressmen Dean Heller and Mike Thompson, D-Calif. The change will impact some 31 counties in six states including Nevada, California, Idaho, New Mexico, Oregon and Utah.