The Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit combines the former Geothermal Regulatory Roadmap, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Database, and other resources into a Web-based tool that gives the regulatory and utility-scale geothermal developer communities rapid and easy access to permitting information. RAPID currently comprises five tools: Permitting Atlas, Regulatory Roadmap, Resource Library, NEPA Database, and Best Practices. Because of the huge amount of information involved, RAPID was developed in a wiki platform to allow industry and regulatory agencies to maintain the content in the future so that it continues to provide relevant and accurate information to users. The content was expanded to include regulatory requirements for utility-scale solar, hydropower, and bulk transmission development projects. Going forward, development of the RAPID Toolkit will focus on expanding the capabilities of current tools, developing additional tools, including additional technologies, and continuing to increase stakeholder involvement.

During the 2013 fiscal year, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Geothermal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Database with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). The information in the database was collected in an effort to conduct analyses on NEPA timelines (Young et al., 2014). The database was then made available to the public on OpenEI in an effort to share the data collection effort with others. OpenEI allows information related to geothermal NEPA documents from all federal agencies to be accessed and maintained in a single location so that others can utilize the data for their own analyses and so that the structure and content can be expanded for other uses. This submission includes links to the NEPA Database on OpenEI and in the Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit. Also included are a paper and poster by Young et. al presenting the NEPA Database to the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC).

During the 2013 fiscal year, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) developed the Geothermal National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) Database with funding provided by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Geothermal Technologies Office (GTO). The information in the database was collected in an effort to conduct analyses on NEPA timelines (Young et al., 2014). The database was then made available to the public on OpenEI in an effort to share the data collection effort with others. OpenEI allows information related to geothermal NEPA documents from all federal agencies to be accessed and maintained in a single location so that others can utilize the data for their own analyses and so that the structure and content can be expanded for other uses. This submission includes links to the NEPA Database on OpenEI and in the Regulatory and Permitting Information Desktop (RAPID) Toolkit. Also included are a paper and poster by Young et. al presenting the NEPA Database to the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC).

In this analysis, we outline the types of NEPA-related analyses and approvals (e.g., environmental assessment), and we provide examples of geothermal development activities (e.g., well drilling) that might require each type of approval, including an overview and discussion of the specific permits. We conducted an in-depth analysis of timelines specific to each NEPA analysis type, and we analyzed a sample of geothermal projects to identify factors that increased NEPA review timelines. Based on that analysis, we identified proven and potential strategies that can assist geothermal projects by lowering the time necessary to navigate the NEPA process, while maintaining the efficacy of the federal environmental review intact. We also identified areas of potential improvement in NEPA efficiency within each phase of geothermal development. Shortening project timelines can effectively decrease the perceived risk profiles of geothermal development projects. This submission includes a paper, poster, and presentation for the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) summarizing geothermal permitting and NEPA timeline analysis. Also included are two spreadsheets detailing the NEPA timeline analysis and environmental assessments (EA).

In this analysis, we outline the types of NEPA-related analyses and approvals (e.g., environmental assessment), and we provide examples of geothermal development activities (e.g., well drilling) that might require each type of approval, including an overview and discussion of the specific permits. We conducted an in-depth analysis of timelines specific to each NEPA analysis type, and we analyzed a sample of geothermal projects to identify factors that increased NEPA review timelines. Based on that analysis, we identified proven and potential strategies that can assist geothermal projects by lowering the time necessary to navigate the NEPA process, while maintaining the efficacy of the federal environmental review intact. We also identified areas of potential improvement in NEPA efficiency within each phase of geothermal development. Shortening project timelines can effectively decrease the perceived risk profiles of geothermal development projects. This submission includes a paper, poster, and presentation for the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) summarizing geothermal permitting and NEPA timeline analysis. Also included are two spreadsheets detailing the NEPA timeline analysis and environmental assessments (EA).

Contains information about facilities or sites subject to environmental regulation, including key facility information along with associated environmental interests for use in mapping and reporting applications.

This study examines various forms of coordinating permit offices at the state and federal level in the western United States, discusses inefficiencies and mitigation techniques for permitting natural resource projects, analyzes whether various approaches are easily adaptable to utility-scale geothermal development, and ad- dresses advantages and challenges for coordinating permit offices. Key successful strategies identified include: - Flexibility in implementing the approach (i.e. less statutory requirements for the approach); - Less dependence on a final environmental review for information sharing and permit coordination; and - State and federal partnerships developed through memorandum of understanding to define roles and share data and/or developer information. A few of the most helpful techniques include: - A central point of contact for the developer to ask questions surrounding the project; - Pre-application meetings to assist the developer in identifying all of the permits, regulatory approvals, and associated information or data required; - A permit schedule or timeline to set expectations for the developer and agencies; and - Consolidating the public notice, comment, and hearing period into fewer hearings held concurrently. This submission includes a paper and presentation for the Geothermal Resources Council (GRC) detailing the development of this project.