I 

114TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2663 

To promote the development of renewable energy on public land, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

JUNE 4, 2015 

Mr. GOSAR (for himself, Mr. POLIS, Mr. HECK of Nevada, Mr. THOMPSON

of California, Mr. FRANKS of Arizona, Mr. RUIZ, Mr. BENISHEK, Mr. 

CA ́RDENAS, Mr. CARTWRIGHT, Mr. CRAMER, Ms. MICHELLE LUJAN

GRISHAM of New Mexico, Mrs. KIRKPATRICK, Mr. LAMALFA, Mr. 

LOWENTHAL, Mr. BEN RAY LUJA ́N of New Mexico, Mr. MCGOVERN, Mr. 

PEARCE, Mr. SALMON, Mr. SCHWEIKERT, Mr. SIMPSON, Ms. SINEMA, 

Mr. ZINKE, and Mr. HUFFMAN) introduced the following bill; which was 

referred to the Committee on Natural Resources, and in addition to the 

Committee on Agriculture, 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 

A BILL 

To promote the development of renewable energy on public 

land, 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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Public Land Renewable Energy Development Act of 

6 2015’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—GEOTHERMAL ENERGY 

Sec. 101. Extension of funding for implementation of Geothermal Steam Act of 

1970. 

TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR, AND WIND 

ENERGY ON PUBLIC LAND 

Subtitle A—Environmental Reviews and Permitting 

Sec. 201. Definitions. 

Sec. 202. Land use planning; supplements to programmatic environmental impact statements. 

Sec. 203. Environmental review on covered land. 

Sec. 204. Program to improve renewable energy project permit coordination. 

Subtitle B—Revenues and Enforcement 

Sec. 211. Definitions. 

Sec. 212. Disposition of revenues. 

Sec. 213. Royalties. 

Sec. 214. Enforcement of royalty and payment provisions. 

Sec. 215. Enforcement. 

Sec. 216. Segregation from appropriation under mining and Federal land laws. 

Sec. 217. Study and report on conservation banking. 

Sec. 218. Applicability of law. 

3 TITLE I—GEOTHERMAL ENERGY 

4 SEC. 101. EXTENSION OF FUNDING FOR IMPLEMENTATION 

5 OF GEOTHERMAL STEAM ACT OF 1970. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 234(a) of the Energy Pol7 icy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(a)) is amended by strik8 ing ‘‘in the first 5 fiscal years beginning after the date 

9 of enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘through fiscal 

10 year 2020’’. 

11 (b) AUTHORIZATION.—Section 234(b) of the Energy 

12 Policy Act of 2005 (42 U.S.C. 15873(b)) is amended— 


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1 (1) by striking ‘‘Amounts’’ and inserting the 

2 following: 

3 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts’’; and 

4 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

5 ‘‘(2) AUTHORIZATION.—Effective for fiscal year 

6 2015 and each fiscal year thereafter, amounts de7 posited under subsection (a) shall be available to the 

8 Secretary of the Interior for expenditure, subject to 

9 appropriation and without fiscal year limitation, to 

10 implement the Geothermal Steam Act of 1970 (30 

11 U.S.C. 1001 et seq.) and this Act.’’. 

12 TITLE II—DEVELOPMENT OF 

13 GEOTHERMAL, SOLAR, AND 

14 WIND ENERGY ON PUBLIC 

15 LAND 

16 Subtitle A—Environmental 

17 Reviews and Permitting 

18 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this subtitle: 

20 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

21 means land that is— 

22 (A) public land administered by the Sec23 retary; and 

24 (B) not excluded from the development of 

25 geothermal, solar, or wind energy under— 


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1 (i) a land use plan established under 

2 the Federal Land Policy and Management 

3 Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); or 

4 (ii) other Federal law. 

5 (2) DIRECTOR.—The term ‘‘Director’’ means 

6 the Director of the Bureau of Land Management. 

7 (3) EXCLUSION AREA.—The term ‘‘exclusion 

8 area’’ means covered land that is identified by the 

9 Bureau of Land Management as not suitable for de10 velopment of renewable energy projects. 

11 (4) PRIORITY AREA.—The term ‘‘priority area’’ 

12 means covered land identified by the land use plan13 ning process of the Bureau of Land Management as 

14 being a preferred location for a renewable energy 

15 project. 

16 (5) RENEWABLE ENERGY PROJECT.—The term 

17 ‘‘renewable energy project’’ means a project carried 

18 out on covered land that uses wind, solar, or geo19 thermal energy to generate energy. 

20 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

21 the Secretary of the Interior. 

22 (7) VARIANCE AREA.—The term ‘‘variance 

23 area’’ means covered land that is— 

24 (A) not an exclusion area; and 

25 (B) not a priority area. 


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1 SEC. 202. LAND USE PLANNING; SUPPLEMENTS TO PRO2 GRAMMATIC ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT 

3 STATEMENTS. 

4 (a) PRIORITY AND VARIANCE AREAS.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Director shall establish 

6 priority and variance areas on covered land for geo7 thermal, solar, and wind energy projects. 

8 (2) DEADLINE.— 

9 (A) GEOTHERMAL ENERGY.—For geo10 thermal energy, the Director shall establish pri11 ority and variance areas as soon as practicable, 

12 but not later than 5 years, after the date of en13 actment of this Act. 

14 (B) SOLAR ENERGY.—For solar energy, 

15 the 2012 western solar plan of the Bureau of 

16 Land Management shall be considered to estab17 lish priority and variance areas for solar energy 

18 projects. 

19 (C) WIND ENERGY.—For geothermal en20 ergy, the Director shall establish priority and 

21 variance areas as soon as practicable, but not 

22 later than 5 years, after the date of enactment 

23 of this Act. 

24 (3) REVIEW AND MODIFICATION.—Not less fre25 quently than once every 10 years, the Director 

26 shall— 


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1 (A) review the adequacy of land allocations 

2 for geothermal, solar, and wind energy priority 

3 and variance areas; and 

4 (B) based on the review carried out under 

5 subparagraph (A), add, modify, or eliminate 

6 priority and variance areas. 

7 (b) COMPLIANCE WITH THE NATIONAL ENVIRON8 MENTAL POLICY ACT.—For purposes of this section, com9 pliance with the National Environmental Policy Act of 

10 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) shall be accomplished— 

11 (1) for geothermal energy, by supplementing 

12 the October 2008 final programmatic environmental 

13 impact statement for geothermal leasing in the west14 ern United States; 

15 (2) for solar energy, by supplementing the July 

16 2012 final programmatic environmental impact 

17 statement for solar energy projects; and 

18 (3) for wind energy, by supplementing the July 

19 2005 final programmatic environmental impact 

20 statement for wind energy projects. 

21 (c) NO EFFECT ON PROCESSING APPLICATIONS.—A 

22 requirement to prepare a supplement to a programmatic 

23 environmental impact statement under this section shall 

24 not result in any delay in processing an application for 

25 a renewable energy project. 


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1 (d) COORDINATION.—In developing a supplement re2 quired by this section, the Secretary shall coordinate, on 

3 an ongoing basis, with appropriate State, tribal, and local 

4 governments, transmission infrastructure owners and op5 erators, developers, and other appropriate entities to en6 sure that priority areas identified by the Secretary are— 

7 (1) economically viable (including having access 

8 to transmission); 

9 (2) likely to avoid or minimize conflict with 

10 habitat for animals and plants, recreation, and other 

11 uses of covered land; and 

12 (3) consistent with local planning efforts. 

13 (e) REMOVAL FROM CLASSIFICATION.—In carrying 

14 out subsections (a), (b), and (c), if the Secretary deter15 mines an area previously suited for development should 

16 be removed from priority or variance classification, not 

17 later than 90 days after the date of the determination, 

18 the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the 

19 determination. 

20 SEC. 203. ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW ON COVERED LAND. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—If the Director determines that a 

22 proposed renewable energy project has been sufficiently 

23 analyzed by a programmatic environmental impact state24 ment conducted under section 202(b), the head of the ap25 plicable Federal agency shall not require any additional 


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1 review under the National Environmental Policy Act of 

2 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

3 (b) ADDITIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.—If the 

4 Director determines that additional environmental review 

5 under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

6 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.) is necessary for a proposed renewable 

7 energy project, the head of the applicable Federal agency 

8 shall rely on the analysis in the programmatic environ9 mental impact statement conducted under section 202(b), 

10 to the maximum extent practicable when analyzing the po11 tential impacts of the project. 

12 SEC. 204. PROGRAM TO IMPROVE RENEWABLE ENERGY 

13 PROJECT PERMIT COORDINATION. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall establish 

15 a program to improve Federal permit coordination with 

16 respect to renewable energy projects on covered land. 

17 (b) MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

19 the date of enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

20 shall enter into a memorandum of understanding for 

21 purposes of this section with— 

22 (A) the Secretary of Agriculture; 

23 (B) the Administrator of the Environ24 mental Protection Agency; and 

25 (C) the Chief of Engineers. 


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1 (2) STATE PARTICIPATION.—The Secretary 

2 may request the Governor of any interested State to 

3 be a signatory to the memorandum of understanding 

4 under paragraph (1). 

5 (c) INTERAGENCY COORDINATION.—The Secretary 

6 shall establish an ombudsperson in the Office of the Sec7 retary, who shall be responsible for resolving interagency 

8 disputes between 2 or more of the following agencies: 

9 (1) The United States Fish and Wildlife Serv10 ice. 

11 (2) The National Park Service. 

12 (3) The Bureau of Land Management. 

13 (d) VARIANCE AREAS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In carrying out subsections 

15 (b) and (c), the heads of the Federal agencies de16 scribed in those subsections shall consider entering 

17 into agreements and memoranda of understanding 

18 to expedite the environmental analysis of applica19 tions for projects proposed on covered land deter20 mined by the Secretary to be a variance area under 

21 section 202. 

22 (2) AVAILABILITY FOR RENEWABLE ENERGY

23 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT.—To the maximum extent 

24 practicable, the variance areas described in para25 graph (1) shall be made available for renewable enVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:08 Jun 05, 2015 Jkt 049200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2663.IH H2663

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1 ergy project development, after completion of an en2 vironmental impact statement or similar analysis re3 quired under the National Environmental Policy Act 

4 of 1969 (42 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.), and subject to the 

5 policies and procedures set forth by the Secretary 

6 for evaluating variance applications in the pro7 grammatic environmental impact statement de8 scribed in section 202(b). 

9 (e) DESIGNATION OF QUALIFIED STAFF.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

11 the date on which the memorandum of under12 standing under subsection (b) is executed, all Fed13 eral signatories, as appropriate, shall assign to each 

14 of the field offices described in subsection (f) an em15 ployee who has expertise in the regulatory issues re16 lating to the office in which the employee is em17 ployed, including, as applicable, particular expertise 

18 in— 

19 (A) consultation regarding, and prepara20 tion of, biological opinions under section 7 of 

21 the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 

22 1536); 

23 (B) permits under section 404 of Federal 

24 Water Pollution Control Act (33 U.S.C. 1344); 


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1 (C) regulatory matters under the Clean Air 

2 Act (42 U.S.C. 7401 et seq.); 

3 (D) planning under section 14 of the Na4 tional Forest Management Act of 1976 (16 

5 U.S.C. 472a); 

6 (E) the Federal Land Policy and Manage7 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et seq.); 

8 (F) the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (16 

9 U.S.C. 703 et seq.); and 

10 (G) the preparation of analyses under the 

11 National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (42 

12 U.S.C. 4321 et seq.). 

13 (2) DUTIES.—Each employee assigned under 

14 paragraph (1) shall— 

15 (A) not later than 90 days after the date 

16 of assignment, report to field managers of the 

17 Bureau of Land Management in the office to 

18 which the employee is assigned; 

19 (B) be responsible for all issues relating to 

20 the jurisdiction of the home office or agency of 

21 the employee; and 

22 (C) participate as part of the team of per23 sonnel working on proposed energy projects, 

24 planning, monitoring, inspection, enforcement, 

25 and environmental analyses. 


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1 (f) FIELD OFFICES.—The field offices referred to in 

2 subsection (e)(1) shall include field offices of the Bureau 

3 of Land Management in, at a minimum, the States of Ari4 zona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, New 

5 Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming. 

6 (g) ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL.—The Secretary shall 

7 assign to each field office described in subsection (f) such 

8 additional personnel as are necessary to ensure the effec9 tive implementation of any programs administered by the 

10 field offices, including inspection and enforcement relating 

11 to renewable energy project development on covered land, 

12 in accordance with the multiple use mandate of the Fed13 eral Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 

14 1701 et seq.). 

15 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than February 1 

17 of the first fiscal year beginning after the date of en18 actment of this Act, and each February 1 thereafter, 

19 the Secretary shall submit to the Chairperson and 

20 Ranking Member of the Committee on Energy and 

21 Natural Resources of the Senate and the Committee 

22 on Natural Resources of the House of Representa23 tives a report describing the progress made pursuant 

24 to the program under this subtitle during the pre25 ceding year. 


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1 (2) INCLUSIONS.—Each report under this sub2 section shall include— 

3 (A) projections for renewable energy pro4 duction and capacity installations; and 

5 (B) a description of any problems relating 

6 to leasing, permitting, siting, or production. 

7 Subtitle B—Revenues and 

8 Enforcement 

9 SEC. 211. DEFINITIONS. 

10 In this subtitle: 

11 (1) COVERED LAND.—The term ‘‘covered land’’ 

12 means land that is— 

13 (A)(i) public land administered by the Sec14 retary; or 

15 (ii) National Forest System land adminis16 tered by the Secretary of Agriculture; and 

17 (B) not excluded from the development of 

18 solar or wind energy under— 

19 (i) a final land use plan established 

20 under the Federal Land Policy and Man21 agement Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1701 et 

22 seq.); 

23 (ii) a final land use plan established 

24 under the National Forest Management 

25 Act of 1976 (16 U.S.C. 1600 et seq.); or 


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1 (iii) other Federal law. 

2 (2) FEDERAL LAND.—The term ‘‘Federal land’’ 

3 means— 

4 (A) land of the National Forest System (as 

5 defined in section 11(a) of the Forest and 

6 Rangeland Renewable Resources Planning Act 

7 of 1974 (16 U.S.C. 1609(a))); or 

8 (B) public land. 

9 (3) FUND.—The term ‘‘Fund’’ means the Re10 newable Energy Resource Conservation Fund estab11 lished by section 212(c)(1). 

12 (4) PUBLIC LAND.—The term ‘‘public land’’ 

13 has the meaning given the term ‘‘public lands’’ in 

14 section 103 of the Federal Land Policy and Manage15 ment Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1702). 

16 (5) SECRETARIES.—The term ‘‘Secretaries’’ 

17 means— 

18 (A) in the case of public land administered 

19 by the Secretary, the Secretary; and 

20 (B) in the case of National Forest System 

21 land administered by the Secretary of Agri22 culture, the Secretary of Agriculture. 

23 (6) SECRETARY.—The term ‘‘Secretary’’ means 

24 the Secretary of the Interior. 


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1 SEC. 212. DISPOSITION OF REVENUES. 

2 (a) DISPOSITION OF REVENUES.—Without further 

3 appropriation or fiscal year limitation, of the amounts col4 lected as bonus bids, royalties, rentals, fees, or other pay5 ments under a right-of-way, permit, lease, or other author6 ization for the development of wind or solar energy on cov7 ered land— 

8 (1) 25 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of 

9 the Treasury to the State within the boundaries of 

10 which the revenue is derived; 

11 (2) 25 percent shall be paid by the Secretary of 

12 the Treasury to the 1 or more counties within the 

13 boundaries of which the revenue is derived, to be al14 located among the counties based on the percentage 

15 of land from which the revenue is derived; 

16 (3) to be deposited in the Treasury and be 

17 made available to the Secretary to carry out the pro18 gram established by section 204, including the trans19 fer of the funds by the Bureau of Land Management 

20 to other Federal agencies and State agencies to fa21 cilitate the processing of renewable energy permits 

22 on Federal land, with priority given to using the 

23 amounts, to the maximum extent practicable, to re24 ducing the backlog of renewable energy permits that 

25 have not been processed in the State from which the 

26 revenues are derived— 


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1 (A) 15 percent for each of fiscal years 

2 2015 through 2030; 

3 (B) 14 percent for fiscal year 2031; 

4 (C) 13 percent for fiscal year 2032; 

5 (D) 12 percent for fiscal year 2033; 

6 (E) 11 percent for fiscal year 2034; and 

7 (F) 10 percent for fiscal year 2035 and 

8 each fiscal year thereafter; and 

9 (4) to be deposited in the Renewable Energy 

10 Resource Conservation Fund established by sub11 section (c)— 

12 (A) 35 percent for each of fiscal years 

13 2015 through 2030; 

14 (B) 36 percent for fiscal year 2031; 

15 (C) 37 percent for fiscal year 2032; 

16 (D) 38 percent for fiscal year 2033; 

17 (E) 39 percent for fiscal year 2034; and 

18 (F) 40 percent for fiscal year 2035 and 

19 each fiscal year thereafter. 

20 (b) PAYMENTS TO STATES AND COUNTIES.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—Amounts paid to States and 

22 counties under subsection (a) shall be used con23 sistent with section 35 of the Mineral Leasing Act 

24 (30 U.S.C. 191). 


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1 (2) PAYMENTS IN LIEU OF TAXES.—A payment 

2 to a county under paragraph (1) shall be in addition 

3 to a payment in lieu of taxes received by the county 

4 under chapter 69 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (c) RENEWABLE ENERGY RESOURCE CONSERVATION

6 FUND.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the 

8 Treasury a fund, to be known as the ‘‘Renewable 

9 Energy Resource Conservation Fund’’, to be admin10 istered by the Secretary, in consultation with the 

11 Secretary of Agriculture, for use in regions affected 

12 by the development of wind or solar energy on Fed13 eral land. 

14 (2) USE.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Amounts in the Fund 

16 shall be available to the Secretary, who may 

17 make amounts available to the Secretary of Ag18 riculture, to other Federal or State agencies, 

19 and other interested persons in an impacted re20 gion, as appropriate, for the purposes of— 

21 (i) protecting and restoring important 

22 fish and wildlife habitat on Federal land in 

23 the impacted region; and 

24 (ii) ensuring and improving right-of25 way access to Federal land and water in 


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1 the impacted region for fishing, hunting, 

2 and other forms of outdoor recreation in a 

3 manner consistent with the conservation of 

4 fish and wildlife habitat. 

5 (B) ADVISORY BOARD.—The Secretaries 

6 shall establish an independent advisory board 

7 composed of key stakeholders and technical ex8 perts to provide recommendations and guidance 

9 on the disposition of any amounts expended 

10 from the Fund. 

11 (3) INVESTMENT OF FUND.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—Any amounts deposited 

13 in the Fund shall earn interest in an amount 

14 determined by the Secretary of the Treasury on 

15 the basis of the current average market yield on 

16 outstanding marketable obligations of the 

17 United States of comparable maturities. 

18 (B) USE.—Any interest earned under sub19 paragraph (A) may be expended in accordance 

20 with this subsection. 

21 (4) INTENT OF CONGRESS.—It is the intent of 

22 Congress that the revenues deposited and used in 

23 the Fund shall supplement and not supplant annual 

24 appropriations for conservation activities described 

25 in paragraph (2)(A). 


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1 SEC. 213. ROYALTIES. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretaries shall require as 

3 a term and condition of any lease, right-of-way, permit, 

4 or other authorization for the development of wind or solar 

5 energy on covered land the payment of a royalty. 

6 (b) RATE CONSIDERATIONS.—The Secretary, in con7 sultation with the Secretary of Agriculture, shall establish, 

8 through rulemaking, a royalty payable under subsection 

9 (a) that shall be a percentage of the gross proceeds from 

10 the sale of electricity at a rate that— 

11 (1) encourages production of solar or wind en12 ergy; 

13 (2) ensures a fair return to the public com14 parable to the return that would be obtained on 

15 State and private land; and 

16 (3) encourages the maximum energy generation 

17 while disturbing the least quantity of covered land 

18 and other natural resources, including water. 

19 (c) DIFFERENT ROYALTY RATES.—The Secretaries 

20 shall establish— 

21 (1) a different royalty rate for wind or solar en22 ergy generation, which takes into account relative 

23 capacity factors for the respective generation 

24 sources; and 


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1 (2) a reduced royalty rate for projects located 

2 within a zone identified for development of solar or 

3 wind energy. 

4 (d) EXCLUSIVE PAYMENT ON SALE OF ELEC5 TRICITY.—During the period of production, a royalty paid 

6 under subsection (a) shall be the only rent, royalty, or 

7 similar payment to the Federal Government required with 

8 respect to the sale of electricity produced under a lease. 

9 (e) ROYALTY RELIEF.—To promote the generation of 

10 renewable energy, the Secretaries may reduce any royalty 

11 otherwise required on a showing by clear and convincing 

12 evidence by the person holding a lease, right-of-way, per13 mit, or other authorization for the development of wind 

14 or solar energy on covered land under which the genera15 tion of energy is or will be produced in commercial quan16 tities that— 

17 (1) collection of the full royalty would unreason18 ably burden energy generation; and 

19 (2) the royalty reduction is in the public inter20 est. 

21 (f) PERIODIC REVIEW AND REPORT.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 5 years after 

23 the date of enactment of this Act and every 5 years 

24 thereafter, the Secretary, in consultation with the 

25 Secretary of Agriculture, shall— 


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1 (A) complete a review of collections and 

2 impacts of the royalty and fees provided under 

3 this subtitle; and 

4 (B) submit to the Committees on Energy 

5 and Natural Resources and Agriculture, Nutri6 tion, and Forestry of the Senate and the Com7 mittees on Natural Resources and Agriculture 

8 of the House of Representatives a report de9 scribing the results of the review. 

10 (2) TOPICS.—The report shall address— 

11 (A) the total revenues received (by cat12 egory) on an annual basis as royalties from 

13 wind, solar, and geothermal development and 

14 production (specified by energy source) on cov15 ered land; 

16 (B) whether the revenues received for the 

17 development of wind, solar, and geothermal de18 velopment are comparable to the revenues re19 ceived for similar development on State and pri20 vate land; 

21 (C) any impact on the development of 

22 wind, solar, and geothermal development and 

23 production on covered land as a result of the 

24 royalties; and 


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1 (D) any recommendations with respect to 

2 changes in Federal law (including regulations) 

3 relating to the amount or method of collection 

4 (including auditing, compliance, and enforce5 ment) of the royalties. 

6 (g) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 2 years after the 

7 date of enactment of this Act, the Secretaries shall jointly 

8 issue final regulations to carry out this section. 

9 SEC. 214. ENFORCEMENT OF ROYALTY AND PAYMENT PRO10 VISIONS. 

11 (a) DUTIES OF THE SECRETARY.—The Secretary 

12 shall establish a comprehensive inspection, collection, fis13 cal, and production accounting and auditing system— 

14 (1) to accurately determine royalties, interest, 

15 fines, penalties, fees, deposits, and other payments 

16 owed under this subtitle; and 

17 (2) to collect and account for the payments in 

18 a timely manner. 

19 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER LAW.—The Federal 

20 Oil and Gas Royalty Management Act of 1982 (30 U.S.C. 

21 1701 et seq.) (including the civil and criminal enforcement 

22 provisions of that Act) shall apply to leases, permits, 

23 rights-of-way, or other authorizations issued for the devel24 opment of solar or wind energy on covered land and the 

25 holders and operators of the leases, permits, rights-of-way, 


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1 or other authorizations (and designees) under this subtitle, 

2 except that in applying that Act— 

3 (1) ‘‘wind or solar leases, permits, rights-of4 way, or other authorizations’’ shall be substituted 

5 for ‘‘oil and gas leases’’; 

6 (2) ‘‘electricity generated from wind or solar re7 sources’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘oil and gas’’ 

8 (when used as nouns); 

9 (3) ‘‘lease, permit, right-of-way, or other au10 thorization for the development of wind or solar en11 ergy’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘lease’’ and ‘‘lease for 

12 oil and gas’’ (when used as nouns); and 

13 (4) ‘‘lessee, permittee, right-of-way holder, or 

14 holder of an authorization for the development of 

15 wind or solar energy’’ shall be substituted for ‘‘les16 see’’. 

17 SEC. 215. ENFORCEMENT. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Sections 302(c) and 303 of the 

19 Federal Land Policy and Management Act of 1976 (43 

20 U.S.C. 1732(c), 1733) shall apply to activities conducted 

21 on covered land under this subtitle. 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY OF OTHER ENFORCEMENT PRO23 VISIONS.—Nothing in this subtitle reduces or limits the 

24 enforcement authority vested in the Secretary or the At25 torney General by any other law. 


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1 SEC. 216. SEGREGATION FROM APPROPRIATION UNDER 

2 MINING AND FEDERAL LAND LAWS. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—On covered land identified by the 

4 Secretary or the Secretary of Agriculture for the develop5 ment of renewable energy projects under this subtitle or 

6 other applicable law, the Secretary or the Secretary of Ag7 riculture may temporarily segregate the identified land 

8 from appropriation under the mining and public land laws. 

9 (b) ADMINISTRATION.—Segregation of covered land 

10 under this section— 

11 (1) may only be made for a period not to exceed 

12 10 years; and 

13 (2) shall be subject to valid existing rights as 

14 of the date of the segregation. 

15 SEC. 217. STUDY AND REPORT ON CONSERVATION BANK16 ING. 

17 (a) STUDY.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

19 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre20 taries shall carry out a study on the siting, develop21 ment, and management of projects to determine the 

22 feasibility of carrying out a conservation banking 

23 program on Federal land. 

24 (2) CONTENTS.—The study under paragraph 

25 (1) shall— 

26 (A) identify areas in which— 


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1 (i) privately owned land is not avail2 able to fully offset the impacts of solar or 

3 wind energy development on federally ad4 ministered land; or 

5 (ii) mitigation investments on Federal 

6 land are likely to provide greater conserva7 tion value for impacts of solar or wind en8 ergy development on federally administered 

9 land; and 

10 (B) examine— 

11 (i) the effectiveness of laws (including 

12 regulations) and policies in effect on the 

13 date of enactment of this Act in facili14 tating the development and effective oper15 ation of conservation banks; 

16 (ii) the advantages and disadvantages 

17 of using conservation banks on Federal 

18 land to mitigate impacts to natural re19 sources on State, tribal, and private land; 

20 and 

21 (iii) any changes in Federal law (in22 cluding regulations) or policy necessary to 

23 further develop a Federal conservation 

24 banking program. 


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1 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 18 

2 months after the date of enactment of this Act, the Secre3 taries shall jointly submit to Congress a report that in4 cludes— 

5 (1) the recommendations of the Secretaries re6 lating to— 

7 (A) the most effective system for Federal 

8 land described in subsection (a)(2)(A) to meet 

9 the goals of facilitating the development of a 

10 conservation banking program on Federal land; 

11 and 

12 (B) any change to Federal law (including 

13 regulations) or policy necessary to address more 

14 effectively the siting, development, and manage15 ment of conservation banking programs on Fed16 eral land to mitigate impacts to natural re17 sources on State, tribal, and private land; and 

18 (2) any administrative action to be taken by the 

19 Secretaries in response to the recommendations. 

20 (c) AVAILABILITY TO THE PUBLIC.—Not later than 

21 30 days after the date on which the report described in 

22 subsection (b) is submitted to Congress, the Secretaries 

23 shall make the results of the study available to the public. 


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1 SEC. 218. APPLICABILITY OF LAW. 

2 Wind or solar generation projects with a capacity of 

3 20 megawatts or more that are issued a lease, right-of4 way, permit, or other authorization under applicable law 

5 shall not be subject to the rental fee exemption for rights6 of-way under section 504(g) of the Federal Land Policy 

7 and Management Act of 1976 (43 U.S.C. 1764(g)). 

Æ 


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