Feds snatch counties’ share of money from geothermal leases

Rural Nevada counties have lost hundreds of thousands of dollars in income over the past year because of a federal money grab that has yet to be reversed. Ten months ago, the U.S. Interior Department, in its annual budget request to Congress, commandeered counties’ share of revenue generated from geothermal energy rent and royalties. The move diverted to the department’s programs millions of dollars destined for rural county coffers across the West. The change, which affected at least six states, was overlooked by the congressional delegations of every major geothermal energy state, including Nevada and California. In March, several politicians, including Sens. Harry Reid and John Ensign as well as Rep. Dean Heller, introduced legislation that would return the revenue. But the legislation was attached to an unrelated bill, which failed to pass. That was more than four months ago and 12 rural Nevada counties are still struggling to maintain roads and pay teachers. The Interior Department was able to take the money because the 2005 law that created the revenue-sharing system made it optional, at the discretion of Congress and the Interior Department. When the department submitted its 2010 fiscal year budget to Congress, the Senate reallocated counties’ share of the revenue to the Interior Department, of which the BLM is a part. The House version left it intact, but its bill was superseded by the Senate version. Now counties want the income to be permanently guaranteed and they want it protected from state and federal money grabs...more