Federal

Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act

Source: Congress.gov · 754 words in original text

What This Bill Does

This bill amends the Mineral Leasing Act to change how the federal government handles oil and gas drilling permits. The bill creates an exception where companies can drill for oil and gas without getting a federal permit if the federal government owns less than 50 percent of the underground mineral rights being accessed.

Who It Affects

Oil and gas companies operating on non-federal land (land not owned by the government). The federal government's Bureau of Land Management. States that issue oil and gas permits. The bill explicitly excludes Indian lands and tribes from these changes.

Key Provisions

- The federal government cannot require an oil and gas company to get a federal drilling permit for exploration and production on non-federal surface land if the federal government owns less than 50 percent of the minerals being accessed and the company has a state permit (Sec. 2) - Oil and gas drilling under this exception does not count as a major federal action, meaning it avoids certain federal review processes (Sec. 2) - Drilling can begin 30 days after a company submits its state permit to the federal government (Sec. 2) - The federal government can still conduct inspections, collect royalties (payments for resource extraction), and enforce penalties related to oil and gas production (Sec. 2) - The exception does not apply to Indian lands (Sec. 2)

What Changes

Companies can now drill for oil and gas on certain non-federal land without obtaining a federal permit, as long as they have a state permit and the federal government owns less than 50 percent of the underground minerals. The federal government must still collect royalties and conduct inspections but no longer reviews these specific projects under certain federal environmental laws.

Important Definitions

Indian land means: land within the boundaries of a reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; or land held in trust by the federal government for an Indian tribe or individual; or land held by an Indian tribe or individual with restrictions on its sale under U.S. law; or land held by a dependent Indian community (Sec. 2)

Effective Date

Not specified in bill text

I 118TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1205 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas permitting process and to recognize fee ownership for certain oil and gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES FEBRUARY 27, 2023 Mrs. BICE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to streamline the oil and gas permitting process and to recognize fee owner- ship for certain oil and gas drilling or spacing units, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa- 1 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 2 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 3 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Bureau of Land Man- 4 agement Mineral Spacing Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1205.IH H1205 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1205 IH SEC. 2. ACCESS TO FEDERAL ENERGY RESOURCES FROM 1 NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 2 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 3 226) is amended by adding at the end the following: 4 ‘‘(r) NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR OIL AND 5 GAS ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND.— 6 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not re- 7 quire an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit 8 for oil and gas exploration and production activities 9 conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided 10 that— 11 ‘‘(A) the United States holds an ownership 12 interest of less than 50 percent of the sub- 13 surface mineral estate to be accessed by the 14 proposed action; and 15 ‘‘(B) the operator submits to the Secretary 16 a State permit to conduct oil and gas explo- 17 ration and production activities on the non-Fed- 18 eral surface estate. 19 ‘‘(2) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—An oil and gas ex- 20 ploration and production activity carried out under 21 paragraph (1)— 22 ‘‘(A) shall not be considered a major Fed- 23 eral action for the purposes of section 24 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 25 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332); 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1205.IH H1205 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1205 IH ‘‘(B) shall require no additional Federal 1 action; 2 ‘‘(C) may commence 30 days after submis- 3 sion of the State permit to the Secretary; and 4 ‘‘(D) shall not be subject to— 5 ‘‘(i) section 306108 of title 54, United 6 States Code (commonly known as the Na- 7 tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966); 8 and 9 ‘‘(ii) section 7 of the Endangered Spe- 10 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536). 11 ‘‘(3) ROYALTIES AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT- 12 ABILITY.—(A) Nothing in this subsection shall affect 13 the amount of royalties due to the United States 14 under this Act from the production of oil and gas, 15 or alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits 16 and collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal 17 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 18 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.). 19 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews 20 and inspections to ensure proper accountability, 21 measurement, and reporting of production of Fed- 22 eral oil and gas, and payment of royalties. 23 ‘‘(4) NONAPPLICABILITY TO INDIAN LANDS.— 24 This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1205.IH H1205 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1205 IH ‘‘(5) INDIAN LAND.—In this subsection, the 1 term ‘Indian land’ means— 2 ‘‘(A) any land located within the bound- 3 aries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 4 rancheria; and 5 ‘‘(B) any land not located within the 6 boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 7 rancheria, the title to which is held— 8 ‘‘(i) in trust by the United States for 9 the benefit of an Indian tribe or an indi- 10 vidual Indian; 11 ‘‘(ii) by an Indian tribe or an indi- 12 vidual Indian, subject to restriction against 13 alienation under laws of the United States; 14 or 15 ‘‘(iii) by a dependent Indian commu- 16 nity.’’. 17 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 03:46 Mar 12, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1205.IH H1205 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42PROD with BILLS

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