PEOPLE Act of 2020

II 116TH CONGRESS 2D SESSION S. 4641 To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for transparency and landowner protections in the conduct of lease sales under that Act, and for other purposes. IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES SEPTEMBER 22, 2020 Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources A BILL To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for trans- parency and landowner protections in the conduct of lease sales under that Act, 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 ‘‘Public Engagement 4 Opportunity on Public Land Exploration Act of 2020’’ or 5 the ‘‘PEOPLE Act of 2020’’. 6 SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY AND LANDOWNER PROTECTIONS. 7 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF LAND IDEN- 8 TIFIED IN EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN LEASE 9 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 2 •S 4641 IS SALES.—Section 17(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 1 U.S.C. 226(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol- 2 lowing: 3 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF LAND 4 IDENTIFIED IN EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN 5 LEASE SALES.— 6 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the pub- 7 lic may submit to the Secretary an expression 8 of interest that identifies land for consideration 9 for inclusion by the Secretary in a lease sale 10 under this section. 11 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF LAND IN LEASE 12 SALE.—Subject to the requirements of this sec- 13 tion, the Secretary may include in a lease sale 14 under this section the land identified under an 15 expression of interest received by the Secretary. 16 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—On receipt of an ex- 17 pression of interest, the Secretary shall notify 18 by certified mail, electronic mail, and electronic 19 posting on the website of the relevant leasing or 20 land management agency— 21 ‘‘(i) any owners of surface rights on 22 land identified under the expression of in- 23 terest; 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 3 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(ii) any holders of recreational or 1 special use permits on the land; 2 ‘‘(iii) any holders of grazing rights on 3 the land; 4 ‘‘(iv) any owner of a water right the 5 water of which originates on or flows over 6 the land; 7 ‘‘(v) any owner of a water conveyance 8 structure, such as a ditch, on the land; and 9 ‘‘(vi) the local government with juris- 10 diction over the area in which the land is 11 located. 12 ‘‘(D) TRANSPARENCY.— 13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 14 shall require that each bid for a lease de- 15 scribed in subparagraph (B) include— 16 ‘‘(I) the name of the person or 17 entity submitting the bid, including 18 the name of all subsidiaries, affiliates, 19 and entities controlled by, or under 20 common control with, the person or 21 entity; 22 ‘‘(II) if an agent is submitting 23 the bid on behalf of a person or enti- 24 ty, the name of the person or entity 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 4 •S 4641 IS on behalf of which the agent is acting, 1 including all subsidiaries, affiliates, 2 and entities controlled by, or under 3 common control with, the person or 4 entity; and 5 ‘‘(III) if the person or entity sub- 6 mitting the bid is the person or entity 7 that submitted the applicable expres- 8 sion of interest, or if an agent is sub- 9 mitting the bid on behalf of the per- 10 son or entity that submitted the appli- 11 cable expression of interest, a disclo- 12 sure of that fact. 13 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 14 shall publish on the website of the relevant 15 leasing or land management agency each 16 name disclosed in a bid under clause (i).’’. 17 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 17(f) of the 18 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(f)) is amended— 19 (1) in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘The re- 20 quirements’’ and inserting the following: 21 ‘‘(5) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER NOTICE RE- 22 QUIREMENTS.—The requirements’’; 23 (2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘Such 24 maps’’ and inserting the following: 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 5 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(C) LOCATION.—A map included in a no- 1 tice under paragraph (1)’’; 2 (3) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘Where 3 the inclusion of maps in such notice’’ and inserting 4 the following: 5 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—If the inclusion of 6 maps in a notice under paragraph (1)’’; 7 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Such no- 8 tice’’ and inserting the following: 9 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INCLUSIONS.— 10 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A notice required 11 under paragraph (1)’’; 12 (5) by striking ‘‘(f) At least’’ and all that fol- 13 lows through ‘‘land management agencies.’’ and in- 14 serting the following: 15 ‘‘(f) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days be- 17 fore offering land for lease under this section, and 18 not later than 30 days before approving an applica- 19 tion for permit to drill under the provisions of a 20 lease issued under this section, modifying the terms 21 of any lease issued under this section, or granting a 22 waiver, exception, or modification of any stipulation 23 of a lease issued under this section, the Secretary 24 shall— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 6 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(A) post notice in the appropriate local 1 offices, and on the electronic websites, of the 2 leasing and land management agencies offering 3 the land for lease; 4 ‘‘(B) notify by certified mail and electronic 5 mail any— 6 ‘‘(i) owners of surface rights on the 7 land covered by the lease; 8 ‘‘(ii) holders of special recreation per- 9 mits for commercial use, competitive 10 events, or other organized activities on the 11 land covered by the lease; 12 ‘‘(iii) holders of grazing rights on the 13 land covered by the lease; 14 ‘‘(iv) owner of a water right the water 15 of which originates on or flows over the 16 land; 17 ‘‘(v) owner of a water conveyance 18 structure, such as a ditch, on the land; and 19 ‘‘(vi) as applicable, members of the 20 public who have submitted to the Secretary 21 a request to receive notice regarding pro- 22 posed actions of the Secretary applicable 23 to— 24 ‘‘(I) a geographic area; or 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 7 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(II) a resource.’’; and 1 (6) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so des- 2 ignated) the following: 3 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before determining 5 the parcels to be included in a lease sale under 6 this section, the Secretary shall provide a 7 scoping period of not less than 30 days during 8 which the Secretary shall provide public notice 9 and an opportunity for comment regarding all 10 parcels that may be included in the lease sale. 11 ‘‘(B) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.— 12 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF DETERMINATION 13 OF NEPA ADEQUACY.—In this subpara- 14 graph, the term ‘determination of NEPA 15 adequacy’ means a determination of the 16 Secretary that an action— 17 ‘‘(I) is adequately analyzed in an 18 existing document prepared pursuant 19 to the National Environmental Policy 20 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); 21 and 22 ‘‘(II) conforms with the applica- 23 ble land use plan. 24 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 8 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(ii) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COM- 1 MENT.—Before conducting a lease sale 2 under this section, the Secretary, in com- 3 plying with the National Environmental 4 Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 5 seq.), shall ensure that the public has the 6 period of time required under that Act to 7 comment on any environmental analysis, 8 including any determination of NEPA ade- 9 quacy, carried out with respect to the lease 10 sale. 11 ‘‘(iii) REQUIREMENT.—The period for 12 public comment under clause (ii) shall be 13 not less than 30 days. 14 ‘‘(C) NEPA ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS.— 15 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any analysis pre- 16 pared pursuant to the National Environ- 17 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 18 4321 et seq.) for a lease sale under this 19 section shall address all parcels being con- 20 sidered for sale. 21 ‘‘(ii) RESTRICTION.—No parcel may 22 be included in a lease sale under this sec- 23 tion— 24 ‘‘(I) without compliance with— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 9 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(aa) the public notice and 1 comment requirements of this 2 subsection; and 3 ‘‘(bb) the National Environ- 4 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 5 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 6 ‘‘(II) unless the parcel is specifi- 7 cally identified and considered in the 8 analysis for that specific lease sale 9 carried out in compliance with the 10 National Environmental Policy Act of 11 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 12 ‘‘(D) SURFACE MANAGEMENT BY ANOTHER 13 FEDERAL AGENCY.—With respect to a parcel 14 the surface of which is managed by another 15 Federal agency, the parcel may not be included 16 in a lease sale under this section without the 17 consent of that Federal agency for that specific 18 lease sale. 19 ‘‘(E) PROTESTS.— 20 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any party may 21 file a protest regarding the inclusion of a 22 parcel in a lease sale under this section. 23 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE; METHOD OF FIL- 24 ING.—A protest under clause (i)— 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 10 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(I) shall be filed by the date 1 that is not later than 45 days after 2 the date on which the Secretary gives 3 notice of the lease sale under para- 4 graph (1); and 5 ‘‘(II) may be filed by electronic 6 mail. 7 ‘‘(4) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Before taking 8 any action for which notice or opportunity for com- 9 ment is required under this subsection, the Secretary 10 shall provide to local governments with jurisdiction 11 over the area in which land covered by a proposed 12 action is located notice and an opportunity for com- 13 ment that meets or exceeds the requirements for no- 14 tice and opportunity for comment under this sub- 15 section.’’. 16 (c) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER PROTECTION.—Sec- 17 tion 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 18 amended by adding at the end the following: 19 ‘‘(q) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER PROTECTION.— 20 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF COVERED LAND.—In this 21 subsection, the term ‘covered land’ means land sub- 22 ject to a lease under this section— 23 ‘‘(A) the title to the oil and gas resources 24 of which is held by the United States; but 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 11 •S 4641 IS ‘‘(B) the title to the surface estate of 1 which is not held by the United States. 2 ‘‘(2) POST-LEASE SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.— 3 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 4 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall not authorize 5 any operator to conduct exploration and drilling 6 operations on covered land until the operator 7 files with the Secretary a document, signed by 8 the operator and the 1 or more surface estate 9 owners, demonstrating that the operator has se- 10 cured a written surface use agreement between 11 the operator and the 1 or more surface estate 12 owners that meets the requirements of subpara- 13 graph (B). 14 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The surface use agree- 15 ment under subparagraph (A) shall provide 16 for— 17 ‘‘(i) the use by the operator of only 18 such portion of the surface estate as is rea- 19 sonably necessary for exploration and drill- 20 ing operations based on site-specific condi- 21 tions; 22 ‘‘(ii) the accommodation of the sur- 23 face estate owner to the maximum extent 24 practicable, including the location, use, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 12 •S 4641 IS timing, and type of exploration and drilling 1 operations, consistent with the right of the 2 operator to develop the oil and gas estate; 3 ‘‘(iii) placement, specifications, main- 4 tenance, and design of well pads, gathering 5 pipelines, and roads to be constructed for 6 oil and gas operations, to the extent 7 known; 8 ‘‘(iv) terms of ingress and egress on 9 the surface of the land for oil and gas op- 10 erations; 11 ‘‘(v) construction, maintenance, and 12 placement of all pits and equipment used 13 or planned for oil and gas operations, to 14 the extent known; 15 ‘‘(vi) use and impoundment of water 16 on the surface of the land; 17 ‘‘(vii) removal and restoration of plant 18 life; 19 ‘‘(viii) surface water drainage 20 changes; 21 ‘‘(ix) actions to limit and effectively 22 control precipitation runoff and erosion; 23 ‘‘(x) control and management of 24 noise, weeds, dust, traffic, trespass, litter, 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS 13 •S 4641 IS and interference with the use of the sur- 1 face estate owner; 2 ‘‘(xi) operator indemnification for in- 3 jury to persons caused by the operator or 4 a subcontractor or agent of the operator; 5 ‘‘(xii) the reclamation of the site to a 6 condition capable of supporting the uses 7 that the land was capable of supporting 8 prior to exploration and drilling operations; 9 and 10 ‘‘(xiii) compensation for damages re- 11 sulting from exploration and drilling oper- 12 ations, including— 13 ‘‘(I) loss of income and increased 14 costs incurred; 15 ‘‘(II) damage to, or destruction 16 of, personal property, including crops, 17 forage, and livestock; and 18 ‘‘(III) failure to reclaim the site 19 in accordance with clause (xii). 20 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURE.— 21 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF INTENT TO ENTER 22 INTO AGREEMENT.—An operator shall no- 23 tify the 1 or more surface estate owners of 24 the desire of the operator to conclude an 25 VerDate Sep 11 2014 19:34 Oct 05, 2020 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4641.IS S4641 pamtmann [Text truncated for display. 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