Ending Duplicative Permitting Act

I 116TH CONGRESS 1ST SESSION H. R. 1650 To clarify that the Bureau of Land Management shall not require permits for oil and gas activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate to access subsurface mineral estate that is less than 50 percent federally owned, and for other purposes. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES MARCH 8, 2019 Ms. CHENEY (for herself, Mr. GOSAR, Mr. GOHMERT, Mr. HUNTER, and Mr. MEADOWS) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Com- mittee on Natural Resources A BILL To clarify that the Bureau of Land Management shall not require permits for oil and gas activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate to access subsurface mineral estate that is less than 50 percent federally owned, 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 ‘‘Ending Duplicative 4 Permitting Act’’. 5 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1650.IH H1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •HR 1650 IH SEC. 2. ACCESS TO FEDERAL OIL AND GAS FROM NON-FED- 1 ERAL 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 ‘‘(q) 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.—Oil and gas explo- 20 ration and production activities carried out under 21 paragraph (1)— 22 ‘‘(A) shall require no additional Federal 23 action; 24 ‘‘(B) may commence 30 days after submis- 25 sion of the State permit to the Secretary; 26 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1650.IH H1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •HR 1650 IH ‘‘(C) are categorically excluded from any 1 further analysis and documentation under the 2 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 3 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 4 ‘‘(D) shall not require any analysis under 5 section 106 of the National Historic Preserva- 6 tion Act of 1966, as amended (54 U.S.C. 7 306108); and 8 ‘‘(E) shall not require any analysis, assess- 9 ment, or consultation under section 7 of the 10 Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 11 1536). 12 ‘‘(3) ROYALTIES AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT- 13 ABILITY.—(A) Nothing in this subsection shall affect 14 the amount of royalties due to the United States 15 under this Act from the production of oil and gas, 16 or alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits 17 and collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal 18 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 19 U.S.C. 1711 et seq.). 20 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may conduct on-site reviews 21 and inspections to ensure proper accountability, 22 measurement, and reporting of production of Fed- 23 eral oil and gas, and payment of royalties. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1650.IH H1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •HR 1650 IH ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 1 apply to actions on Indian lands or resources man- 2 aged in trust for the benefit of Indian tribes.’’. 3 Æ VerDate Sep 11 2014 23:15 Mar 21, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6301 E:\BILLS\H1650.IH H1650 pamtmann on DSKBFK8HB2PROD with BILLS