IB 

Union Calendar No. 18 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1335 

[Report No. 118–28, Part I] 

To restart onshore and offshore oil, gas, and coal leasing, streamline permitting for energy infrastructure, ensure transparency in energy development 

on Federal lands, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 3, 2023 

Mr. WESTERMAN (for himself, Mr. GRAVES of Louisiana, and Mr. STAUBER) 

introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on 

Natural Resources, and in addition to the Committees on Agriculture, 

and the Budget, for a period to be subsequently determined by the 

Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within 

the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Reported from the Committee on Natural Resources with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Committees on Agriculture and the Budget discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be 

printed 

[For text of introduced bill, see copy of bill as introduced on March 3, 2023] 


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A BILL 

To restart onshore and offshore oil, gas, and coal leasing, 

streamline permitting for energy infrastructure, ensure 

transparency in energy development on Federal lands, 

and for other purposes. 


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1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Transparency, Accountability, Permitting, and Produc6 tion of American Resources Act’’ or the ‘‘TAPP American 

7 Resources Act’’. 

8 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

9 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ONSHORE AND OFFSHORE LEASING AND OVERSIGHT 

Sec. 101. Onshore oil and gas leasing. 

Sec. 102. Lease reinstatement. 

Sec. 103. Protested lease sales. 

Sec. 104. Suspension of operations. 

Sec. 105. Administrative protest process reform. 

Sec. 106. Leasing and permitting transparency. 

Sec. 107. Offshore oil and gas leasing. 

Sec. 108. Five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. 

Sec. 109. Geothermal leasing. 

Sec. 110. Leasing for certain qualified coal applications. 

Sec. 111. Future coal leasing. 

Sec. 112. Staff planning report. 

Sec. 113. Prohibition on Chinese communist party ownership interest. 

Sec. 114. Effect on other law. 

TITLE II—PERMITTING STREAMLINING 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. BUILDER Act. 

Sec. 203. Codification of National Environmental Policy Act regulations. 

Sec. 204. Non-major Federal actions. 

Sec. 205. No net loss determination for existing rights-of-way. 

Sec. 206. Determination of National Environmental Policy Act adequacy. 

Sec. 207. Determination regarding rights-of-way. 

Sec. 208. Terms of rights-of-way. 

Sec. 209. Funding to process permits and develop information technology. 

Sec. 210. Offshore geological and geophysical survey licensing. 

Sec. 211. Deferral of applications for permits to drill. 

Sec. 212. Processing and terms of applications for permits to drill. 

Sec. 213. Amendments to the Energy Policy Act of 2005. 

Sec. 214. Access to Federal energy resources from non-Federal surface estate. 

Sec. 215. Scope of environmental reviews for oil and gas leases. 


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Sec. 216. Expediting approval of gathering lines. 

Sec. 217. Lease sale litigation. 

Sec. 218. Limitation on claims. 

Sec. 219. Government Accountability Office report on permits to drill. 

Sec. 220. E-NEPA. 

TITLE III—PERMITTING FOR MINING NEEDS 

Sec. 301. Definitions. 

Sec. 302. Minerals supply chain and reliability. 

Sec. 303. Federal register process improvement. 

Sec. 304. Designation of mining as a covered sector for Federal permitting improvement purposes. 

Sec. 305. Treatment of actions under presidential determination 2022–11 for 

Federal permitting improvement purposes. 

Sec. 306. Notice for mineral exploration activities with limited surface disturbance. 

Sec. 307. Use of mining claims for ancillary activities. 

Sec. 308. Ensuring consideration of uranium as a critical mineral. 

Sec. 309. Barring foreign bad actors from operating on Federal lands. 

TITLE IV—FEDERAL LAND USE PLANNING 

Sec. 401. Federal land use planning and withdrawals. 

Sec. 402. Prohibitions on delay of mineral development of certain Federal land. 

Sec. 403. Definitions. 

TITLE V—ENSURING COMPETITIVENESS ON FEDERAL LANDS 

Sec. 501. Incentivizing domestic production. 

TITLE VI—ENERGY REVENUE SHARING 

Sec. 601. Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf revenue. 

Sec. 602. Parity in offshore wind revenue sharing. 

Sec. 603. Elimination of administrative fee under the Mineral Leasing Act. 

1 TITLE I—ONSHORE AND OFF2 SHORE LEASING AND OVER3 SIGHT 

4 SEC. 101. ONSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING. 

5 (a) REQUIREMENT TO IMMEDIATELY RESUME ON6 SHORE OIL AND GAS LEASE SALES.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the Interior 

8 shall immediately resume quarterly onshore oil and 


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1 gas lease sales in compliance with the Mineral Leas2 ing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.). 

3 (2) REQUIREMENT.—The Secretary of the Inte4 rior shall ensure— 

5 (A) that any oil and gas lease sale pursuant 

6 to paragraph (1) is conducted immediately on 

7 completion of all applicable scoping, public com8 ment, and environmental analysis requirements 

9 under the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et 

10 seq.) and the National Environmental Policy Act 

11 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

12 (B) that the processes described in subpara13 graph (A) are conducted in a timely manner to 

14 ensure compliance with subsection (b)(1). 

15 (3) LEASE OF OIL AND GAS LANDS.—Section 

16 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

17 226(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘Eligible lands 

18 comprise all lands subject to leasing under this Act 

19 and not excluded from leasing by a statutory or regu20 latory prohibition. Available lands are those lands 

21 that have been designated as open for leasing under 

22 a land use plan developed under section 202 of the 

23 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

24 and that have been nominated for leasing through the 

25 submission of an expression of interest, are subject to 


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1 drainage in the absence of leasing, or are otherwise 

2 designated as available pursuant to regulations 

3 adopted by the Secretary.’’ after ‘‘sales are nec4 essary.’’. 

5 (b) QUARTERLY LEASE SALES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—In accordance with the Min7 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.), each fiscal 

8 year, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a 

9 minimum of four oil and gas lease sales in each of 

10 the following States: 

11 (A) Wyoming. 

12 (B) New Mexico. 

13 (C) Colorado. 

14 (D) Utah. 

15 (E) Montana. 

16 (F) North Dakota. 

17 (G) Oklahoma. 

18 (H) Nevada. 

19 (I) Alaska. 

20 (J) Any other State in which there is land 

21 available for oil and gas leasing under the Min22 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or any 

23 other mineral leasing law. 

24 (2) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting a lease sale 

25 under paragraph (1) in a State described in that 


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1 paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall offer all 

2 parcels nominated and eligible pursuant to the re3 quirements of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 

4 et seq.) for oil and gas exploration, development, and 

5 production under the resource management plan in 

6 effect for the State. 

7 (3) REPLACEMENT SALES.—The Secretary of the 

8 Interior shall conduct a replacement sale during the 

9 same fiscal year if— 

10 (A) a lease sale under paragraph (1) is can11 celed, delayed, or deferred, including for a lack 

12 of eligible parcels; or 

13 (B) during a lease sale under paragraph (1) 

14 the percentage of acreage that does not receive a 

15 bid is equal to or greater than 25 percent of the 

16 acreage offered. 

17 (4) NOTICE REGARDING MISSED SALES.—Not 

18 later than 30 days after a sale required under this 

19 subsection is canceled, delayed, deferred, or otherwise 

20 missed the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to 

21 the Committee on Natural Resources of the House of 

22 Representatives and the Committee on Energy and 

23 Natural Resources of the Senate a report that states 

24 what sale was missed and why it was missed. 


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1 SEC. 102. LEASE REINSTATEMENT. 

2 The reinstatement of a lease entered into under the 

3 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Geo4 thermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) by the 

5 Secretary shall be not considered a major Federal action 

6 under section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Pol7 icy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 

8 SEC. 103. PROTESTED LEASE SALES. 

9 Section 17(b)(1)(A) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

10 U.S.C. 226(b)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘The Sec11 retary shall resolve any protest to a lease sale not later than 

12 60 days after such payment.’’ after ‘‘annual rental for the 

13 first lease year.’’. 

14 SEC. 104. SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS. 

15 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) 

16 is amended by adding at the end the following: 

17 ‘‘(r) SUSPENSION OF OPERATIONS PERMITS.—In the 

18 event that an oil and gas lease owner has submitted an ex19 pression of interest for adjacent acreage that is part of the 

20 nature of the geological play and has yet to be offered in 

21 a lease sale by the Secretary, they may request a suspension 

22 of operations from the Secretary of the Interior and upon 

23 request, the Secretary shall grant the suspension of oper24 ations within 15 days. Any payment of acreage rental or 

25 of minimum royalty prescribed by such lease likewise shall 

26 be suspended during such period of suspension of operations 


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1 and production; and the term of such lease shall be extended 

2 by adding any such suspension period thereto.’’. 

3 SEC. 105. ADMINISTRATIVE PROTEST PROCESS REFORM. 

4 Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) 

5 is further amended by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(s) PROTEST FILING FEE.— 

7 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Before processing any pro8 test filed under this section, the Secretary shall collect 

9 a filing fee in the amount described in paragraph (2) 

10 from the protestor to recover the cost for processing 

11 documents filed for each administrative protest. 

12 ‘‘(2) AMOUNT.—The amount described in this 

13 paragraph is calculated as follows: 

14 ‘‘(A) For each protest filed in a submission 

15 not exceeding 10 pages in length, the base filing 

16 fee shall be $150. 

17 ‘‘(B) For each submission exceeding 10 

18 pages in length, in addition to the base filing fee, 

19 an assessment of $5 per page in excess of 10 

20 pages shall apply. 

21 ‘‘(C) For protests that include more than 

22 one oil and gas lease parcel, right-of-way, or ap23 plication for permit to drill in a submission, an 

24 additional assessment of $10 per additional lease 


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1 parcel, right-of-way, or application for permit to 

2 drill shall apply. 

3 ‘‘(3) ADJUSTMENT.— 

4 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on January 

5 1, 2024, and annually thereafter, the Secretary 

6 shall adjust the filing fees established in this sub7 section to whole dollar amounts to reflect changes 

8 in the Producer Price Index, as published by the 

9 Bureau of Labor Statistics, for the previous 12 

10 months. 

11 ‘‘(B) PUBLICATION OF ADJUSTED FILING

12 FEES.—At least 30 days before the filing fees as 

13 adjusted under this paragraph take effect, the 

14 Secretary shall publish notification of the adjust15 ment of such fees in the Federal Register.’’. 

16 SEC. 106. LEASING AND PERMITTING TRANSPARENCY. 

17 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 30 days after the date 

18 of the enactment of this section, and annually thereafter, 

19 the Secretary of the Interior shall submit to the Committee 

20 on Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and 

21 the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Sen22 ate a report that describes— 

23 (1) the status of nominated parcels for future on24 shore oil and gas and geothermal lease sales, includ25 ing— 


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1 (A) the number of expressions of interest re2 ceived each month during the period of 365 days 

3 that ends on the date on which the report is sub4 mitted with respect to which the Bureau of Land 

5 Management— 

6 (i) has not taken any action to review; 

7 (ii) has not completed review; or 

8 (iii) has completed review and deter9 mined that the relevant area meets all ap10 plicable requirements for leasing, but has 

11 not offered the relevant area in a lease sale; 

12 (B) how long expressions of interest de13 scribed in subparagraph (A) have been pending; 

14 and 

15 (C) a plan, including timelines, for how the 

16 Secretary of the Interior plans to— 

17 (i) work through future expressions of 

18 interest to prevent delays; 

19 (ii) put expressions of interest de20 scribed in subparagraph (A) into a lease 

21 sale; and 

22 (iii) complete review for expressions of 

23 interest described in clauses (i) and (ii) of 

24 subparagraph (A); 


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1 (2) the status of each pending application for 

2 permit to drill received during the period of 365 days 

3 that ends on the date on which the report is sub4 mitted, including the number of applications received 

5 each month, by each Bureau of Land Management of6 fice, including— 

7 (A) a description of the cause of delay for 

8 pending applications, including as a result of 

9 staffing shortages, technical limitations, incom10 plete applications, and incomplete review pursu11 ant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 

12 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or other applicable 

13 laws; 

14 (B) the number of days an application has 

15 been pending in violation of section 17(p)(2) of 

16 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)); 

17 and 

18 (C) a plan for how the office intends to 

19 come into compliance with the requirements of 

20 section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

21 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)); 

22 (3) the number of permits to drill issued each 

23 month by each Bureau of Land Management office 

24 during the 5-year period ending on the date on which 

25 the report is submitted; 


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1 (4) the status of each pending application for a 

2 license for offshore geological and geophysical surveys 

3 received during the period of 365 days that ends on 

4 the date on which the report is submitted, including 

5 the number of applications received each month, by 

6 each Bureau of Ocean Energy management regional 

7 office, including— 

8 (A) a description of any cause of delay for 

9 pending applications, including as a result of 

10 staffing shortages, technical limitations, incom11 plete applications, and incomplete review pursu12 ant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 

13 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or other applicable 

14 laws; 

15 (B) the number of days an application has 

16 been pending; and 

17 (C) a plan for how the Bureau of Ocean 

18 Energy Management intends to complete review 

19 of each application; 

20 (5) the number of licenses for offshore geological 

21 and geophysical surveys issued each month by each 

22 Bureau of Ocean Energy Management regional office 

23 during the 5-year period ending on the date on which 

24 the report is submitted; 


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1 (6) the status of each pending application for a 

2 permit to drill received during the period of 365 days 

3 that ends on the date on which the report is sub4 mitted, including the number of applications received 

5 each month, by each Bureau of Safety and Environ6 mental Enforcement regional office, including— 

7 (A) a description of any cause of delay for 

8 pending applications, including as a result of 

9 staffing shortages, technical limitations, incom10 plete applications, and incomplete review pursu11 ant to the National Environmental Policy Act of 

12 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) or other applicable 

13 laws; 

14 (B) the number of days an application has 

15 been pending; and 

16 (C) steps the Bureau of Safety and Envi17 ronmental Enforcement is taking to complete re18 view of each application; 

19 (7) the number of permits to drill issued each 

20 month by each Bureau of Safety and Environmental 

21 Enforcement regional office during the period of 365 

22 days that ends on the date on which the report is sub23 mitted; 

24 (8) how, as applicable, the Bureau of Land Man25 agement, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 


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1 and the Bureau of Safety and Environmental En2 forcement determines whether to— 

3 (A) issue a license for geological and geo4 physical surveys; 

5 (B) issue a permit to drill; and 

6 (C) issue, extend, or suspend an oil and gas 

7 lease; 

8 (9) when determinations described in paragraph 

9 (8) are sent to the national office of the Bureau of 

10 Land Management, the Bureau of Ocean Energy 

11 Management, or the Bureau of Safety and Environ12 mental Enforcement for final approval; 

13 (10) the degree to which Bureau of Land Man14 agement, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and 

15 Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement 

16 field, State, and regional offices exercise discretion on 

17 such final approval; 

18 (11) during the period of 365 days that ends on 

19 the date on which the report is submitted, the number 

20 of auctioned leases receiving accepted bids that have 

21 not been issued to winning bidders and the number 

22 of days such leases have not been issued; and 

23 (12) a description of the uses of application for 

24 permit to drill fees paid by permit holders during the 


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1 5-year period ending on the date on which the report 

2 is submitted. 

3 (b) PENDING APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO

4 DRILL.—Not later than 30 days after the date of the enact5 ment of this section, the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

6 (1) complete all requirements under the National 

7 Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

8 seq.) and other applicable law that must be met before 

9 issuance of a permit to drill described in paragraph 

10 (2); and 

11 (2) issue a permit for all completed applications 

12 to drill that are pending on the date of the enactment 

13 of this Act. 

14 (c) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.— 

15 (1) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 17 of the 

16 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is further 

17 amended by adding at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(t) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.— 

19 ‘‘(1) EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST.—Not later 

20 than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this 

21 subsection, and each month thereafter, the Secretary 

22 shall publish on the website of the Department of the 

23 Interior the number of pending, approved, and not 

24 approved expressions of interest in nominated parcels 


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1 for future onshore oil and gas lease sales in the pre2 ceding month. 

3 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL.— 

4 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 

5 of this subsection, and each month thereafter, the Sec6 retary shall publish on the website of the Department 

7 of the Interior the number of pending and approved 

8 applications for permits to drill in the preceding 

9 month in each State office. 

10 ‘‘(3) PAST DATA.—Not later than 30 days after 

11 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Sec12 retary shall publish on the website of the Department 

13 of the Interior, with respect to each month during the 

14 5-year period ending on the date of the enactment of 

15 this subsection— 

16 ‘‘(A) the number of approved and not ap17 proved expressions of interest for onshore oil and 

18 gas lease sales during such 5-year period; and 

19 ‘‘(B) the number of approved and not ap20 proved applications for permits to drill during 

21 such 5-year period.’’. 

22 (2) OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF LANDS ACT.— 

23 Section 8 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

24 (43 U.S.C. 1337) is amended by adding at the end the 

25 following: 


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1 ‘‘(q) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY OF DATA.— 

2 ‘‘(1) OFFSHORE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL

3 SURVEY LICENSES.—Not later than 30 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this subsection, and each 

5 month thereafter, the Secretary shall publish on the 

6 website of the Department of the Interior the number 

7 of pending and approved applications for licenses for 

8 offshore geological and geophysical surveys in the pre9 ceding month. 

10 ‘‘(2) APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO DRILL.— 

11 Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment 

12 of this subsection, and each month thereafter, the Sec13 retary shall publish on the website of the Department 

14 of the Interior the number of pending and approved 

15 applications for permits to drill on the outer Conti16 nental Shelf in the preceding month in each regional 

17 office. 

18 ‘‘(3) PAST DATA.—Not later than 30 days after 

19 the date of the enactment of this subsection, the Sec20 retary shall publish on the website of the Department 

21 of the Interior, with respect each month during the 5- 

22 year period ending on the date of the enactment of 

23 this subsection— 


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1 ‘‘(A) the number of approved applications 

2 for licenses for offshore geological and geo3 physical surveys; and 

4 ‘‘(B) the number of approved applications 

5 for permits to drill on the outer Continental 

6 Shelf.’’. 

7 (d) REQUIREMENT TO SUBMIT DOCUMENTS AND COM8 MUNICATIONS.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this section, the Secretary 

11 of the Interior shall submit to the Committee on En12 ergy and Natural Resources of the Senate and the 

13 Committee on Natural Resources of the House of Rep14 resentatives all documents and communications relat15 ing to the comprehensive review of Federal oil and 

16 gas permitting and leasing practices required under 

17 section 208 of Executive Order 14008 (86 Fed. Reg. 

18 7624; relating to tackling the climate crisis at home 

19 and abroad). 

20 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The submission under para21 graph (1) shall include all documents and commu22 nications submitted to the Secretary of the Interior by 

23 members of the public in response to any public meet24 ing or forum relating to the comprehensive review de25 scribed in that paragraph. 


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1 SEC. 107. OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS LEASING. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct all 

3 lease sales described in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental 

4 Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (No5 vember 2016) that have not been conducted as of the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act by not later than September 

7 30, 2023. 

8 (b) GULF OF MEXICO REGION ANNUAL LEASE

9 SALES.—Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and 

10 except within areas subject to existing oil and gas leasing 

11 moratoria beginning in fiscal year 2023, the Secretary of 

12 the Interior shall annually conduct a minimum of 2 region13 wide oil and gas lease sales in the following planning areas 

14 of the Gulf of Mexico region, as described in the 2017–2022 

15 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and Gas Leasing Proposed 

16 Final Program (November 2016): 

17 (1) The Central Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. 

18 (2) The Western Gulf of Mexico Planning Area. 

19 (c) ALASKA REGION ANNUAL LEASE SALES.—Not20 withstanding any other provision of law, beginning in fis21 cal year 2023, the Secretary of the Interior shall annually 

22 conduct a minimum of 2 region-wide oil and gas lease sales 

23 in the Alaska region of the Outer Continental Shelf, as de24 scribed in the 2017–2022 Outer Continental Shelf Oil and 

25 Gas Leasing Proposed Final Program (November 2016). 


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1 (d) REQUIREMENTS.—In conducting lease sales under 

2 subsections (b) and (c), the Secretary of the Interior shall— 

3 (1) issue such leases in accordance with the 

4 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1332 

5 et seq.); and 

6 (2) include in each such lease sale all unleased 

7 areas that are not subject to a moratorium as of the 

8 date of the lease sale. 

9 SEC. 108. FIVE-YEAR PLAN FOR OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS 

10 LEASING. 

11 Section 18 of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act 

12 (43 U.S.C. 1344) is amended— 

13 (1) in subsection (a)— 

14 (A) by striking ‘‘subsections (c) and (d) of 

15 this section, shall prepare and periodically re16 vise,’’ and inserting ‘‘this section, shall issue 

17 every five years’’; 

18 (B) by adding at the end the following: 

19 ‘‘(5) Each five-year program shall include at 

20 least two Gulf of Mexico region-wide lease sales per 

21 year.’’; and 

22 (C) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘domes23 tic energy security,’’ after ‘‘between’’; 

24 (2) by redesignating subsections (f) through (i) 

25 as subsections (h) through (k), respectively; and 


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1 (3) by inserting after subsection (e) the following: 

2 ‘‘(f) FIVE-YEAR PROGRAM FOR 2023–2028.—The Sec3 retary shall issue the five-year oil and gas leasing program 

4 for 2023 through 2028 and issue the Record of Decision on 

5 the Final Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement 

6 by not later than July 1, 2023. 

7 ‘‘(g) SUBSEQUENT LEASING PROGRAMS.— 

8 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 36 months 

9 after conducting the first lease sale under an oil and 

10 gas leasing program prepared pursuant to this sec11 tion, the Secretary shall begin preparing the subse12 quent oil and gas leasing program under this section. 

13 ‘‘(2) REQUIREMENT.—Each subsequent oil and 

14 gas leasing program under this section shall be ap15 proved by not later than 180 days before the expira16 tion of the previous oil and gas leasing program.’’. 

17 SEC. 109. GEOTHERMAL LEASING. 

18 (a) ANNUAL LEASING.—Section 4(b) of the Geothermal 

19 Steam Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1003(b)) is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘2 years’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘year’’; 

22 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (3) and (4) as 

23 paragraphs (5) and (6), respectively; and 

24 (3) after paragraph (2), by inserting the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(3) REPLACEMENT SALES.—If a lease sale 

2 under paragraph (1) for a year is canceled or de3 layed, the Secretary of the Interior shall conduct a re4 placement sale during the same year. 

5 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENT.—In conducting a lease sale 

6 under paragraph (2) in a State described in that 

7 paragraph, the Secretary of the Interior shall offer all 

8 nominated parcels eligible for geothermal development 

9 and utilization under the resource management plan 

10 in effect for the State.’’. 

11 (b) DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION OF GEOTHERMAL

12 DRILLING PERMITS.—Section 4 of the Geothermal Steam 

13 Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1003) is amended by adding at the 

14 end the following: 

15 ‘‘(h) DEADLINES FOR CONSIDERATION OF GEO16 THERMAL DRILLING PERMITS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) NOTICE.—Not later than 30 days after the 

18 date on which the Secretary receives an application 

19 for any geothermal drilling permit, the Secretary 

20 shall— 

21 ‘‘(A) provide written notice to the applicant 

22 that the application is complete; or 

23 ‘‘(B) notify the applicant that information 

24 is missing and specify any information that is 


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1 required to be submitted for the application to be 

2 complete. 

3 ‘‘(2) ISSUANCE OF DECISION.—If the Secretary 

4 determines that an application for a geothermal drill5 ing permit is complete under paragraph (1)(A), the 

6 Secretary shall issue a final decision on the applica7 tion not later than 30 days after the Secretary noti8 fies the applicant that the application is complete.’’. 

9 SEC. 110. LEASING FOR CERTAIN QUALIFIED COAL APPLI10 CATIONS. 

11 (a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 (1) COAL LEASE.—The term ‘‘coal lease’’ means 

13 a lease entered into by the United States as lessor, 

14 through the Bureau of Land Management, and the 

15 applicant on Bureau of Land Management Form 

16 3400–012. 

17 (2) QUALIFIED APPLICATION.—The term ‘‘quali18 fied application’’ means any application pending 

19 under the lease by application program administered 

20 by the Bureau of Land Management pursuant to the 

21 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) and sub22 part 3425 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (as 

23 in effect on the date of the enactment of this Act), for 

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1 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

2 4321 et seq.) has commenced. 

3 (b) MANDATORY LEASING AND OTHER REQUIRED AP4 PROVALS.—As soon as practicable after the date of the en5 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall promptly— 

6 (1) with respect to each qualified application— 

7 (A) if not previously published for public 

8 comment, publish a draft environmental assess9 ment, as required under the National Environ10 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et 

11 seq.) and any applicable implementing regula12 tions; 

13 (B) finalize the fair market value of the coal 

14 tract for which a lease by application is pend15 ing; 

16 (C) take all intermediate actions necessary 

17 to grant the qualified application; and 

18 (D) grant the qualified application; and 

19 (2) with respect to previously awarded coal 

20 leases, grant any additional approvals of the Depart21 ment of the Interior or any bureau, agency, or divi22 sion of the Department of the Interior required for 

23 mining activities to commence. 


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1 SEC. 111. FUTURE COAL LEASING. 

2 Notwithstanding any judicial decision to the contrary 

3 or a departmental review of the Federal coal leasing pro4 gram, Secretarial Order 3338, issued by the Secretary of 

5 the Interior on January 15, 2016, shall have no force or 

6 effect. 

7 SEC. 112. STAFF PLANNING REPORT. 

8 The Secretary of the Interior and the Secretary of Ag9 riculture shall each annually submit to the Committee on 

10 Natural Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

11 Committee on Energy and Natural Resources of the Senate 

12 a report on the staffing capacity of each respective agency 

13 with respect to issuing oil, gas, hardrock mining, coal, and 

14 renewable energy leases, rights-of-way, claims, easements, 

15 and permits. Each such report shall include— 

16 (1) the number of staff assigned to process and 

17 issue oil, gas, hardrock mining, coal, and renewable 

18 energy leases, rights-of-way, claims, easements, and 

19 permits; 

20 (2) a description of how many staff are needed 

21 to meet statutory requirements for such oil, gas, 

22 hardrock mining, coal, and renewable energy leases, 

23 rights-of-way, claims, easements, and permits; and 

24 (3) how, as applicable, the Department of the In25 terior or the Department of Agriculture plans to ad26 dress staffing shortfalls and turnover to ensure adeVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 quate staffing to process and issue such oil, gas, 

2 hardrock mining, coal, and renewable energy leases, 

3 rights-of-way, claims, easements, and permits. 

4 SEC. 113. PROHIBITION ON CHINESE COMMUNIST PARTY 

5 OWNERSHIP INTEREST. 

6 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Com7 munist Party of China (or a person acting on behalf of the 

8 Community Party of China) may not acquire any interest 

9 with respect to lands leased for oil or gas under the Mineral 

10 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) or the Outer Conti11 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.). 

12 SEC. 114. EFFECT ON OTHER LAW. 

13 Nothing in this Act, or any amendments made by this 

14 Act, shall affect— 

15 (1) the Presidential memorandum titled ‘‘Memo16 randum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas of the 

17 United States Outer Continental Shelf From Leasing 

18 Disposition’’ and dated September 8, 2020; 

19 (2) the Presidential memorandum titled ‘‘Memo20 randum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas of the 

21 United States Outer Continental Shelf From Leasing 

22 Disposition’’ and dated September 25, 2020; 

23 (3) the Presidential memorandum titled ‘‘Memo24 randum on Withdrawal of Certain Areas off the At25 lantic Coast on the Outer Continental Shelf From 


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1 Leasing Disposition’’ and dated December 20, 2016; 

2 or 

3 (4) the ban on oil and gas development in the 

4 Great Lakes described in section 386 of the Energy 

5 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15941). 

6 TITLE II—PERMITTING 

7 STREAMLINING 

8 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

9 In this title: 

10 (1) ENERGY FACILITY.—The term ‘‘energy facil11 ity’’ means a facility the primary purpose of which 

12 is the exploration for, or the development, production, 

13 conversion, gathering, storage, transfer, processing, or 

14 transportation of, any energy resource. 

15 (2) ENERGY STORAGE DEVICE.—The term ‘‘en16 ergy storage device’’— 

17 (A) means any equipment that stores en18 ergy, including electricity, compressed air, 

19 pumped water, heat, and hydrogen, which may 

20 be converted into, or used to produce, electricity; 

21 and 

22 (B) includes a battery, regenerative fuel cell, 

23 flywheel, capacitor, superconducting magnet, and 

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1 termines may be used to store energy which may 

2 be converted into, or used to produce, electricity. 

3 (3) PUBLIC LANDS.—The term ‘‘public lands’’ 

4 means any land and interest in land owned by the 

5 United States within the several States and adminis6 tered by the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary 

7 of Agriculture without regard to how the United 

8 States acquired ownership, except— 

9 (A) lands located on the Outer Continental 

10 Shelf; and 

11 (B) lands held in trust by the United States 

12 for the benefit of Indians, Indian Tribes, Aleuts, 

13 and Eskimos. 

14 (4) RIGHT-OF-WAY.—The term ‘‘right-of-way’’ 

15 means— 

16 (A) a right-of-way issued, granted, or re17 newed under section 501 of the Federal Land 

18 Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

19 1761); or 

20 (B) a right-of-way granted under section 28 

21 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185). 

22 (5) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec23 retary concerned’’ means— 

24 (A) with respect to public lands, the Sec25 retary of the Interior; and 


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1 (B) with respect to National Forest System 

2 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture. 

3 (6) LAND USE PLAN.—The term ‘‘land use plan’’ 

4 means— 

5 (A) a land and resource management plan 

6 prepared by the Forest Service for a unit of the 

7 National Forest System pursuant to section 6 of 

8 the Forest and Rangeland Renewable Resources 

9 Planning Act of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1604); 

10 (B) a Land Management Plan developed by 

11 the Bureau of Land Management under the Fed12 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 

13 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

14 (C) a comprehensive conservation plan de15 veloped by the United States Fish and Wildlife 

16 Service under section 4(e)(1)(A) of the National 

17 Wildlife Refuge System Administration Act of 

18 1966 (16 U.S.C. 668dd(e)(1)(A)). 

19 SEC. 202. BUILDER ACT. 

20 (a) PARAGRAPH (2) OF SECTION 102.—Section 102(2) 

21 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

22 U.S.C. 4332(2)) is amended— 

23 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘insure’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘ensure’’; 


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1 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘insure’’ 

2 and inserting ‘‘ensure’’; 

3 (3) in subparagraph (C)— 

4 (A) by inserting ‘‘consistent with the provi5 sions of this Act and except as provided by other 

6 provisions of law,’’ before ‘‘include in every’’; 

7 (B) by striking clauses (i) through (v) and 

8 inserting the following: 

9 ‘‘(i) reasonably foreseeable environmental ef10 fects with a reasonably close causal relationship 

11 to the proposed agency action; 

12 ‘‘(ii) any reasonably foreseeable adverse en13 vironmental effects which cannot be avoided 

14 should the proposal be implemented; 

15 ‘‘(iii) a reasonable number of alternatives to 

16 the proposed agency action, including an anal17 ysis of any negative environmental impacts of 

18 not implementing the proposed agency action in 

19 the case of a no action alternative, that are tech20 nically and economically feasible, are within the 

21 jurisdiction of the agency, meet the purpose and 

22 need of the proposal, and, where applicable, meet 

23 the goals of the applicant; 

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1 nance and enhancement of long-term produc2 tivity; and 

3 ‘‘(v) any irreversible and irretrievable com4 mitments of Federal resources which would be 

5 involved in the proposed agency action should it 

6 be implemented.’’; and 

7 (C) by striking ‘‘the responsible Federal offi8 cial’’ and inserting ‘‘the head of the lead agen9 cy’’; 

10 (4) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘Any’’ and 

11 inserting ‘‘any’’; 

12 (5) by redesignating subparagraphs (D) through 

13 (I) as subparagraphs (F) through (K), respectively; 

14 (6) by inserting after subparagraph (C) the fol15 lowing: 

16 ‘‘(D) ensure the professional integrity, including 

17 scientific integrity, of the discussion and analysis in 

18 an environmental document; 

19 ‘‘(E) make use of reliable existing data and re20 sources in carrying out this Act;’’; 

21 (7) by amending subparagraph (G), as redesig22 nated, to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(G) consistent with the provisions of this Act, 

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1 cally feasible alternatives within the jurisdiction and 

2 authority of the agency;’’; and 

3 (8) in subparagraph (H), as amended, by insert4 ing ‘‘consistent with the provisions of this Act,’’ before 

5 ‘‘recognize’’. 

6 (b) NEW SECTIONS.—Title I of the National Environ7 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is 

8 amended by adding at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘SEC. 106. PROCEDURE FOR DETERMINATION OF LEVEL OF 

10 REVIEW. 

11 ‘‘(a) THRESHOLD DETERMINATIONS.—An agency is 

12 not required to prepare an environmental document with 

13 respect to a proposed agency action if— 

14 ‘‘(1) the proposed agency action is not a final 

15 agency action within the meaning of such term in 

16 chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code; 

17 ‘‘(2) the proposed agency action is covered by a 

18 categorical exclusion established by the agency, an19 other Federal agency, or another provision of law; 

20 ‘‘(3) the preparation of such document would 

21 clearly and fundamentally conflict with the require22 ments of another provision of law; 

23 ‘‘(4) the proposed agency action is, in whole or 

24 in part, a nondiscretionary action with respect to 

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1 vironmental factors into consideration in determining 

2 whether to take the proposed action; 

3 ‘‘(5) the proposed agency action is a rulemaking 

4 that is subject to section 553 of title 5, United States 

5 Code; or 

6 ‘‘(6) the proposed agency action is an action for 

7 which such agency’s compliance with another statute’s 

8 requirements serve the same or similar function as the 

9 requirements of this Act with respect to such action. 

10 ‘‘(b) LEVELS OF REVIEW.— 

11 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—An 

12 agency shall issue an environmental impact statement 

13 with respect to a proposed agency action that has a 

14 significant effect on the quality of the human environ15 ment. 

16 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—An agency 

17 shall prepare an environmental assessment with re18 spect to a proposed agency action that is not likely 

19 to have a significant effect on the quality of the 

20 human environment, or if the significance of such ef21 fect is unknown, unless the agency finds that a cat22 egorical exclusion established by the agency, another 

23 Federal agency, or another provision of law applies. 

24 Such environmental assessment shall be a concise 

25 public document prepared by a Federal agency to set 


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1 forth the basis of such agency’s finding of no signifi2 cant impact. 

3 ‘‘(3) SOURCES OF INFORMATION.—In making a 

4 determination under this subsection, an agency— 

5 ‘‘(A) may make use of any reliable data 

6 source; and 

7 ‘‘(B) is not required to undertake new sci8 entific or technical research. 

9 ‘‘SEC. 107. TIMELY AND UNIFIED FEDERAL REVIEWS. 

10 ‘‘(a) LEAD AGENCY.— 

11 ‘‘(1) DESIGNATION.— 

12 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—If there are two or 

13 more involved Federal agencies, such agencies 

14 shall determine, by letter or memorandum, which 

15 agency shall be the lead agency based on consid16 eration of the following factors: 

17 ‘‘(i) Magnitude of agency’s involve18 ment. 

19 ‘‘(ii) Project approval or disapproval 

20 authority. 

21 ‘‘(iii) Expertise concerning the action’s 

22 environmental effects. 

23 ‘‘(iv) Duration of agency’s involve24 ment. 

25 ‘‘(v) Sequence of agency’s involvement. 


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1 ‘‘(B) JOINT LEAD AGENCIES.—In making a 

2 determination under subparagraph (A), the in3 volved Federal agencies may, in addition to a 

4 Federal agency, appoint such Federal, State, 

5 Tribal, or local agencies as joint lead agencies as 

6 the involved Federal agencies shall determine ap7 propriate. Joint lead agencies shall jointly fulfill 

8 the role described in paragraph (2). 

9 ‘‘(C) MINERAL PROJECTS.—This paragraph 

10 shall not apply with respect to a mineral explo11 ration or mine permit. 

12 ‘‘(2) ROLE.—A lead agency shall, with respect to 

13 a proposed agency action— 

14 ‘‘(A) supervise the preparation of an envi15 ronmental document if, with respect to such pro16 posed agency action, there is more than one in17 volved Federal agency; 

18 ‘‘(B) request the participation of each co19 operating agency at the earliest practicable time; 

20 ‘‘(C) in preparing an environmental docu21 ment, give consideration to any analysis or pro22 posal created by a cooperating agency with juris23 diction by law or a cooperating agency with spe24 cial expertise; 


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1 ‘‘(D) develop a schedule, in consultation 

2 with each involved cooperating agency, the ap3 plicant, and such other entities as the lead agen4 cy determines appropriate, for completion of any 

5 environmental review, permit, or authorization 

6 required to carry out the proposed agency action; 

7 ‘‘(E) if the lead agency determines that a 

8 review, permit, or authorization will not be com9 pleted in accordance with the schedule developed 

10 under subparagraph (D), notify the agency re11 sponsible for issuing such review, permit, or au12 thorization of the discrepancy and request that 

13 such agency take such measures as such agency 

14 determines appropriate to comply with such 

15 schedule; and 

16 ‘‘(F) meet with a cooperating agency that 

17 requests such a meeting. 

18 ‘‘(3) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The lead agency 

19 may, with respect to a proposed agency action, des20 ignate any involved Federal agency or a State, Trib21 al, or local agency as a cooperating agency. A cooper22 ating agency may, not later than a date specified by 

23 the lead agency, submit comments to the lead agency. 

24 Such comments shall be limited to matters relating to 

25 the proposed agency action with respect to which such 


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1 agency has special expertise or jurisdiction by law 

2 with respect to an environmental issue. 

3 ‘‘(4) REQUEST FOR DESIGNATION.—Any Federal, 

4 State, Tribal, or local agency or person that is sub5 stantially affected by the lack of a designation of a 

6 lead agency with respect to a proposed agency action 

7 under paragraph (1) may submit a written request 

8 for such a designation to an involved Federal agency. 

9 An agency that receives a request under this para10 graph shall transmit such request to each involved 

11 Federal agency and to the Council. 

12 ‘‘(5) COUNCIL DESIGNATION.— 

13 ‘‘(A) REQUEST.—Not earlier than 45 days 

14 after the date on which a request is submitted 

15 under paragraph (4), if no designation has been 

16 made under paragraph (1), a Federal, State, 

17 Tribal, or local agency or person that is substan18 tially affected by the lack of a designation of a 

19 lead agency may request that the Council des20 ignate a lead agency. Such request shall consist 

21 of— 

22 ‘‘(i) a precise description of the nature 

23 and extent of the proposed agency action; 

24 and 


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1 ‘‘(ii) a detailed statement with respect 

2 to each involved Federal agency and each 

3 factor listed in paragraph (1) regarding 

4 which agency should serve as lead agency. 

5 ‘‘(B) TRANSMISSION.—The Council shall 

6 transmit a request received under subparagraph 

7 (A) to each involved Federal agency. 

8 ‘‘(C) RESPONSE.—An involved Federal 

9 agency may, not later than 20 days after the 

10 date of the submission of a request under sub11 paragraph (A), submit to the Council a response 

12 to such request. 

13 ‘‘(D) DESIGNATION.—Not later than 40 

14 days after the date of the submission of a request 

15 under subparagraph (A), the Council shall des16 ignate the lead agency with respect to the rel17 evant proposed agency action. 

18 ‘‘(b) ONE DOCUMENT.— 

19 ‘‘(1) DOCUMENT.—To the extent practicable, if 

20 there are 2 or more involved Federal agencies with re21 spect to a proposed agency action and the lead agency 

22 has determined that an environmental document is 

23 required, such requirement shall be deemed satisfied 

24 with respect to all involved Federal agencies if the 

25 lead agency issues such an environmental document. 


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1 ‘‘(2) CONSIDERATION TIMING.—In developing an 

2 environmental document for a proposed agency ac3 tion, no involved Federal agency shall be required to 

4 consider any information that becomes available after 

5 the sooner of, as applicable— 

6 ‘‘(A) receipt of a complete application with 

7 respect to such proposed agency action; or 

8 ‘‘(B) publication of a notice of intent or de9 cision to prepare an environmental impact state10 ment for such proposed agency action. 

11 ‘‘(3) SCOPE OF REVIEW.—In developing an envi12 ronmental document for a proposed agency action, the 

13 lead agency and any other involved Federal agencies 

14 shall only consider the effects of the proposed agency 

15 action that— 

16 ‘‘(A) occur on Federal land; or 

17 ‘‘(B) are subject to Federal control and re18 sponsibility. 

19 ‘‘(c) REQUEST FOR PUBLIC COMMENT.—Each notice 

20 of intent to prepare an environmental impact statement 

21 under section 102 shall include a request for public com22 ment on alternatives or impacts and on relevant informa23 tion, studies, or analyses with respect to the proposed agen24 cy action. 


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1 ‘‘(d) STATEMENT OF PURPOSE AND NEED.—Each en2 vironmental impact statement shall include a statement of 

3 purpose and need that briefly summarizes the underlying 

4 purpose and need for the proposed agency action. 

5 ‘‘(e) ESTIMATED TOTAL COST.—The cover sheet for 

6 each environmental impact statement shall include a state7 ment of the estimated total cost of preparing such environ8 mental impact statement, including the costs of agency full9 time equivalent personnel hours, contractor costs, and other 

10 direct costs. 

11 ‘‘(f) PAGE LIMITS.— 

12 ‘‘(1) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENTS.— 

13 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

14 subparagraph (B), an environmental impact 

15 statement shall not exceed 150 pages, not includ16 ing any citations or appendices. 

17 ‘‘(B) EXTRAORDINARY COMPLEXITY.—An 

18 environmental impact statement for a proposed 

19 agency action of extraordinary complexity shall 

20 not exceed 300 pages, not including any cita21 tions or appendices. 

22 ‘‘(2) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENTS.—An envi23 ronmental assessment shall not exceed 75 pages, not 

24 including any citations or appendices. 


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1 ‘‘(g) SPONSOR PREPARATION.—A lead agency shall 

2 allow a project sponsor to prepare an environmental assess3 ment or an environmental impact statement upon request 

4 of the project sponsor. Such agency may provide such spon5 sor with appropriate guidance and assist in the prepara6 tion. The lead agency shall independently evaluate the envi7 ronmental document and shall take responsibility for the 

8 contents upon adoption. 

9 ‘‘(h) DEADLINES.— 

10 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para11 graph (2), with respect to a proposed agency action, 

12 a lead agency shall complete, as applicable— 

13 ‘‘(A) the environmental impact statement 

14 not later than the date that is 2 years after the 

15 sooner of, as applicable— 

16 ‘‘(i) the date on which such agency de17 termines that section 102(2)(C) requires the 

18 issuance of an environmental impact state19 ment with respect to such action; 

20 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such agency no21 tifies the applicant that the application to 

22 establish a right-of-way for such action is 

23 complete; and 

24 ‘‘(iii) the date on which such agency 

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1 ronmental impact statement for such action; 

2 and 

3 ‘‘(B) the environmental assessment not later 

4 than the date that is 1 year after the sooner of, 

5 as applicable— 

6 ‘‘(i) the date on which such agency de7 termines that section 106(b)(2) requires the 

8 preparation of an environmental assessment 

9 with respect to such action; 

10 ‘‘(ii) the date on which such agency no11 tifies the applicant that the application to 

12 establish a right-of-way for such action is 

13 complete; and 

14 ‘‘(iii) the date on which such agency 

15 issues a notice of intent to prepare the envi16 ronmental assessment for such action. 

17 ‘‘(2) DELAY.—A lead agency that determines it 

18 is not able to meet the deadline described in para19 graph (1) may extend such deadline with the ap20 proval of the applicant. If the applicant approves 

21 such an extension, the lead agency shall establish a 

22 new deadline that provides only so much additional 

23 time as is necessary to complete such environmental 

24 impact statement or environmental assessment. 


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1 ‘‘(3) EXPENDITURES FOR DELAY.—If a lead 

2 agency is unable to meet the deadline described in 

3 paragraph (1) or extended under paragraph (2), the 

4 lead agency must pay $100 per day, to the extent 

5 funding is provided in advance in an appropriations 

6 Act, out of the office of the head of the department of 

7 the lead agency to the applicant starting on the first 

8 day immediately following the deadline described in 

9 paragraph (1) or extended under paragraph (2) up 

10 until the date that an applicant approves a new 

11 deadline. This paragraph does not apply when the 

12 lead agency misses a deadline solely due to delays 

13 caused by litigation. 

14 ‘‘(i) REPORT.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of each lead agency 

16 shall annually submit to the Committee on Natural 

17 Resources of the House of Representatives and the 

18 Committee on Environment and Public Works of the 

19 Senate a report that— 

20 ‘‘(A) identifies any environmental assess21 ment and environmental impact statement that 

22 such lead agency did not complete by the dead23 line described in subsection (h); and 

24 ‘‘(B) provides an explanation for any fail25 ure to meet such deadline. 


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1 ‘‘(2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report submitted under 

2 paragraph (1) shall identify, as applicable— 

3 ‘‘(A) the office, bureau, division, unit, or 

4 other entity within the Federal agency respon5 sible for each such environmental assessment and 

6 environmental impact statement; 

7 ‘‘(B) the date on which— 

8 ‘‘(i) such lead agency notified the ap9 plicant that the application to establish a 

10 right-of-way for the major Federal action is 

11 complete; 

12 ‘‘(ii) such lead agency began the 

13 scoping for the major Federal action; or 

14 ‘‘(iii) such lead agency issued a notice 

15 of intent to prepare the environmental as16 sessment or environmental impact statement 

17 for the major Federal action; and 

18 ‘‘(C) when such environmental assessment 

19 and environmental impact statement is expected 

20 to be complete. 

21 ‘‘SEC. 108. JUDICIAL REVIEW. 

22 ‘‘(a) LIMITATIONS ON CLAIMS.—Notwithstanding any 

23 other provision of law, a claim arising under Federal law 

24 seeking judicial review of compliance with this Act, of a 

25 determination made under this Act, or of Federal action 


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1 resulting from a determination made under this Act, shall 

2 be barred unless— 

3 ‘‘(1) in the case of a claim pertaining to a pro4 posed agency action for which— 

5 ‘‘(A) an environmental document was pre6 pared and an opportunity for comment was pro7 vided; 

8 ‘‘(B) the claim is filed by a party that par9 ticipated in the administrative proceedings re10 garding such environmental document; and 

11 ‘‘(C) the claim— 

12 ‘‘(i) is filed by a party that submitted 

13 a comment during the public comment pe14 riod for such administrative proceedings 

15 and such comment was sufficiently detailed 

16 to put the lead agency on notice of the issue 

17 upon which the party seeks judicial review; 

18 and 

19 ‘‘(ii) is related to such comment; 

20 ‘‘(2) except as provided in subsection (b), such 

21 claim is filed not later than 120 days after the date 

22 of publication of a notice in the Federal Register of 

23 agency intent to carry out the proposed agency ac24 tion; 


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1 ‘‘(3) such claim is filed after the issuance of a 

2 record of decision or other final agency action with 

3 respect to the relevant proposed agency action; 

4 ‘‘(4) such claim does not challenge the establish5 ment or use of a categorical exclusion under section 

6 102; and 

7 ‘‘(5) such claim concerns— 

8 ‘‘(A) an alternative included in the environ9 mental document; or 

10 ‘‘(B) an environmental effect considered in 

11 the environmental document. 

12 ‘‘(b) SUPPLEMENTAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATE13 MENT.— 

14 ‘‘(1) SEPARATE FINAL AGENCY ACTION.—The 

15 issuance of a Federal action resulting from a final 

16 supplemental environmental impact statement shall 

17 be considered a final agency action for the purposes 

18 of chapter 5 of title 5, United States Code, separate 

19 from the issuance of any previous environmental im20 pact statement with respect to the same proposed 

21 agency action. 

22 ‘‘(2) DEADLINE FOR FILING A CLAIM.—A claim 

23 seeking judicial review of a Federal action resulting 

24 from a final supplemental environmental review 


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1 issued under section 102(2)(C) shall be barred un2 less— 

3 ‘‘(A) such claim is filed within 120 days of 

4 the date on which a notice of the Federal agency 

5 action resulting from a final supplemental envi6 ronmental impact statement is issued; and 

7 ‘‘(B) such claim is based on information 

8 contained in such supplemental environmental 

9 impact statement that was not contained in a 

10 previous environmental document pertaining to 

11 the same proposed agency action. 

12 ‘‘(c) PROHIBITION ON INJUNCTIVE RELIEF.—Notwith13 standing any other provision of law, a violation of this Act 

14 shall not constitute the basis for injunctive relief. 

15 ‘‘(d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this sec16 tion shall be construed to create a right of judicial review 

17 or place any limit on filing a claim with respect to the 

18 violation of the terms of a permit, license, or approval. 

19 ‘‘(e) REMAND.—Notwithstanding any other provision 

20 of law, no proposed agency action for which an environ21 mental document is required shall be vacated or otherwise 

22 limited, delayed, or enjoined unless a court concludes allow23 ing such proposed action will pose a risk of an imminent 

24 and substantial environmental harm and there is no other 

25 equitable remedy available as a matter of law. 


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1 ‘‘SEC. 109. DEFINITIONS. 

2 ‘‘In this title: 

3 ‘‘(1) CATEGORICAL EXCLUSION.—The term ‘cat4 egorical exclusion’ means a category of actions that a 

5 Federal agency has determined normally does not sig6 nificantly affect the quality of the human environ7 ment within the meaning of section 102(2)(C). 

8 ‘‘(2) COOPERATING AGENCY.—The term ‘cooper9 ating agency’ means any Federal, State, Tribal, or 

10 local agency that has been designated as a cooper11 ating agency under section 107(a)(3). 

12 ‘‘(3) COUNCIL.—The term ‘Council’ means the 

13 Council on Environmental Quality established in title 

14 II. 

15 ‘‘(4) ENVIRONMENTAL ASSESSMENT.—The term 

16 ‘environmental assessment’ means an environmental 

17 assessment prepared under section 106(b)(2). 

18 ‘‘(5) ENVIRONMENTAL DOCUMENT.—The term 

19 ‘environmental document’ means an environmental 

20 impact statement, an environmental assessment, or a 

21 finding of no significant impact. 

22 ‘‘(6) ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT STATEMENT.—The 

23 term ‘environmental impact statement’ means a de24 tailed written statement that is required by section 

25 102(2)(C). 


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1 ‘‘(7) FINDING OF NO SIGNIFICANT IMPACT.—The 

2 term ‘finding of no significant impact’ means a deter3 mination by a Federal agency that a proposed agency 

4 action does not require the issuance of an environ5 mental impact statement. 

6 ‘‘(8) INVOLVED FEDERAL AGENCY.—The term 

7 ‘involved Federal agency’ means an agency that, with 

8 respect to a proposed agency action— 

9 ‘‘(A) proposed such action; or 

10 ‘‘(B) is involved in such action because such 

11 action is directly related, through functional 

12 interdependence or geographic proximity, to an 

13 action such agency has taken or has proposed to 

14 take. 

15 ‘‘(9) LEAD AGENCY.— 

16 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

17 subparagraph (B), the term ‘lead agency’ means, 

18 with respect to a proposed agency action— 

19 ‘‘(i) the agency that proposed such ac20 tion; or 

21 ‘‘(ii) if there are 2 or more involved 

22 Federal agencies with respect to such action, 

23 the agency designated under section 

24 107(a)(1). 


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1 ‘‘(B) SPECIFICATION FOR MINERAL EXPLO2 RATION OR MINE PERMITS.—With respect to a 

3 proposed mineral exploration or mine permit, 

4 the term ‘lead agency’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 40206(a) of the Infrastruc6 ture Investment and Jobs Act. 

7 ‘‘(10) MAJOR FEDERAL ACTION.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The term ‘major Fed9 eral action’ means an action that the agency 

10 carrying out such action determines is subject to 

11 substantial Federal control and responsibility. 

12 ‘‘(B) EXCLUSION.—The term ‘major Federal 

13 action’ does not include— 

14 ‘‘(i) a non-Federal action— 

15 ‘‘(I) with no or minimal Federal 

16 funding; 

17 ‘‘(II) with no or minimal Federal 

18 involvement where a Federal agency 

19 cannot control the outcome of the 

20 project; or 

21 ‘‘(III) that does not include Fed22 eral land; 

23 ‘‘(ii) funding assistance solely in the 

24 form of general revenue sharing funds which 

25 do not provide Federal agency compliance 


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1 or enforcement responsibility over the subse2 quent use of such funds; 

3 ‘‘(iii) loans, loan guarantees, or other 

4 forms of financial assistance where a Fed5 eral agency does not exercise sufficient con6 trol and responsibility over the effect of the 

7 action; 

8 ‘‘(iv) farm ownership and operating 

9 loan guarantees by the Farm Service Agen10 cy pursuant to sections 305 and 311 

11 through 319 of the Consolidated Farmers 

12 Home Administration Act of 1961 (7 U.S.C. 

13 1925 and 1941 through 1949); 

14 ‘‘(v) business loan guarantees provided 

15 by the Small Business Administration pur16 suant to section 7(a) or (b) and of the 

17 Small Business Act (15 U.S.C. 636(a)), or 

18 title V of the Small Business Investment Act 

19 of 1958 (15 U.S.C. 695 et seq.); 

20 ‘‘(vi) bringing judicial or administra21 tive civil or criminal enforcement actions; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(vii) extraterritorial activities or de24 cisions, which means agency activities or 


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1 decisions with effects located entirely outside 

2 of the jurisdiction of the United States. 

3 ‘‘(C) ADDITIONAL EXCLUSIONS.—An agency 

4 action may not be determined to be a major Fed5 eral action on the basis of— 

6 ‘‘(i) an interstate effect of the action or 

7 related project; or 

8 ‘‘(ii) the provision of Federal funds for 

9 the action or related project. 

10 ‘‘(11) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PER11 MIT.—The term ‘mineral exploration or mine permit’ 

12 has the meaning given such term in section 40206(a) 

13 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. 

14 ‘‘(12) PROPOSAL.—The term ‘proposal’ means a 

15 proposed action at a stage when an agency has a 

16 goal, is actively preparing to make a decision on one 

17 or more alternative means of accomplishing that goal, 

18 and can meaningfully evaluate its effects. 

19 ‘‘(13) REASONABLY FORESEEABLE.—The term 

20 ‘reasonably foreseeable’ means likely to occur— 

21 ‘‘(A) not later than 10 years after the lead 

22 agency begins preparing the environmental docu23 ment; and 

24 ‘‘(B) in an area directly affected by the pro25 posed agency action such that an individual of 


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1 ordinary prudence would take such occurrence 

2 into account in reaching a decision. 

3 ‘‘(14) SPECIAL EXPERTISE.—The term ‘special 

4 expertise’ means statutory responsibility, agency mis5 sion, or related program experience.’’. 

6 SEC. 203. CODIFICATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

7 POLICY ACT REGULATIONS. 

8 The revisions to the Code of Federal Regulations made 

9 pursuant to the final rule of the Council on Environmental 

10 Quality titled ‘‘Update to the Regulations Implementing the 

11 Procedural Provisions of the National Environmental Pol12 icy Act’’ and published on July 16, 2020 (85 Fed. Reg. 

13 43304), shall have the same force and effect of law as if 

14 enacted by an Act of Congress. 

15 SEC. 204. NON-MAJOR FEDERAL ACTIONS. 

16 (a) EXEMPTION.—An action by the Secretary con17 cerned with respect to a covered activity shall be not consid18 ered a major Federal action under section 102(2)(C) of the 

19 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

20 4332(2)(C)). 

21 (b) COVERED ACTIVITY.—In this section, the term 

22 ‘‘covered activity’’ includes— 

23 (1) geotechnical investigations; 

24 (2) off-road travel in an existing right-of-way; 


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1 (3) construction of meteorological towers where 

2 the total surface disturbance at the location is less 

3 than 5 acres; 

4 (4) adding a battery or other energy storage de5 vice to an existing or planned energy facility, if that 

6 storage resource is located within the physical foot7 print of the existing or planned energy facility; 

8 (5) drilling temperature gradient wells and other 

9 geothermal exploratory wells, including construction 

10 or making improvements for such activities, where— 

11 (A) the last cemented casing string is less 

12 than 12 inches in diameter; and 

13 (B) the total unreclaimed surface disturb14 ance at any one time within the project area is 

15 less than 5 acres; 

16 (6) any repair, maintenance, upgrade, optimiza17 tion, or minor addition to existing transmission and 

18 distribution infrastructure, including— 

19 (A) operation, maintenance, or repair of 

20 power equipment and structures within existing 

21 substations, switching stations, transmission, 

22 and distribution lines; 

23 (B) the addition, modification, retirement, 

24 or replacement of breakers, transmission towers, 

25 transformers, bushings, or relays; 


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1 (C) the voltage uprating, modification, 

2 reconductoring with conventional or advanced 

3 conductors, and clearance resolution of trans4 mission lines; 

5 (D) activities to minimize fire risk, includ6 ing vegetation management, routine fire mitiga7 tion, inspection, and maintenance activities, and 

8 removal of hazard trees and other hazard vegeta9 tion within or adjacent to an existing right-of10 way; 

11 (E) improvements to or construction of 

12 structure pads for such infrastructure; and 

13 (F) access and access route maintenance 

14 and repairs associated with any activity de15 scribed in subparagraph (A) through (E); 

16 (7) approval of and activities conducted in ac17 cordance with operating plans or agreements for 

18 transmission and distribution facilities or under a 

19 special use authorization for an electric transmission 

20 and distribution facility right-of-way; and 

21 (8) construction, maintenance, realignment, or 

22 repair of an existing permanent or temporary access 

23 road— 


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1 (A) within an existing right-of-way or with2 in a transmission or utility corridor established 

3 by Congress or in a land use plan; 

4 (B) that serves an existing transmission 

5 line, distribution line, or energy facility or 

6 (C) activities conducted in accordance with 

7 existing onshore oil and gas leases. 

8 SEC. 205. NO NET LOSS DETERMINATION FOR EXISTING 

9 RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Upon a determination by the Sec11 retary concerned that there will be no overall long-term net 

12 loss of vegetation, soil, or habitat, as defined by acreage and 

13 function, resulting from a proposed action, decision, or ac14 tivity within an existing right-of-way, within a right-of15 way corridor established in a land use plan, or in an other16 wise designated right-of-way, that action, decision, or activ17 ity shall not be considered a major Federal action under 

18 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

19 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)). 

20 (b) INCLUSION OF REMEDIATION.—In making a deter21 mination under subsection (a), the Secretary concerned 

22 shall consider the effect of any remediation work to be con23 ducted during the lifetime of the action, decision, or activity 

24 when determining whether there will be any overall long25 term net loss of vegetation, soil, or habitat. 


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1 SEC. 206. DETERMINATION OF NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL 

2 POLICY ACT ADEQUACY. 

3 The Secretary concerned shall use previously completed 

4 environmental assessments and environmental impact 

5 statements to satisfy the requirements of section 102 of the 

6 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

7 4332) with respect to any major Federal action, if such Sec8 retary determines that— 

9 (1) the new proposed action is substantially the 

10 same as a previously analyzed proposed action or al11 ternative analyzed in a previous environmental as12 sessment or environmental impact statement; and 

13 (2) the effects of the proposed action are substan14 tially the same as the effects analyzed in such existing 

15 environmental assessments or environmental impact 

16 statements. 

17 SEC. 207. DETERMINATION REGARDING RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

18 Not later than 60 days after the Secretary concerned 

19 receives an application to grant a right-of-way, the Sec20 retary concerned shall notify the applicant as to whether 

21 the application is complete or deficient. If the Secretary 

22 concerned determines the application is complete, the Sec23 retary concerned may not consider any other application 

24 to grant a right-of-way on the same or any overlapping 

25 parcels of land while such application is pending. 


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1 SEC. 208. TERMS OF RIGHTS-OF-WAY. 

2 (a) FIFTY YEAR TERMS FOR RIGHTS-OF-WAY.— 

3 (1) IN GENERAL.—Any right-of-way for pipelines 

4 for the transportation or distribution of oil or gas 

5 granted, issued, amended, or renewed under Federal 

6 law may be limited to a term of not more than 50 

7 years before such right-of-way is subject to renewal or 

8 amendment. 

9 (2) FEDERAL LAND POLICY AND MANAGEMENT

10 ACT OF 1976.—Section 501 of the Federal Land Policy 

11 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1761) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(e) Any right-of-way granted, issued, amended, or re14 newed under subsection (a)(4) may be limited to a term 

15 of not more than 50 years before such right-of-way is subject 

16 to renewal or amendment.’’. 

17 (b) MINERAL LEASING ACT.—Section 28(n) of the 

18 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 185(n)) is amended by 

19 striking ‘‘thirty’’ and inserting ‘‘50’’. 

20 SEC. 209. FUNDING TO PROCESS PERMITS AND DEVELOP 

21 INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—In fiscal years 2023 through 2025, 

23 the Secretary of Agriculture (acting through the Forest 

24 Service) and the Secretary of the Interior, after public no25 tice, may accept and expend funds contributed by non-Fed26 eral entities for dedicated staff, information resource manVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 agement, and information technology system development 

2 to expedite the evaluation of permits, biological opinions, 

3 concurrence letters, environmental surveys and studies, 

4 processing of applications, consultations, and other activi5 ties for the leasing, development, or expansion of an energy 

6 facility under the jurisdiction of the respective Secretaries. 

7 (b) EFFECT ON PERMITTING.—In carrying out this 

8 section, the Secretary of the Interior shall ensure that the 

9 use of funds accepted under subsection (a) will not impact 

10 impartial decision making with respect to permits, either 

11 substantively or procedurally. 

12 (c) STATEMENT FOR FAILURE TO ACCEPT OR EXPEND

13 FUNDS.—Not later than 60 days after the end of the appli14 cable fiscal year, if the Secretary of Agriculture (acting 

15 through the Forest Service) or the Secretary of the Interior 

16 does not accept funds contributed under subsection (a) or 

17 accepts but does not expend such funds, that Secretary shall 

18 submit to the Committee on Natural Resources of the House 

19 of Representatives and the Committee on Energy and Nat20 ural Resources of the Senate a statement explaining why 

21 such funds were not accepted, were not expended, or both, 

22 as the case may be. 


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1 SEC. 210. OFFSHORE GEOLOGICAL AND GEOPHYSICAL SUR2 VEY LICENSING. 

3 The Secretary of the Interior shall authorize geological 

4 and geophysical surveys related to oil and gas activities on 

5 the Gulf of Mexico Outer Continental Shelf, except within 

6 areas subject to existing oil and gas leasing moratoria. Such 

7 authorizations shall be issued within 30 days of receipt of 

8 a completed application and shall, as applicable to survey 

9 type, comply with the mitigation and monitoring measures 

10 in subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), (f), and (g) of section 

11 217.184 of title 50, Code of Federal Regulations (as in effect 

12 on January 1, 2022), and section 217.185 of title 50, Code 

13 of Federal Regulations (as in effect on January 1, 2022). 

14 Geological and geophysical surveys authorized pursuant to 

15 this section are deemed to be in full compliance with the 

16 Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972 (16 U.S.C. 1361 

17 et seq.) and the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

18 1531 et seq.), and their implementing regulations. 

19 SEC. 211. DEFERRAL OF APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO 

20 DRILL. 

21 Section 17(p)(3) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 

22 226(p)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following: 

23 ‘‘(D) DEFERRAL BASED ON FORMATTING

24 ISSUES.—A decision on an application for a 

25 permit to drill may not be deferred under para26 graph (2)(B) as a result of a formatting issue 


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1 with the permit, unless such formatting issue re2 sults in missing information.’’. 

3 SEC. 212. PROCESSING AND TERMS OF APPLICATIONS FOR 

4 PERMITS TO DRILL. 

5 (a) EFFECT OF PENDING CIVIL ACTIONS.—Section 

6 17(p) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)) is 

7 amended by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(4) EFFECT OF PENDING CIVIL ACTION ON

9 PROCESSING APPLICATIONS FOR PERMITS TO

10 DRILL.—Pursuant to the requirements of paragraph 

11 (2), notwithstanding the existence of any pending 

12 civil actions affecting the application or related lease, 

13 the Secretary shall process an application for a per14 mit to drill or other authorizations or approvals 

15 under a valid existing lease, unless a United States 

16 Federal court vacated such lease. Nothing in this 

17 paragraph shall be construed as providing authority 

18 to a Federal court to vacate a lease.’’. 

19 (b) TERM OF PERMIT TO DRILL.—Section 17 of the 

20 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is further amended 

21 by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(u) TERM OF PERMIT TO DRILL.—A permit to drill 

23 issued under this section after the date of the enactment 

24 of this subsection shall be valid for one four-year term from 

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1 garding which the permit is issued expires, whichever oc2 curs first.’’. 

3 SEC. 213. AMENDMENTS TO THE ENERGY POLICY ACT OF 

4 2005. 

5 Section 390 of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 (42 

6 U.S.C. 15942) is amended to read as follows: 

7 ‘‘SEC. 390. NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT RE8 VIEW. 

9 ‘‘(a) NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT RE10 VIEW.—Action by the Secretary of the Interior, in man11 aging the public lands, or the Secretary of Agriculture, in 

12 managing National Forest System lands, with respect to 

13 any of the activities described in subsection (c), shall not 

14 be considered a major Federal action for the purposes of 

15 section 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

16 of 1969, if the activity is conducted pursuant to the Mineral 

17 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 181 et seq.) for the purpose of explo18 ration or development of oil or gas. 

19 ‘‘(b) APPLICATION.—This section shall not apply to an 

20 action of the Secretary of the Interior or the Secretary of 

21 Agriculture on Indian lands or resources managed in trust 

22 for the benefit of Indian Tribes. 

23 ‘‘(c) ACTIVITIES DESCRIBED.—The activities referred 

24 to in subsection (a) are as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(1) Reinstating a lease pursuant to section 31 

2 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188). 

3 ‘‘(2) The following activities, provided that any 

4 new surface disturbance is contiguous with the foot5 print of the original authorization and does not ex6 ceed 20 acres or the acreage has previously been eval7 uated in a document previously prepared under sec8 tion 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy 

9 Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with respect to 

10 such activity: 

11 ‘‘(A) Drilling an oil or gas well at a well 

12 pad site at which drilling has occurred pre13 viously. 

14 ‘‘(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas 

15 well pad site to accommodate an additional well. 

16 ‘‘(C) Expansion or modification of an exist17 ing oil or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, facil18 ity, or utility submitted in a sundry notice. 

19 ‘‘(3) Drilling of an oil or gas well at a new well 

20 pad site, provided that the new surface disturbance 

21 does not exceed 20 acres and the acreage evaluated in 

22 a document previously prepared under section 

23 102(2)(C) of the National Environmental Policy Act 

24 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4332(2)(C)) with respect to such 

25 activity, whichever is greater. 


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1 ‘‘(4) Construction or realignment of a road, 

2 pipeline, or utility within an existing right-of-way or 

3 within a right-of-way corridor established in a land 

4 use plan. 

5 ‘‘(5) The following activities when conducted 

6 from non-Federal surface into federally owned min7 erals, provided that the operator submits to the Sec8 retary concerned certification of a surface use agree9 ment with the non-Federal landowner: 

10 ‘‘(A) Drilling an oil or gas well at a well 

11 pad site at which drilling has occurred pre12 viously. 

13 ‘‘(B) Expansion of an existing oil or gas 

14 well pad site to accommodate an additional well. 

15 ‘‘(C) Expansion or modification of an exist16 ing oil or gas well pad site, road, pipeline, facil17 ity, or utility submitted in a sundry notice. 

18 ‘‘(6) Drilling of an oil or gas well from non-Fed19 eral surface and non-Federal subsurface into Federal 

20 mineral estate. 

21 ‘‘(7) Construction of up to 1 mile of new road 

22 on Federal or non-Federal surface, not to exceed 2 

23 miles in total. 


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1 ‘‘(8) Construction of up to 3 miles of individual 

2 pipelines or utilities, regardless of surface owner3 ship.’’. 

4 SEC. 214. ACCESS TO FEDERAL ENERGY RESOURCES FROM 

5 NON-FEDERAL SURFACE ESTATE. 

6 (a) OIL AND GAS PERMITS.—Section 17 of the Mineral 

7 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is further amended by adding 

8 at the end the following: 

9 ‘‘(v) NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR OIL AND

10 GAS ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND.— 

11 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not re12 quire an operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit 

13 for oil and gas exploration and production activities 

14 conducted on non-Federal surface estate, provided 

15 that— 

16 ‘‘(A) the United States holds an ownership 

17 interest of less than 50 percent of the subsurface 

18 mineral estate to be accessed by the proposed ac19 tion; and 

20 ‘‘(B) the operator submits to the Secretary 

21 a State permit to conduct oil and gas explo22 ration and production activities on the non-Fed23 eral surface estate. 


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1 ‘‘(2) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—An oil and gas ex2 ploration and production activity carried out under 

3 paragraph (1)— 

4 ‘‘(A) shall not be considered a major Fed5 eral action for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) 

6 of the National Environmental Policy Act of 

7 1969; 

8 ‘‘(B) shall require no additional Federal ac9 tion; 

10 ‘‘(C) may commence 30 days after submis11 sion of the State permit to the Secretary; and 

12 ‘‘(D) shall not be subject to— 

13 ‘‘(i) section 306108 of title 54, United 

14 States Code (commonly known as the Na15 tional Historic Preservation Act of 1966); 

16 and 

17 ‘‘(ii) section 7 of the Endangered Spe18 cies Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536). 

19 ‘‘(3) ROYALTIES AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT20 ABILITY.—(A) Nothing in this subsection shall affect 

21 the amount of royalties due to the United States 

22 under this Act from the production of oil and gas, or 

23 alter the Secretary’s authority to conduct audits and 

24 collect civil penalties pursuant to the Federal Oil and 


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1 Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

2 1701 et seq.). 

3 ‘‘(B) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews 

4 and inspections to ensure proper accountability, 

5 measurement, and reporting of production of Federal 

6 oil and gas, and payment of royalties. 

7 ‘‘(4) EXCEPTIONS.—This subsection shall not 

8 apply to actions on Indian lands or resources man9 aged in trust for the benefit of Indian Tribes. 

10 ‘‘(5) INDIAN LAND.—In this subsection, the term 

11 ‘Indian land’ means— 

12 ‘‘(A) any land located within the bound13 aries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 

14 rancheria; and 

15 ‘‘(B) any land not located within the 

16 boundaries of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or 

17 rancheria, the title to which is held— 

18 ‘‘(i) in trust by the United States for 

19 the benefit of an Indian tribe or an indi20 vidual Indian; 

21 ‘‘(ii) by an Indian tribe or an indi22 vidual Indian, subject to restriction against 

23 alienation under laws of the United States; 

24 or 


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1 ‘‘(iii) by a dependent Indian commu2 nity.’’. 

3 (b) GEOTHERMAL PERMITS.—The Geothermal Steam 

4 Act of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) is amended by adding 

5 at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘SEC. 30. NO FEDERAL PERMIT REQUIRED FOR GEO7 THERMAL ACTIVITIES ON CERTAIN LAND. 

8 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall not require an 

9 operator to obtain a Federal drilling permit for geothermal 

10 exploration and production activities conducted on a non11 Federal surface estate, provided that— 

12 ‘‘(1) the United States holds an ownership inter13 est of less than 50 percent of the subsurface geo14 thermal estate to be accessed by the proposed action; 

15 and 

16 ‘‘(2) the operator submits to the Secretary a 

17 State permit to conduct geothermal exploration and 

18 production activities on the non-Federal surface es19 tate. 

20 ‘‘(b) NO FEDERAL ACTION.—A geothermal exploration 

21 and production activity carried out under paragraph (1)— 

22 ‘‘(1) shall not be considered a major Federal ac23 tion for the purposes of section 102(2)(C) of the Na24 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969; 

25 ‘‘(2) shall require no additional Federal action; 


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1 ‘‘(3) may commence 30 days after submission of 

2 the State permit to the Secretary; and 

3 ‘‘(4) shall not be subject to— 

4 ‘‘(A) section 306108 of title 54, United 

5 States Code (commonly known as the National 

6 Historic Preservation Act of 1966); and 

7 ‘‘(B) section 7 of the Endangered Species 

8 Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1536). 

9 ‘‘(c) ROYALTIES AND PRODUCTION ACCOUNT10 ABILITY.—(1) Nothing in this section shall affect the 

11 amount of royalties due to the United States under this Act 

12 from the production of electricity using geothermal re13 sources (other than direct use of geothermal resources) or 

14 the production of any byproducts. 

15 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may conduct onsite reviews and in16 spections to ensure proper accountability, measurement, 

17 and reporting of the production described in paragraph (1), 

18 and payment of royalties. 

19 ‘‘(d) EXCEPTIONS.—This section shall not apply to ac20 tions on Indian lands or resources managed in trust for 

21 the benefit of Indian Tribes. 

22 ‘‘(e) INDIAN LAND.—In this section, the term ‘Indian 

23 land’ means— 

24 ‘‘(1) any land located within the boundaries of 

25 an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) any land not located within the boundaries 

2 of an Indian reservation, pueblo, or rancheria, the 

3 title to which is held— 

4 ‘‘(A) in trust by the United States for the 

5 benefit of an Indian tribe or an individual In6 dian; 

7 ‘‘(B) by an Indian tribe or an individual 

8 Indian, subject to restriction against alienation 

9 under laws of the United States; or 

10 ‘‘(C) by a dependent Indian community.’’. 

11 SEC. 215. SCOPE OF ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS FOR OIL 

12 AND GAS LEASES. 

13 An environmental review for an oil and gas lease or 

14 permit prepared pursuant to the requirements of the Na15 tional Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 

16 et seq.) and its implementing regulations— 

17 (1) shall apply only to areas that are within or 

18 immediately adjacent to the lease plot or plots and 

19 that are directly affected by the proposed action; and 

20 (2) shall not require consideration of down21 stream, indirect effects of oil and gas consumption. 

22 SEC. 216. EXPEDITING APPROVAL OF GATHERING LINES. 

23 Section 11318(b)(1) of the Infrastructure Investment 

24 and Jobs Act (42 U.S.C. 15943(b)(1)) is amended by strik25 ing ‘‘to be an action that is categorically excluded (as deVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 fined in section 1508.1 of title 40, Code of Federal Regula2 tions (as in effect on the date of enactment of this Act))’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘to not be a major Federal action’’. 

4 SEC. 217. LEASE SALE LITIGATION. 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any oil 

6 and gas lease sale held under section 17 of the Mineral Leas7 ing Act (26 U.S.C. 226) or the Outer Continental Shelf 

8 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) shall not be vacated 

9 and activities on leases awarded in the sale shall not be 

10 otherwise limited, delayed, or enjoined unless the court con11 cludes allowing development of the challenged lease will pose 

12 a risk of an imminent and substantial environmental harm 

13 and there is no other equitable remedy available as a matter 

14 of law. No court, in response to an action brought pursuant 

15 to the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

16 U.S.C. et seq.), may enjoin or issue any order preventing 

17 the award of leases to a bidder in a lease sale conducted 

18 pursuant to section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (26 

19 U.S.C. 226) or the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

20 U.S.C. 1331 et seq.) if the Department of the Interior has 

21 previously opened bids for such leases or disclosed the high 

22 bidder for any tract that was included in such lease sale. 

23 SEC. 218. LIMITATION ON CLAIMS. 

24 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi25 sion of law, a claim arising under Federal law seeking judiVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00072 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 cial review of a permit, license, or approval issued by a 

2 Federal agency for a mineral project, energy facility, or en3 ergy storage device shall be barred unless— 

4 (1) the claim is filed within 120 days after pub5 lication of a notice in the Federal Register announc6 ing that the permit, license, or approval is final pur7 suant to the law under which the agency action is 

8 taken, unless a shorter time is specified in the Federal 

9 law pursuant to which judicial review is allowed; and 

10 (2) the claim is filed by a party that submitted 

11 a comment during the public comment period for such 

12 permit, license, or approval and such comment was 

13 sufficiently detailed to put the agency on notice of the 

14 issue upon which the party seeks judicial review. 

15 (b) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this section shall 

16 create a right to judicial review or place any limit on filing 

17 a claim that a person has violated the terms of a permit, 

18 license, or approval. 

19 (c) TRANSPORTATION PROJECTS.—Subsection (a) shall 

20 not apply to or supersede a claim subject to section 

21 139(l)(1) of title 23, United States Code. 

22 (d) MINERAL PROJECT.—In this section, the term 

23 ‘‘mineral project’’ means a project— 

24 (1) located on— 


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1 (A) a mining claim, millsite claim, or tun2 nel site claim for any mineral; 

3 (B) lands open to mineral entry; or 

4 (C) a Federal mineral lease; and 

5 (2) for the purposes of exploring for or producing 

6 minerals. 

7 SEC. 219. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE REPORT 

8 ON PERMITS TO DRILL. 

9 (a) REPORT.—Not later than 1 year after the date of 

10 enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General of the United 

11 States shall issue a report detailing— 

12 (1) the approval timelines for applications for 

13 permits to drill issued by the Bureau of Land Man14 agement from 2018 through 2022; 

15 (2) the number of applications for permits to 

16 drill that were not issued within 30 days of receipt 

17 of a completed application; and 

18 (3) the causes of delays resulting in applications 

19 for permits to drill pending beyond the 30 day dead20 line required under section 17(p)(2) of the Mineral 

21 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(p)(2)). 

22 (b) RECOMMENDATIONS.—The report issued under 

23 subsection (a) shall include recommendations with respect 

24 to— 


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1 (1) actions the Bureau of Land Management can 

2 take to streamline the approval process for applica3 tions for permits to drill to approve applications for 

4 permits to drill within 30 days of receipt of a com5 pleted application; 

6 (2) aspects of the Federal permitting process car7 ried out by the Bureau of Land Management to issue 

8 applications for permits to drill that can be turned 

9 over to States to expedite approval of applications for 

10 permits to drill; and 

11 (3) legislative actions that Congress must take to 

12 allow States to administer certain aspects of the Fed13 eral permitting process described in paragraph (2). 

14 SEC. 220. E-NEPA. 

15 (a) PERMITTING PORTAL STUDY.—The Council on 

16 Environmental Quality shall conduct a study and submit 

17 a report to Congress within 1 year of the enactment of this 

18 Act on the potential to create an online permitting portal 

19 for permits that require review under section 102(2)(C) of 

20 the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

21 4332(2)(C)) that would— 

22 (1) allow applicants to— 

23 (A) submit required documents or materials 

24 for their application in one unified portal; 


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1 (B) upload additional documents as re2 quired by the applicable agency; and 

3 (C) track the progress of individual applica4 tions; 

5 (2) enhance interagency coordination in con6 sultation by— 

7 (A) allowing for comments in one unified 

8 portal; 

9 (B) centralizing data necessary for reviews; 

10 and 

11 (C) streamlining communications between 

12 other agencies and the applicant; and 

13 (3) boost transparency in agency decision14 making. 

15 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There is 

16 authorized to be appropriated $500,000 for the Council of 

17 Environmental Quality to carry out the study directed by 

18 this section. 

19 TITLE III—PERMITTING FOR 

20 MINING NEEDS 

21 SEC. 301. DEFINITIONS. 

22 In this title: 

23 (1) BYPRODUCT.—The term ‘‘byproduct’’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 7002(a) of the 

25 Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)). 


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1 (2) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘‘Indian Tribe’’ 

2 has the meaning given such term in section 4 of the 

3 Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance 

4 Act (25 U.S.C. 5304). 

5 (3) MINERAL.—The term ‘‘mineral’’ means any 

6 mineral of a kind that is locatable (including, but not 

7 limited to, such minerals located on ‘‘lands acquired 

8 by the United States’’, as such term is defined in sec9 tion 2 of the Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired 

10 Lands) under the Act of May 10, 1872 (Chapter 152; 

11 17 Stat. 91). 

12 (4) SECRETARY.—Except as otherwise provided, 

13 the term ‘‘Secretary’’ means the Secretary of the Inte14 rior. 

15 (5) STATE.—The term ‘‘State’’ means— 

16 (A) a State; 

17 (B) the District of Columbia; 

18 (C) the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico; 

19 (D) Guam; 

20 (E) American Samoa; 

21 (F) the Commonwealth of the Northern 

22 Mariana Islands; and 

23 (G) the United States Virgin Islands. 


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1 SEC. 302. MINERALS SUPPLY CHAIN AND RELIABILITY. 

2 Section 40206 of the Infrastructure Investment and 

3 Jobs Act (30 U.S.C. 1607) is amended— 

4 (1) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘CRIT5 ICAL MINERALS’’ and inserting ‘‘MINERALS’’; 

6 (2) by amending subsection (a) to read as fol7 lows: 

8 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) LEAD AGENCY.—The term ‘lead agency’ 

10 means the Federal agency with primary responsi11 bility for issuing a mineral exploration or mine per12 mit or lease for a mineral project. 

13 ‘‘(2) MINERAL.—The term ‘mineral’ has the 

14 meaning given such term in section 301 of the TAPP 

15 American Resources Act. 

16 ‘‘(3) MINERAL EXPLORATION OR MINE PERMIT.— 

17 The term ‘mineral exploration or mine permit’ 

18 means— 

19 ‘‘(A) an authorization of the Bureau of 

20 Land Management or the Forest Service, as ap21 plicable, for exploration for minerals that re22 quires analysis under the National Environ23 mental Policy Act of 1969; 

24 ‘‘(B) a plan of operations for a mineral 

25 project approved by the Bureau of Land Man26 agement or the Forest Service; or 


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1 ‘‘(C) any other Federal permit or authoriza2 tion for a mineral project. 

3 ‘‘(4) MINERAL PROJECT.—The term ‘mineral 

4 project’ means a project— 

5 ‘‘(A) located on— 

6 ‘‘(i) a mining claim, millsite claim, or 

7 tunnel site claim for any mineral; 

8 ‘‘(ii) lands open to mineral entry; or 

9 ‘‘(iii) a Federal mineral lease; and 

10 ‘‘(B) for the purposes of exploring for or 

11 producing minerals.’’. 

12 (3) in subsection (b), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

13 place such term appears; 

14 (4) in subsection (c)— 

15 (A) by striking ‘‘critical mineral production 

16 on Federal land’’ and inserting ‘‘mineral 

17 projects’’; 

18 (B) by inserting ‘‘, and in accordance with 

19 subsection (h)’’ after ‘‘to the maximum extent 

20 practicable’’; 

21 (C) by striking ‘‘shall complete the’’ and in22 serting ‘‘shall complete such’’; 

23 (D) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘critical 

24 mineral-related activities on Federal land’’ and 

25 inserting ‘‘mineral projects’’; 


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1 (E) in paragraph (8), by striking the ‘‘and’’ 

2 at the end; 

3 (F) in paragraph (9), by striking ‘‘proce4 dures.’’ and inserting ‘‘procedures; and’’; and 

5 (G) by adding at the end the following: 

6 ‘‘(10) deferring to and relying on baseline data, 

7 analyses, and reviews performed by State agencies 

8 with jurisdiction over the environmental or reclama9 tion permits for the proposed mineral project.’’; 

10 (5) in subsection (d)— 

11 (A) by striking ‘‘critical’’ each place such 

12 term appears; and 

13 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘mineral14 related activities on Federal land’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘mineral projects’’; 

16 (6) in subsection (e), by striking ‘‘critical’’; 

17 (7) in subsection (f), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

18 place such term appears; 

19 (8) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘critical’’ each 

20 place such term appears; and 

21 (9) by adding at the end the following: 

22 ‘‘(h) OTHER REQUIREMENTS.— 

23 ‘‘(1) MEMORANDUM OF AGREEMENT.—For pur24 poses of maximizing efficiency and effectiveness of the 

25 Federal permitting and review processes described 


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1 under subsection (c), the lead agency in the Federal 

2 permitting and review processes of a mineral project 

3 shall (in consultation with any other Federal agency 

4 involved in such Federal permitting and review proc5 esses, and upon request of the project applicant, an 

6 affected State government, local government, or an In7 dian Tribe, or other entity such lead agency deter8 mines appropriate) enter into a memorandum of 

9 agreement with a project applicant where requested 

10 by the applicant to carry out the activities described 

11 in subsection (c). 

12 ‘‘(2) TIMELINES AND SCHEDULES FOR NEPA RE13 VIEWS.— 

14 ‘‘(A) EXTENSION.—A project applicant may 

15 enter into 1 or more agreements with a lead 

16 agency to extend the deadlines described in sub17 paragraphs (A) and (B) of subsection (h)(1) of 

18 section 107 of title I of the National Environ19 mental Policy Act of 1969 by, with respect to 

20 each such agreement, not more than 6 months. 

21 ‘‘(B) ADJUSTMENT OF TIMELINES.—At the 

22 request of a project applicant, the lead agency 

23 and any other entity which is a signatory to a 

24 memorandum of agreement under paragraph (1) 

25 may, by unanimous agreement, adjust— 


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1 ‘‘(i) any deadlines described in sub2 paragraph (A); and 

3 ‘‘(ii) any deadlines extended under 

4 subparagraph (B). 

5 ‘‘(3) EFFECT ON PENDING APPLICATIONS.—Upon 

6 a written request by a project applicant, the require7 ments of this subsection shall apply to any applica8 tion for a mineral exploration or mine permit or 

9 mineral lease that was submitted before the date of the 

10 enactment of the TAPP American Resources Act.’’. 

11 SEC. 303. FEDERAL REGISTER PROCESS IMPROVEMENT. 

12 Section 7002(f) of the Energy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 

13 1606(f)) is amended— 

14 (1) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘critical’’ both 

15 places such term appears; and 

16 (2) by striking paragraph (4). 

17 SEC. 304. DESIGNATION OF MINING AS A COVERED SECTOR 

18 FOR FEDERAL PERMITTING IMPROVEMENT 

19 PURPOSES. 

20 Section 41001(6)(A) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

21 4370m(6)(A)) is amended by inserting ‘‘mineral produc22 tion,’’ before ‘‘or any other sector’’. 


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1 SEC. 305. TREATMENT OF ACTIONS UNDER PRESIDENTIAL 

2 DETERMINATION 2022–11 FOR FEDERAL PER3 MITTING IMPROVEMENT PURPOSES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided by subsection 

5 (c), an action described in subsection (b) shall be— 

6 (1) treated as a covered project, as defined in 

7 section 41001(6) of the FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 

8 4370m(6)), without regard to the requirements of that 

9 section; and 

10 (2) included in the Permitting Dashboard main11 tained pursuant to section 41003(b) of that Act (42 

12 13 U.S.C. 4370m–2(b)). 

13 (b) ACTIONS DESCRIBED.—An action described in this 

14 subsection is an action taken by the Secretary of Defense 

15 pursuant to Presidential Determination 2022–11 (87 Fed. 

16 Reg. 19775; relating to certain actions under section 303 

17 of the Defense Production Act of 1950) or the Presidential 

18 Memorandum of February 27, 2023, titled ‘‘Presidential 

19 Waiver of Statutory Requirements Pursuant to Section 303 

20 of the Defense Production Act of 1950, as amended, on De21 partment of Defense Supply Chains Resilience’’ (88 Fed. 

22 Reg. 13015) to create, maintain, protect, expand, or restore 

23 sustainable and responsible domestic production capabili24 ties through— 


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1 (1) supporting feasibility studies for mature 

2 mining, beneficiation, and value-added processing 

3 projects; 

4 (2) byproduct and co-product production at ex5 isting mining, mine waste reclamation, and other in6 dustrial facilities; 

7 (3) modernization of mining, beneficiation, and 

8 value-added processing to increase productivity, envi9 ronmental sustainability, and workforce safety; or 

10 (4) any other activity authorized under section 

11 303(a)(1) of the Defense Production Act of 1950 15 

12 (50 U.S.C. 4533(a)(1)). 

13 (c) EXCEPTION.—An action described in subsection (b) 

14 may not be treated as a covered project or be included in 

15 the Permitting Dashboard under subsection (a) if the 

16 project sponsor (as defined in section 41001(18) of the 

17 FAST Act (42 U.S.C. 21 4370m(18))) requests that the ac18 tion not be treated as a covered project. 

19 SEC. 306. NOTICE FOR MINERAL EXPLORATION ACTIVITIES 

20 WITH LIMITED SURFACE DISTURBANCE. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 15 days before com22 mencing an exploration activity with a surface disturbance 

23 of not more than 5 acres of public lands, the operator of 

24 such exploration activity shall submit to the Secretary con25 cerned a complete notice of such exploration activity. 


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1 (b) INCLUSIONS.—Notice submitted under subsection 

2 (a) shall include such information the Secretary concerned 

3 may require, including the information described in section 

4 3809.301 of title 43, Code of Federal Regulations (or any 

5 successor regulation). 

6 (c) REVIEW.—Not later than 15 days after the Sec7 retary concerned receives notice submitted under subsection 

8 (a), the Secretary concerned shall— 

9 (1) review and determine completeness of the no10 tice; and 

11 (2) allow exploration activities to proceed if— 

12 (A) the surface disturbance of such explo13 ration activities on such public lands will not 

14 exceed 5 acres; 

15 (B) the Secretary concerned determines that 

16 the notice is complete; and 

17 (C) the operator provides financial assur18 ance that the Secretary concerned determines is 

19 adequate. 

20 (d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) EXPLORATION ACTIVITY.—The term ‘‘explo22 ration activity’’— 

23 (A) means creating surface disturbance 

24 greater than casual use that includes sampling, 

25 drilling, or developing surface or underground 


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1 workings to evaluate the type, extent, quantity, 

2 or quality of mineral values present; 

3 (B) includes constructing drill roads and 

4 drill pads, drilling, trenching, excavating test 

5 pits, and conducting geotechnical tests and geo6 physical surveys; and 

7 (C) does not include activities where mate8 rial is extracted for commercial use or sale. 

9 (2) SECRETARY CONCERNED.—The term ‘‘Sec10 retary concerned’’ means— 

11 (A) with respect to lands administered by 

12 the Secretary of the Interior, the Secretary of the 

13 Interior; and 

14 (B) with respect to National Forest System 

15 lands, the Secretary of Agriculture. 

16 SEC. 307. USE OF MINING CLAIMS FOR ANCILLARY ACTIVI17 TIES. 

18 Section 10101 of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation 

19 Act of 1993 (30 U.S.C. 28f) is amended by adding at the 

20 end the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) SECURITY OF TENURE.— 

22 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.— 

23 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A claimant shall have 

24 the right to use, occupy, and conduct operations 


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1 on public land, with or without the discovery of 

2 a valuable mineral deposit, if— 

3 ‘‘(i) such claimant makes a timely 

4 payment of the location fee required by sec5 tion 10102 and the claim maintenance fee 

6 required by subsection (a); or 

7 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a claimant who 

8 qualifies for a waiver under subsection (d), 

9 such claimant makes a timely payment of 

10 the location fee and complies with the re11 quired assessment work under the general 

12 mining laws. 

13 ‘‘(B) OPERATIONS DEFINED.—For the pur14 poses of this paragraph, the term ‘operations’ 

15 means— 

16 ‘‘(i) any activity or work carried out 

17 in connection with prospecting, exploration, 

18 processing, discovery and assessment, devel19 opment, or extraction with respect to a 

20 locatable mineral; 

21 ‘‘(ii) the reclamation of any disturbed 

22 areas; and 

23 ‘‘(iii) any other reasonably incident 

24 uses, whether on a mining claim or not, in25 cluding the construction and maintenance 


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1 of facilities, roads, transmission lines, pipe2 lines, and any other necessary infrastruc3 ture or means of access on public land for 

4 support facilities. 

5 ‘‘(2) FULFILLMENT OF FEDERAL LAND POLICY

6 AND MANAGEMENT ACT.—A claimant that fulfills the 

7 requirements of this section and section 10102 shall 

8 be deemed to satisfy the requirements of any provision 

9 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act that 

10 requires the payment of fair market value to the 

11 United States for use of public lands and resources re12 lating to use of such lands and resources authorized 

13 by the general mining laws. 

14 ‘‘(3) SAVINGS CLAUSE.—Nothing in this sub15 section may be construed to diminish the rights of 

16 entry, use, and occupancy, or any other right, of a 

17 claimant under the general mining laws.’’. 

18 SEC. 308. ENSURING CONSIDERATION OF URANIUM AS A 

19 CRITICAL MINERAL. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7002(a)(3)(B)(i) of the En21 ergy Act of 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(a)(3)(B)(i)) is amended 

22 to read as follows: 

23 ‘‘(i) oil, oil shale, coal, or natural 

24 gas;’’. 


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1 (b) UPDATE.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

2 of the enactment of this section, the Secretary, acting 

3 through the Director of the United States Geological Survey, 

4 shall publish in the Federal Register an update to the final 

5 list established in section 7002(c)(3) of the Energy Act of 

6 2020 (30 U.S.C. 1606(c)(3)) in accordance with subsection 

7 (a) of this section. 

8 SEC. 309. BARRING FOREIGN BAD ACTORS FROM OPER9 ATING ON FEDERAL LANDS. 

10 A mining claimant shall be barred from the right to 

11 use, occupy, and conduct operations on Federal land if the 

12 Secretary of the Interior finds the claimant has a foreign 

13 parent company that has (including through a sub14 sidiary)— 

15 (1) a known record of human rights violations; 

16 or 

17 (2) knowingly operated an illegal mine in an18 other country. 

19 TITLE IV—FEDERAL LAND USE 

20 PLANNING 

21 SEC. 401. FEDERAL LAND USE PLANNING AND WITH22 DRAWALS. 

23 (a) RESOURCE ASSESSMENTS REQUIRED.—Federal 

24 lands and waters may not be withdrawn from entry under 


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1 the mining laws or operation of the mineral leasing and 

2 mineral materials laws unless— 

3 (1) a quantitative and qualitative geophysical 

4 and geological mineral resource assessment of the im5 pacted area has been completed during the 10-year 

6 period ending on the date of such withdrawal; 

7 (2) the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec8 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

9 Secretary of Defense, conducts an assessment of the 

10 economic, energy, strategic, and national security 

11 value of mineral deposits identified in such mineral 

12 resource assessment; 

13 (3) the Secretary conducts an assessment of the 

14 reduction in future Federal revenues to the Treasury, 

15 States, the Land and Water Conservation Fund, the 

16 Historic Preservation Fund, and the National Parks 

17 and Public Land Legacy Restoration Fund resulting 

18 from the proposed mineral withdrawal; 

19 (4) the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec20 retary of Defense, conducts an assessment of military 

21 readiness and training activities in the proposed 

22 withdrawal area; and 

23 (5) the Secretary submits a report to the Com24 mittees on Natural Resources, Agriculture, Energy 

25 and Commerce, and Foreign Affairs of the House of 


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1 Representatives and the Committees on Energy and 

2 Natural Resources, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs 

3 of the Senate, that includes the results of the assess4 ments completed pursuant to this subsection. 

5 (b) LAND USE PLANS.—Before a resource management 

6 plan under the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

7 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.) or a forest management 

8 plan under the National Forest Management Act is updated 

9 or completed, the Secretary or Secretary of Agriculture, as 

10 applicable, in consultation with the Director of the United 

11 States Geological Survey, shall— 

12 (1) review any quantitative and qualitative min13 eral resource assessment that was completed or up14 dated during the 10-year period ending on the date 

15 that the applicable land management agency pub16 lishes a notice to prepare, revise, or amend a land use 

17 plan by the Director of the United States Geological 

18 Survey for the geographic area affected by the appli19 cable management plan; 

20 (2) the Secretary, in consultation with the Sec21 retary of Commerce, the Secretary of Energy, and the 

22 Secretary of Defense, conducts an assessment of the 

23 economic, energy, strategic, and national security 

24 value of mineral deposits identified in such mineral 

25 resource assessment; and 


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1 (3) submit a report to the Committees on Nat2 ural Resources, Agriculture, Energy and Commerce, 

3 and Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives 

4 and the Committees on Energy and Natural Re5 sources, Agriculture, and Foreign Affairs of the Sen6 ate, that includes the results of the assessment com7 pleted pursuant to this subsection. 

8 (c) NEW INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall provide 

9 recommendations to the President on appropriate measures 

10 to reduce unnecessary impacts that a withdrawal of Federal 

11 lands or waters from entry under the mining laws or oper12 ation of the mineral leasing and mineral materials laws 

13 may have on mineral exploration, development, and other 

14 mineral activities (including authorizing exploration and 

15 development of such mineral deposits) not later than 180 

16 days after the Secretary has notice that a resource assess17 ment completed by the Director of the United States Geo18 logical Survey, in coordination with the State geological 

19 surveys, determines that a previously undiscovered mineral 

20 deposit may be present in an area that has been withdrawn 

21 from entry under the mining laws or operation of the min22 eral leasing and mineral materials laws pursuant to— 

23 (1) section 204 of the Federal Land Policy and 

24 Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1714), or 

25 (2) chapter 3203 of title 54, United States Code. 


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1 SEC. 402. PROHIBITIONS ON DELAY OF MINERAL DEVELOP2 MENT OF CERTAIN FEDERAL LAND. 

3 (a) PROHIBITIONS.—Notwithstanding any other pro4 vision of law, the President shall not carry out any action 

5 that would pause, restrict, or delay the process for or 

6 issuance of any of the following on Federal land, unless such 

7 lands are withdrawn from disposition under the mineral 

8 leasing laws, including by administrative withdrawal: 

9 (1) New oil and gas lease sales, oil and gas 

10 leases, drill permits, or associated approvals or au11 thorizations of any kind associated with oil and gas 

12 leases. 

13 (2) New coal leases (including leases by applica14 tion in process, renewals, modifications, or expan15 sions of existing leases), permits, approvals, or au16 thorizations. 

17 (3) New leases, claims, permits, approvals, or 

18 authorizations for development or exploration of min19 erals. 

20 (b) PROHIBITION ON RESCISSION OF LEASES, PER21 MITS, OR CLAIMS.—The President, the Secretary, or Sec22 retary of Agriculture as applicable, may not rescind any 

23 existing lease, permit, or claim for the extraction and pro24 duction of any mineral under the mining laws or mineral 

25 leasing and mineral materials laws on National Forest Sys26 tem land or land under the jurisdiction of the Bureau of 


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1 Land Management, unless specifically authorized by Fed2 eral statute, or upon the lessee, permittee, or claimant’s fail3 ure to comply with any of the provisions of the applicable 

4 lease, permit, or claim. 

5 (c) MINERAL DEFINED.—In subsection (a)(3), the term 

6 ‘‘mineral’’ means any mineral of a kind that is locatable 

7 (including such minerals located on ‘‘lands acquired by the 

8 United States’’, as such term is defined in section 2 of the 

9 Mineral Leasing Act for Acquired Lands) under the Act of 

10 May 10, 1872 (Chapter 152; 17 Stat. 91). 

11 SEC. 403. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this title: 

13 (1) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

14 means— 

15 (A) National Forest System land; 

16 (B) public lands (as defined in section 103 

17 of the Federal Land Policy and Management Act 

18 of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702)); 

19 (C) the outer Continental Shelf (as defined 

20 in section 2 of the Outer Continental Shelf 

21 Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1331)); and 

22 (D) land managed by the Secretary of En23 ergy. 

24 (2) PRESIDENT.—The term ‘‘President’’ means— 

25 (A) the President; and 


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1 (B) any designee of the President, includ2 ing— 

3 (i) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

4 (ii) the Secretary of Commerce; 

5 (iii) the Secretary of Energy; and 

6 (iv) the Secretary of the Interior. 

7 (3) PREVIOUSLY UNDISCOVERED DEPOSIT.—The 

8 term ‘‘previously undiscovered mineral deposit’’ 

9 means— 

10 (A) a mineral deposit that has been pre11 viously evaluated by the United States Geological 

12 Survey and found to be of low mineral potential, 

13 but upon subsequent evaluation is determined by 

14 the United States Geological Survey to have sig15 nificant mineral potential, or 

16 (B) a mineral deposit that has not pre17 viously been evaluated by the United States Geo18 logical Survey. 

19 (4) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

20 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 TITLE V—ENSURING COMPETI2 TIVENESS ON FEDERAL 

3 LANDS 

4 SEC. 501. INCENTIVIZING DOMESTIC PRODUCTION. 

5 (a) OFFSHORE OIL AND GAS ROYALTY RATE.—Sec6 tion 8(a)(1) of the Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 

7 U.S.C. 1337(a)(1)) is amended— 

8 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘not less 

than 162⁄3 percent, but not more than 183 9 ⁄4 percent, 

10 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

11 enactment of the Act titled ‘An Act to provide for rec12 onciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14’, 

and not less than 162 13 ⁄3 percent thereafter,’’ each place 

14 it appears and inserting ‘‘not less than 12.5 percent’’; 

15 (2) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘not less 

than 162⁄3 percent, but not more than 183 16 ⁄4 percent, 

17 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

18 enactment of the Act titled ‘An Act to provide for rec19 onciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14’, 

and not less than 162 20 ⁄3 percent thereafter,’’ each place 

21 it appears and inserting ‘‘not less than 12.5 percent’’; 

22 (3) in subparagraph (F), by striking ‘‘not less 

than 162⁄3 percent, but not more than 183 23 ⁄4 percent, 

24 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

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1 onciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14’, 

and not less than 162 2 ⁄3 percent thereafter,’’ and in3 serting ‘‘not less than 12.5 percent’’; and 

4 (4) in subparagraph (H), by striking ‘‘not less 

than 162⁄3 percent, but not more than 183 5 ⁄4 percent, 

6 during the 10-year period beginning on the date of 

7 enactment of the Act titled ‘An Act to provide for rec8 onciliation pursuant to title II of S. Con. Res. 14’, 

and not less than 162 9 ⁄3 percent thereafter,’’ and in10 serting ‘‘not less than 12.5 percent’’. 

11 (b) MINERAL LEASING ACT.— 

12 (1) ONSHORE OIL AND GAS ROYALTY RATES.— 

13 (A) LEASE OF OIL AND GAS LAND.—Section 

14 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) 

15 is amended— 

16 (i) in subsection (b)(1)(A)— 

17 (I) by striking ‘‘not less than 

162 18 ⁄3’’ and inserting ‘‘not less than 

19 12.5’’; and 

20 (II) by striking ‘‘or, in the case of 

21 a lease issued during the 10-year pe22 riod beginning on the date of enact23 ment of the Act titled ‘An Act to pro24 vide for reconciliation pursuant to title 

II of S. Con. Res. 14’, 162 25 ⁄3 percent in 


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1 amount or value of the production re2 moved or sold from the lease’’; and 

(ii) by striking ‘‘162 3 ⁄3 percent’’ each 

4 place it appears and inserting ‘‘12.5 per5 cent’’. 

6 (B) CONDITIONS FOR REINSTATEMENT.— 

7 Section 31(e)(3) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

8 U.S.C. 188(e)(3)) is amended by striking ‘‘20’’ 

inserting ‘‘162 9 ⁄3’’. 

10 (2) OIL AND GAS MINIMUM BID.—Section 17(b) 

11 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(b)) is 

12 amended— 

13 (A) in paragraph (1)(B), by striking ‘‘$10 

14 per acre during the 10-year period beginning on 

15 the date of enactment of the Act titled ‘An Act 

16 to provide for reconciliation pursuant to title II 

17 of S. Con. Res. 14’.’’ and inserting ‘‘$2 per acre 

18 for a period of 2 years from the date of the en19 actment of the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas 

20 Leasing Reform Act of 1987.’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2)(C), by striking ‘‘$10 

22 per acre’’ and inserting ‘‘$2 per acre’’. 

23 (3) FOSSIL FUEL RENTAL RATES.—Section 17(d) 

24 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(d)) is 

25 amended to read as follows: 


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1 ‘‘(d) All leases issued under this section, as amended 

2 by the Federal Onshore Oil and Gas Leasing Reform Act 

3 of 1987, shall be conditioned upon payment by the lessee 

4 of a rental of not less than $1.50 per acre per year for the 

5 first through fifth years of the lease and not less than $2 

6 per acre per year for each year thereafter. A minimum roy7 alty in lieu of rental of not less than the rental which other8 wise would be required for that lease year shall be payable 

9 at the expiration of each lease year beginning on or after 

10 a discovery of oil or gas in paying quantities on the lands 

11 leased.’’. 

12 (4) EXPRESSION OF INTEREST FEE.—Section 17 

13 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is further 

14 amended by repealing subsection (q). 

15 (5) ELIMINATION OF NONCOMPETITIVE LEAS16 ING.—Section 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

17 U.S.C. 226) is further amended— 

18 (A) in subsection (b)— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

20 (I) in the first sentence, by strik21 ing ‘‘paragraph (2)’’ and inserting 

22 ‘‘paragraphs (2) and (3)’’; and 

23 (II) by adding at the end ‘‘Lands 

24 for which no bids are received or for 

25 which the highest bid is less than the 


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1 national minimum acceptable bid shall 

2 be offered promptly within 30 days for 

3 leasing under subsection (c) of this sec4 tion and shall remain available for 

5 leasing for a period of 2 years after the 

6 competitive lease sale.’’; and 

7 (ii) by adding at the end the following: 

8 ‘‘(3)(A) If the United States held a vested future 

9 interest in a mineral estate that, immediately prior 

10 to becoming a vested present interest, was subject to 

11 a lease under which oil or gas was being produced, 

12 or had a well capable of producing, in paying quan13 tities at an annual average production volume per 

14 well per day of either not more than 15 barrels per 

15 day of oil or condensate, or not more than 60,000 

16 cubic feet of gas, the holder of the lease may elect to 

17 continue the lease as a noncompetitive lease under 

18 subsection (c)(1). 

19 ‘‘(B) An election under this paragraph is effec20 tive— 

21 ‘‘(i) in the case of an interest which vested 

22 after January 1, 1990, and on or before October 

23 24, 1992, if the election is made before the date 

24 that is 1 year after October 24, 1992; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of an interest which vests 

2 within 1 year after October 24, 1992, if the elec3 tion is made before the date that is 2 years after 

4 October 24, 1992; and 

5 ‘‘(iii) in any case other than those described 

6 in clause (i) or (ii), if the election is made prior 

7 to the interest becoming a vested present inter8 est.’’; 

9 (B) by striking subsection (c) and inserting 

10 the following: 

11 ‘‘(c) LANDS SUBJECT TO LEASING UNDER SUB12 SECTION (B); FIRST QUALIFIED APPLICANT.— 

13 ‘‘(1) If the lands to be leased are not leased 

14 under subsection (b)(1) of this section or are not sub15 ject to competitive leasing under subsection (b)(2) of 

16 this section, the person first making application for 

17 the lease who is qualified to hold a lease under this 

18 chapter shall be entitled to a lease of such lands with19 out competitive bidding, upon payment of a non-re20 fundable application fee of at least $75. A lease under 

21 this subsection shall be conditioned upon the payment 

22 of a royalty at a rate of 12.5 percent in amount or 

23 value of the production removed or sold from the 

24 lease. Leases shall be issued within 60 days of the 


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1 date on which the Secretary identifies the first re2 sponsible qualified applicant. 

3 ‘‘(2)(A) Lands (i) which were posted for sale 

4 under subsection (b)(1) of this section but for which 

5 no bids were received or for which the highest bid was 

6 less than the national minimum acceptable bid and 

7 (ii) for which, at the end of the period referred to in 

8 subsection (b)(1) of this section no lease has been 

9 issued and no lease application is pending under 

10 paragraph (1) of this subsection, shall again be avail11 able for leasing only in accordance with subsection 

12 (b)(1) of this section. 

13 ‘‘(B) The land in any lease which is issued 

14 under paragraph (1) of this subsection or under sub15 section (b)(1) of this section which lease terminates, 

16 expires, is cancelled or is relinquished shall again be 

17 available for leasing only in accordance with sub18 section (b)(1) of this section.’’; and 

19 (C) by striking subsection (e) and inserting 

20 the following: 

21 ‘‘(e) PRIMARY TERM.—Competitive and noncompeti22 tive leases issued under this section shall be for a primary 

23 term of 10 years: Provided, however, That competitive leases 

24 issued in special tar sand areas shall also be for a primary 

25 term of 10 years. Each such lease shall continue so long 


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1 after its primary term as oil or gas is produced in paying 

2 quantities. Any lease issued under this section for land on 

3 which, or for which under an approved cooperative or unit 

4 plan of development or operation, actual drilling operations 

5 were commenced prior to the end of its primary term and 

6 are being diligently prosecuted at that time shall be ex7 tended for two years and so long thereafter as oil or gas 

8 is produced in paying quantities.’’. 

9 (6) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 31 of 

10 the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 188) is amend11 ed— 

12 (A) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘sec13 tion 17(b)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (b) or (c) 

14 of section 17 of this Act’’; 

15 (B) in subsection (e)— 

16 (i) in paragraph (2)— 

17 (I) insert ‘‘either’’ after ‘‘rentals 

18 and’’; and 

19 (II) insert ‘‘or the inclusion in a 

20 reinstated lease issued pursuant to the 

21 provisions of section 17(c) of this Act 

22 of a requirement that future rentals 

23 shall be at a rate not less than $5 per 

24 acre per year, all’’ before ‘‘as deter25 mined by the Secretary’’; and 


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1 (ii) by amending paragraph (3) to 

2 read as follows: 

3 ‘‘(3)(A) payment of back royalties and the inclu4 sion in a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the pro5 visions of section 17(b) of this Act of a requirement 

for future royalties at a rate of not less than 162 6 ⁄3

7 percent computed on a sliding scale based upon the 

8 average production per well per day, at a rate which 

9 shall be not less than 4 percentage points greater than 

10 the competitive royalty schedule then in force and 

11 used for royalty determination for competitive leases 

12 issued pursuant to such section as determined by the 

13 Secretary: Provided, That royalty on such reinstated 

14 lease shall be paid on all production removed or sold 

15 from such lease subsequent to the termination of the 

16 original lease; 

17 ‘‘(B) payment of back royalties and inclusion in 

18 a reinstated lease issued pursuant to the provisions of 

19 section 17(c) of this Act of a requirement for future 

royalties at a rate not less than 162 20 ⁄3 percent: Pro21 vided, That royalty on such reinstated lease shall be 

22 paid on all production removed or sold from such 

23 lease subsequent to the cancellation or termination of 

24 the original lease; and’’. 

25 (C) in subsection (f)— 


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1 (i) in paragraph (1), strike ‘‘in the 

2 same manner as the original lease issued 

3 pursuant to section 17’’ and insert ‘‘as a 

4 competitive or a noncompetitive oil and gas 

5 lease in the same manner as the original 

6 lease issued pursuant to subsection (b) or 

7 (c) of section 17 of this Act’’; 

8 (ii) by redesignating paragraphs (2) 

9 and (3) as paragraph (3) and (4), respec10 tively; and 

11 (iii) by inserting after paragraph (1) 

12 the following: 

13 ‘‘(2) Except as otherwise provided in this section, 

14 the issuance of a lease in lieu of an abandoned pat15 ented oil placer mining claim shall be treated as a 

16 noncompetitive oil and gas lease issued pursuant to 

17 section 17(c) of this Act.’’; 

18 (D) in subsection (g), by striking ‘‘sub19 section (d)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsections (d) and 

20 (f)’’; 

21 (E) by amending subsection (h) to read as 

22 follows: 

23 ‘‘(h) ROYALTY REDUCTIONS.— 

24 ‘‘(1) In acting on a petition to issue a non25 competitive oil and gas lease, under subsection (f) of 


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1 this section or in response to a request filed after 

2 issuance of such a lease, or both, the Secretary is au3 thorized to reduce the royalty on such lease if in his 

4 judgment it is equitable to do so or the circumstances 

5 warrant such relief due to uneconomic or other cir6 cumstances which could cause undue hardship or pre7 mature termination of production. 

8 ‘‘(2) In acting on a petition for reinstatement 

9 pursuant to subsection (d) of this section or in re10 sponse to a request filed after reinstatement, or both, 

11 the Secretary is authorized to reduce the royalty in 

12 that reinstated lease on the entire leasehold or any 

13 tract or portion thereof segregated for royalty pur14 poses if, in his judgment, there are uneconomic or 

15 other circumstances which could cause undue hard16 ship or premature termination of production; or be17 cause of any written action of the United States, its 

18 agents or employees, which preceded, and was a 

19 major consideration in, the lessee’s expenditure of 

20 funds to develop the property under the lease after the 

21 rent had become due and had not been paid; or if in 

22 the judgment of the Secretary it is equitable to do so 

23 for any reason.’’. 


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1 (F) by redesignating subsections (f) through 

2 (i) as subsections (g) through (j), respectively; 

3 and 

4 (G) by inserting after subsection (e) the fol5 lowing: 

6 ‘‘(f) ISSUANCE OF NONCOMPETITIVE OIL AND GAS

7 LEASE; CONDITIONS.—Where an unpatented oil placer 

8 mining claim validly located prior to February 24, 1920, 

9 which has been or is currently producing or is capable of 

10 producing oil or gas, has been or is hereafter deemed conclu11 sively abandoned for failure to file timely the required in12 struments or copies of instruments required by section 1744 

13 of title 43, and it is shown to the satisfaction of the Sec14 retary that such failure was inadvertent, justifiable, or not 

15 due to lack of reasonable diligence on the part of the owner, 

16 the Secretary may issue, for the lands covered by the aban17 doned unpatented oil placer mining claim, a noncompeti18 tive oil and gas lease, consistent with the provisions of sec19 tion 17(e) of this Act, to be effective from the statutory date 

20 the claim was deemed conclusively abandoned. Issuance of 

21 such a lease shall be conditioned upon: 

22 ‘‘(1) a petition for issuance of a noncompetitive 

23 oil and gas lease, together with the required rental 

24 and royalty, including back rental and royalty accru25 ing from the statutory date of abandonment of the oil 


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1 placer mining claim, being filed with the Secretary2 (A) with respect to any claim deemed conclusively 

3 abandoned on or before January 12, 1983, on or be4 fore the one hundred and twentieth day after January 

5 12, 1983, or (B) with respect to any claim deemed 

6 conclusively abandoned after January 12, 1983, on or 

7 before the one hundred and twentieth day after final 

8 notification by the Secretary or a court of competent 

9 jurisdiction of the determination of the abandonment 

10 of the oil placer mining claim; 

11 ‘‘(2) a valid lease not having been issued affect12 ing any of the lands covered by the abandoned oil 

13 placer mining claim prior to the filing of such peti14 tion: Provided, however, That after the filing of a pe15 tition for issuance of a lease under this subsection, the 

16 Secretary shall not issue any new lease affecting any 

17 of the lands covered by such abandoned oil placer 

18 mining claim for a reasonable period, as determined 

19 in accordance with regulations issued by him; 

20 ‘‘(3) a requirement in the lease for payment of 

21 rental, including back rentals accruing from the stat22 utory date of abandonment of the oil placer mining 

23 claim, of not less than $5 per acre per year; 

24 ‘‘(4) a requirement in the lease for payment of 

25 royalty on production removed or sold from the oil 


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1 placer mining claim, including all royalty on produc2 tion made subsequent to the statutory date the claim 

3 was deemed conclusively abandoned, of not less than 

121 4 ⁄2 percent; and 

5 ‘‘(5) compliance with the notice and reimburse6 ment of costs provisions of paragraph (4) of sub7 section (e) but addressed to the petition covering the 

8 conversion of an abandoned unpatented oil placer 

9 mining claim to a noncompetitive oil and gas lease.’’. 

10 TITLE VI—ENERGY REVENUE 

11 SHARING 

12 SEC. 601. GULF OF MEXICO OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF 

13 REVENUE. 

14 (a) DISTRIBUTION OF OUTER CONTINENTAL SHELF

15 REVENUE TO GULF PRODUCING STATES.—Section 105 of 

16 the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security Act of 2006 (43 U.S.C. 

17 1331 note) is amended— 

18 (1) in subsection (a)— 

19 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘50’’ and 

20 inserting ‘‘37.5’’; and 

21 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

22 (i) by striking ‘‘50’’ and inserting 

23 ‘‘62.5’’; 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

25 ‘‘75’’ and inserting ‘‘80’’; and 


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1 (iii) in subparagraph (B), by striking 

2 ‘‘25’’ and inserting ‘‘20’’; and 

3 (2) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the 

4 following: 

5 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.—Amounts disbursed to 

6 a Gulf producing State under this section shall be treated 

7 as revenue sharing and not as a Federal award or grant 

8 for the purposes of part 200 of title 2, Code of Federal Regu9 lations.’’. 

10 (b) EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS FROM SE11 QUESTRATION.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the 

13 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 

14 of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by insert15 ing after ‘‘Payments to Social Security Trust Funds 

16 (28–0404–0–1–651).’’ the following: 

17 ‘‘Payments to States pursuant to section 

18 105(a)(2)(A) of the Gulf of Mexico Energy Security 

19 Act of 2006 (Public Law 109–432; 43 U.S.C. 1331 

20 note) (014–5535–0–2–302).’’. 

21 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

22 this subsection shall apply to any sequestration order 

23 issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

24 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) on 

25 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 602. PARITY IN OFFSHORE WIND REVENUE SHARING. 

2 (a) PAYMENTS AND REVENUES.—Section 8(p)(2) of the 

3 Outer Continental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)) 

4 is amended— 

5 (1) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘(A) The 

6 Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subject to subpara8 graphs (B) and (C), the Secretary’’; 

9 (2) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘(B) The 

10 Secretary’’ and inserting the following: 

11 ‘‘(B) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES FOR

12 PROJECTS LOCATED WITHIN 3 NAUTICAL MILES

13 SEAWARD OF STATE SUBMERGED LAND.—The 

14 Secretary’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following: 

16 ‘‘(C) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES FOR OFF17 SHORE WIND PROJECTS IN CERTAIN AREAS.— 

18 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this subpara19 graph: 

20 ‘‘(I) COVERED OFFSHORE WIND

21 PROJECT.—The term ‘covered offshore 

22 wind project’ means a wind powered 

23 electric generation project in a wind 

24 energy area on the outer Continental 

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1 cated within an area subject to sub2 paragraph (B). 

3 ‘‘(II) ELIGIBLE STATE.—The term 

4 ‘eligible State’ means a State a point 

5 on the coastline of which is located 

6 within 75 miles of the geographic cen7 ter of a covered offshore wind project. 

8 ‘‘(III) QUALIFIED OUTER CONTI9 NENTAL SHELF REVENUES.—The term 

10 ‘qualified outer Continental Shelf reve11 nues’ means all royalties, fees, rentals, 

12 bonuses, or other payments from cov13 ered offshore wind projects carried out 

14 pursuant to this subsection on or after 

15 the date of enactment of this subpara16 graph. 

17 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.— 

18 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

19 of the Treasury shall deposit— 

20 ‘‘(aa) 12.5 percent of quali21 fied outer Continental Shelf reve22 nues in the general fund of the 

23 Treasury; 

24 ‘‘(bb) 37.5 percent of quali25 fied outer Continental Shelf reveVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00112 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 nues in the North American Wet2 lands Conservation Fund; and 

3 ‘‘(cc) 50 percent of qualified 

4 outer Continental Shelf revenues 

5 in a special account in the Treas6 ury from which the Secretary 

7 shall disburse to each eligible 

8 State an amount determined pur9 suant to subclause (II). 

10 ‘‘(II) ALLOCATION.— 

11 ‘‘(aa) IN GENERAL.—Subject 

12 to item (bb), for each fiscal year 

13 beginning after the date of enact14 ment of this subparagraph, the 

15 amount made available under 

16 subclause (I)(cc) shall be allocated 

17 to each eligible State in amounts 

18 (based on a formula established by 

19 the Secretary by regulation) that 

20 are inversely proportional to the 

21 respective distances between the 

22 point on the coastline of each eli23 gible State that is closest to the 

24 geographic center of the applicable 


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1 leased tract and the geographic 

2 center of the leased tract. 

3 ‘‘(bb) MINIMUM ALLOCA4 TION.—The amount allocated to 

5 an eligible State each fiscal year 

6 under item (aa) shall be at least 

7 10 percent of the amounts made 

8 available under subclause (I)(cc). 

9 ‘‘(cc) PAYMENTS TO COASTAL

10 POLITICAL SUBDIVISIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(AA) IN GENERAL.— 

12 The Secretary shall pay 20 

13 percent of the allocable share 

14 of each eligible State, as de15 termined pursuant to item 

16 (aa), to the coastal political 

17 subdivisions of the eligible 

18 State. 

19 ‘‘(BB) ALLOCATION.— 

20 The amount paid by the Sec21 retary to coastal political 

22 subdivisions under subitem 

23 (AA) shall be allocated to 

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1 paragraphs (B) and (C) of 

2 section 31(b)(4) of this Act. 

3 ‘‘(iii) TIMING.—The amounts required 

4 to be deposited under subclause (I) of clause 

5 (ii) for the applicable fiscal year shall be 

6 made available in accordance with such 

7 subclause during the fiscal year imme8 diately following the applicable fiscal year. 

9 ‘‘(iv) AUTHORIZED USES.— 

10 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Subject to 

11 subclause (II), each eligible State shall 

12 use all amounts received under clause 

13 (ii)(II) in accordance with all applica14 ble Federal and State laws, only for 1 

15 or more of the following purposes: 

16 ‘‘(aa) Projects and activities 

17 for the purposes of coastal protec18 tion and resiliency, including con19 servation, coastal restoration, es20 tuary management, beach nour21 ishment, hurricane and flood pro22 tection, and infrastructure di23 rectly affected by coastal wetland 

24 losses. 


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1 ‘‘(bb) Mitigation of damage 

2 to fish, wildlife, or natural re3 sources, including through fish4 eries science and research. 

5 ‘‘(cc) Implementation of a 

6 federally approved marine, coast7 al, or comprehensive conservation 

8 management plan. 

9 ‘‘(dd) Mitigation of the im10 pact of outer Continental Shelf 

11 activities through the funding of 

12 onshore infrastructure projects. 

13 ‘‘(ee) Planning assistance 

14 and the administrative costs of 

15 complying with this section. 

16 ‘‘(ff) Infrastructure improve17 ments at ports, including modi18 fications to Federal navigation 

19 channels, to support installation 

20 of offshore wind energy projects. 

21 ‘‘(II) LIMITATION.—Of the 

22 amounts received by an eligible State 

23 under clause (ii)(II), not more than 3 

24 percent shall be used for the purposes 

25 described in subclause (I)(ee). 


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1 ‘‘(v) ADMINISTRATION.—Subject to 

2 clause (vi)(III), amounts made available 

3 under items (aa) and (cc) of clause (ii)(I) 

4 shall— 

5 ‘‘(I) be made available, without 

6 further appropriation, in accordance 

7 with this subparagraph; 

8 ‘‘(II) remain available until ex9 pended; and 

10 ‘‘(III) be in addition to any 

11 amount appropriated under any other 

12 Act. 

13 ‘‘(vi) REPORTING REQUIREMENT.— 

14 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 

15 180 days after the end of each fiscal 

16 year, the Governor of each eligible 

17 State that receives amounts under 

18 clause (ii)(II) for the applicable fiscal 

19 year shall submit to the Secretary a re20 port that describes the use of the 

21 amounts by the eligible State during 

22 the period covered by the report. 

23 ‘‘(II) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—On 

24 receipt of a report submitted under 

25 subclause (I), the Secretary shall make 


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1 the report available to the public on 

2 the website of the Department of the 

3 Interior. 

4 ‘‘(III) LIMITATION.—If the Gov5 ernor of an eligible State that receives 

6 amounts under clause (ii)(II) fails to 

7 submit the report required under sub8 clause (I) by the deadline specified in 

9 that subclause, any amounts that 

10 would otherwise be provided to the eli11 gible State under clause (ii)(II) for the 

12 succeeding fiscal year shall be depos13 ited in the Treasury. 

14 ‘‘(vii) TREATMENT OF AMOUNTS.— 

15 Amounts disbursed to an eligible State 

16 under this subsection shall be treated as rev17 enue sharing and not as a Federal award or 

18 grant for the purposes of part 200 of title 

19 2, Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

20 (b) WIND LEASE SALES FOR AREAS OF THE OUTER

21 CONTINENTAL SHELF OFFSHORE OF TERRITORIES OF THE

22 UNITED STATES.—Section 33 of the Outer Continental 

23 Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1356c) is amended by adding 

24 at the end the following: 


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1 ‘‘(b) WIND LEASE SALE PROCEDURE.—Any wind 

2 lease granted pursuant to this section shall be considered 

3 a wind lease granted under section 8(p), including for pur4 poses of the disposition of revenues pursuant to subpara5 graphs (B) and (C) of section 8(p)(2).’’. 

6 (c) EXEMPTION OF CERTAIN PAYMENTS FROM SE7 QUESTRATION.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 255(g)(1)(A) of the 

9 Balanced Budget and Emergency Deficit Control Act 

10 of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 905(g)(1)(A)) is amended by insert11 ing after ‘‘Payments to Social Security Trust Funds 

12 (28–0404–0–1–651).’’ the following: 

13 ‘‘Payments to States pursuant to subparagraph 

14 (C)(ii)(I)(cc) of section 8(p)(2) of the Outer Conti15 nental Shelf Lands Act (43 U.S.C. 1337(p)(2)).’’. 

16 (2) APPLICABILITY.—The amendment made by 

17 this subsection shall apply to any sequestration order 

18 issued under the Balanced Budget and Emergency 

19 Deficit Control Act of 1985 (2 U.S.C. 900 et seq.) on 

20 or after the date of enactment of this Act. 

21 SEC. 603. ELIMINATION OF ADMINISTRATIVE FEE UNDER 

22 THE MINERAL LEASING ACT. 

23 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 35 of the Mineral Leasing 

24 Act (30 U.S.C. 191) is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (a), in the first sentence, by 

2 striking ‘‘and, subject to the provisions of subsection 

3 (b),’’; 

4 (2) by striking subsection (b); 

5 (3) by redesignating subsections (c) and (d) as 

6 subsections (b) and (c), respectively; 

7 (4) in paragraph (3)(B)(ii) of subsection (b) (as 

8 so redesignated), by striking ‘‘subsection (d)’’ and in9 serting ‘‘subsection (c)’’; and 

10 (5) in paragraph (3)(A)(ii) of subsection (c) (as 

11 so redesignated), by striking ‘‘subsection (c)(2)(B)’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘subsection (b)(2)(B)’’. 

13 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

14 (1) Section 6(a) of the Mineral Leasing Act for 

15 Acquired Lands (30 U.S.C. 355(a)) is amended— 

16 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘Sub17 ject to the provisions of section 35(b) of the Min18 eral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(b)), all’’ and in19 serting ‘‘All’’; and 

20 (B) in the second sentence, by striking ‘‘of 

21 the Act of February 25, 1920 (41 Stat. 450; 30 

22 U.S.C. 191),’’ and inserting ‘‘of the Mineral 

23 Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191)’’. 

24 (2) Section 20(a) of the Geothermal Steam Act 

25 of 1970 (30 U.S.C. 1019(a)) is amended, in the secVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:24 Mar 24, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00120 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\H1335.RH H1335

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1 ond sentence of the matter preceding paragraph (1), 

2 by striking ‘‘the provisions of subsection (b) of section 

3 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 191(b)) and 

4 section 5(a)(2) of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

5 5(a)(2)’’. 

6 (3) Section 205(f) of the Federal Oil and Gas 

7 Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 1735(f)) 

8 is amended— 

9 (A) in the first sentence, by striking ‘‘this 

10 Section’’ and inserting ‘‘this section’’; and 

11 (B) by striking the fourth, fifth, and sixth 

12 sentences. 


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Union Calendar No. 18 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1335 

[Report No. 118–28, Part I] 

A BILL 

To restart onshore and offshore oil, gas, and coal 

ment on Federal lands, and for other purposes. structure, ensure transparency in energy developleasing, streamline permitting for energy infraMARCH 23, 2023 

Reported with an amendment 

MARCH 23, 2023 

Committees on Agriculture and the Budget discharged; 

the State of the Union and ordered to be printed committed to the Committee of the Whole House on 


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