BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014

Summary: BLM Permit Processing Improvement Act of 2014 - Amends the Energy Policy Act of 2005 to make the Federal Permit Streamlining Project program permanent.   Amends the Mineral Leasing Act to direct the Secretary of the Interior to collect for each of FY2016-FY2026 a fee of $9,500 for each new application for a drilling permit. Allocates specified percentages of such fees to: (1) the field offices that collected the fees used to process protests, leases, and permits; and (2) the BLM Permit Processing Improvement Fund, now divided into a Rental Account and a Fee Account.  Prohibits the Secretary, during FY2016-FY2026, from implementing a rulemaking that would enable an increase in fees to recover additional costs related to processing applications for drilling permits.  Makes the Fund available to the Secretary for expenditure for the coordination and processing of oil and gas use authorizations on Indian trust mineral estate land (as well as onshore federal land, as under current law). Directs the Secretary to use: (1) the Rental Account and the Fee Account for this coordination and processing of oil and gas use authorizations, and (2) the Rental Account also for training for development of expertise related to coordinating and processing these authorizations. Amends the Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 to make the rate of interest allowed and paid or credited for any royalty overpayment equal to the sum of the federal short-term rate plus one percentage point. 

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``BLM Permit Processing Improvement 
Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. PROGRAM TO IMPROVE FEDERAL PERMIT COORDINATION.

    Section 365 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924) is 
amended--
            (1) in the section heading, by striking ``pilot'';
            (2) by striking ``Pilot Project'' each place it appears and 
        inserting ``Project'';
            (3) in subsection (b)(2), by striking ``Wyoming, Montana, 
        Colorado, Utah, and New Mexico'' and inserting ``the States in 
        which Project offices are located'';
            (4) in subsection (d)--
                    (A) in the subsection heading, by striking 
                ``Pilot''; and
                    (B) by adding at the end the following:
            ``(8) Any other State, district, or field office of the 
        Bureau of Land Management determined by the Secretary.'';
            (5) by striking subsection (e) and inserting the following:
    ``(e) Report to Congress.--Not later than February 1 of the first 
fiscal year beginning after the date of enactment of the BLM Permit 
Processing Improvement Act of 2014 and each February 1 thereafter, the 
Secretary shall report to the Chairman and ranking minority Member of 
the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 
Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives, which 
shall include--
            ``(1) the allocation of funds to each Project office for 
        the previous fiscal year; and
            ``(2) the accomplishments of each Project office relating 
        to the coordination and processing of oil and gas use 
        authorizations during that fiscal year.'';
            (6) in subsection (h), by striking paragraph (6) and 
        inserting the following:
            ``(6) the States in which Project offices are located.'';
            (7) by striking subsection (i); and
            (8) by redesignating subsection (j) as subsection (i).

SEC. 3. BLM OIL AND GAS PERMIT PROCESSING FEE.

    Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended by 
adding at the end the following:
    ``(d) BLM Oil and Gas Permit Processing Fee.--
            ``(1) In general.--Notwithstanding any other provision of 
        law, for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2026, the Secretary, 
        acting through the Director of the Bureau of Land Management, 
        shall collect a fee for each new application for a permit to 
        drill that is submitted to the Secretary.
            ``(2) Amount.--The amount of the fee shall be $9,500 for 
        each new application, as indexed for United States dollar 
        inflation from October 1, 2015 (as measured by the Consumer 
        Price Index).
            ``(3) Use.--Of the fees collected under this subsection for 
        a fiscal year, the Secretary shall transfer--
                    ``(A) for each of fiscal years 2016 through 2019--
                            ``(i) 15 percent to the field offices that 
                        collected the fees and used to process 
                        protests, leases, and permits under this Act, 
                        subject to appropriation; and
                            ``(ii) 85 percent to the BLM Permit 
                        Processing Improvement Fund established under 
                        subsection (c)(2)(B) (referred to in this 
                        subsection as the `Fund'); and
                    ``(B) for each of fiscal years 2020 through 2026, 
                all of the fees to the Fund.
            ``(4) Additional costs.--During each of fiscal years of 
        2016 through 2026, the Secretary shall not implement a 
        rulemaking that would enable an increase in fees to recover 
        additional costs related to processing applications for permits 
        to drill.''.

SEC. 4. BLM PERMIT PROCESSING IMPROVEMENT FUND.

    (a) In General.--Section 35(c) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 
U.S.C. 191(c)) is amended by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 
following:
            ``(3) Use of fund.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Fund shall be available to 
                the Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, without 
                further appropriation and without fiscal year 
                limitation, for the coordination and processing of oil 
                and gas use authorizations on onshore Federal and 
                Indian trust mineral estate land.
                    ``(B) Accounts.--The Secretary shall divide the 
                Fund into--
                            ``(i) a Rental Account (referred to in this 
                        subsection as the `Rental Account') comprised 
                        of rental receipts collected under this 
                        section; and
                            ``(ii) a Fee Account (referred to in this 
                        subsection as the `Fee Account') comprised of 
                        fees collected under subsection (d).
            ``(4) Rental account.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall use the 
                Rental Account for--
                            ``(i) the coordination and processing of 
                        oil and gas use authorizations on onshore 
                        Federal and Indian trust mineral estate land 
                        under the jurisdiction of the Project offices 
                        identified under section 365(d) of the Energy 
                        Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15924(d)); and
                            ``(ii) training programs for development of 
                        expertise related to coordinating and 
                        processing oil and gas use authorizations.
                    ``(B) Allocation.--In determining the allocation of 
                the Rental Account among Project offices for a fiscal 
                year, the Secretary shall consider--
                            ``(i) the number of applications for permit 
                        to drill received in a Project office during 
                        the previous fiscal year;
                            ``(ii) the backlog of applications 
                        described in clause (i) in a Project office;
                            ``(iii) publicly available industry 
                        forecasts for development of oil and gas 
                        resources under the jurisdiction of a Project 
                        office; and
                            ``(iv) any opportunities for partnership 
                        with local industry organizations and 
                        educational institutions in developing training 
                        programs to facilitate the coordination and 
                        processing of oil and gas use authorizations.
            ``(5) Fee account.--
                    ``(A) In general.--The Secretary shall use the Fee 
                Account for the coordination and processing of oil and 
                gas use authorizations on onshore Federal and Indian 
                trust mineral estate land.
                    ``(B) Allocation.--The Secretary shall transfer not 
                less than 75 percent of the revenues collected by an 
                office for the processing of applications for permits 
                to the State office of the State in which the fees were 
                collected.''.
    (b) Interest on Overpayment Adjustment.--Section 111(h) of the 
Federal Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1721(h)) 
is amended in the first sentence by striking ``the rate'' and all that 
follows through the period at the end of the sentence and inserting ``a 
rate equal to the sum of the Federal short-term rate determined under 
section 6621(b) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 plus 1 percentage 
point.''.

SEC. 5. BUDGETARY EFFECTS.

    The budgetary effects of this Act, for the purpose of complying 
with the Statutory Pay-As-You-Go-Act of 2010, shall be determined by 
reference to the latest statement titled ``Budgetary Effects of PAYGO 
Legislation'' for this Act, submitted for printing in the Congressional 
Record by the Chairman of the Senate Budget Committee, provided that 
such statement has been submitted prior to the vote on passage.

            Passed the Senate September 16, 2014.

            Attest:

                                                             Secretary.
113th CONGRESS

  2d Session

                                S. 2440

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 AN ACT

To expand and extend the program to improve permit coordination by the 
           Bureau of Land Management, and for other purposes.