ONSHORE Act

II 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION S. 218 To empower States to manage the development and production of oil and gas on available Federal land, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES JANUARY 24, 2019 Mr. BARRASSO (for himself, Mr. ENZI, Mr. CRAMER, and Mr. HOEVEN) intro- duced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Com- mittee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To empower States to manage the development and produc- tion of oil and gas on available Federal land, 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 ‘‘Opportunities for the 4 Nation and States to Harness Onshore Resources for En- 5 ergy Act’’ or the ‘‘ONSHORE Act’’. 6 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 2 •S 218 IS SEC. 2. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER- 1 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Mineral Leasing Act (30 3 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) is amended— 4 (1) by redesignating section 44 as section 47; 5 and 6 (2) by adding after section 43 the following: 7 ‘‘SEC. 44. COOPERATIVE FEDERALISM IN OIL AND GAS PER- 8 MITTING ON AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND. 9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 10 ‘‘(1) APD.—The term ‘APD’ means a permit— 11 ‘‘(A) that grants authority to drill for oil 12 and gas; and 13 ‘‘(B) for which an application has been re- 14 ceived that includes— 15 ‘‘(i) a drilling plan; 16 ‘‘(ii) a surface use plan of operations 17 described in section 3162.3–1(f) of title 43, 18 Code of Federal Regulations (or a suc- 19 cessor regulation); 20 ‘‘(iii) evidence of bond coverage; and 21 ‘‘(iv) such other information as may 22 be required by applicable orders and no- 23 tices. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 3 •S 218 IS ‘‘(2) AVAILABLE FEDERAL LAND.—The term 1 ‘available Federal land’ means any Federal land 2 that— 3 ‘‘(A) is located within the boundaries of a 4 State; 5 ‘‘(B) is not held by the United States in 6 trust for the benefit of a federally recognized 7 Indian Tribe or a member of a federally recog- 8 nized Indian Tribe; 9 ‘‘(C) is not a unit of the National Park 10 System; 11 ‘‘(D) is not a unit of the National Wildlife 12 Refuge System, other than a unit of the Na- 13 tional Wildlife Refuge System for which oil and 14 gas drilling is allowed under law; 15 ‘‘(E) is not a congressionally approved wil- 16 derness area under the Wilderness Act (16 17 U.S.C. 1131 et seq.); and 18 ‘‘(F) has been identified as land available 19 for lease, or has been leased, for the explo- 20 ration, development, and production of oil and 21 gas— 22 ‘‘(i) by the Bureau of Land Manage- 23 ment under— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 4 •S 218 IS ‘‘(I) a resource management plan 1 under the Federal Land Policy and 2 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 3 1701 et seq.); or 4 ‘‘(II) an integrated activity plan 5 with respect to the National Petro- 6 leum Reserve–Alaska; or 7 ‘‘(ii) by the Forest Service under a 8 National Forest management plan under 9 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Re- 10 sources Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 11 1600 et seq.). 12 ‘‘(3) DRILLING PLAN.—The term ‘drilling plan’ 13 means a plan described in section 3162.3–1(e) of 14 title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or a successor 15 regulation). 16 ‘‘(4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘Secretary’ means 17 the Secretary of the Interior. 18 ‘‘(5) STATE APPLICANT.—The term ‘State ap- 19 plicant’ means a State that submits an application 20 under subsection (c). 21 ‘‘(6) STATE PROGRAM.—The term ‘State pro- 22 gram’ means a program in a State under which the 23 State may— 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 5 •S 218 IS ‘‘(A) issue APDs or approve drilling plans, 1 as applicable, on available Federal land; and 2 ‘‘(B) impose sanctions for violations of 3 State laws, regulations, or any condition of an 4 issued APD or approved drilling plan, as appli- 5 cable. 6 ‘‘(7) SUNDRY NOTICE.—The term ‘sundry no- 7 tice’ means a written request— 8 ‘‘(A) to perform work not covered under an 9 APD or drilling plan; or 10 ‘‘(B) for a change to operations covered 11 under an APD or drilling plan. 12 ‘‘(b) AUTHORIZATIONS.— 13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—On receipt of an applica- 14 tion under subsection (c), the Secretary may dele- 15 gate to a State exclusive authority— 16 ‘‘(A) to issue an APD on available Federal 17 land; or 18 ‘‘(B) to approve drilling plans on available 19 Federal land. 20 ‘‘(2) SUNDRY NOTICES.—On request of a State 21 for which authority is delegated under paragraph 22 (1), the authority delegated may include the author- 23 ity to approve sundry notices. 24 ‘‘(3) INSPECTION AND ENFORCEMENT.— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 6 •S 218 IS ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On request of a State 1 for which authority is delegated under para- 2 graph (1), the authority delegated may include 3 the authority to inspect and enforce an APD or 4 drilling plan, as applicable. 5 ‘‘(B) EFFECT.—A delegation of authority 6 under paragraph (1)(A) shall not affect the 7 ability of the Secretary to collect inspection fees 8 under subsection (d) of section 108 of the Fed- 9 eral Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 10 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1718). 11 ‘‘(c) STATE APPLICATION PROCESS.— 12 ‘‘(1) SUBMISSION OF APPLICATION.—A State 13 seeking a delegation of authority under subpara- 14 graph (A) or (B) of subsection (b)(1) shall submit 15 to the Secretary an application at such time, in such 16 manner, and containing such information as the Sec- 17 retary may require, including— 18 ‘‘(A) a description of the State program 19 that the State proposes to administer under 20 State law; and 21 ‘‘(B) a statement from the Governor or at- 22 torney general of the State that demonstrates 23 that the laws of the State provide adequate au- 24 thority to carry out the State program. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 7 •S 218 IS ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR APPROVAL OR DIS- 1 APPROVAL.—Not later than 180 days after the date 2 on which an application under paragraph (1) is re- 3 ceived, the Secretary shall approve or disapprove the 4 application. 5 ‘‘(3) REQUIREMENTS FOR APPROVAL.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may 7 approve an application received under para- 8 graph (1) only if the Secretary determines 9 that— 10 ‘‘(i) the State applicant would be at 11 least as effective as the Secretary in 12 issuing APDs or in approving drilling 13 plans, as applicable; 14 ‘‘(ii) the State program of the State 15 applicant— 16 ‘‘(I) complies with this Act; and 17 ‘‘(II) provides for the termination 18 or modification of an issued APD or 19 approved drilling plan, as applicable, 20 for cause, including for— 21 ‘‘(aa) the violation of any 22 condition of the issued APD or 23 approved drilling plan; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 8 •S 218 IS ‘‘(bb) obtaining the issued 1 APD or approved drilling plan by 2 misrepresentation; or 3 ‘‘(cc) failure to fully disclose 4 in the application all relevant 5 facts; 6 ‘‘(iii) the State applicant has suffi- 7 cient administrative and technical per- 8 sonnel and sufficient funding to carry out 9 the State program; and 10 ‘‘(iv) approval of the application 11 would not result in decreased royalty pay- 12 ments owed to the United States under 13 section 35(a), except as provided in sub- 14 section (e) of that section. 15 ‘‘(B) MEMORANDA OF UNDERSTANDING.— 16 With respect to a State applicant seeking au- 17 thority under subsection (b)(3)(A) to inspect 18 and enforce APDs or drilling plans, as applica- 19 ble, before approving the application of the 20 State applicant, the Secretary shall enter into a 21 memorandum of understanding with the State 22 applicant under paragraph (6) that describes 23 the Federal and State responsibilities with re- 24 spect to the inspection and enforcement. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 9 •S 218 IS ‘‘(C) PUBLIC NOTICE.—Before approving 1 an application received under paragraph (1), 2 the Secretary shall— 3 ‘‘(i) provide public notice of the appli- 4 cation; 5 ‘‘(ii) solicit public comment for the 6 application; and 7 ‘‘(iii) hold a public hearing for the ap- 8 plication in the State. 9 ‘‘(4) DISAPPROVAL.—If the Secretary dis- 10 approves an application submitted under paragraph 11 (1), the Secretary shall provide to the State appli- 12 cant written notification of— 13 ‘‘(A) the reasons for the disapproval, in- 14 cluding any information, data, or analysis on 15 which the disapproval is based; and 16 ‘‘(B) any revisions or modifications nec- 17 essary to obtain approval. 18 ‘‘(5) RESUBMITTAL OF APPLICATION.—A State 19 may resubmit an application under paragraph (1) at 20 any time. 21 ‘‘(6) STATE MEMORANDA OF UNDER- 22 STANDING.—Before a State submits an application 23 under paragraph (1), the Secretary, on request of a 24 State, may enter into a memorandum of under- 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 10 •S 218 IS standing with the State regarding the proposed 1 State program— 2 ‘‘(A) to describe the Federal and State re- 3 sponsibilities for oil and gas regulations; 4 ‘‘(B) to provide technical assistance; and 5 ‘‘(C) to share best management practices. 6 ‘‘(d) ADMINISTRATIVE FEES FOR APDS.— 7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—A State for which authority 8 has been delegated under subsection (b)(1)(A) may 9 collect a fee for each application for an APD that 10 is submitted to the State. 11 ‘‘(2) NO COLLECTION OF FEE BY SEC- 12 RETARY.—The Secretary may not collect a fee from 13 the applicant or from the State for an application 14 for an APD that is submitted to a State for which 15 authority has been delegated under subsection 16 (b)(1)(A). 17 ‘‘(3) FEE AMOUNT.—The fee collected under 18 paragraph (1) shall be less than or equal to the 19 amount of the fee collected by the Secretary under 20 section 35(d)(2) from States for which authority has 21 not been delegated under subsection (b)(1)(A). 22 ‘‘(4) USE.—A State shall use 100 percent of 23 the fees collected under this subsection for the ad- 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 11 •S 218 IS ministration of the approved State program of the 1 State. 2 ‘‘(e) VOLUNTARY TERMINATION OF AUTHORITY.— 3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—After providing written no- 4 tice to the Secretary, a State may voluntarily termi- 5 nate any authority delegated to the State under sub- 6 section (b)(1) on expiration of the 60-day period be- 7 ginning on the date on which the Secretary receives 8 the written notice. 9 ‘‘(2) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—On termi- 10 nation of the authority delegated to a State under 11 paragraph (1), the Secretary shall resume any ac- 12 tivities for which authority was delegated to the 13 State under subsection (b)(1). 14 ‘‘(f) APPEAL OF DENIAL OF APPLICATION FOR APD 15 OR APPLICATION FOR APPROVAL OF DRILLING PLAN.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—If a State for which the 17 Secretary has delegated authority under subsection 18 (b)(1) denies an application for an APD or an appli- 19 cation for approval of a drilling plan, the applicant 20 may appeal the decision to the Office of Hearings 21 and Appeals of the Department of the Interior. 22 ‘‘(2) FEE ALLOWED.—The Secretary may 23 charge an applicant a fee for an appeal under para- 24 graph (1). 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 12 •S 218 IS ‘‘(g) FEDERAL ADMINISTRATION OF STATE PRO- 1 GRAM.— 2 ‘‘(1) NOTIFICATION.—If the Secretary has rea- 3 son to believe that a State is not administering or 4 enforcing an approved State program, the Secretary 5 shall notify the relevant State regulatory authority 6 of any possible deficiencies. 7 ‘‘(2) STATE RESPONSE.—Not later than 30 8 days after the date on which a State receives notifi- 9 cation of a possible deficiency under paragraph (1), 10 the State shall— 11 ‘‘(A) take appropriate action to correct the 12 possible deficiency; and 13 ‘‘(B) notify the Secretary of the action in 14 writing. 15 ‘‘(3) DETERMINATION.— 16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—On expiration of the 17 30-day period described in paragraph (2), the 18 Secretary shall issue public notice of any deter- 19 mination of the Secretary that— 20 ‘‘(i) a violation of all or any part of an 21 approved State program has resulted from 22 a failure of the State to administer or en- 23 force the approved State program of the 24 State; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S218 kjohnson on DSK79L0C42 with BILLS 13 •S 218 IS ‘‘(ii) the State has not demonstrated 1 the capability and intent of the State to 2 administer or enforce the State program of 3 the State. 4 ‘‘(B) APPEAL.—A State may appeal the 5 determination of the Secretary under subpara- 6 graph (A) in the applicable United States Dis- 7 trict Court. 8 ‘‘(C) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY PEND- 9 ING APPEAL.—The Secretary may not resume 10 activities under paragraph (4) if an appeal 11 under subparagraph (B) is pending. 12 ‘‘(4) RESUMPTION BY SECRETARY.—Except as 13 provided in paragraph (3)(C), if the Secretary has 14 made a determination under paragraph (3)(A), the 15 Secretary shall resume any activities for which au- 16 thority was delegated to the State during the pe- 17 riod— 18 ‘‘(A) beginning on the date on which the 19 Secretary issues the public notice under para- 20 graph (3)(A); and 21 ‘‘(B) ending on the date on which the Sec- 22 retary determines that the State may admin- 23 ister or enforce, as applicable, the approved 24 State program of the State. 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:43 Jan 31, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S218.IS S2 [Text truncated for display. 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