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H.R. 1555 · House bill · 119th Congress
This bill exempts certain oil and gas exploration and production activities from permit and environmental review requirements. This exemption applies to activities conducted on nonfederal surface estates located on partially federally-held mineral rights.
Specifically, the bill prohibits the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) from requiring an operator to obtain a federal drilling permit under the Mineral Leasing Act for oil and gas exploration and production activities conducted on a nonfederal surface estate if (1) less than 50% of the subsurface mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed action is federally owned, and (2) the operator submits to the BLM a state permit to conduct such activities on the nonfederal surface estate.
Those activities are not considered to be a major federal action under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), and thus are exempt from environmental review requirements under NEPA. Further, those activities are exempt from requirements for federal actions under the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 and the Endangered Species Act of 1973.
The bill does not apply to Indian lands.
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:
“(r) No federal permit required for oil and gas activities on certain land.—
(1) In general.— 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—
(A) 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
(B) the operator submits to the Secretary a State permit to conduct oil and gas exploration and production activities on the non-Federal surface estate.
(2) No federal action.— An oil and gas exploration and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)—
(A) 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);
(B) shall require no additional Federal action;
(C) may commence 30 days after submission of the State permit to the Secretary; and
(D) shall not be subject to—
(i) section 306108 of title 54, United States Code (commonly known as the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and
(ii) section 7 of the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536).
(3) Royalties and production accountability.—
(A) 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.).
(B) 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.
(4) Nonapplicability to Indian lands.— This subsection shall not apply to Indian lands.
(5) Indian land.— In this subsection, the term Indian land means—
(A) any land located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and
(B) any land not located within the boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the title to which is held—
(i) in trust by the United States for the benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual Indian;
(ii) by an Indian tribe or an individual Indian, subject to restriction against alienation under laws of the United States; or
(iii) by a dependent Indian community.”.