U.S. CONGRESSMAN DEAN HELLER Representing the 2th Congressional District of Nevada

Washington, April 28, 2010 -

Today, U.S. Congressman Dean Heller (R-NV) sent a letter to Secretary of the Department of the Interior, Ken Salazar, asking him to hold off reclaiming geothermal royalties paid out to Nevada Counties.  Heller’s letter to Secretary Salazar has been included with this release.  

“Reclaiming royalties paid to local counties will only create additional hardships for our local communities.  As we work to remedy this problem, Interior should back off its attempts to claw back these funds.  Both Congress and the Administration should be acting in the best interest of our local communities instead of moving forward with a potentially devastating action,” said Heller.      

The Administration’s budget for fiscal year 2010 eliminated the royalty revenue sharing for local governments.  As such the elimination was included in the Conference Report for the Department of the Interior Appropriations for FY10.  However, some royalties were paid out after enactment.  The Department of Interior is seeking the return of those royalties.  Congressman Heller has been working in a bipartisan manner with House Democrats and the Nevada delegation to reinstate the royalty sharing provision.