HR 1555
Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act
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Bill overview
This bill, the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act, aims to streamline the process for oil and gas exploration and production on non-federal land with partially federally-held mineral rights. It exempts certain activities from federal permitting requirements, including environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act and the National Historic Preservation Act, as long as the federal government owns less than 50% of the underlying mineral estate and a state permit is in place. The bill also clarifies royalty obligations and accountability for production.
Key provisions
- Exempts oil and gas activities on non-federal surface estates with less than 50% federal mineral ownership from federal permitting requirements.
- Requires submission of a state permit for activities on non-federal surface estates.
- Exempts activities from National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) review.
- Exempts activities from the National Historic Preservation Act and the Endangered Species Act.
- Clarifies royalty obligations and the Secretary’s authority to audit and collect penalties.
- Establishes a timeline of 30 days for activity commencement after state permit submission.
- Defines ‘Indian land’ for the purposes of the bill.
- States that the bill does not apply to Indian lands.
Who is affected
- Oil and gas companies
- Bureau of Land Management
- State governments (regarding permitting)
- Landowners with non-federal surface estates
- Tribes and individuals holding land in trust or subject to restrictions
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
Primary sponsor
Cosponsors
Julie [R-ND-At Large] Fedorchak
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119th CONGRESS — 1st Session
H. R. 1555
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
A BILL
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.
This Act may be cited as the Bureau of Land Management Mineral Spacing Act
.
Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is amended by adding at the end the following:
The Secretary shall not require an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided that—
the United States holds an ownership interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action; and
the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate.
An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)—
shall not be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332);
shall require no additional Federal action;
may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary; and
shall not be subject to—
section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly known as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and
section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
Nothing in this subsection shall affect the amount of royalties due to the United States under this Act from the production of oil and gas, or alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits and collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.).
The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and inspections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, and reporting of production of Federal oil and gas, and payment of royalties.
In this subsection, the term Indian land means—
any land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held—
in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian;
by an Indian tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or
by a dependent Indian community.