II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2170 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for transparency and landowner 

protections in the conduct of lease sales under that Act, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 22, 2021 

Mr. BENNET introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources 

A BILL 

To amend the Mineral Leasing Act to provide for transparency and landowner protections in the conduct of 

lease sales under that Act, and for other purposes. 

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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Public Engagement 

5 Opportunity on Public Land Exploration Act of 2021’’ or 

6 the ‘‘PEOPLE Act of 2021’’. 

7 SEC. 2. TRANSPARENCY AND LANDOWNER PROTECTIONS. 

8 (a) REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF LAND IDEN9 TIFIED IN EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN LEASE


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1 SALES.—Section 17(b) of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 

2 U.S.C. 226(b)) is amended by adding at the end the fol3 lowing: 

4 ‘‘(4) REQUIREMENTS FOR INCLUSION OF LAND

5 IDENTIFIED IN EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST IN

6 LEASE SALES.— 

7 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A member of the pub8 lic may submit to the Secretary an expression 

9 of interest that identifies land for consideration 

10 for inclusion by the Secretary in a lease sale 

11 under this section. 

12 ‘‘(B) INCLUSION OF LAND IN LEASE

13 SALE.—Subject to the requirements of this sec14 tion, the Secretary may include in a lease sale 

15 under this section the land identified under an 

16 expression of interest received by the Secretary. 

17 ‘‘(C) NOTIFICATION.—On receipt of an ex18 pression of interest, the Secretary shall notify 

19 by certified mail, electronic mail, and electronic 

20 posting on the website of the relevant leasing or 

21 land management agency— 

22 ‘‘(i) any owners of surface rights on 

23 land identified under the expression of in24 terest; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) any holders of recreational or 

2 special use permits on the land; 

3 ‘‘(iii) any holders of grazing rights on 

4 the land; 

5 ‘‘(iv) any owner of a water right the 

6 water of which originates on or flows over 

7 the land; 

8 ‘‘(v) any owner of a water conveyance 

9 structure, such as a ditch, on the land; and 

10 ‘‘(vi) the local government with juris11 diction over the area in which the land is 

12 located. 

13 ‘‘(D) TRANSPARENCY.— 

14 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

15 shall require that each bid for a lease de16 scribed in subparagraph (B) include— 

17 ‘‘(I) the name of the person or 

18 entity submitting the bid, including 

19 the name of all subsidiaries, affiliates, 

20 and entities controlled by, or under 

21 common control with, the person or 

22 entity; 

23 ‘‘(II) if an agent is submitting 

24 the bid on behalf of a person or enti25 ty, the name of the person or entity 


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1 on behalf of which the agent is acting, 

2 including all subsidiaries, affiliates, 

3 and entities controlled by, or under 

4 common control with, the person or 

5 entity; and 

6 ‘‘(III) if the person or entity sub7 mitting the bid is the person or entity 

8 that submitted the applicable expres9 sion of interest, or if an agent is sub10 mitting the bid on behalf of the per11 son or entity that submitted the appli12 cable expression of interest, a disclo13 sure of that fact. 

14 ‘‘(ii) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary 

15 shall publish on the website of the relevant 

16 leasing or land management agency each 

17 name disclosed in a bid under clause (i).’’. 

18 (b) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.—Section 17(f) of the 

19 Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226(f)) is amended— 

20 (1) in the sixth sentence, by striking ‘‘The re21 quirements’’ and inserting the following: 

22 ‘‘(6) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER NOTICE RE23 QUIREMENTS.—The requirements’’; 

24 (2) in the fifth sentence, by striking ‘‘Such 

25 maps’’ and inserting the following: 


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1 ‘‘(C) LOCATION.—A map included in a no2 tice under paragraph (1)’’; 

3 (3) in the fourth sentence, by striking ‘‘Where 

4 the inclusion of maps in such notice’’ and inserting 

5 the following: 

6 ‘‘(B) AVAILABILITY.—If the inclusion of 

7 maps in a notice under paragraph (1)’’; 

8 (4) in the third sentence, by striking ‘‘Such no9 tice’’ and inserting the following: 

10 ‘‘(2) REQUIRED INCLUSIONS.— 

11 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—A notice required 

12 under paragraph (1)’’; 

13 (5) by striking ‘‘(f) At least’’ and all that fol14 lows through ‘‘land management agencies.’’ and in15 serting the following: 

16 ‘‘(f) NOTICE REQUIREMENTS.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days be18 fore offering land for lease under this section, and 

19 not later than 30 days before approving an applica20 tion for permit to drill under the provisions of a 

21 lease issued under this section, modifying the terms 

22 of any lease issued under this section, or granting a 

23 waiver, exception, or modification of any stipulation 

24 of a lease issued under this section, the Secretary 

25 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(A) post notice in the appropriate local 

2 offices, and on the electronic websites, of the 

3 leasing and land management agencies offering 

4 the land for lease; 

5 ‘‘(B) notify by certified mail and electronic 

6 mail any— 

7 ‘‘(i) owners of surface rights on the 

8 land covered by the lease; 

9 ‘‘(ii) holders of special recreation per10 mits for commercial use, competitive 

11 events, or other organized activities on the 

12 land covered by the lease; 

13 ‘‘(iii) holders of grazing rights on the 

14 land covered by the lease; 

15 ‘‘(iv) owner of a water right the water 

16 of which originates on or flows over the 

17 land; 

18 ‘‘(v) owner of a water conveyance 

19 structure, such as a ditch, on the land; and 

20 ‘‘(vi) as applicable, members of the 

21 public who have submitted to the Secretary 

22 a request to receive notice regarding pro23 posed actions of the Secretary applicable 

24 to— 

25 ‘‘(I) a geographic area; or 


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1 ‘‘(II) a resource.’’; and 

2 (6) by inserting after paragraph (2) (as so des3 ignated) the following: 

4 ‘‘(3) ADDITIONAL REQUIREMENTS.— 

5 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Before determining 

6 the parcels to be included in a lease sale under 

7 this section, the Secretary shall provide a 

8 scoping period of not less than 30 days during 

9 which the Secretary shall provide public notice 

10 and an opportunity for comment regarding all 

11 parcels that may be included in the lease sale. 

12 ‘‘(B) ENVIRONMENTAL ANALYSIS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COM14 MENT.—Before conducting a lease sale 

15 under this section, the Secretary, in com16 plying with the National Environmental 

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

18 seq.), shall ensure that the public has the 

19 period of time required under that Act to 

20 comment on any environmental analysis 

21 carried out with respect to the lease sale. 

22 ‘‘(ii) REQUIREMENT.—The period for 

23 public comment under clause (i) shall be 

24 not less than 30 days. 


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1 ‘‘(C) REQUIREMENT TO CONDUCT NEPA

2 ANALYSIS.— 

3 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Before conducting 

4 a lease sale under this section, the Sec5 retary shall conduct an analysis under the 

6 National Environmental Policy Act of 

7 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) unless the 

8 Secretary determines that— 

9 ‘‘(I) the proposed action is ade10 quately covered by relevant existing 

11 analyses under that Act, such as an 

12 environmental impact statement or 

13 environmental assessment (including 

14 supporting data and records); 

15 ‘‘(II) the proposed action is in 

16 conformance with the relevant land 

17 use plan; and 

18 ‘‘(III) there are no new cir19 cumstances, new information, or un20 anticipated or unanalyzed environ21 mental impacts that warrant new or 

22 supplemental analysis. 

23 ‘‘(ii) PUBLIC NOTICE AND COM24 MENT.—Before making a determination 

25 under clause (i) that an analysis under the 


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1 National Environmental Policy Act of 

2 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is not re3 quired with respect to a lease sale under 

4 this section, the Secretary shall provide a 

5 period of public comment for that deter6 mination of not less than 30 days. 

7 ‘‘(D) NEPA ANALYSIS REQUIREMENTS.— 

8 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any analysis pre9 pared pursuant to the National Environ10 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 

11 4321 et seq.) for a lease sale under this 

12 section shall address all parcels being con13 sidered for sale. 

14 ‘‘(ii) RESTRICTION.—No parcel may 

15 be included in a lease sale under this sec16 tion— 

17 ‘‘(I) without compliance with— 

18 ‘‘(aa) the public notice and 

19 comment requirements of this 

20 subsection; and 

21 ‘‘(bb) the National Environ22 mental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

23 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.); and 

24 ‘‘(II) unless the parcel is specifi25 cally identified and considered in the 


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1 analysis for that specific lease sale 

2 carried out in compliance with the 

3 National Environmental Policy Act of 

4 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

5 ‘‘(E) SURFACE MANAGEMENT BY ANOTHER

6 FEDERAL AGENCY.—With respect to a parcel 

7 the surface of which is managed by another 

8 Federal agency, the parcel may not be included 

9 in a lease sale under this section without the 

10 consent of that Federal agency for that specific 

11 lease sale. 

12 ‘‘(F) PROTESTS.— 

13 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—Any party may 

14 file a protest regarding the inclusion of a 

15 parcel in a lease sale under this section. 

16 ‘‘(ii) DEADLINE; METHOD OF FIL17 ING.—A protest under clause (i)— 

18 ‘‘(I) shall be filed by the date 

19 that is not later than 45 days after 

20 the date on which the Secretary gives 

21 notice of the lease sale under para22 graph (1); and 

23 ‘‘(II) may be filed by electronic 

24 mail. 


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1 ‘‘(4) LOCAL GOVERNMENTS.—Before taking 

2 any action for which notice or opportunity for com3 ment is required under this subsection, the Secretary 

4 shall provide to local governments with jurisdiction 

5 over the area in which land covered by a proposed 

6 action is located notice and an opportunity for com7 ment that meets or exceeds the requirements for no8 tice and opportunity for comment under this sub9 section. 

10 ‘‘(5) INDIAN TRIBES.— 

11 ‘‘(A) DEFINITIONS.—In this paragraph: 

12 ‘‘(i) CULTURAL SITE.—The term ‘cul13 tural site’ means— 

14 ‘‘(I) a sacred site; 

15 ‘‘(II) a historic property (as de16 fined in section 800.16 of title 36, 

17 Code of Federal Regulations (as in ef18 fect on the date of enactment of the 

19 PEOPLE Act of 2021)); and 

20 ‘‘(III) a landform or landscape 

21 that— 

22 ‘‘(aa) is the site of impor23 tant customs, practices, objects, 

24 places, or ceremonies of Indian 

25 Tribes; 


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1 ‘‘(bb) is important to an In2 dian Tribe for the undertaking of 

3 religious, cultural, spiritual, or 

4 traditional practices; 

5 ‘‘(cc) is connected through 

6 features or ceremonies to other 

7 sites or a larger sacred land8 scape; or 

9 ‘‘(dd) contains important 

10 traditional food or material gath11 ering areas. 

12 ‘‘(ii) FORMER RESERVATION.—The 

13 term ‘former reservation’ means land that 

14 is within the exterior boundaries of any 

15 previous reservation that was established 

16 by treaty, Executive order, or Secretarial 

17 order for an Indian Tribe. 

18 ‘‘(iii) INDIAN TRIBE.—The term ‘In19 dian Tribe’ means an Indian tribe included 

20 on the list published by the Secretary 

21 under section 104 of the Federally Recog22 nized Indian Tribe List Act of 1994 (25 

23 U.S.C. 5131). 

24 ‘‘(iv) INTERESTED INDIAN TRIBE.— 

25 The term ‘interested Indian Tribe’, with 


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1 respect to land under consideration for in2 clusion by the Secretary in a lease sale 

3 under this section, means an Indian Tribe 

4 with— 

5 ‘‘(I) historic, prehistoric, cultural, 

6 or religious connection to a cultural 

7 site located on the land; 

8 ‘‘(II) a former reservation located 

9 on the land; or 

10 ‘‘(III) treaty rights or other re11 served rights that can be exercised on 

12 the land. 

13 ‘‘(v) SACRED SITE.—The term ‘sacred 

14 site’ means a specific, discrete, narrowly 

15 delineated site on land subject to leasing 

16 under this section that is identified by an 

17 Indian Tribe as sacred by virtue of the es18 tablished religious significance of the site 

19 to, or ceremonial use of the site by, an In20 dian Tribe. 

21 ‘‘(B) NOTICE AND OPPORTUNITY FOR COM22 MENT; FORMAL CONSULTATION.—Before taking 

23 any action for which notice or opportunity for 

24 comment is required under this subsection, the 

25 Secretary shall— 


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1 ‘‘(i) provide any interested Indian 

2 Tribe notice and an opportunity for com3 ment that meets or exceeds the require4 ments for notice and opportunity for com5 ment under this subsection; and 

6 ‘‘(ii) at the request of any interested 

7 Indian Tribe, initiate formal consultation 

8 with the interested Indian Tribe regarding 

9 the proposed action.’’. 

10 (c) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER PROTECTION.—Sec11 tion 17 of the Mineral Leasing Act (30 U.S.C. 226) is 

12 amended by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(q) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER PROTECTION.— 

14 ‘‘(1) DEFINITION OF COVERED LAND.—In this 

15 subsection, the term ‘covered land’ means land sub16 ject to a lease under this section— 

17 ‘‘(A) the title to the oil and gas resources 

18 of which is held by the United States; but 

19 ‘‘(B) the title to the surface estate of 

20 which is not held by the United States. 

21 ‘‘(2) POST-LEASE SURFACE USE AGREEMENT.— 

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

23 paragraph (3), the Secretary shall not authorize 

24 any operator to conduct exploration and drilling 

25 operations on covered land until the operator 


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1 files with the Secretary a document, signed by 

2 the operator and the 1 or more surface estate 

3 owners, demonstrating that the operator has se4 cured a written surface use agreement between 

5 the operator and the 1 or more surface estate 

6 owners that meets the requirements of subpara7 graph (B). 

8 ‘‘(B) CONTENTS.—The surface use agree9 ment under subparagraph (A) shall provide 

10 for— 

11 ‘‘(i) the use by the operator of only 

12 such portion of the surface estate as is rea13 sonably necessary for exploration and drill14 ing operations based on site-specific condi15 tions; 

16 ‘‘(ii) the accommodation of the sur17 face estate owner to the maximum extent 

18 practicable, including the location, use, 

19 timing, and type of exploration and drilling 

20 operations, consistent with the right of the 

21 operator to develop the oil and gas estate; 

22 ‘‘(iii) placement, specifications, main23 tenance, and design of well pads, gathering 

24 pipelines, and roads to be constructed for 


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1 oil and gas operations, to the extent 

2 known; 

3 ‘‘(iv) terms of ingress and egress on 

4 the surface of the land for oil and gas op5 erations; 

6 ‘‘(v) construction, maintenance, and 

7 placement of all pits and equipment used 

8 or planned for oil and gas operations, to 

9 the extent known; 

10 ‘‘(vi) use and impoundment of water 

11 on the surface of the land; 

12 ‘‘(vii) removal and restoration of plant 

13 life; 

14 ‘‘(viii) surface water drainage 

15 changes; 

16 ‘‘(ix) actions to limit and effectively 

17 control precipitation runoff and erosion; 

18 ‘‘(x) control and management of 

19 noise, weeds, dust, traffic, trespass, litter, 

20 and interference with the use of the sur21 face estate owner; 

22 ‘‘(xi) operator indemnification for in23 jury to persons caused by the operator or 

24 a subcontractor or agent of the operator; 


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1 ‘‘(xii) the reclamation of the site to a 

2 condition capable of supporting the uses 

3 that the land was capable of supporting 

4 prior to exploration and drilling operations; 

5 and 

6 ‘‘(xiii) compensation for damages re7 sulting from exploration and drilling oper8 ations, including— 

9 ‘‘(I) loss of income and increased 

10 costs incurred; 

11 ‘‘(II) groundwater contamination 

12 and negative impacts to air quality; 

13 ‘‘(III) damage to, or destruction 

14 of, personal property, including crops, 

15 forage, and livestock; and 

16 ‘‘(IV) failure to reclaim the site 

17 in accordance with clause (xii). 

18 ‘‘(C) PROCEDURE.— 

19 ‘‘(i) NOTICE OF INTENT TO ENTER

20 INTO AGREEMENT.—An operator shall no21 tify the 1 or more surface estate owners of 

22 the desire of the operator to conclude an 

23 agreement under this paragraph by cer24 tified mail or electronic mail. 

25 ‘‘(ii) ARBITRATION.— 


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1 ‘‘(I) IN GENERAL.—If the surface 

2 estate owner and the operator do not 

3 reach an agreement under clause (i) 

4 by the date that is 90 days after the 

5 date on which the operator provides 

6 notice under that clause, the operator 

7 may submit the matter to third-party 

8 arbitration. 

9 ‘‘(II) DEADLINE FOR ARBITRA10 TION.—An arbitration under sub11 clause (I) shall be concluded within a 

12 period of 90 days. 

13 ‘‘(III) COST.—The cost of an ar14 bitration under subclause (I) shall be 

15 the responsibility of the operator. 

16 ‘‘(IV) LIST OF ARBITRATORS.— 

17 The Secretary shall make publicly 

18 available a list of persons who are 

19 qualified to arbitrate disputes under 

20 this clause. 

21 ‘‘(V) QUALIFICATIONS OF ARBI22 TRATORS.—In order to arbitrate a 

23 dispute under this clause, an arbi24 trator shall meet the minimum qualiVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 Jul 08, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2170.IS S2170

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1 fication criteria of the American Arbi2 tration Association, including— 

3 ‘‘(aa) a minimum of 10 

4 years of senior-level business or 

5 professional experience or legal 

6 practice; 

7 ‘‘(bb) an educational degree 

8 or professional licenses appro9 priate to the oil and gas industry; 

10 ‘‘(cc) training or experience 

11 in arbitration or other forms of 

12 dispute resolution; and 

13 ‘‘(dd) membership in rel14 evant professional associations. 

15 ‘‘(VI) REFERRAL.—Referral of a 

16 matter for arbitration by an operator 

17 to an arbitrator identified by the Sec18 retary pursuant to subclause (IV) 

19 shall be sufficient to constitute com20 pliance with subclause (V). 

21 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZED EXPLORATION AND DRILL22 ING OPERATIONS.— 

23 ‘‘(A) AUTHORIZATION WITHOUT SURFACE

24 USE AGREEMENT.— 


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1 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary 

2 may authorize an operator to conduct ex3 ploration and drilling operations on cov4 ered land without first securing a surface 

5 use agreement in accordance with para6 graph (2), if— 

7 ‘‘(I) the Secretary makes a deter8 mination in writing that— 

9 ‘‘(aa) the operator made a 

10 good faith attempt to conclude 

11 such an agreement, including by 

12 submitting the matter to arbitra13 tion in accordance with subclause 

14 (I) of paragraph (2)(C)(ii); but 

15 ‘‘(bb) an agreement was not 

16 concluded by the deadline under 

17 subclause (I) or (II), as applica18 ble, of that paragraph; 

19 ‘‘(II) the operator submits a plan 

20 of operations that provides for— 

21 ‘‘(aa) the matters described 

22 in paragraph (2)(B); and 

23 ‘‘(bb) compliance with all 

24 other applicable requirements of 

25 Federal and State law; and 


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1 ‘‘(III) the operator posts a bond 

2 or other financial assurance in the 

3 form of a surety bond, trust fund, let4 ter of credit, government security, cer5 tificate of deposit, cash, or equivalent 

6 in an amount the Secretary deter7 mines to be adequate to ensure com8 pensation to the 1 or more surface es9 tate owners for any damages to, or 

10 reclamation of, the site. 

11 ‘‘(ii) LIMITATION.—Self-bonding shall 

12 not be an acceptable form of financial as13 surance under clause (i)(III). 

14 ‘‘(B) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER PARTICIPA15 TION.—In addition to any participation oppor16 tunities provided to members of the public 

17 under this section, with respect to a lease 

18 issued under this section for covered land, the 

19 Secretary shall provide surface estate owners 

20 with— 

21 ‘‘(i) before authorizing an operator to 

22 conduct exploration and drilling operations 

23 on the covered land, a period of not less 

24 than 30 days to comment on the plans of 

25 operations of the operator; 


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1 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to participate in 

2 bond level determinations and bond release 

3 proceedings under subsection (g); 

4 ‘‘(iii) an opportunity to attend any on5 site inspection carried out for the purpose 

6 of a determination or proceeding under 

7 clause (ii); 

8 ‘‘(iv) an opportunity to file written ob9 jections to a proposed bond release; and 

10 ‘‘(v) an opportunity to request and 

11 participate in an onsite inspection if the 

12 surface estate owner has reason to believe 

13 there is a violation of the terms and condi14 tions of the plan of operations of the oper15 ator. 

16 ‘‘(C) PAYMENT OF FINANCIAL GUAR17 ANTEE.— 

18 ‘‘(i) IN GENERAL.—The owner of the 

19 surface estate of covered land subject to a 

20 lease issued under this section may petition 

21 the Secretary for payment of all or any 

22 portion of a bond or other financial assur23 ance required under subsection (g) as com24 pensation for any damages resulting from 


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1 exploration and drilling operations pursu2 ant to the lease. 

3 ‘‘(ii) FORM OF COMPENSATION.—If 

4 the Secretary approves the petition under 

5 clause (i), the Secretary may use the bond 

6 or other financial assurance referred to in 

7 that clause to provide compensation to the 

8 surface estate owner for the damages de9 scribed in the petition. 

10 ‘‘(4) SURFACE ESTATE OWNER NOTIFICA11 TION.—In addition to any notice provided to mem12 bers of the public under this section, with respect to 

13 a lease of covered land under this section, the Sec14 retary shall notify the 1 or more surface estate own15 ers by certified mail, electronic mail, and electronic 

16 posting on the website of the relevant leasing or land 

17 management agency— 

18 ‘‘(A) of the lease sale by not later than 90 

19 days before conducting the lease sale; 

20 ‘‘(B) of the identity and address of the les21 see by not later than 10 business days after the 

22 lease is issued; 

23 ‘‘(C) of any subsequent request or decision 

24 regarding the lease, including any request or 

25 decision to modify the lease, waive a stipulation, 


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1 or approve a right of way, by not later than 5 

2 business days after the Secretary receives the 

3 request or makes the decision; and 

4 ‘‘(D) of any issuance of a permit to drill 

5 under the lease, by not later than 5 business 

6 days after issuance of the permit. 

7 ‘‘(5) BONDS OR FINANCIAL ASSURANCES.— 

8 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—With respect to a 

9 lease of covered land under this section, the 

10 Secretary shall notify the 1 or more surface es11 tate owners by certified mail, electronic mail, 

12 and electronic posting on the website of the rel13 evant leasing or land management agency by 

14 not later than 30 days before establishing or re15 leasing a bond or other financial assurance 

16 under subsection (g). 

17 ‘‘(B) OBJECTIONS.—If a surface estate 

18 owner objects to the amount of the bond or 

19 other financial assurance to be required for a 

20 lease of covered land, the Secretary shall re21 spond in writing to the objections of the surface 

22 estate owner, including a description of the ra23 tionale for the amount. 

24 ‘‘(C) RELEASE OF BOND OF OTHER FINAN25 CIAL ASSURANCE.—The Secretary may release 


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1 the bond or other financial assurance required 

2 for a lease of covered land only if— 

3 ‘‘(i) the Secretary determines that 

4 compensation for damages has been paid 

5 in accordance with, as applicable— 

6 ‘‘(I) the terms of the surface use 

7 agreement under paragraph 

8 (2)(B)(xiii); or 

9 ‘‘(II) the determination of the 

10 Secretary under paragraph (3)(A)(iii); 

11 ‘‘(ii) the surface estate owner and the 

12 operator have executed, and submitted to 

13 the Secretary, a surface use and compensa14 tion agreement providing that the bond or 

15 other financial assurance should be re16 leased; 

17 ‘‘(iii) the Secretary determines that— 

18 ‘‘(I) there has been a final reso19 lution of any action for damages; and 

20 ‘‘(II) any damages awarded pur21 suant to that action have been paid; 

22 or 

23 ‘‘(iv) the Secretary determines that— 


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1 ‘‘(I) all wells on the covered land 

2 have been plugged and abandoned; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(II) the operator has not con5 ducted oil and gas operations on the 

6 covered land for a period of not less 

7 than 6 years.’’. 

Æ 


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